Camping with Family and Friends

By George Vogel

Late as usual, we headed up to Potwisha. The forty-five minute drive seemed to take forty-five hours. With the Newton's behind us, we pulled into the campground. I started getting dizzy from going around and around the sites because my dad couldn't decide where the best spot was to park our big old boat (it's actually a fifth wheel). The dogs, all four of them,were going nuts. Marbles (who isn't the brightest) whimpered the entire trip. It was so nice to be able to breathe without a panting "beast" suffocating me.

The first thing we did was hook the dogs to the back of the trailer. Then Marbles saw his first squirrel and had a panic attack. I really like our new trailer because it's like a cramped house. It's got a kitchen, two fold out beds and one large one at the front. The bathroom didn't work but that was OK because it was it was a short walk to the community restroom.

The first night, we had a big campfire. Everyone, including the adults, begged Uncle Dameon to go get the marshmallows. Melissa brought a bunch of pitch forks (they were huge) for us to roast them with. I didn't have the greatest luck with this. They always caught on fire but we all gave them to my mom (who loves burnt ones). I still like them better straight out of the bag. We stayed up late trying to wait for the bears but the stupid generator made enough noise to scare away Big Foot. No bears tonight.

When I woke and got out of my comfy bed I heard all the other kids paying tag. Uncle Dameon and Aunt Kristie were making breakfast. Uncle Dameon spilled some of the potatoes on the ground and Aunt Kristie made 800 thin pancakes. Everything was delicious! My dad allowed me to chop wood with an axe! It took about three or four swings to cut the wood in half, but I did it. We had a great day playing and taking walks with the dogs. We went on a small hike and saw a really neat waterfall. My mom and dad had the dogs back at the camp so Aunt Kristie was in charge of freaking out with us near the water (which is exactly what my mom would have been doing). We even saw deer on our way there.

Uncle Dameon did a neat experiment he had seen on Survivor Man. He boiled water in a plastic bottle. He used a stretched out hanger to hold it over the fire. It was awesome. When he set the wire down Clay touched it and burned his finger really bad. I felt really sorry for him. That's the only bad thing about the trip.

I love being with Jordan, Faith, Emma, Paige, Clay and Drew. Everyone had a graet time and I can't wait to go camping with them all again.