Thankscamping

For several years now my family has done what we call "Thankscamping" for our Thanksgiving celebration. We go to a state park for the week. We dig a big hole in the fire pit; then we start up a nice fire and get some coals going; then we drop the turkey in and cover it up with some of the dirt; then we build yet another fire on top of that. You know, like the natives used to do. Believe it or not, it makes for some really good juicy turkey. The first time we pulled out a turkey and cut in the to the foil, Pavlov had a fit.

We've made some good memories Thankscamping over the years. Some good, some not as good. It's hard to have a bad experience. If the weather is bad we stay in and play games, if it's good we'll go for a hike. Most of all, we just spend time together.

There was the time when it was so cold and windy that the fire refused to come out and play. In fact, the fire knocked on our cabin door that night and asked for a blanket so it could stay warm. We stayed inside most of that trip. Another time it was misting all week and we could not get a good fire going.

Yet a different time, we got caught by the park ranger shooting off projectiles inside the park. Actually, that confused us a bit. We were playing with dollar store bows with round-tipped arrows. We could not damage anything or hurt anyone if our lives depended on it. The ranger was adamant that the arrows were projectiles and therefore banned from being used in the park. I suppose he was  technically correct, but they were just silly toys. Sorry boys. No fun for you.

I had been trying to get my youngest son to learn to ride his bike for a few years. He was only nine at the time. The park was pretty empty, so we attempted a few runs. Tried and tried. No luck. He just did not want to learn. A coonskin cap caught his eye during a trip to the park store, so we made a deal with him. He could buy the cap, with his own money, if he learned to ride his bike while we were still camping. That little turkey jumped on his bike, first try, and rode it all over the park. He bought the cap. He and the cap spent most of that trip riding his bike around. Never underestimate what a little motivation and incentive can do.

One year we found that we had zero cell service. Not just spotty service, no service. All of our devices were total bricks. We did a lot of reading, and some writing that trip. One night we played poker till about 4 in the morning. As I recall, I was the victor that night.

Another year my mom tells me and the wife that she is going to go try out this hiking trail, after recently having knee surgery. I look at my wife. She looks at me. We decide to join her. Down the path, up and down the hills, and around the giant pond we go. Some two hours later we breach the end of the trail. I have learned in my short life that you do not tell Momma what she can and cannot do. It was a nice hike.

On a different year we all decided to go geocaching in the park. There we were, all seven of us trudging around a park trail in search of a place to log our name. My older boys decided to ride their bikes. At one portion of the trail, it looked like a giant creek bed had been washed out and we would have to pull out the ropes and repel down. I told my oldest boy to see if he could ride down on his bike. He did not hear the sarcasm in my voice and took the leap. I do believe the boy sprouted wings that day and flew to the bottom of the crevice. How else could he have made it down without so much as a scratch? In case my sarcasm is still not detectible, it was not really that bad, but my heart did skip a few beats when he threw caution to the wind as he did.

One night the boys were snoring so loud in their own tent they sounded like bison. Wait. That was a different trip and a different story altogether.

Another time we stayed in Yurts. It was nice. A different time, my youngest made friends with some girl in some other family and played with her the whole trip. And on and on go the stories. I could continue. There are plenty more. They have all been good times, even the bad ones.

In circular, I am thankful for Thankscamping. I am thankful for all of the experiences. I am mostly thankful for company kept. I am hopeful that this odd little tradition we started, only a few short years ago, will continue for generations to come.