Campfire Stories, Evening Sunsets, and Cheesy Sunday Afternoon Movies
This post will involve a campfire, a sunset, and a cheesy movie. What do they have to do with each other? Well, nothing really. They're just occurrences from the weekend that will serve as fodder for this post.
I love to camp. It's a pleasure that I have always known was in my blood, however I didn't get too many chances while growing up. Not that my family wasn't athletic and outdoorsy. We were, to a certain extent. Regardless, we never did do the camping thing. When we travelled it always involved Holiday Inn stays and my siblings and I could not wait to get into the pool. And we would always eat dinner at Sizzler Steakhouse-if we could find one.
Anyway, the only camping I ever took part in as a kid was with Girl Scouts. I know, I know the fact that I was in Girl Scouts sounds like I was a nerd. And maybe, just maybe, you would be right in that assesssment. I'm willing to embrace my Nerdness at this point in my life. In fact I will soone be considered a great big NERD in a few years when my daughter becomes a teenager. Anyway, I got to camp with Girl Scout three times and each experience was different. I camped in a pup tent in a sleeping bag on the ground one time, in a cabin in a sleeping bag on the floor another time, and the third time was in a platform tent with cots-in a sleeping bag too. Which the mention of sleeping bag will make me digress again because I have to tell the story of the sad, ugly sleeping bag...
Growing up, my family wasn't too well off. We weren't poor by any means. We always got what we needed and most of the times we got what we wanted. But there were times that hand-me-downs were necessary in order for my family to economically function. So, that's how I got the dreaded sleeping bag. Of course I wanted my parents to buy me a new one when I had my first camping trip. It would be pink and fluffy and cute. But, that was not going to be. Instead I got a hand-me-down sleeping bag from one of my uncles-who most likely used it for Boy Scouts in the 1960s. It was quite ugly. A dark green color and it had a striped lining that for some reason grossed me out everytime I stuck my feet down there. So I always wore socks-you never know what your feet might touch in the bottom of a hand-me-down sleeping bag. The outer shell of the sleeping bad was cracked from old age, I presume, and the lining was lumpy and not at all thick. I know, now I sound like a snob, and extremely unappreciative. But it wasn't what I wanted and it was embarrassing and I was a kid-that's my best defense. Nonetheless, I was stuck with that ugly sleeping bag for all three camping trips.
Despite the sleeping bag travesty, I continue to love camping. And when I met my husband -whose family were avid campers-it was a match made in heaven. I have a much better sleeping bad now. I could go on and on with camping stories from before, but the point of this post was to discuss weekend events-so I should get back on track.
Well, because we love camping so much, we decided to put a campfire pit in our backyard. We have a one acre mostly wooded lot, but found this little clearing that made a perfect spot for the fire pit. We decided to have a little bonfire on Friday evening-to properly dispose of the Christmas tree and the old logs and trees that had fallen from our property. We had a nice enough time, roasting marshmallows, drinking beer, and telling campfire stories. My daughter-girl after my own heart-loved to hear all my scary stories (especially the Headless Motorcycle man which was an urban legend from my neighborhood).And then I told the UFO stories my Dad used to tell me. The one where he lost all power in the car on the country road and saw unexplained phenomena in the sky. The time he was working on a submarine in San Diego and saw an unidentified blip on the radar screen and when he brought it to his superiors he was told that he saw NOTHING.
Anyway, we were feeling all creepy and spooky when what should appear in the black night sky but a great big white X. It looked almost like spotlights shining a beam of flourescence that crisscrossed to form this illuminated X in the sky. Being of scientific mind, we had to try to explain this occurrence. We are too far out in the country for the lights to have been from some Grand Opening or Carnival or Car Dealership Event which are occassions to employ the use of huge spotlights, so as to attract many people from miles around. The best we could come up with was that they were cloud lines, or possibly exhaust from an overhead airplane that just by coincidence form into an X shape.
Evening sunsets in Red Mountain are spectacular. As the orange orb sets behind the ridgeline the sky turns into a palette of warm colors. Deep purple, hazy red-orange, and pinkish tinges blanket the canvas of the sky. We have a group of hawks that hang around and you can see them soaring in the sky, circling and circling. The pines sway in the breeze. Not too far from our house is some University land that is for public use. Mostly horseback riding, hiking, biking, and hunting are the recreational activities enjoyed while on the land. We decided to take a hike Saturday afternoon to view the sunset from the bank of the Flat River. And while the sites are spectacular, we are a little depressed about the logging that is occurring on the forestland. They have flattened entire patches of forest and have removed many of the tall pines. Not quite sure what's going on with that, but it's a reminder that progress knows no boundaries. It's going to swallow it all up one day. Bittersweet....
And now for Sunday Afternoon Cinema. The one other depressing thing that I must mention is the cessation of college football. I can do alright through January because the NFL cooks up at that point and I have enjoyed many of the January games this year. But with the Superbowl right around the corner signaling the official end of the football season, the weekend before the Superbowl is a perfect time to engage in some TV film watching. This weeks feature was "Just Visiting" a obscure movie that involved knights, time travel, Chrisitina Applegate, horses on subways, Chicago, Tara Reid, and a message of freedom and democracy. Need I say more? I'm still sad, though, that I will have to spend my Saturdays and Sundays quite possibly watching these types of movies.
I could just turn off the TV and watch the sunsets.
But most likely I will find a way to do both. Its a balancing act alright.
I love to camp. It's a pleasure that I have always known was in my blood, however I didn't get too many chances while growing up. Not that my family wasn't athletic and outdoorsy. We were, to a certain extent. Regardless, we never did do the camping thing. When we travelled it always involved Holiday Inn stays and my siblings and I could not wait to get into the pool. And we would always eat dinner at Sizzler Steakhouse-if we could find one.
Anyway, the only camping I ever took part in as a kid was with Girl Scouts. I know, I know the fact that I was in Girl Scouts sounds like I was a nerd. And maybe, just maybe, you would be right in that assesssment. I'm willing to embrace my Nerdness at this point in my life. In fact I will soone be considered a great big NERD in a few years when my daughter becomes a teenager. Anyway, I got to camp with Girl Scout three times and each experience was different. I camped in a pup tent in a sleeping bag on the ground one time, in a cabin in a sleeping bag on the floor another time, and the third time was in a platform tent with cots-in a sleeping bag too. Which the mention of sleeping bag will make me digress again because I have to tell the story of the sad, ugly sleeping bag...
Growing up, my family wasn't too well off. We weren't poor by any means. We always got what we needed and most of the times we got what we wanted. But there were times that hand-me-downs were necessary in order for my family to economically function. So, that's how I got the dreaded sleeping bag. Of course I wanted my parents to buy me a new one when I had my first camping trip. It would be pink and fluffy and cute. But, that was not going to be. Instead I got a hand-me-down sleeping bag from one of my uncles-who most likely used it for Boy Scouts in the 1960s. It was quite ugly. A dark green color and it had a striped lining that for some reason grossed me out everytime I stuck my feet down there. So I always wore socks-you never know what your feet might touch in the bottom of a hand-me-down sleeping bag. The outer shell of the sleeping bad was cracked from old age, I presume, and the lining was lumpy and not at all thick. I know, now I sound like a snob, and extremely unappreciative. But it wasn't what I wanted and it was embarrassing and I was a kid-that's my best defense. Nonetheless, I was stuck with that ugly sleeping bag for all three camping trips.
Despite the sleeping bag travesty, I continue to love camping. And when I met my husband -whose family were avid campers-it was a match made in heaven. I have a much better sleeping bad now. I could go on and on with camping stories from before, but the point of this post was to discuss weekend events-so I should get back on track.
Well, because we love camping so much, we decided to put a campfire pit in our backyard. We have a one acre mostly wooded lot, but found this little clearing that made a perfect spot for the fire pit. We decided to have a little bonfire on Friday evening-to properly dispose of the Christmas tree and the old logs and trees that had fallen from our property. We had a nice enough time, roasting marshmallows, drinking beer, and telling campfire stories. My daughter-girl after my own heart-loved to hear all my scary stories (especially the Headless Motorcycle man which was an urban legend from my neighborhood).And then I told the UFO stories my Dad used to tell me. The one where he lost all power in the car on the country road and saw unexplained phenomena in the sky. The time he was working on a submarine in San Diego and saw an unidentified blip on the radar screen and when he brought it to his superiors he was told that he saw NOTHING.
Anyway, we were feeling all creepy and spooky when what should appear in the black night sky but a great big white X. It looked almost like spotlights shining a beam of flourescence that crisscrossed to form this illuminated X in the sky. Being of scientific mind, we had to try to explain this occurrence. We are too far out in the country for the lights to have been from some Grand Opening or Carnival or Car Dealership Event which are occassions to employ the use of huge spotlights, so as to attract many people from miles around. The best we could come up with was that they were cloud lines, or possibly exhaust from an overhead airplane that just by coincidence form into an X shape.
Evening sunsets in Red Mountain are spectacular. As the orange orb sets behind the ridgeline the sky turns into a palette of warm colors. Deep purple, hazy red-orange, and pinkish tinges blanket the canvas of the sky. We have a group of hawks that hang around and you can see them soaring in the sky, circling and circling. The pines sway in the breeze. Not too far from our house is some University land that is for public use. Mostly horseback riding, hiking, biking, and hunting are the recreational activities enjoyed while on the land. We decided to take a hike Saturday afternoon to view the sunset from the bank of the Flat River. And while the sites are spectacular, we are a little depressed about the logging that is occurring on the forestland. They have flattened entire patches of forest and have removed many of the tall pines. Not quite sure what's going on with that, but it's a reminder that progress knows no boundaries. It's going to swallow it all up one day. Bittersweet....
And now for Sunday Afternoon Cinema. The one other depressing thing that I must mention is the cessation of college football. I can do alright through January because the NFL cooks up at that point and I have enjoyed many of the January games this year. But with the Superbowl right around the corner signaling the official end of the football season, the weekend before the Superbowl is a perfect time to engage in some TV film watching. This weeks feature was "Just Visiting" a obscure movie that involved knights, time travel, Chrisitina Applegate, horses on subways, Chicago, Tara Reid, and a message of freedom and democracy. Need I say more? I'm still sad, though, that I will have to spend my Saturdays and Sundays quite possibly watching these types of movies.
I could just turn off the TV and watch the sunsets.
But most likely I will find a way to do both. Its a balancing act alright.
posted by amyd | 5:09 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home