Camping has turned into an interesting endeavor to say the least...since we have decided to take D's children once a month. These adventures come with new knowledge and many new challenges to put it mildly. What a preschooler knows a teenager pays no attention to, what a teenager knows becomes something to pattern after, for a preschooler!
We went on our last rip to Pinnacles National Monument. What a blessing..all the boys want to go back and have decided camping is fun when you participate. Grandpa D and I however have different ideas on what would make the trip fun when we started however. Grandpa D decided we should take the most scenic route available to us. This allowed us to see the Central Valleys agricultural base at it's best along with a great lesson on the San Andreas Fault in all it's glory! This trip to our campsite however took almost 5 hours..not un-doable but it was N's turn to bring a friend, so we had 3, 6 foot teenagers in the backseat and a preschooler in front with us, in an older pick-up which had enough seat belts, just not enough room! On Grandpa D's and my way home after dropping the boys off, Grandpa D asked,"is the reason you wanted to stop at all those dumb museums and tourist traps when we traveled with our boys was just because you wanted them out of the car for a few minutes?" WOW! A light bulb monument!!
When we arrived at he Pinnacles we set up camp, hiked to the Talus caves, what excitement these caves gave the boys, deer, cottontail bunnies, and ants as big as your forefinger were hits along with the raccoon who tried to raid the camps in the middle of the night!
The biggest thing I learned as the only woman on this trip was kitchen duty sucks after dark and there is never enough food! I remember when D and R were teenagers and I owned my own business..I only had time to go to the grocery store once a week. As I was checking out one Sunday both the checker and the person behind me wanted to know if I was buying for an institution...no just a weeks worth of food for 2 teenagers..that same amount of food goes now on a weekend camping trip!!! At the time I had my boys as teenagers I also learned the skills of a 20 minute dinner( yes I watch Rachel Ray and wonder why she takes so long..lol) The 20 minute dinner is required when camping if I also want to hike and play too!
Well this brings me to the point of this post...We are going to the Grand Canyon..what was going to be 2 nights at the canyon has now turned into a 5 day trip..2 to get there and 2 there and our marathon trip home!
I have been shopping for 2 weeks, been cooking now and prepping for 3 days and am praying the boys remember to bring what they need..
I will post as we continue into the future...D, I miss you so much and hope you are watching your boys become Men because they are doing a pretty good job so far!!
Grandma D
