Happy Anniversary!

As of September 4th, Dennis and I have been married for 18 years! And how did we spend our anniversary? Camping out in the Chiricahua mountains, south of Willcox, AZ, with 3 teenage girls, a dog, and a marauding bear.


We also spent some time after meeting (Kingdom Hall) getting to know the local congregation. And doing laundry. Yes, we tend to be unconventional. Oh, you want to know more about the bear, huh?



Actually, there's not much to tell. It just so happens that the morning after our arrival, a park ranger stopped by and asked if we had seen a bear. Apparently, a bear cub had been sighted a few days earlier in the campground.


We have camped at the Chiricahua National Monument before and we are used the routine of storing all our food, toothpaste, shampoo, or anything with a "smell" in metal, bear-proof containers provided by the campground.


One of the highlights of our 3-night stay here was the family that camped next to us on day 2. As far as we could tell, they went to Walmart or Academy Sports and bought a bunch of camping equipment about an hour before setting out. We considered offering some help but they did not seem receptive so we decided to just observe.


We had dinner while watching them fumble with the tent. I must point out that tents come with instructions sewn into the bag, yet they managed to set it up wrong. How?

Mom -  "What is that?"

Dad - "A rainfly? That's what it says."

Mom - "Do we need it? Is it gonna rain?"

As we finished dinner, we were treated to a pyrotechnics display when the dad poured camp-stove fuel unto charcoal... that was already lit. I'm not sure if he had hair when he got there but he sure didn't the next morning.


Our breakfast entertainment included dad staring mystified at the fuel tank of the brand-new camp stove, sulky teens hauling large cots and pillows (pillows!) out of the tent. They did not seem to have had a good night. I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that the tent they had was a 6-person tent and they were 5 people? 


Let me explain. In camping jargon, a 6-person tent will accommodate 6 short, thin people sleeping strictly in mummy-type sleeping bags, in a specific configuration, with no space left for rolling over, let alone gear. In reality, a 6-person tent is good for, at most, 4 persons. Cots? Pillows? Hah!


The newbie campers left the campground less than 12 hours after arrival, most of which was spent setting up and breaking down the campsite. Moral of the story? Never, ever go camping without trying out the equipment at home. Unless, of course, you want to be a source of amusement to surrounding campers.