The Eclectic Lapidary is currently undergoing renovation.
We'll have new issues soon!
INDEX
|
How To Make Your
Campsite A Castle
|
Introduction to a Series on Comfortable Camping
Set your time machine to 11 o'clock on a glorious Saturday morning about three weeks ago. I had been working at my Sparc station for four hours already when I decided that I just had to get away. I couldn't stand it one more minute. So I shut down my
system and ran for my truck. Not even my rubber chicken deterred me from my goal.
When I got home, daughter Katherine was just stumbling out of her room. I looked deep into her sleep crossed eyes and said clearly, "Answer the question with a yes or no. Do you want to go camping?"
The kid's got smarts, even when she's not fully functional. She said 'yes'. I told her that we were leaving right now and to get her gear together, also getting dressed would be nice but not a major problem as far as I was concerned.
Well, an hour later we were on our way. Having made a massive raid on our favorite Chinese takeout prior to hitting the freeway, we were ready for some time outside. When Katherine woke up enough to ask where we were going I told her that Lassen
Volcanic National Park was our destination. Only 5 to 6 hours away, no big problem.
The drive was fortunately uneventful and the scenery around Mt. Lassen lifted our spirits immeasurably. It only took a few minutes to get our campsite set up when we got to the campground. Actually, it took a little longer than I planned to get into the
area, so we stopped at a state run campground rather than going on any further. We sat in the clear, sweet smelling air, sipping orange spice tea and just letting ourselves unwind. I looked at Katherine and said, 'You know, it doesn't take much effort
to turn your campsite into a castle.'
Well, we stared at each other for a second and started laughing together. She said that I had to write a series of articles on how to do just that. We spent the remainder of the evening brainstorming, making notes, and having fun with the idea. So here
we are.
This is actually the intro to a series of articles and stories on how to camp confortably. I'm going to throw technical stuff and funny stuff together into what I hope will be a useful series that will give my readers a better understanding of just how
they can go any where and live gracefully. Or at least survive with a minimum of comfort. I do and so can you.
In the coming months I will cover information on fire, food, activities, site selection (or how to not camp on top of an ant hill), hygiene, tools, medicine, clothing, maps, and much more. If you have ideas or topics that I haven't covered so far, let me
know.
Well, Katherine and I had a nifty campout at Mt. Lassen. We slept in comfort, ate well (Chinese for breakfast works for me), saw cute wildlife, played in the snow banks on the way to the top of the mountain, and generally had a grand time before heading
back to the insanity that is city life. I can't wait to do it again.
Bon Voyage!
Jan Noble
The Steel Magnolia
|
|
Copyright, 1997 by Jan Noble
|
Writer, traveler, contract E/M designer, rockhound and Mom are only a few of the descriptions that apply to Jan Noble. When not on assignment, she lives in Atlanta with her
husband, two daughters, ten cats and two dogs.
Jan is a genuine lover of geology and enjoys taking her
children with her on field trips when ever time permits. She
always has rocks in her pockets and time to hear a good story.
Besides filling her time with rock hunting, writing and work,
she tutors her youngest daughter in home school. She's a
loving mother and talented writer.
Jan can be reached at inthewind@mindspring.com.
|
|
