Forties File Friday - Camping 2

JILL

Camping... lots of memories.. i have to say..
what stands out for me is...
our treks across the states.. i have few and faint memories of the early trek to canada, at least i think thats when it was, i would have been 3.. but i remember snippets.
i also remember faint snippets of hornby in the early years.. 1970.. the driftwood furniture, the foxgloves, the mosquitos, the grassy meadows and groves of trees, and the lagoon.. ( john , i dont know what cabin you are remembering, the cabin wasnt bought til 1983.)
but !!! i remember vividly.... KOA !! ( i learned later it stood for " Kampgrounds Of America" ) they were the best!! and so varied as far as the services, the terrain, the experience, from rustic and sparse to fancy, like with outdoor swimming pools, games room, convenient stores, playgrounds, laundromat.. it was so exciting to pull up and check in, after many days on the road, cooped up in the bus.. it was like a holiday, to run around, have a real shower, play, swim, and scope out the place to make new friends. i am certain that mum and dad didnt have a holiday, there was laundry, cleaning, and chores, which the older ones were expected to help with of course.. and dad often did bus repairs.. the bummer was that we didnt get to stay long, it was pretty much an overnight pit stop, to get things ready for another long stint on the road. i recall the summer, that we went to Los alomos, new mexico, for dad to work there for the summer... we stayed put for weeks on end,.. we started at a golf course where we were allowed to park at the edge of it for a while, it was right next to an outdoor public pool, we swam everyday, so we stayed clean, but apart from that, there wasnt much to do.. then the church said we could park in their parking lot. so we stayed there,, again we were going stir crazy..it was 1976.. i was 10, so john would be 14, jim 13, and so on.. sparky was a baby, learning to walk... jim was into pyramid power, creating paper pyramids, and placing them over is food, making us do taste tests, trying to convince everyone, and himself, that things tasted better after they sat under the power of the pyramid.. he hung one from the cupboards at the back of the bus, over his bed.. (mum i think there is a photo of jim sitting in the bus with one on his head)
then after sufficient bus fever, living in parking lots under the scorching summer sun in the desert.. dad drove our bus up into the mountains.. i remember that day..it was beautiful , it reminded me of home, for the first time in weeks, there were tall trees and shade,,it was a lot cooler up in the mountains, it was a forest ! but, not quite like home, but it was a real campsite., with little roads, and sites and picnic tables. we had the place to ourselves, for some reason, we were the only campers.. just us, empty campsites and lots of squirrels.. there were no kid playgrounds or services.. it was rustic camping in the woods, but we had the bus, and nature, and space to run around.. i remember following squirrels trying to get as close as possible and take their pictures. so dad left us there, and came back at the end of the week.. i think we stayed there 2 weeks.

i recall camping trips with the young womens group from church,, i have mixed feelings about those.. mostly fun, except the time that a certain sister from our ward, that will remain un-named, was the worst camp mum ever!!! we starved, and were treated like crap, did nothing but camping chores, and the money that we had paid for the camping costs, surely did not get spent on food, cause there was none!. but the other groups felt sorry for us, and would sneak us food.. we had to camp in our small individual groups, no big group meals, we only got together at night at the fireside, which was our only good thing in the day, and even then, it was like we couldnt have fun, she was out to get us !! then she would cry, because she knew we werent liking her, that was a trip from ' you know where' !!
i have mixed feelings about another camp i attended in oregon.. i was 12. i agreed to go on a teenage girl trip, ages ranged from 14-17,,, i was given special permission to go because!!!..... my aunti janet and aunt nancy were the camp leaders !!! thats right the portland relatives!!,..i went on a 1 week trek up and over mount hood , through the summer heat, then the snow on the top.. it was an incredibly hard trip.. i dont know how i survived.. probably the kindness from the other girls, they took pity on me, as i was the ' baby' of the group.. we had to carrry all of our belongings on our backs, and help carry the camping supplies.. we ate dried astronaut food, just add water.. and beef jerky, drank water out of metal canteens... and i did not comb my hair for the entire week... at the end of the trip, we reached our destination.. civilization at last !!! i think it was ski chalets.. there was lights, and running water, and real food.. i remember it being a great night.. the girls all took turns in brushing the knots out of my hair.. it took hours !!...
sorry about the wordy recollections..