The end of Family Camp is drawing near. Two couples left this morning, with more families, including ours, heading out tomorrow. But Monday and Tuesday were crammed with excursions possible only in these mountains.
A hardy crew consisting of four members of our generation (including Hiram) and four or five energetic representatives of the generation below them, spent Monday climbing a mountain. Yes, you read that right. After an early breakfast, they packed lunches and went up the mountain. At the summit they ate all their food, took naps and did the whole trip in reverse, arriving back at camp shortly after we sane people finished supper. Suffice it to say, they all slept well Monday night.
Another Monday group, those of us who gave up long ago on imitating Jeremiah Johnson and any other mountain men and are not enamored with heights, pain, breathless gasping, sweat, and sore feet went berry picking. Seven, myself included, picked huckleberries on a mountainside. Three others picked raspberries from a neighbor’s patch. We picked gallons of both berries and all of us, including the mountain climbers who brought back only dirty socks, enjoyed fresh berries on ice cream.
Tuesday, Anne’s birthday, was spent at a nearby amusement park, not much different than similar venues on the prairie, so it’s not getting much press. But this morning, we had huckleberry pancakes with huckleberry syrup for breakfast. After that lovely meal, a trip to the women’s bathroom yielded one small dog named Emeny, property of Alaisyah age six, trapped within.
Alaisyah is much relieved to have her dog in tow again, and has since turned all her attention to the anticipation of dessert on this last full day of Family Camp – huckleberry pizza. It’s a wonderful thing to look forward to, kind of like tomorrow morning, when we’ll anticipate next year’s family camp as soon as we wave good-bye.
