Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at this computer completely bored and listless. I couldn’t find anything interesting to read. I also tried to read a book but just couldn’t concentrate on it. I decided to pack up some food and my gear and head out into the country to go camping. I needed to get my head out of the house for awhile and spend some time with nature. I donned my backpack and made my way out spring road with beautiful spring views greeting me. It was a pleasantly warm afternoon in the low eighties.
I set up camp amidst some hardwood trees a few miles from the main road. Well away from any habitation. I then went about the hunt for fallen dead wood for a fire. After about an hour of searching, I had a big pile and started a fire. My stomach was eager for some nourishment so I started supper which consisted of scrambled eggs and bacon cooked over the fire. I also boiled some water on my camp stove and cooked some instant grits w/ cheese. I do so enjoy breakfast for supper sometimes and it just seems to taste better and more filling when you are camping for some reason.
After supper, I sat by the fire listening to my radio and smoking my pipe. It was a beautiful evening as the sun set with brilliant hues of orange and yellow. The far off call of a Dove made me feel lonesome with its mournful sound. I sometimes wish I could find a companion who shared my zeal for these types of endeavors. It would be nice to talk about life and other sundry things as we sat around a crackling campfire.
The computer generated weather band announcer warned of strong thunderstorms approaching along a cold front. I gathered all my gear and put it into my tent in preparation. I still couldn’t hear the far off rumbles of thunder yet. Soon darkness had fallen and I crawled into the sleeping bag in my tent. I was very tired and was soon fast asleep.
Around midnight I was awoken to the far off sound of thunder. I unzipped my tent door and sat at the threshold. Far off flashes of lightning lit up the dark horizon. Before long the storm was upon me with a torrential rain. I wrapped back up in my sleeping bag listening to the great commotions going on around me. I finally drifted off back to sleep.
I awoke again around 3am and it was still softly raining. My sleeping bag was soaking wet. I was lying in a puddle of water. I had forgotten to seam seal this brand new tent and it had leaked during the night. I cursed under my breath and changed into some dry clothes. I couldn’t go back to sleep in that wet sleeping bag and still had three more hours till the sky started to lighten. The sun rises at 7:00 AM EST this time of the year. So I just sat there kind of miserable trying to stay out of the puddle of water that was forming at the center of my tent. As soon as the sky started to grow light, I packed up all my gear and headed home. I had a grand time other than waking up soaking wet.
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