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| The boys' tent |
We had so much fun the last time we went to Horseshoe Canyon camping that the boys decided they wanted to go to the exact same spot. It took a little effort to get there as it gets dark early now and Aaron was having trouble with his 4 wheel drive not wanting to do what it was supposed to. We met at the Fox Creek Parking lot at 5000 S. Those who came were Kiowa (Old Reliable), Chase (Chewy Chocolate Chumpy Chunky Chewy Chase or just Chumpy), Gabren (Gabrenator) and Josh (Tall Mr. Teapot). Leaders were myself, Andrew and Aaron. We missed Dalton, Zach, Robert and Bowdy.
There was as much snow there this time as there was the last time we were there but at least this time it wasn't actually dumping wet snow on us. As there were only 4 boys they decided to set up just one tent. We had brought the wall tent but it didn't look like it would get very cold so we didn't worry about setting it up. Josh ended up sleeping in his dad's truck.
The highlight of the trip was dinner where we had decided to do tinfoil dinners. We got the fire going and after awhile had enough coals to cook them. They smelled really good. Tinfoil dinners have really evolved. I did not have much time to put much effort into mine. I grabbed some hamburger out the freezer and whacked a hunk off it, then opened a bag of frozen hashbrowns and dumped that in. The only other thing I could find was green beans in a can so I opened that and put a few of those in with a big lump of butter. It turned out good, but the boys' had shrimp and steak, bratwurst, potatoes in ranch dressing with chicken etc. As mine was frozen I had to wait longer to let mine cook and my stomach was growling really bad, especially after Kiowa gave me a bite of his. It was really good and made me only hungrier.
Around the campfire I gave 2 scoutmaster minutes. The first was a scripture in Revelations about being hot or cold and not lukewarm. If you are lukewarm the Lord will just spit you out. It basically means, are you truly committed to doing what is right? And to stop sitting on the fence. Be true both at church and when you are not at church. The second minute was about the need for them to prepare now for missions as there are a lot missionaries that come home these days. If they are committed and prepared they are less likely to come home if they go on a mission.
The boys went to bed fairly early and only talked until around 10:30, not the usual 5 am business. It was so quiet and peaceful there. The clouds were clearing off and the moon was coming out making it very bright. It was a beautiful night. After me and Aaron and Andrew had stood around the fire talking until 11:00 pm about we decided to go to bed. I had brought my bivy sack and so just put my pad and sleeping bag in it and slept in the snow. I was quite cozy. Aaron and Andrew used the insulated tarps and just slept in them. I woke up in the middle of the night and the stars were out and the trees were all silvery. Wow, that makes sleeping in the snow all the more worthwhile. I dreamed coyotes were running through the camp but it turns out they were just yapping somewhere as they do.
I woke up about 6:45 and laid around as I didn't want to get out of the warm coziness. I could hear Aaron tromping around already and then he turned on his diesel pump, which sounded like a squawking dinosaur, to get some diesel to get the fire going. So I reluctantly crawled out. After the fire was going I woke up the boys and we had a good "Mountain Man" breakfast. The funny thing, we decided, was the mountain men probably never used sausage, eggs, hashbrowns and tortilla shells to make a breakfast. We cleaned up and went home after that. Aaron had to take his truck to his shop and get his 4 wheel drive fixed but other than that things were uneventful and it was a very enjoyable campout.
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| Aaron's tarp |
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| My bivy sack over by my truck with the kitchen in the foreground |
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| Andrew rolling up his tarp that he slept on. |
