Thirty-five or so years ago, Kip suggested we take our sleeping bags up on Casper Mountain and sleep outside under the stars. It was fun until it rained and we had to roll up sleeping bags heavy with rainwater, put them in the trunk, and drive back home. We didn’t even get a chance to eat the fried chicken we brought with us.
A year or so later, we remembered that experience and bought a tent. We took the kids and went to Dangerfield State Park. We had been there on a day trip and had a lot of fun. They have a little pond and paddleboats to play with.
The camping trip was fun, too. In fact, we had only planned to stay two nights, but we decided since it was a long weekend, we would stay another night.
Big mistake…This time, it began to pour down rain around midnight. I was sleeping on one side of the tent, Kip was on the other side, and the boys were in the middle. Our dog, Baby Jane, was lying at our feet next to the tent opening which was zipped shut.
Craig had enjoyed a nerd milkshake at Dairy Queen along with his hamburger for dinner. Apparently his stomach didn’t like the combination. He said, “Mom, I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Kip!” I shouted, “Hurry up and unzip the door, and move Baby Jane.” He came out of a deep sleep and began to follow my instructions and then decided he wanted more information before going out into the pouring down rain in the middle of the night. The wind was blowing pretty hard as well.
Kip turned and asked, “Now why am I unzipping this and going outside?” Just then Craig got sick before Baby Jane had a chance to move out of the way. We spent the remainder of the night taking turns going outside with Craig…and the rain didn’t stop. By the time it was finally light enough for us to go to the campground’s bathrooms and clean up, Craig was feeling better and the rain had stopped. We even went out for breakfast though we made him sit closest to the door. I doubt he’s had a nerd shake since.
We tent camped a few more times before Kip started looking for a small used camper. He not only found a cute little camper, we bought a ski boat, skis, tubes and knee boards. There are a lot of lakes around Dallas and we had several summers of fun with that little camper.
We were so into boating and skiing that we decided we wanted to live by a lake so we sold our house and moved to a lake house about an hour’s drive from Dallas. Kip and I commuted for several years. He made that drive longer than I did.
We sold the little camper to a little couple. When they came to our house to pay us and get the title, our little Westie, Sadie, took everything out of the ladies purse which was sitting on the floor by the table where we were completing the transaction. She had hidden things like the ladie’s wallet all over the house without us seeing her. Kip and I were mortified as we hunted everything down.
You would think that living on the lake would be better than camping, right?
To be continued
Those 70ish Girls 