First, let me say that they all came back home alive. I can't tell you that I was prepared for the experience of snow camping. I have never done it before, let alone be responsible for someone else's children while snow camping. It was far better than I expected. Here is a picture of me scouted up...and the expression is, "what was I thinking?"
First it was cold...it got down to 7 degrees at the location we were camping and the kicker is we all slept outside. Yep, not in tents, not in vehicles but out under a clear night sky in the Utah mountains up above Heber City. If I sound a little proud, it is because I am. The boys that went up ranged in age from 12 to 16 and it was COLD!! I can honestly say that I have never been that cold in my life and part of the reason for that is my inexperience led me to assume that plain boots were good enough.
When we got there we set up camp. They had the roads plowed but everything else was under snow. Here is a picture of the dusk arrival.
You can see in the background, the frozen Jordanelle Reservoir. There are a couple other bodies of water on the way up that actually had people out ice-fishing on them.
As far as setting up camp, everything was covered in snow. We actually had to shovel out the one picnic table and cabana we were going to eat at. The picture below is our bed.
I slept to the far left. One thing was for sure, we had good food and tons of it. For dinner we had foil dinners that the boys got to make themselves. I had cut up all the vegetables and such before we left and used a food storage sealer to pack it all up...it was a good thing too because I don't think a single one of us would have taken off our gloves to cut anything up. In the morning we had breakfast burritos....nothing is better than campfire hashbrowns...the cut up cubes, not the shredded stuff. After freezing all night, those seemed to warm everyone right up.
After breakfast, the boys got to go hang out with all the other scouts from around the area playing games and other stuff. This is a picture of all but two of the boys that went...with the steam coming off the water behind them. They were good sports.
Ok, so now for the moment that tied it all together for me...
When I was a kid I told my mom that I wanted to be an astronomer. I loved the stars and constellations. It made me feel like I was part of something big. I can fondly recall laying on my back looking up at the stars and wondering if there was someone out there that was looking back at me.
So...there I was last night freezing my butt off. All the kids were wrapped up in their bags. I did one last round to make sure they were all alive and warm. Then I climbed into my bag and tucked my frozen right foot up under my left knee. Pulled my beanie down snug, and cinched up my coat's hood around my head. Pulled a canvas tarp up over me and my sleeping bag, leaving only my eyes exposed. Exhaled a sigh of relief and there in that seven degree weather as my glasses started to un-fog was the most beautiful sky I had ever seen and for a moment I was a kid again...and it crossed my mind, I wonder if there is a Scoutmaster out there staring back a me. ;-D
It's 6PM andwe made it to the Klondike. It's still light and about 30 degrees. We are at Jordanelle State Park. We have ten scouts out to brave the cold..gotta go and get foil dinners started.
I was reading a friend's blog this evening and her vivid recounting of time she spent with her Nana touched me...thanks Elle Bee.My grandmother was such a wonderful lady. The picture above is her walking with her father on a trip to San Francisco. She loved this picture. My grandmother, loved her grandchildren. She was always so patient and kind with us.
I remember moving out here from Arizona and my mom, brother and I living with my grandma and grandpa. Everyone worked except my grandma so she would watch us when we came home from school. She was always so funny and tried to engage us. Except of course, the one hour a day, "All My Children" was on.
One of my favorite memories with my grandma is playing Chess. She taught me how to play. What was really cool about it, is how she taught me to think and plan my moves and not just randomly move pieces around the board. I look back now and think that she either had the patience of Job, or just loved me that much. I am sure it is the latter. I can recall one night, when my mom and dad were out late and grandpa had gone to bed and I told her I wanted to play all night. I'm not sure what time it was but I know I kept dosing off and my grandma kept asking me if I still wanted to play...I would assure her I wasn't falling asleep and she would keep playing.
She made me feel like I was her favorite grand kid. What made her great though, is I think everyone of her grandchildren felt that way. She helped take care of her grand children and even had them living with her until just a few months before she died. She fought breast cancer for many years and lost the battle in 2000, when my oldest was only five years old.
Though my grandmother didn't get a chance to live as long as she may have liked. I know that she would have loved and spent time with every one of her grandchildren, the same way she did with me. I also know that my children would have loved her every bit as much as I did.
I think that I surprised some people by not going to her funeral, but I truly believe that she wouldn't want anyone to be sad or cry over her. I think she would have wanted me to think about all the wonderful times and special moments we had while she was alive. That is how I choose to remember her...the beautiful woman with an open heart and a love for her family.
Thank you, Grandma.
I remember as a kid I always wanted to be Superman. I thought he was the coolest, flying around saving people, having super powers, being able to fly. I even remember several attempts at the latter involving a towel and a displaced mattress.
I am amazed at how many adults I hear comment about becoming someone else. There are the obvious desired changes...when I am thinner...when I find the right job...when I meet the right person...when the kids leave the house...when I have kids...when I retire...etc, etc. I guess it is human nature and carry over from childhood when we were told as kids that we can become anything we want if we just believe. Remember that? I even think that I have heard it a few times in the recent Presidential race. My question...is that really true can we become anything we want if we just believe?
NOPE!
It is so much more than just believing that something is possible to make it happen. Obviously. The problem is I think people lack the one thing required for change...motivation. Things don't happen just because you believe...they happen with hard work and dedicated effort, constant effort. I think that procrastination is the killer of dreams. Too many of us are waiting for the right planets to align to get up off the couch and change our lives.
Time is not our friend either...every day that passes is a day less we have to work toward who or what we want to be. Going back to my Superman days...I believed that if I wanted it bad enough I could be Superman, that led me to tie that towel around my neck and jump out that second story window onto a twin mattress...and yes I may have cried for half an hour when I bounced and hit my head on the sidewalk...but guess what...at least I got up off the couch and tried.
I just thought I would do a reality check. You know I catch a lot of flack for the stuff I post. It seems there are a few that think I post because I am looking for validation and the things I post can't really be true. I have even been told I need to return my man card in not so many words. I just wanted to set the record straight.
First, I don't need validation. My blog is an outlet for my thoughts and I suck at keeping a journal. My wife would be the only one I am trying to impress and truth is she doesn't even read my blog...this way, she isn't mortified by what I post. Actually, a few of my blogs have been brought to her attention and she come back asking, "How did so and so...know about..." All I have to say, is I blogged.
Next, I will have to admit I am more domestic than most guys...I was raised by a single mom and a grandmother while mom was working. I also have five daughters. Sue me! It gives me plenty of things to talk to them about and scores brownie points when I can handle the house when my wife is gone and not unload it on her later.
Third, all of what I post is true. Why lie about it? I may add an anecdote here and there but the content remains honest. My concern is that I am an anomaly? Are there not guys out there that do the same thing....or maybe they are afraid of what the rest of the pack will do to them if they find out their secrets.
I truly hope for all the wives out there, I am not as odd as some may have me believe.
