Truth is Stranger than Fiction

What you are about to hear is true, absolutely true, and I won't even tell you that the names have been changed to protect the innocent because I'm not mentioning names

It's Memorial Day weekend, and for my family that means camping. 

When my hubby and I first married, he had a tent that fit two.  We progressed (mostly because of the suitcase I insisted on bringing) to a two room tent.  Then, I got pregnant.  Did you know when you're pregnant and camping in a tent, it's really REALLY a pain to roll off the ground every ten minutes in the middle of the night because nature calls.  Yup, you guessed  it.  We got a pop-up.  We still have it for our short camping trips. 

Now we have a camper (think bathroom and stove).  The reason why my husband agreed is because our camping trips are for longer periods of time and if he wants me fully vested, I want the potty.

So, we've been camping since Wednesday with lots of camping friends.

The chain of events you are about to read is true.  They happened yesterday.

1. Early Morning: Married couple (Grandma and Grandpa) leave tent behind to drive to Big City to attend graduation party.

2. After Dinner: Mother A (not her real name) heads to nearest town (twenty miles away - not really a town, more a spot) for trivial reason.

3. After Dessert: Child bitten in head by over excited dog (Don't worry, child is fine we now know).

4. Mother B tosses child in truck, heads for nearest big town for hospital.

5. Instead: Mother B drives off road and her truck goes down an embankment.

6. Two minutes later: Mother A finds Mother B and rescues her and drives her to hospital.
7.  After stitches, Mother B turns child over to Grandpa and Grandma who were not supposed to return camping until following day but who decided to return early.  They spend night in hotel while Mother B returns to campstie and other children.
8. Next day, tow truck pulls Mother B's truck from embankment and NOT a STRATCH.

Isn't God amazing.

If I put this in a book, would you believe me?

What a Weekend

Pamela Tracy here. Every Memorial Day weekend, most of my family packs up and heads to the Coconino Forest near Flagstaff. Two reasons: holiday and temperatures (think 105 in Phoenix, 82 in forest). This past week, we got to leave early and camp for six days. What fun. What we do most is jump on our quads and explore the unknown.

So, picture me on a quad with a thick helmut and goggles eating dust for 45 mile rides. Sometimes music plays in my head. It is usually country. But, most of the time, I'm plotting. I mean, think of it. I'm basically following my husband and son up one bump and down the other. I've got literally six hours to do nothing but think. This past weekend, well, I thought up a new chapter two and now my old chapter two is chapter three. Oh, and a little brother just became a key player. And, I have to decide which was more dangerous in 1915, being bi-polar or being manic depressant. The good news is, I didn't change any names but I did change states: from Alabama to Kansas. I also changed my heroine's job from factory worker to nanny. I'm set to rumble!!!!

Nuff said. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. As a writer (I got 11 pages!) and a reader (I read three whole books!), camping is a blast.

Oh, you want to know what I did the moment I got home: SHOWER.

A Yurting we will go!

Okay, I will admit it. I'm a bit of a prissy girl. Not overly but enough that the very idea of camping, as in a tent and cook stove gives me hives. Thankfully my husband isn't into camping either. And until we had our kids, my husband and my idea of roughing it was not having reservations. But when you have kids, you want to take them to the great outdoors so they can develop an appreciation for nature. My parents did that with me, only we stayed in a trailer so even then we weren't really camping. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have these wonderful things called Yurts. I grew up in California and had never heard of one, but when a friend explained what they were, I was all for it. The futon style beds inside aren't the most comfortable, but they are off the floor. The round, walled structure has a heater, electricity and table and chairs. There are several parks throughout Oregon and Washington that have yurt villages. The yurts are relatively inexpensive and I'll admit it, a fun way to enjoy the outdoors.