Summer Dreams, Summer Memories, Camping

Long ago and far away, 

There was a young girl,

who loved the outdoors,

(OK, I still love the outdoors, and it wasn't really THAT long ago)

It is a rainy day today, I am inside cozy with a fire in the fireplace and My Sweet Husband keeping me company. We were talking, about Summer. You see, Summer is coming! I know it will be a while, but it is coming. 

 This is me in the Summer when I was about 19. 

This is how I see myself.

We were on a camping trip in Southern Utah. 

 That brings me to the topic of this post.

Camping!

Old Faithful Inn - Yellowstone 

There are many ways to camp. Some people would consider staying in Yellowstone National Park as camping out. Here you see My Sweet Husband looking down from the balcony inside Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn a few years ago.

Old Faithful Inn Interior

As you can see, he is really roughing it. 

He has taken me to Yellowstone twice, we did not actually camp out on either trip. The first time, we stayed at the Inn but you do not have to be a guest to enjoy the lobby. 

Yellowstone National Park 

Guest Cabins at Canyon

The second time we stayed in one of the cabins at Canyon. Inside they are modern hotel rooms with the usual amenities. Their excellent staff keeps them nice and clean. Still not really camping though.

(Yellowstone does have campgrounds, we just did not take advantage of them) 

 Camping early 1960's

The gentleman on the right is Ed Hile, His wife Frankie is next to him. They were my parents best friends (they introduced them). I believe the lovely lady on the left is my Aunt Bonnie. 

This is how my parents camped. 

Well, we did go for walks with me Dad and of course the adults cooked over the campfire or on the old Coleman Stove.  We slept in the camper (wish I had a picture of that!). It was one of those that went on the back of a pickup truck. The top hung over the cab and I believe the back stuck out past the tailgate too.  My parents also had a huge green tent with three rooms, I don't remember actually camping in it. 

Deer Hunting

Not sure who these guys are this was in with my parents slides. I know it was a deer hunting trip as they are wearing red jackets and red hats. When I was a kid the red was required. Later it went to bright orange. I do not know if that is still the rule in the Rockies, or not, but back then it was.  

 Camping in the pickup

This is another one from my parent's slides. I'm not sure who this is but she looks familiar (hey family, if you know who any of these are, let me know). Note how the tarp is tied over the pickup and the fire has a wire rack up on bricks. Camping with all the amenities.

Jump forward a few decades... 

1969 VW Camper Van with Pop Top up

That is My Sweet Husband standing next to it.  

This was his ride when we met, he picked me up for our first date in it. Here we are at a Rainbow Family Gathering in 1983. We think the conversion was by Westphalia. It was quite cozy. We went all over the country in this thing. Sink with running water, an ice box, two tables and a back seat that folded into a bed. 

1969 VW Camper with top up

Here it is from the side with the door open. We hung curtains for shade and if you look you can see the back door is open. Do you see the little white shelf? That folded up to give him a spot to put the Coleman stove.  

I think the technical term for this is Freak Bus.

That is me standing next to it. It looks like they could sit up on top if they wanted too. Some of these buses are very elaborate inside and some are simple.  

VW Ford Marriage

I have seen several versions of this. Some have VW bugs or other vehicles welded to the top to give then a second story. The drivers really have to know what they are doing. These festival sites are not always on smooth easy roads. 

Now, my heart looks at all the space and comfort, and I think Wow, we should have brought a Double Decker back from Britain. Then my mind takes back over. The drivers not only need to know how to maneuver these rigs, most know how to fix them as well. I wonder how far they have to go out of their way to avoid low bridges. 

Freak Bus!

This one has a great paint job. Looks like it used to be a school bus. Speaking of which, we met a family living in one just a couple of years ago The UnSchool Bus. It is nice to know some are still out there.  

Freak bus with stove

As you can see, this one has a stove pipe coming out the window. Some of their owners live in them year round.  

Bus

There are all sorts of modifications. Not enough head room? Raise the roof. Creativity is the key.  

They Eyes Have it

Hand made

This one is on wheels as well. We have a copy of a great book 

Rolling Homes: Handmade Houses on Wheels 

If you are looking for inspiration.

You can also go to google images and put in Camping vehicles

 Evening on the road

This is My Sweet Husband again, somewhere on this road that is our life together. This is one of my favorite pictures. Have I told you before that I am a very lucky girl. We are still traveling together.

Old VW Van

This one was parked at the grocery store not long ago. When something is on the road this long, it is because people love it. 

1985 Volkswagon Camper Van

This is a Westphalia conversion. As you can see it has a bigger pop top. It has the sink with running water, a refrigerator that runs off propane or electricity while you are driving, sink with running water, two burner propane stove and it sleeps 4 comfortably. This was ours for several years. When we finally let it go, it was to someone else who loves it.

It comes to visit once in a while. 

Digital VW Van 

Remember this? 

Modern VW Euro Van Camper

Not sure what year this is. It was parked in front of the Corolla up on the Blue Ridge. This is the last model. VW stopped making camper vans in 2003. I am sure they are comfortable, and the people who own them, love them. They just are not as cute!

Veggie Dogs on the fire

You don't have to wait for summer to eat camping food. Who says campfires have to be outdoors?

Tasty breakfast, am I spoiled or what?

Speaking of cute

Spontaneous the cat

Spontaneous is not really interested in camping. 

She just wants to make sure we don't forget to feed the cat.

Hope you enjoyed.

Cheers

Kat

& 

Spontaneous

Life is good

There are signs of the change in season all over. Some, like this snake skin we found draped across the bottom of one of the columns, are fairly obvious (yes, the columns need paint, we are working on that, old houses need constant attention, it is part of their charm). Another, less obvious sign is the, at this point, small addition to the girth of the cat. Around here, kitties tend to fatten up for the winter.

Changes in the seasons tend to inspire me. One of my recent projects is this necklace. I have hunted out the animals one or two at a time over several years. Part of the fun is the hunt, another part is remembering all the places we found them. Some came from a lapidary shop in New Orleans, some from Asheville as well as many other places. All the animals are either semi-precious stones or bone.

As late as the season is, some things are still in bloom. I took this photo when we went for a walk the other day. I love this bush, the leaves are different colors and the flowers are so delicate.

Here is another sign of fall. This vine climbs on an old bit of fence in the yard. We don't have any need for the enclosure and the vine looks nice so we leave it alone. Soon, all the leaves will be red.
Last week I mentioned the wild grapes, this week I got a photo before we picked. There was only a double handful, they sure are good. My marigolds are blooming again. I particularly like this photo.

Another wonderful thing about this time of year is Camping! Once again, the temperatures have dipped far enough to make sleeping outside pleasant. This little yellow flower was near our camp site last night. We have camping down to an art form. The van stays partially packed so we don't need much more than half an hours notice to hit the road. Our favorite camping sites are within thirty minutes of the house. Love living next to the National Forest! We practice no trace camping.

The van is quite versatile. This was our cozy nest last night. The temperature was perfect, I actually put a sweatshirt on when we first got up this morning. The bed folds back up into a bench seat. There is plenty of built in storage and there are two tables (we only use the one). The van is a classic 1985 Volkswagen Westfalia. Westfalia refers to the interior package. It converts to sleeping arrangement in just a few minutes. When we lived in Britain, we owned a VW Van with a "Devon Conversion" It took forever to set up the bed! It is also a lot harder to find camping spots over there so we did not keep it for long.
I just finished breakfast and have run out of tea so I suppose I should hit publish and get some school work done. I am working this weekend so I hope everyone has a happy Labor day.

Kat

p.s. let me know what you think of the Autumn banner at the top of the blog.

Camping out

This photo is scanned from one of my parent's old slides. This is my Dad with one of his old pickups. He loved being out in the woods too.

One of the many wonderful things about living here, is the ability to go camping with very little hassle. We have had plenty of practice so it takes almost no time to pack up and there are several great spots within easy driving distance. We all enjoy being outside (does that surprise anyone)?

My earliest camping memory comes from when I was about 3 or 4 years old. Mom, Dad, Margaret,Pete, Paula and I all went camping.

At that time we had a camper that sat in the
bed of Dad's pickup. I think it was one of the type that extends above the cab. Mom and Dad slept in the bed. Margaret and Paula slept on the floor, Pete slept outside, (I am pretty sure he

volunteered, If I was 4 then he was 11). I slept in a strange cot arrangement, suspended above my parents bed. There were, I believe supposed to be three beds up there, green canvas cots separated by the poles that supported them. If I turned sideways, the supports would scoot together and I would be stuck. (I wonder if that was something my Dad came up with, he could fix anything, but not all of his ideas were perfect)I thought it was neat, but I know why I was the only one who "got" to sleep up there.

The other thing I remember about that trip is the flowers. I was over by the river, (not much more than a brook at that point and I was well supervised) there were some kind of flowers that were taller than me. I don't know what kind they were, I think they were white. They seemed magical, I pretended that I had somehow shrunk to fairy size. (This turtle visited us at home the other day)

I wandered in till I was completely hidden by the blossoms. I turned around in a slow circle, all I could see were the flowers and the sky. There were light fluffy clouds, that seemed close enough to touch and that deep blue that you only find high in the mountains.

I was really enjoying my fairy fantasy. When I was deep into the flower patch. I leaned closer to smell one of the flowers and WOW, the biggest fattest bee I had ever seen in my short little life climbed out of the flower! That guy was BIG. I ran.

The bee in this photo hitchhiked back home with us from our latest camping trip. He rode home on the inside of the van. When we found him, my sweet hubby convinced him to climb onto this paper plate so I could take a close up. Not bad. So fuzzy!
I remember a lot of camping trips with the Girl Scouts. Paula and I were in the same Junior troop for a while. The local Girl Scout Council had army surplus tents that we used. They were designed like Tee Pees with one central pole and lots of stakes. Not at all hard to put up. That is a good thing, they are also not at all hard to "accidentally" knock down. After one trip the leaders made I and Paula sleep in the same tent. I don't know why they would suspect us? I guess this is where I admit my part of all that. It was fun. Wonder if the other girls remember it.

Our troop was made up of girls from several different religions. Since some girls were not allowed Hot Chocolate, amongst other things, our leaders served Hot TANG in the morning. (Remember TANG, it is what the Astronaut's drank!) When ever I mention this to another adult, who is not from there, they are horrified. It was actually quite good. Kids like the idea. When I was a leader and I told our troop about the Hot Tang, they voted to try it on our next camping trip. They liked it and it went on all our trips after that.

I don't have a photo of the tang, but one of the old slides from my parents, shows someone making coffee over the campfire.

These yellow flowers look a lot like berry
blossoms.

Camping when I was a kid was always in the Rocky mountains. The Rocky's don't feel at all like the Smoky Mountains. The Smoky mountains and the part of South Carolina where we live and camp are very green. The Rocky's are a lot dryer. The trees, plants and small animals are all just a little different. Some day I am going to camp in even more places. (I will take pictures and write about it here)
This wonderful old tree is out behind the house.

This daisy was at our campsite this weekend. When I first saw it I did not realize why it was so lacy. It has been munched, but it is still pretty.
These tiny flowers grow next to the well house my hubby built. They are less than an inch tall and yet so cheerful.

remarkable specimen. Summer is just around the corner.
Wonder if I can talk someone into making some berry pancakes before long?

Hope your weekend was a good one. I finished my last test of the semester today so my week is off to a great start.

Any camping memories you would like to share?

Kat

Sunday Morning

I have gotten a little behind with this, I can't believe it has been 6 days already. To make up for it, I will post extra pictures. We went camping again last night. I didn't take the camera because of the heat. Our high temps are in the 90's right now and that is not good for batteries. We had a lovely evening and slept well.






This morning when we got home, I was greeted by the most lovely and intense scent. My magnolia tree is going nuts. It is covered with blossoms.



The first photo is a bud, I call them cups because I love to stick my nose in and just drink in the scent. This one is
about the same size as my tea mug. You have to do this
cautiously as we share our home with a hive of wild bees.






I will admit to being afraid of bees, but we have come to
to an understanding, I leave them alone and they leave me alone. We thought about having them removed but apparently, bees are in danger from some sort of mite. Our wild bees are doing well so far and we have been advised to leave them alone. I am still afraid of them, but I like having them around. I like the sound they make when they all hum together. I am even getting quite brave with the camera, although they are apparently camera shy. I had to take several photos to get this one.


I was sitting on the porch with a cup of tea and enjoying the early morning concert from the bees and the birds, when I spotted another visitor. This little guy currently lives in a planter full marigolds on my porch steps. He yawned and posed so sweetly for me. He doesn't make any noise when he blows up his neck sack, I think it is some kind of mating ritual, sort of like putting on a tie.




The last photo is him on the rim of his home. With that, I will sign off for now. My sweetheart says pancakes are ready!

Wild rose

Here are a couple
more photos. Took these while I was on a walk. The lizard let me get this close, then he took off.

We are planning on camping soon, hopefully I will find more cooperative wildlife. Last time we went camping, I did not take my camera and we saw a black squirrel.

We have a lovely old VW van that we love to camp in. This will be the first time my husband and I have camped without the children since before they were born. Weird, very weird.

On another weird note, one of the bird nests on our porch was just knocked down by something. My husband says he thinks it was a black snake. Either way, the nest is empty.