Camping Trip

A few days ago my sister called me on my cell phone.
 She casually asked what I was up to.
I told her:
"Well, I'm sitting under an umbrella in my swimsuit, next to a lake, watching the kids swim and reading a Hamish Macbeth mystery."

There was a long pause and then she replied,
"Yeah, I got nothin'."

Normally when she calls I'm in the middle of getting dinner ready or running errands or cleaning house or educating my children.
So it was kinda nice to have something fun to report! 


The Man of the House was adamant (not Adam Ant, just to clarify)  that we take one last camping trip before school begins.  We had camped earlier in the summer but when the new school year looms before me, I usually want to 'batten down the hatches' so to speak and get everything in gear.   
I truly didn't feel like taking off to go camping.   

I enjoy camping, I really do.  But it isn't just camping for me.  It's also packing and unpacking and washing enormous amounts of laundry when we return. 
 Even if we pack lightly.
However, to please my wonderful husband, I said I would go...and we had a great time.

 

We camped at John Martin Reservoir.  To use their own description: 
Sometimes called a sapphire on the plains, John Martin is a peaceful paradise in which people play, birds flock and wildlife roams. The park is close to historic landmarks, yet remote enough to attract year-round nature and recreation lovers to stay and explore.

It's an interesting place.  In some ways, it reminded me of the Australian Outback with its rugged landscape, blistering heat and the almost constant buzzing of Locusts. 

 
All we needed was the sound of a didgeridoo, Ayers Rock, and a  kangaroo or three. 

We swam, we fished,  applied and reapplied sunscreen,  ate loads of junk food, cooked over a fire and just relaxed.

It was heaven.