Camping Fun
This past weekend, Yvette and I went on our first group camping trip of the season with our friends at Potter’s Creek out at Canyon Lake. This marks the third year that we have gone camping with the same group.
Several years ago, when Yvette and I lived in El Paso, we would go camping in the Lincoln National Forest outside of Cloudcroft. Growing up in a family with eight kids, my family only went on one camping trip once with some other families from the YMCA. My dad and I went camping once, when I was a teenager, in the Franklin Mountains that run through the center of El Paso.
Yvette and I love camping and with our group. We try to go camping 5 or 6 times a season, although last year’s rains shutdown Canyon Lake for most of the summer and severely limited our trips.
Our group has everything down to a science. We do tent camp with water and electricity on site and showers and bathrooms within walking distance. Generally, everyone arrives on Friday evening and helps set up each others tents and lays out the campground. Friday dinner was on your own. After everything was setup, we all sat around the fire pit before going to bed. You can see the chairs in the picture below.
Yvette and I are the breakfast people and have been for all three years. We get up at 7:00 AM on Saturday and prepare coffee and all the fixings for breakfast tacos. This weekend we forgot the hash brown potatoes in the freezer at home. After breakfast, we wash the dishes and everyone catches up on their showers.
Our friends Dallas and Sara have a beautiful boat that they bring along. So, after breakfast and showers, we generally head out to the lake. This last weekend was a little cool and drizzling, so we hung out in camp until after lunch of sandwiches. Yvette and I walked around the campgrounds and inspected other lots for a trip with just her and I and the dogs. Afterwards, about half of us headed out on the lake for a tour. All of us got a little sunburned because we did think of using sun block because the sky was overcast. I did sun block on my bald head but forgot my arms. After a while, I ended up napping in the bow of the boat while Dallas taught Yvette how to pilot. You can see the two of them in the picture below. Later, Dallas commented that “Yvette sure likes to go fast!” After a while, we dropped off the girls and Dallas, Rudy, and I took another turn around the lake.
When we got back, the other campers had already started dinner. Now, dinner is one place we definitely do not rough it. On this trip it was “bring your own steak” and someone else would provide all the sides. For dinner we feasted on steak, shrimp prepared three different ways, grilled potatoes one with mushroom and other with onions, grilled vegetables also prepared two different ways. Later that evening, Sara prepared a campground desert with corn flakes, peanut butter, and corn syrup that was just incredible.
On Sunday, Yvette and I prepared breakfast again. The weather did not look like it was going to clear up, and it even drizzled a little, so everyone left around 10:00 AM. Despite the weather, it was still a great camping trip. We are already planning for our next trip for mid-May!
