Spring Break 2011 -Camping in TX

When camping the most important thing to remember is the rainfly. Fortunately, our camping trip was dry and warm, the temp. gave a feeling so disorienting, it being March and 80 degrees. The lesson of the trip was that Gray's little frame cannot support s'mores after 6pm and be sleepy enough to retire by 8:30p. He was like a ferrel cat in the tent the first night. Imagine a Jimi Hendrix concert although replace the broken guitar with a head-banging/flying pillow. Nature is so refreshing, uplifting, and rejuvenating for me. If I could choose what my kids remember about their childhoods it would include a love for the natural world. I find with anything you can not love what you do not know. Experience is a great teacher and nature is an environment we can't control, and becomes a place of freedom. Freedom to explore, to be messy, to create, to feel alive. ...(more thoughts another day)

We created a game of "leave no trace" at the campsite, I've never had two kids so eager to clean up. They are learning that we share the outdoors with other animals and it's impolite to leave trash in someone else's home. I am intensely passionate about my connection to mother earth and I feel her spirit when I abide with her.
S'mores are far and away the highlight of camping for my family. The kids would do just about anything I asked if we ended everyday with s'mores. There is something special about sitting around a fire waiting for the wood to burn down to beautiful red coals. The foundation of a great s'more is the right fire.

My grandfather is a bit of an arsonist, (he he he) I grew up with the annual deer hunt, a week in Northern Utah with nature, family, guns, and fires. Thinking of it now reminds me of the generations of people, my people, that came before me and influenced who I've become. So my grandfather, a wanderlust spirit like myself, was a master fire builder. His motto, the bigger the fire the better. He was less concerned about the amount of wood available as with the massive sage brush bushes surrounding the campsite. Thinking back, I can't honestly believe we never started a forest fire. He was the person in my life that taught me about red coals and their importance in the creation of the great s'more. You start with a giant fire, (when camping with my grandfather) and you patiently watch as the fire reduces down to glowing red coals, you separate any partially burnt wood and make a circle with the coals extinguishing any existing flames. The coals provide the heat necessary to heat the marshmallows while reducing the risk of starting your arm on fire by getting close enough to cook.

I love my grandfather for teaching me about fires and s'mores, the greater lesson I learned was by watching him mix knowledge and a wild spirit to create memories that have lasted a lifetime.