The Hippy and I, along with several others, have a rapidly approaching camping trip.  Its a survivalist test at the most basic of levels, but we aren't going to be dining on tree bark stew and roasted termites!  While we do taste the available natural foods, we don't depend on them.  It would not be fair to the wildlife that actually do live there for us to consume the resources unnecessarily.  Instead, we will dine on normal camping foods. 

Some of the campers on this trip will be new to our little camp gang.  I hope they find it fun, challenging, and interesting too.  There is some light-hearted fun, like the "redneck bus" as I dubbed the peculiar arrangement of trailer, 4 wheeler, bungee cords, and camp chairs that was used to take us to a more distant point on the river.  There are certain campers and their amazing fondness for the peach fritters I make with canned peaches, cinnamon, and some pancake mix.  There is the funny looks and reaction that someone whining "its cold" gets from Reddog as I am thawing out the frozen coffee pot for some hot morning coffee.  Sissy, the smaller dog, and her habit of burying her "extra" treats for later consumption provides everyone with ample humor as she attempts to hide, disguise, camoflage, and simultaneously protect her secret stash.

We will work with our flints and steels to make fire, we'll sample what we can scrounge out of the woods for a "meal", even though we all realize what we have collected is totally inadequate to actually feed anyone for a day, its done merely as an object lesson and a reminder of what is edible at this time of year.  We will sample "survival" and "backpacker" foods, some commercial, some made at home, and decide what is good...and what need improvement.  We will also pool supplies and create some group meals out of what we have along, which isn't a bad survival tactic anyhow!

And there will be coffee, tea, and hot cocoa to help us cope with the cold (if it gets cold--we've had unseasonably warm weather so far.)  We will sit around the campfire and talk, and if I get cold and sit with my feet stretched out towards the fire, I invariably fall asleep and amuse everyone with my oblivious snoring.  I have to admit, I don't have insomnia in camp!  (I also don't have a cell phone signal or a signal for the laptop's aircard)

I look forward to each trip with its own unique season and weather, the mix of people that come along, and the adventures we share while we are there.