Camping

In just a few days we will be going deer hunting again. Its our only "vacation" that we ever leave town for more than a day. We will be gone about 3 or 4 days, depending on if the men tag out.

The place that we go is only about maybe 60 miles from home. The first 52 or so miles is paved and good dirt roads, easily traveling at between 50 and 65 miles per hour. The last 6 or 7 miles takes at least an hour, for you need a vehicle with clearance and sometimes 4WD. The country is beautiful, rugged and refreshing.

Its usually breezy, the wind plays in the grass and it shimmers in the sun. Grasshoppers jump and fly, wasps show up smelling our water, and bees smelling the sugary sweet of soda pop cans. The sky is so much bluer and clearer, with occasional clouds drifting. The mornings are crisp, sometimes to the point of really chilly, we have had our water frozen before. We once woke up to 8 inches of snow on top of us and our horses.

The country is rugged, with a lot of lava rock that rolls if you are not careful, a lot of cholla, yucca, and lechugilla cacti, that can really be mean. Its points will stab you and sometimes stay below your skin for weeks or months. Its better to be in shape and young for this country, but we continue to come here as it is beautiful. There are junipers and scrubby oaks that dot the landscape, water holes here and there that the cattle come to and hang out at.

There are rocky bluffs, caves and deep dark canyons. There is bear, lion, coyotes, javelina, and of course whitetail and mule deer. There are some natural springs around, and so many beautiful flowers, plants, bugs. There are turkeys and an occasional elk that have been reintroduced to the area.

The rancher mostly does his roundup before we arrive, but there has been times that they were rounding up during our hunt. I have seen these cowboys ride, and they are so different than the cowboys at a roping or rodeo. They are one with their horses, they are a different breed for sure. It always has amazed me at the ground they can cover on horseback, they seem to glide through these hills.

I look forward to these few days up there, sitting by the campfire, watching the flames dance around, grabbing up in the air, the popping of the wood, crackling, talking about the stories of the past years hunts. The occasional yip of a coyote floats across the stillness. There are so many stars out, having no interference from the city lights. Where we live we see our stars, as we are a little out of town, but there is still no comparison for a starry lit night in the country.

As the night continues on we count the number of jetliners crossing the sky, or even a satellite. There will be a full moon this year, I will be looking forward to it, the glow it casts out is uncomparable. Everything lights up and is so clear.

As morning comes, I love to start the fire up again, get our coffee brewing and just smelling food cooking on stove. It always seems to be so much more delicious out here in the clean fresh air, we all agree on that. I have cooked in dutch ovens over the fire when we have had a large gathering at our camp. I have made tortillas out here and all of the food is just so much tastier.

I think when you get away from all the technical electrical stuff, you have a tendency to just slow down and let your hair down. You can actually relax from the grind of work, and unwind. Its so nice to have no phones, not being tied down to our cells. Not listening to a radio or watching tv. Just let your mind go and dream.

But when it is time to come home, there is nothing like home sweet home, a good hot bath, and my bed.