Roughing It?!

This past Friday our ward had a campout.  We were excited to be able to go this year.  In years past it’s either been too far away for us to afford the gas or we had something else going on. 

Ever been to Heber Valley Camp? 

BEAUTIFUL!!!

It’s now home to many a girls’ camp every summer including our stake. 

Seriously?  THIS is what you call camping?  This is so not roughing it!!!

Back in my girls’ camp day for our stake (which by the way happens to be the SAME stake I live in now) we went clear to the middle of nowhere… almost… and there was none of this electricity crap or sleeping in cabins! 

CABINS!!  For real!??  Our shelter back then was a tarp tied to trees during the day for shade and our tents at nights.  And one year we even had to go home early because it was storming so bad.  Psshh!!  Oh and days were so hot you could hardly stand it and the nights were so cold you had to make hot rocks in the fire to keep your feet warm.   

Toilets??… Yeah, there was no such thing.  We had ‘crannies’!  I’m sure there’s a more technical name for them but seriously, who wants to call them anything prettier than CRANNIES.  They were disgusting and filthy!  Each ward had to take a turn cleaning them… EW!  It was basically two holes in the ground in an enclosed spaced with toilet seats.  And there were no lights.  You took your flashlight.  You could see everything that everyone else had done and you just hoped and prayed that the deep breath you took before running in there was enough to last the duration of your visit…. otherwise, you got to TASTE what everyone else had done.  And you hoped that what everyone else had done wouldn’t come back up to splash your bum either.  I shudder to think…

Cleaning the crannies consisted of those same deep breaths, running in as fast as you could, sweeping whatever needed sweeping (or whatever needed wiping… etc.) and getting the heck out of dodge before you needed that next breath! 

Good times!!!  Unfortunately, the girls now have FLUSHING TOILETS and SHOWERS!  Showers for crying out loud!  I grew up braiding my hair in teeny tiny braids all over my head because I knew it would be pointless to try and brush it out every day during camp with all the dirt and smoke that it would collect. 

Cabins… Nonsense I tell you!  I think Anthony was right when he said, “’Roughing it’ for the girls these days is getting only 2 bars on their cell phones instead of 4!”

How would it be?

Well, our visit to the cabins wasn’t all roses… everyone had to bring their own pads to sleep on.  Otherwise you were just on the hard wood bed.  We only have one camping mat so we took that for me, being pregnant and all.  Everyone else just padded up on blankets. 

Let’s just say that the camping mat did NOTHING in the way of comfort for me.  And the fact that the boys (who don’t do well away from home anyway) were NOT having the whole sleeping in the cabin thing.  So, after annoying all the other families in the cabin with us for about an hour, Anthony and I took the boys out to the car, strapped them into their carseats and waited.  About half an hour later they were out and we were able to carry them back in and lay them on our bunks.  Me with B and Anthony with C. 

B IS A WILD SLEEPER!! 

He took up pretty much the whole mat all. night. long.  And I was too afraid to scoot him for fear that he might wake up and start crying. 

I didn’t sleep a single wink!  Not an exaggeration at all!  I kept checking my phone for the time hoping against all hope that the sun would be coming up soon.  I wouldn’t have to lay there on that uncomfortable bed any more.  I heard every snore, every whisper, every time someone rolled over, ever toot (yes, there were a few ;)) and every time the baby in our cabin woke up.  It was the WORST NIGHT’S SLEEP EVER! 

Had it not been for the girls being so stinkin’ excited to be there and finally have the ‘sleepover’ they’ve never had (we don’t allow sleepovers except with cousins) Anthony and I would have been out of there!  With the boys in tow of course.  But I couldn’t very well go and ask ward members to please bring my girls home with them… at 3:30 in the morning.  They’d likely forget that I’d even asked! 

And so… we ‘roughed it’! 

We had a really great time.  And it was a pretty great turnout. 

C won an award for ‘The Most Questions Asked’.  Pretty cool!

And we got to see some deer really close.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me at the time and my phone was charging.  We all had a blast, despite the whole sleeping fiasco.