After getting clean, we finished loading the truck and were off. We weren't a half a mile down the road when Xander spotted me eating my "secret" snack. (angry bird fruit snacks and peanuts). So the snacks got shared. How could I say no to my sons?
I hadn't been to Haw Creek in several years, and I really enjoyed seeing the familiar sights on the way. We arrived and drove around to see the different camp sites. I told Darcy about which ones I had already stayed at and which ones I liked. I don't think she was particularly thrilled with retelling of old camp stories about me and Ryan Miller and our manly adventures of youth. She also wasn't thrilled about the site that I picked out (site 6), but she relented sweetly since this was my birthday trip. That was my favorite from past trips. Ryan and I camped out at that spot at least once before and it connects directly to my favorite hiking trail with mossy boulders and trees like elder ents from Lord of the Rings. Side note: on a trip with Ryan, as we sat peacefully by the fire, we caught a raccoon foraging around our picnic table.
I checked the immediate area for poison ivy before letting Xander play, as we unpacked. Though we had no ivy, my poor big boy still managed to find ill fortune. He was walking (running) back and forth on the old railroad ties that outline the camp site, and he fell and bumped his nose. It wasn't soon after we calmed him down from that, that he started playing with bugs. He was laughing about an ant tickling him as it walked on him when he suddenly screamed. It had bitten him on the thumb and was still hanging on. Poor guy! We got it off and gave him more hugs. And, yes, we had told him already not to play with the ants. He decided to help me drive in the tent spikes, and he did a pretty good job for a (nearly) 3 year old. He could hit them with the hammer, and they went in a little.
Fast forward. The camp is set up and we head to the water. We headed up to the top of the falls and looked down at the water below. Xander was excited. So was I. "Look daddy! A giant waterfall!" Then I see a crawdad about the size of a small lobster. I pointed it out to Xander, and though I am not sure he actually saw it (not sure how he couldn't), we decide to go down and look for more. As it turns out, we could hardly take a step without seeing crawdads. We made plans right then to come back the next day with his bug box and catch some. But for the moment I skipped rocks and Xander copied me, trying to be just like his daddy. Big smiles from me. Darcy showed up at the top of the falls and we hiked back around to her. Xander splashed while I held his hand. We warned him about how slick it was, and I caught him when he almost slid. But later, the poor boy went back to the same spot without Daddy holding his hand. We tried to call out, but were too late to stop him. His feet came out from under him and he went down hard. His back of his head banged into the rocks. He screamed and cried. It was so sad. We ran over and I picked him up. He had slime on his clothes and in his hair, and tears running down his sad little face. He was okay, but he still has a bump on his head.
After cleaning up and changing into dry clothes (and trying to get the slime out of his hair), I started a fire. We cooked hot dogs and s'mores for supper. Delicious. Even though the sky was still light, we were all wiped out. We hopped into the tent, read a few books, and played on the ipad. Note: We didn't take the ipad on our last camping trip, so Darcy and I figured we could cheat on the "roughing it" this time. And then there was the night without sleep.
The ground was fine for me, but it's not a bed. And my nose got really stuffy. Darcy's did too. I'm not sure why. My allergies weren't really bothering me otherwise. Not bad, anyway. But that was one looong night. And isn't it odd that when you're camping you wake up and have to use the restroom at least 3 times more than usual? One of those times, I clumsily trampled all over Darcy's feet, waking her up of course. And the last time, Darcy refused to let me leave because she heard a "big animal" and was afraid it would "eat me". Eventually, I could wait no longer and told Darcy it was either in the tent or out of the tent, but it WAS going to happen. As you might guess, I wasn't eaten.
In the morning, I whipped up a good fire, and Darcy whipped up some eggs and bacon. Nothing tastes as good as camping food, especially when my wife fixes it.
Off to the crawdads! We took the net and the bug box. We, the mighty hunters, departed on a quest to capture the mighty creek lobster. Xander got distracted with throwing rocks into the water, but I stayed the course, calling him over when I saw a likely suspect. It backed under a rock. I told Xander to watch carefully to see how daddy caught it. Slowly, I lifted up the rock. I saw movement. It took me a moment to realize what my eyes were seeing, but I knew it was too large and that it was moving. I am not afraid of snakes, but I let out a yelp and it sprang from its hiding spot. I backed away and grabbed Xander. When Darcy walked up, I thought she would want to go home right then, but she handled it very well. We moved spots and ended up catching 3 crawdads and 2 minnows. I also showed Xander how I could stand still and let the minnows nibble at my legs and toes. Xander tried to do it too, but he had a problem with the "standing still" part.
Next, Xander, Xavier, and I forged a path through the forest...on well established nature trails. We saw dry creek beds, broad-leafed plants, a giant millipede, and those boulders and ent-like trees I mentioned before. We had to go back and tell Mommy all about it. Although this day was much more enjoyable than the night, we decided to head back that day, instead of the next. We had done enough camping to satisfy us, and the campgrounds were getting crowded and loud.
We had just sat down to lunch when my Mom and "Nanny" (her mother) drove up. It's a good thing they showed up when they did, or they would have missed us. We had a nice talk and they played with the kids while Darcy and I packed up. Then we visited the water with Xander one last time and headed out. It was an adventure we will surely take part in again.
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