Great Camping Trick

When I go camping, I always put a tuba on the picnic table. This ensures that I will have no neighboring campers.

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I love camping. It's very relaxing and serene. I can imagine being at a great campsite now. The cool, rustling breeze, unleashing the fresh aroma of pine trees...

My father loved to camp, as well. He was so mean until we went camping. He was suddenly free from the pressures of life. Two weeks of fishing, playing cards, campfires and eating trout. Awesome.

I learned to drink coffee in the mountains. I got up early, with my father every day. I actually wanted to spend time with this different, funny guy. I would take the coffee pot down to the stream to fill it with some of the best tasting water ever. My father would then put it over the fire until the water was boiling. He would then put in the ground coffee and then add some cold water, to send the coffee beans to the bottom. Then we would drink some amazing, fresh coffee. I cherish those times.

We all loved fishing, including my Mom and sister. We all became pretty good, but my father was the master. He liked to find his own way, alone. He didn't want to be held back by kids losing their hooks every five minutes. One time, he left early in the morning, and didn't return until well after dark. My  Mom was about to drive to the Rangers station to start a search party, when through the bushes he came.

Mom was livid, to say the least. She was more mad than Hillary Clinton learning about Monica. After she finished yelling at him, he showed us his catch. 52 trout! I know! I have no idea what the limit was, but I was pretty sure it wasn't 52.

Amazing. Most nights, we would play a card  game called "Oh, hell" it is a very fun game that my brothers and I play to this day, whenever we get together. Very fun.

As we moved, my father always found great campgrounds. Lots of fresh air, mountain smells and bone chilling nights. Until my youngest brother was deemed big enough to sleep in the tent, he and I slept in the back of our station wagon.

The tent we had was huge. My father bought it at an Army / Navy store. There was no floor, so we were sleeping on leaky air mattresses on the ground.

Ah, memories. My wife doesn't like to camp. We went once, but I'll get her out there again. Maybe I can trick her by going with some of our friends.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some calls to make to some of my friends.

See you tomorrow.

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