This is the account of 7 guys adventures' while camping at Fort Robinson and Toad Stool Park as recorded by Seth. The names of these guys were Michael, Benjamin, DJ, Micah, Josiah, Josh and me.
(Warning to reader: This may be lengthy, so kick back, relax, pour yourself a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or cider and enjoy!)
The night before we left Kearney behind, most of us guys had gotten less then six hours of sleep. I had some school to finish that night, but the other guys were packing, and very anxious to get started. This time, I made certain Benjamin did not pack for me. The last time we tried that, he brought me one set of clothes and nothing else for the entire vacation. Need I say more?
Thursday morning, some of us were itching to leave as early as 3 or 4 A.M! But Michael decided he wouldn't be our chauffeur until after 6:00. We were devastated, but submitted to his wise decision. Benjamin was in charge of the food preparations, Michael was driving, DJ was the substitute photographer, Micah was the electronics operations coordinator, Josiah was the mediator and Josh well... was Josh, and I attempted to maintain some level of organization.
Waking up at 5 A.M., we got everything packed into the van. Or so we thought. Michael and Benjamin would tell you that I was slow packing and was the reason we left at around 6:30 instead of the original six. I would tell you that it is a good thing, or we wouldn't have had more than one flashlight and several other necessities.
For the first few hours of the trip, the road was largely shrouded in fog and darkness but it didn't seem to hinder Michael's driving. Partway there, Josh kindly informed us that the gas gauge didn't work. The check engine light came on during the trip, and the front passenger window didn't always roll up properly. Yes, the van was self-destructing as we went.
:) But with dogged tenacity, we ignored the problems (like good boys) and kept pressing onward.
In the name of tradition, we cranked up the tunes all the way there and all the way back. This was not Bach, Mozart, but solid LOTR soundtrack music the whole trip! Michael's dedicated blackberry played the music while still feeding laptop's with internet access. Their was a brief respite in between tracks that some of us relished exceedingly.
A little further on, we finally saw blue sky trying to chase away the fog! Praise the Lord! It was truly glorious to see the sun again.
:) Soon after, we stopped the van in the middle of the sandhills to take a "group photo". Other people driving past us, prolly thought we were more than slightly on the nutty side. After people saw the Nebraska plates, they either thought:
1: We were from from back east and had entertained the thought that Nebraska is all flat. (like a pancake)
2: We actually enjoy living in the happiest state in the country!
The sandhills are gorgeous for Nebraska. Don't get me wrong. But it doesn't compare with the ocean, or the Grand Canyon. But this is probably a good thing because, in both cases, it is the dwelling of some pretty scary, unhappy people.
:)
DJ had taken shotgun and was happily taking numerous photos of pretty much anything in sight. But especially trains and sandhills. I could hear the camera shutter going off almost constantly. I was in the back seat diligently preparing for the next discipleship hour series: the sacraments! What fun!!
Three passengers had brought laptops: Michael, Benjamin, and Micah. Michael used his to play his favorite game Notepad ++ (web design code editor). Josh, in the back seat first asked Benjamin to use his laptop. He claimed that "He was sooo bored and must have a computer to play games or he would die!" Benjamin flatly denied his pleadings. Then Josh tried his puppy dog begging with Micah. At first, Micah also refused, but after Josh nagging him constantly, Micah consented and used his fingerprint to allow him access. After this episode, Josiah and I were very thankful we had left our laptops behind.
:)
During the trip, we watched the video from the previous Fort Robinson and Toad Stool park trip. After watching it a few minutes, Josiah decided to make it more exciting and increase the playback speed. It was hilarious watching us get things done so fast! Cooking was another story...
:D One favorite line comes from when I was hiding from the other guys out on the rocks. When they found me, I calmly stated, with hand motions, "beauty plus shade equals comfort." hehe... They won't let me forget that one.
Benjamin informed us that he had, yet again, forgotten the can opener but assured us that we had an axe and a hatchet. He also informed us that his rigid tradition had forced him to purchase the exact same ingredients as last time: cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and pasta. I was bracing myself for a repeat of the disaster he concocted last time. lol jk Ben.
At least your food was edible, I have made some umm... (food is a too pleasant noun) grub not fit for human consumption! I wouldn't have even fed it to our dog for fear it would die from a heart attack! Okay... slight exaggeration there.
From all appearances, it seemed Michael had not begun his vacation yet. He kept answering business related calls from frantic customers desperately needing their problems repaired. Plus, his secretary (his mom) needing him to be at her beckoning call for a majority of the trip. Now that's dedication! *Claps Michael on the back*
By this time, we were about two hours away from our destination. Beside the road we could see several foot drifts of snow. We were praying all the poison ivy had died and Benjamin would not have to be under extreme caution. (He is extremely sensitive to poison ivy oils) But, that was not to be, and Benjamin still came back with some average sized welts on his right arm.
Michael claimed we were almost there, but looking out the window we could see only cornfields and farmhouses. Those of us that had gone last time remembered that the scenery change was sudden. One moment we see the typical Nebraska countryside, and the next BUTTES! ohh... They were soo pretty! Both sides of the road were lined with the monsters in some places.
We finally arrived at Fort Robinson and parked in the
same spot as last year, walked up to the park office the
same way, and later stayed at the
same campsite. The road to the campsite involves literally driving through two streams that run across the road. After safely making it through the first stream, the second stream appeared to be deeper, but Michael was confident we would be fine. Josh and DJ wanted Michael to race through it, but Michael wisely took his time.
It was a good thing too, because driving over the hidden bumps rapidly could have seriously done damage to the vehicle and it wasn't ours to break.
After making it to our campsite, we carefully and delicately unpacked everything and organized it into one neat pile. umm... maybe not. Maybe in my dream, but here is a more accurate description.
After we arrived, everyone hastily scrambled out and began chucking everything out of the van as fast as possible. We resembled dogs digging for a bone! Except we were digging for a very different reason. We then threw everything into one large pile, called it good, and made some lunch.
:) Yes, order had been thrown out the window!
Ignoring the mess, we set out after lunch to hike the massive, magnificent buttes for several hours. Everyone except Josh had taken a water bottle. He quickly regretted that decision. I was very thankful that we at least hiked the opposite direction from the previous time. It was a lot of fun climbing one butte and gazing at the beauty around us. This pattern was oft repeated yet didn't lose its excitement.
Michael and I enjoyed our vacation surfing the web, and communicating with friends and family on our blackberries. Michael, while speaking with his mother, wasn't paying attention at one point and walked straight into a tree branch. I stepped in several holes while using my phone, but somehow avoided walking into anything.
After several hours of this, and losing three of the guys that were frustrated with our slow progress, we reunited and carefully made our way back down to the van. We were exhausted after endlessly climbing and descending numerous buttes.
We decided that our game plan was the following: prepare and eat supper before sunset and briefly return to th buttes to capture the beautiful sunset before it sunk below the horizon. Well... God foiled my plans, and slightly modified everyone else's.
In the process of gathering burning material, we found some excellent firewood just across another small stream that was too wide to jump. While some of us attempted other crossing methods, I wandered downstream and found a suitable crossing point where I could just barely jump across. I then proceeded to toss the usable firewood across the stream to the other boys.
Finding a fallen tree I carried it over to the waiting boys and made a bridge. Both Josh and Benjamin came across with the hatchet and chopped some more wood. Without wanting to travel downstream again, I decided to use the bridge that had already undergone a successful test by two people. I gingerly stepped onto the tree (about 6-8 inches wide) and took my first very wobbly step. About halfway across, I felt me balance quickly becoming less steady and lunged back toward the shore. Kir-Splash!! I had managed to keep the top half of me dry, preserving my phone and wallet, but the rest of me was soaked to the skin. I had sunk at least a foot into the muddy depths of the stream and was quite a sight to behold.
My only pair of shoes were soaked and this was only the first day of the trip! What was on my plate for the rest of the trip I wondered. More blood was spilt from that fall for me than the rest of the trip despite much more "risky business" ahead. I dejectedly made my way the rest of the way across the river and back to camp where the rest of the guys were beginning to cook supper.
I had missed the can opening ceremony with axes and hatchets, but was present for Michael's infamous cooking technique. So after I had hung my shoes and socks to dry from a tree, I walked back to the fire and witnessed Michael force blow the reluctant soup out of the cans. It was highly amusing. After cooking the noodles, and warming the two before mentioned soups, we would mix them all together into one tasty meal!
Because the supper preparations were taking too long, Michael and Josiah went and took photographs before sunset. For some odd reason, we throughout the trip was could never find the right utensil and almost always used the wrong one. In this case, for some odd reason we could only find forks. It was difficult, but is much better than chop sticks! Most of us ate Benjamin's delicious recipe, but Josh refused to eat the food. He claimed he wasn't hungry. This time the soup wasn't as watery as last time and was, dare I say it, almost perfect!
After we had finished supper, Michael and Josiah came back and announced that after getting beds ready we would get some ice cream!
Backtracking slightly, after hanging up my only shoes to dry, and not wanting to ruin a pair of socks in the park, I walked in bare feet while the October temperature dropped quite drastically. While the boys were gone photographing, I was wrapped up in a blanket because my feet were soo cold! Hearing we were getting some ice cream and not wanting to miss the excitement, I dedicated a pair of black socks to wear for the dessert trip.
:)
This was the second time, I saw people giving us strange looks. I mean, who gets Ice Cream in the middle of October and on top of that, wears only socks! I was the worst, but all of us had a disheveled appearance after our adventures. We didn't know where to find ice cream, so we first tried the gas station. We had only just entered when the manager takes one look at us gazing longingly at the ice cream sandwiches and recommends we get soft serve ice cream somewhere else. She recommended a convenient place just down the road. Stabbs Drive in, they called it.
hehe...
A sign in the window welcomed us with the guarantee that "We guarantee fast service no matter how long it takes." The poor lady that waited on us. She prolly also thought we were nuts ordering Ice Cream and choosing to eat it outside in October. After shivering all through that frozen treat, most of us had been tortured enough for one day and were ready to crash.
Reaching camp again, Michael only, at first, heard a strange noise in the distance that sounded like a baboon, and another noise that started low and they gradually moved up the scale. It was a little freaky. For Josh, it didn't help matters that we were sleeping about 50 feet from a graveyard. hehe...
We finally got to sleep and prepared for the adventures the next day had in store.
To be continued...
