(quick note - I have a few pictures to download that I have not included yet. Sorry, they will come eventually)
Something fantastic happens around the middle of the month of May every year. It is one of my favorite activities in the Priesthood and is commonly known as The Fathers and Sons Campout. My earliest memory of this happens to be a trip with my dad when we lived in Carson City. I remember a yellow Toyota pickup truck, camping on a lake and listening to Willie Nelson sing On the Road Again as we drove. I am sure there were more than one adventures with this yellow Toyota truck and I don't know if this has anything to do with the Father and Sons campout that I can remember or not but I recall stopping on the side of the road and looking at a hot air balloon and people that were going up for a ride. Perhaps the old man can clarify but in my mind this is all one big memory. I had to have been somewhere around 3 or 4 years old.
Well this weekend was Father and Sons. Because I was out in the middle of nowhere I did not write my blog last night so this is going to cover the entire camp and I will also include a second post for today.
I worked at the LBH yesterday doing some painting in the sitting area of the restaurant. It is coming along. I worked on the red walls and it is just about there. It was nice to get that pretty much done and I liked the finished look. It is an amazing difference compared to when we first started in the building.
Okay, the above was auto-saved in a draft but everything else that I reported on was lost. I am now typing in Word rather than in blogger itself because losing everything has now happened a couple of times and it is quite time consuming to get it all back down.
Regardless, we are on to our second report now of the Father and Sons activity and hope that this one will stick. I think I will go for a much simpler report this go round.
Quite simply the evening was excellent. I picked up the Gilmore boys and took them out as their dad didn’t make it to town this year and their uncle forgot about it and double booked. I had asked Heidi about it earlier in the week and got a text from her Friday morning. I was happy to help and both Miles and Ethan were great.
We got to the camp and all the boys were excited to be there. I got Miles and Ethan directed over to where we were setting up tents and gave them a quick hand with theirs. It was one of my favorite styles – the classic two pole tent, three poles if you count the rain fly. Anyway it was up and done pretty quick. I then went on to help Jay with the final touches on his tent – it is a massive cabin tent. We were bunking in with him and the boys. Andy was so excited about it he had to get inside. Jack was walking by and jumped for joy when he saw it ready to go. I got lucky with my picture taking timing.
Dinner was next and the meal was fantastic. Ken Betritch and the High Priests put on quite the meal. It really was delicious. Andy passed on the dutch oven ribs and potatoes but quite enjoyed a hot dog. Miles and Ethan hung out with Andy but Jack found his own special seat and table on the back of Ken’s truck. I sure do love Ken. He has been so wonderful to our family since we moved in and I appreciate that. We get the handshakes and winks at church and he always takes time to build me up. Anyhow, he is a good man as are many of the brethren in the Ward.
We had a little fireside with Brother Bishop on the restoration of the Priesthood. It was a good message. Most of the boys had gotten started on roasting marshmallows. Jack and Andy both gave it a go though I think they were more into just putting something in the fire. Miles and Ethan were the kings of the Marshmallows. They had brought enormous marshmallows and were the envy of all roasters. I did help carve a few sticks for roasting. Had quite the line there for a while and I think most of the boys put those sticks to use. I think some became fishing spears the next morning. It was a good time.
We had a fun evening and the boys and I went to the tent for some reading time as the sun started going down. I also needed to get them into some warmer clothes and so we hung out there for a bit. Jack wanted to stay and sleep so Andy and I went out to socialize some. Jack decided to get up and join after a while and threw his duck head boots on with his pj’s and his sweet cap. He was looking quite special. I didn’t have my camera so didn’t get a picture of him. I did take a picture of him with Miles camera as I was holding it for him at the time. I will have to ask Heidi if she can send a copy. It was a sweet get up.
I hung out and talked with Jacob Miner for a while. I love that guy. He has been a great friend since moving in to the ward and we also enjoy a South African connection. He served in Johannesburg Mission a year after I returned home. Anyhow, he brought a great light up capture the flag set up and so most of the boys and a few of us adults went and played several rounds. Andy was all about it but Jack hit the sack. I must not see very well in the dark because I was like a path of destruction out there. I managed to collide with a few boys. Mind you these were not head on collisions and truthfully the boys took me down on a couple of occasions but regardless they took a hit in the process. Non-intentional hits I must say. Everyone survived but I felt bad because of these entanglements. I also got hung up on a couple of sage brush bushes one of which got the best of me and the other that I pretty well flattened. It was a good time. Andy absolutely loved it and snuck in there for the flag a few times when he wasn’t being an iron curtain around our flag.
The next morning was good. Jay was in charge of breakfast and was up early to get moving on that. I was looking forward to a little daylight myself as is usual when I camp. So darn uncomfortable that I just want to get up and get going. The boys stayed in bed for quite a while. Well my boys did. Ethan was actually the first one up but Miles slept in quite a while. Breakfast consisted of some very tasty breakfast burritos. Jay made the same last year and they were quite excellent. Jack and Andy were not so into the burrito thing so Jay made Jack a delicious cheese quesadilla while Andy had juice for breakfast and eventually ate a plain flour tortilla burrito. It was funny as Bro. Bishop was putting up chairs and Jack managed to plop right down in the next chair on Bro. Bishops list. Jack had no idea and Bro Bishop got a kick out of it. They ended up having a good conversation and Bro Bishop told him all about his name; Willard Robin Bishop. He says there was a little Robin on the window seal when his mom named him. I am sure Jack will forever remember this story.
Well there was some exploring done. Jack liked to hang out over the water while Andy was all about collecting sticks. Miles and Ethan ventured out with a few other things to do including spear fishing and air gun shooting. Rest assured there were no animals killed or injured in the making of this blog post. We broke down camp and were back on the road before too long.
I believe everyone had an enjoyable time. It was a lot of fun even if I didn’t play Willie Nelson singing On the Road Again. I do want to report that while on the road Miles turned and talked to Jack for a bit. He told Jack how much he liked his testimonies. It was neat. Jack simply replied “Thanks”. It was great and I appreciate that thoughtfulness very much.
Looking forward to next year. I think a tent trailer will need to be the sleeping arrangement for the next go round. I can always hope. A queen size air bed anyway...
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