Grandkid Camping

I kept getting stories from Doug of his camping trips with Olivia and Eric and really felt left out. After all, I taught Doug everything he knows (and doesn't know) about camping. So, I decided to take my weekend off in May to go to LA and go camping. Doug, Olivia, Eric, Jon, Evan, Dan and Josie accomodated. Joshua Tree National Monument accomodated also, barely. We got the last camping spot in Hidden Valley Campground. It was a great spot. It was a great weekend. It started off with Tito's Tacos Thursday night, a day of shopping with Staci and the kids on Friday, an Anniversary Dinner with Doug and Staci and Matthew on Friday night and then the camping Saturday and Sunday. I probably understated "a day of shopping". We hit Costco, Albertson's, ice cream cones, REI, Borders, Brookstone, an hour at Del Rey Lagoon Park (where my bald head got too much sun), the Santa Monica Mall, and a drive through the Westchester neighborhoods to see Olivia's new school. After dinner at a Persian restaurant in Santa Monica, Doug and I packed up the car and prepared the meals for the trip. I'm tired now even thinking about it. With all that, we were off by 7:30AM the next morning!

We experienced a little anxiety as we tried to tie up with Jon and Dan, but just as we had unpacked the car at the campsite and I was going to try to find them (cell phones not working), they drove up and Grandpa was able to take the four scouts on a hike into the pile of rocks while the dads set up camp. We had fruit and granola bars for lunch and then took a long hike to a "pond" where we saw lots of cactus, lizards, rocks, people and a little bit of water. We also saw some American Native hieroglyphs. The kids made it back to the cars (several on their dads' shoulders) and then back to camp. We had hot dogs, fruit, chicken hobo dinners, smores, snacks, etc. for dinner, climbed more rocks, played "Go Fish", explored the incredible desert night sky for constellations and fell asleep. Evan was the last to bite the dust at 11:30.

In the pictures you will notice Olivia in her pink bandana, pink shirt and pink backpack. She was decked out as a "Daring Girl". She has a book that is basically a scout handbook for young girls. It's her constant companion. Grandma Heder found out about this and got the backpack and her dad got all the items to go with it including: compass, parachute cord, first aid kit, binoculars, matches, whistles, Swiss Army knife (yes!), emergency blanket, etc. Of course, Eric had to have the same and so he had a blue backpack with the same ingredients. Needless to say we spent a great deal of our time helping Olivia and Eric putting on bandaids to cover the cuts inflicted by the various tools found on the Swiss Army knife. It was all very entertaining and instructive to all. One fond memory was that of Olivia learning the Morse Code for SOS and using it quite frequently when she got stranded on a rock and needed help getting down.

We left Sunday morning after a breakfast of eggs, sausage, pancakes and OJ and a good night's sleep. We stopped at the Wheel In Cafe to visit the dinosaurs and pay homage to Large Marge. Remember Pee Wee's Big Adventure? Doug does. I made it back in time for a shower, quick dinner with Doug, Staci and kids and got to the airport and to Oregon to my quiet home with my beautiful wife. This trip will be in my memory bank for a long time. I doubt Eric, Josie and Evan will remember the details, but I hope they will remember a good time with Grandpa. Olivia will.