Camper Extraordinaire, far right. |
I tried to figure
out a place that my friend Gerry and I could go camping alone. I thought about the backyard, but that wasn’t
cool and we would not be able to show that we were camping outdoor
geniuses. We needed to camp in a place
that was convenient for my father as he drove to and
from the ranch several miles west of Milk River.
Then I realized there were several places on the ranch itself that
made ideal sites. One had a spring that bubbled up out of the ground. Dad could take us there on one of his trips
to the ranch then pick us up the following day.
It was late
spring and the weather was ideal. Gerry
and I planned what we needed, packed our backpacks and loaded them into Dad’s
truck. One of the items we packed was
pancake mix. I was excited for us to
cook this in the morning. It seemed like
it would be a great treat.
We were driven to
the ranch and then out to the spring. It
was an ideal day and an ideal location—about a mile away from the house and ranch
buildings where my brother and his wife lived.
As Gerry and I
unpacked our gear, we realized that we didn’t have any butter or lard to
lubricate the frying pan for making pancakes, so we walked the mile back to the
ranch buildings to borrow some from my brother.
Then we walked
back to our camp and settled in for the night.
As it got dark
Gerry and I crawled into my little pup tent and into our sleeping bags. We were camping and ready for all that it had
to offer. We talked for a while and
started to fade off to sleep.
Then we heard
something outside our tent. Now Gerry
and I must have seen the same scary movie because we were both immediately
afraid of whatever it was. I suppose
that we could have looked but we didn’t dare.
Whatever was outside the tent probably had large teeth, massive claws,
and it would cause great bodily harm to my friend and me.
Then coyotes
started howling. It sounded like they
were right beside our tent. Gerry and I were
terrified.
Those coyotes
were kind enough to serenade us all night.
Then we could
hear rustling outside our tent. I don’t
think I slept at all. I kept thinking
that if I survived, I could have pancakes in the morning with choke cherry
syrup. I prayed that morning—and pancakes—would
come soon.
After a very long
night, we saw the sun rise. Somehow we had survived. The critters that were rustling around our
tent had miraculously disappeared and we ventured out to a beautiful spring
morning. The fact that we survived the
night (and the menacing monster) made the day that much more beautiful. A great day to be alive.
Gerry and I mixed
up the pancake batter and we made several pancakes. They tasted so good considering our near-death
experience.
Then we looked
around our tent. Deer tracks were
everywhere but about 30 feet from our tent, we found coyote tracks.
We probably weren’t
in any danger, but when one is in the midst of a pack of howling coyotes in the
middle of the night, your perspective changes.
Also when you’re
in the midst of coyote tracks in the middle of the morning.
Just sayin. . .
It sounds like a truly memorable night.
ReplyDeleteI have to ask though. Did you camp again or was once enough?
I camped many times with the boy scouts but I made sure that there were lots of scouts on the camp. That way I could out run one of them if a nasty animal showed up.
DeleteThank Goodness for the pup tent!
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of like sleeping under the bed covers. Hopefully the bad things will stay on the other side.
DeleteCoyotes can be dangerous - I'm glad you two made it!
ReplyDeleteAll the tough cowboys say that if you keep your distance, you will be OK. However, the coyotes were not keeping their distance.
DeleteWell, gosh darn it all, now I want pancakes.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the coyotes stayed outside but it was nice of them to serenade you.
It is kind of nice sitting in the safety of you porch in the evening and listening to the coyotes. It is not so nice in the midst of the coyotes. By the way there is nothing better than pancakes and choke cherry syrup. I'm just saying.
DeleteCoyotes can sound like a pack of demons in full flight.
ReplyDeleteThey can get the adrenaline moving.
Delete