Backpacking...a memory for sure

So this weekend I have the grand opportunity to go on a backpacking trip.  As some of you know I was super enthusiastic to join this backpacking class but as the trip approached and I learned of the forecast rain I quickly lost my grand ol' attitude.  The rain, however, was very least of my concerns.

Let's start at the beginning...

We go to the WRC and my group is riding in Shaggy's van.  Now Shaggy is in her late 50's early 60's, she has a tattoo under her right eye (which I found out this weekend she got a year ago to cover her gang tats), and when asked where she is from she will tell you no where, her family was traveling performers.  Ok so that just gives you a little taste of the driver of this vehicle. 

Well immediately our van of 5 got separated from the group....Shaggy forgot to get gas.  So we left late and we went about 20mph over the speed limit.  I thought Terrin was going to get car (or van in this case) sick.  The greatest part was that as we were speeding down the road another girl on the trip announced that she was not going to pay for a speeding ticket.  We were about 10 miles from the park when we watched as a state trooper did a Uturn and the lights went on.  He only gave us a warning but we were slowing down to stop so I think we just got really lucky...or I should say Shaggy got really lucky.

We got to the park finally and began hiking.  It was a good hike but we had to stop frequently.  Shaggy shared with us that she had 12 shots of Vodka the night before...made me feel even safer that I had just ridden in her car for two hours.  NOT.  It was also raining most of this time.  We only hiked for a few hours before setting up camp.  We quickly set up our tents and just had a waiting game.

We spent the afternoon attempting to play capture the flag in the forest.  Note to self: When there is a large present of thorns don't try running through them, it's usually not successful!  We also played some games, made lots of food, and asked some questions out of my professor's famous QUESTIONS BOOK.

Later that night...

We heard many ghost stories, some more believable than others, from some of the outdoor rec guys that worked at Camp Foster last summer.  Then Shaggy decided to tell her ghost stories....or stories in general...  [I know it seems like I may be picking on Shaggy, but really she is just such a character that if I were to ever write a book, she would be it's star] 

Shaggy story #1:
Shaggy moved into a house in Texas with her father.  She decided to take the attic room and that night saw a spirit of a man.  [this may be a good time to note that Shaggy is native American]  She told us that you can never see a face of a spirit but any way this man didn't like her much.  She tried to hold a seance but couldn't because he father kept falling asleep and therefore the whole circle never completed.  Her friends stopped wanting to come over so she moved out.

Shaggy story #2:
Her husband haunts her old house.  Her grandchildren have seen him.  She told us that she just ignores him, just like she did when he was alive.

Shaggy story #3:
[This is the one where began to think she was full of it or crazy] She can look into people's eyes and see things about them.  She told us about this time she was I think at the mall or something and looked into this man's eyes.  She saw he was going to be stabbed and told him he was going to stabbed on Halloween.  He said it was his birthday and he was going to a party.  She told him that he needed to take someone with him to save him.  Two weeks later...the man knocked on her door.  He wasn't wearing a shirt and had been stabbed.  He called her a witch...

Shaggy story #4:
[we were rolling by then end of this one...it was fun to see my professor's face...he was sitting behind her.]  She told us she can also make people do thing with her mind.  She used this power for bad things when she was younger.  [This next piece is my fav...]  She can also now tell what people are going to do.  Her example you ask?  She knew that the cop was going to pull her over.  At this point I just burst out laughing.  Terrin leaned over to me and whisper..."I could have told you that...she were going 85 in a 55!!!!"

After this we went to bed...or at least attempted to.

Sleeping didn't really happen: 1. We had built our tent on a curve...our heads were going down and so were out feet. BAD IDEA!  2. It was FREEZING!  3. Mummy sleeping bags are stupid.  When I was in high school I had a lot of trouble with my knees and now every time it rains they get really achy.  It's difficult to stretch that out when you are in a little mummy sleeping bag.

Overall it was a fun experience, with VERY interesting people and I would do it again, maybe build my tent somewhere else but you get the idea. :)

My Dad

Last night as I was driving home from Hy-Vee I all of a sudden realized how much I was like my Dad.  One of the things that used to drive me insane when I was younger was that my father can never take the same route to and from a location.  He always has to take one way there and a different way back.  He would call it "the scenic route."  I used to tell him I would never learn my way around because he always took different routes so I could never learn them.  What really got me last night was when I realize I always take one route to Hy-Vee (leave my apartment, got N. on South Main, turn on to University and then turn in at Valley Park Dr.) but for some reason I ALWAYS take a different way home from Hy-Vee (go out toward Boulder and take the back roads around to Orchard then go back North to my apartment.)  I know it is silly to find this amusing but as I got home and was telling my roommates how I'm like my dad I realized something else that I got from my father, the purpose of my going to Hy-Vee in fact.

If you have every watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you know that the father in that movie thinks that Windex will cure all things: every alignment, every cut, etc.  Well my family finds this hilarious because this is how we grew up thinking about Vicks.  If you don't know what Vicks is then first of all shame on you, but it's a vapor rub.  I remember my father sticking this stuff in my nose as a child and telling him it smelled and I didn't like it!  He was always assure me that if i wore it, in the morning I would feel so much better.  And here I sit, with a cold and a nose and chest covered in Vicks, which was my purpose of going to Hy-Vee at nine o'clock last night. 

I am proud to say that there are more things than just my ADD driving and cold remedies that are just like my dad, but these are just my recent realizations.  Love you Dad!