So, instead of the usual company retreat, Brian's boss thought it'd be a good idea to have a company camping trip. You know, a family-friendly get-to-know-your-neighbor kinda thing. So we grabbed our 11-year-old nephew and headed to Zion National Park with about 30 other people. I thought for sure I'd hate every second of camping, but surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. I think that when I'm scared, I kick it into survival mode and I just deal.
Going back to some of the questions & suggestions from before:
Q. Did you remember to bring toilet paper?
After last year's hiking debacle (also known as the "why I don't eat at Quizno's anymore story"), you bet your candy ass I did. I brought 4 rolls of toilet paper, 3 packs of wet wipes, and 3 travel-rolls of Charmin, just in case. I even brought toilet paper when we went tubing in the river, which actually turned out to be a pretty bad idea.
Q. Did you have to shit outside?
Thankfully, no. We got there early enough that we snagged the campsite closest to the bathrooms. The toilets flushed and the sinks had running water.
Q. Were there lots of bugs? If so, how did you deal?
Yes. I was OCD with the bugspray. And OCD about keeping the tent zipped up at all times. It also helped that I am severely near-sighted and refused to focus my eyes on the ground. The less I saw, the better, especially at night.
Q. Were there showers?
No. By the end of the trip, I had a thick black layer of grime on my skin. It was this sick combination of bugspray, sunscreen, and dirt. I had to shower twice when I got home and scrub my skin raw, just to get it off.
Q. Did you bring makeup?
I meant to, but then I couldn't find it, so I had to go without. That was actually my favorite part of camping - not having to worry about appearance. By cutting out showering, blow-drying my hair, putting on makeup, and choosing an outfit, I reduced my prep time from 1.5 hours to just 5 minutes. It was pretty freakin' nice.
Q. Were you the biggest crybaby there?
No. There were 4 teenaged girls on the trip, so the role of weak sister was overfilled. There was also a 5-year-old girl whose family left early with her on Day 2.
Q. What was the suckiest part of the trip?
The heat. It was miserably hot all day and all night. Oh, and also our air mattress. It sprung a leak on Day 2, so that night we slept on the hard, rocky floor. That really sucked.
We had a nice time overall though. The pictures are lame, but here they are anyway.
5 comments:
For old times' sake, we just brought 3: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' Murder Ballads, the best of the Violent Femmes, and Tori Amos. :-)
Ugh. Nick Cave...that's not the one with "The Mercy Seat," is it? I actually broke the 12" lp with that song. It felt so fucking good, but the song still burns in my head.
Ah yes, forgot about Evita. :-)
To my defense, I was totally tuckered out from the day's events. Drunken tubing in the desert heat takes a lot outta a gal!
Oh dear god, I dread the water camera footage. If memory serves me right, I rarely took a normal picture that entire ride down. Dammit. I knew something would bite me in the arse from that trip.
Good times though.
:)~
There was an art exibit here in Chicago for Nick Cave's sound suits. It was pretty crazy stuff...
I hope this link works
Post a Comment