Setting up Camp
One of the features of the campsite that Gabriel loved was the pile of sand that came up its driveway. He immediately took my shovel and started picking up big mounds of sand. The wind would whip across the site and lift curtains of sand off the shovel and shower wherever he walked. I immediately decided to channel his enthusiasm. I didn't want the tent covered in sand. So I found a section of ground near the fire pit and told him to make a pile there. I figured if we needed to put out the fire that would make it easier. He went to work while I looked at the tent that Nannie had helped me lay out.
It was a 6 person Coleman tent. As I circled it I counted the stakes it required. Around it's edge there were 10 loops for stakes. The first one was easy to drive in. I hammered the two stakes on the shorter edge of either side of the tent. I then went to hammer in the side closer to the rocks. The campsite look like a dry riverbed surrounded by rounded stream rocks.
The rocks were mini boulders about a foot and half in length and embedded in the soil. There was a problem this side was too close to those rocks. I had to pull the stakes back up. Meanwhile Gabriel had become bored with the shoveling.
"Are you done yet Mommy? Can you play with me?"
"I'm not done yet Gabriel. You can help me hammer in stakes though. Do you want to help?"
He frowned shook his head no. "No!"
"Ok, I need to get the tent up so we have a place to sleep tonight."
He walked to a large boulder covered in moss and covered by a young oak and sat down. He started talking one of his internal dialogs.
I pulled up three of the four stakes and maneuvered the rest of the tent an inch or two away from the rocks. I started pounding in the stakes again. Not all were easy. I was lucky Dad and Pat had bought long wide stakes that I used to loosen up the ground then retry the original stakes. I think it took me an hour to get it up and a few bent stakes. Gabriel helped with a one stake when he got bored and helped me put up the post.
We then broke into the Hershey bar box and had a bar each. I then played with Gabriel after I called Nannie and reminded her to pick up a dustpan and brush. When Dad and I inspected the tent on the weekend before the wind had blew in pine needles.
It was around 6:00 PM when Dad and Pat made it back to the camp. I was unpacking the camp stove. We all hugged and Gabriel lavished Lilly, the dog with attention. They inspected my tent and pronounced I'd done a good job. We moved the picnic table that was teetering. We moved stuff out of the tent I had moved the non-refrigerator supplies and clothes into the tent. I got the dust out. Dad and Pat went back in and rebroomed and started setting up the air mattresses.
We ate hamburgers at 7:00pm then started cleaning up. Then we started prepping for the fire.
---Mom
