Camping in the "Burg"

I'm so proud of myself. After the little incident I had Wednesday where I had to hold on to Puc for about 10 minutes so it wouldn't roll into my car or the street, I made it all the way to Warrensburg, my camping destination, without any problems. Well, at least I didn't know I had one. When Terry, Maggy's husband, came to help me unhitch Puc and then hook it up to his tractor, we realized that I had plugged my trailer lights into the little plug cap instead of the socket. That would explain some of the gestures I was getting as people sped past me on the highway. Oh well...

I took Tillie with me this time and she had such a good time. Maggy has two kittens about the same age, but about half her size and they got along just fine. I did feel sorry for Tillie when we got home yesterday though. She had seen Gracie and Lily climbing the trees all around the camp site, but I never actually saw her try it. She waited until we got home. We were out in the yard yesterday afternoon and she took off and jumped on a tree trunk and just fell to the ground. She turned and looked at me like, "What the heck?" Sorry Tillie...

I had a wonderful time at the Austin's. Maggy cooked some awesome food and Terry never fails to do everything possible to make sure you have all that you need and you're having a good time. The only thing he couldn't do for me was help me shoot a squirrel. They were there. And I was shooting at them. But I never hit one. Terry set me up with a white styrofoam cup on a tree and I could just shoot the heck out of that, but not a squirrel. And yes, if I had shot one, I would have skinned it and eaten it. My dad and Chuck and I fished and hunted together a lot and we ate what we took. I used to actually be good at squirrel hunting--I really don't know what has changed. I would blame it on my eyes except for one little thing. I was so close to one squirrel that I could have literally grabbed it's tail and pulled it out of it's hiding spot in the knot of a tree--it was that low and that close to me. I opted to shoot into the hole and the squirrel was able to jump out of the hole and get away. That's when I gave up. I'm done. When a squirrel can actually dodge your bullets, it's time to throw in the towel.

Camping and getting close to nature is supposed to be so relaxing and wonderful. And for the most part it was. BUT, on my first night there, a pack of coyotes decided to have a little gathering somewhere close enough for me to worry about how many there were and what exactly they were doing. Puc is basically a couple of pull out tents on wheels and it's very easy to hear through that cloth--and feel the cold. And I think it was the cold that caused me to have to "go outside" 4 times during the night. Each time I aimed my powerful flashlight in the direction of the coyotes--hoping that would deter them from coming closer. And although I really didn't feel afraid of them, I had nighmares all night. And I know I was crying for help (more like mumbling) because Tillie kept jumping up on my chest and biting my face.

But other than that and the squirrel thing, I had an awesome time in the "Burg" with Maggy and Terry. I got to see the Stealth fly over a couple of times in addition to several other military planes. And at night, the sky was so black and just twinkling with millions of diamond like stars.

Fresh air, beautiful weather, great friends and furry little creatures--it was an awesome camping trip.