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Here are just a few of the pictures in the wild taken by Husband, by our buddies Petit Parachute and Gadmachine, and by yours truly. I pulled some lines (in italics) directly from the journal I kept during the weekend, which will give you a small peak into what the experience was like. So lucky we are to be living in California. More power to the Department of Parks and Recreation.
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Journal entry excerpts May 26-27, 2014
Fallen Leaf Campground, South Lake Tahoe, California (all times of day)
Thank goodness for melatonin, but it was a gorgeous, quiet sleep I had. Save for the strong cold air blowing through the tent – hubby says we need to get one of those extra covers that goes over the tent for added insulation- I dare say I was pretty prepared last night and we fit nicely on top of our air mattress in our sleeping bags. Do I shower now or later?
I fell off of a boulder yesterday. Oh well. Good thing I work out and there wasn’t another rock behind me. #bewareofosteoporosis – that could have ended really badly. Seeing Petite Parachute reaching out to me as I slipped sideways was almost as funny as the way Husband looked at me from a distance stunned and bewildered by the thump of my body on the ground and our cackling.
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| Many pockets for conversation and contemplation. We chose the big rock in the meadow for serious girl talk. Too bad I slid off of it and rolled onto the ground shortly after. At least I broke the mood and not my back! |
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| Time for exploring. hiking, seeking, and sitting. The views from all angles were spectacular.
My body has been taken over by Dora the Explorer. Binoculars in hand, I suddenly want to see everything, talk to each insect and take pictures of every leaf and branch. I wish I could identify them all. Imagine if I had retained every bit of science trivia I have ever picked up my entire life? How different my life would be lived and experienced. How different all of our lives would be experienced.
As we walked the trail, my boots kicked hollow and old branches laying on the natural mulch. Sounded like wind chimes. I deliberately stayed several steps behind so that I could keep kicking the sticks for different sounds. Ooh, another rock. I love collecting rocks…. who AM I?
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| Keeping it civilized. Gadmachine may have forgotten the s’more forks but we had a froth whisker. Priorities of a coffee drinking camper. |
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| Gadmachine and Petite Parachute have their routine down. Sitting with hubby as the temperature drops. The joy of outdoor cooking. |
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| Survival. Man makes fire. Woman makes narrative. He plays with blade while I play with pen. |
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| Air mattresses, pillows and comforters take it a step up from roughing it. Comfy even for a penguin. |
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| Gadmachine is a camping rockstar. Mr. and Mrs. having their paparazzi moment. Toffifay claims he made up both tents after the mattresses were inflated. Breakfast is served. |
A.M. The water is ice cold this morning. Maria would not approve with the extreme temperature of this wash. If it was good enough for Greta … I read once that Greta Garbo would wash her face with black soap and splash it 30 times with cold water and took ice cold showers.
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| Keeping it clean. Four quarters buys three warm minutes of water. My pack towel, aka the glorified Sham Wow! |
P.M. Wash the essentials. (make it fast) We toss away $10 on a sandwich in the city and yet when that water stops at 3 mins, the last thing you wanna do is add in 4 more quarters to rinse off extra. Why is that?
How stoked was I to get my camp towel on sale when in fact we actually overpaid for a sham wow. At least it came in a mesh bag: multi purpose.
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| Taking it all in, alternating between deep thoughts and thinking how fun it would be to share this experience with friends. |
I get why it’s hard … We need outside perspectives. Be it from convos with people other than your partner or just from being in a completely different environment, we all need a change of perspective, especially when you cannot hear yourself anymore but you know some kind of message is trying to make its way in.
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| Just get a P.O. Box and I am ready to move in summer through fall! |
How much I dream about a weekend life, one where we can pack up each Friday night and head out to our weekend home out here, or in rugged Mendocino, or in the outskirts of Napa, somewhere. Somewhere quiet, somewhere far, but mostly, somewhere beautiful, somewhere that makes me think and feel the way I do right now.
You can find more pictures of this adventure posted on my Instagram using the hashtag #girlgonewildbpstyle . You will also find other small daily bp adventures there too @blogger_bp
Even If Nobody Reads This 
I love camping.
Also, I love how you've included excerpts from your journal!
Nicely done BP. Your pictures are wonderful, especially the ones of you writing your narratives. So happy you had a happy gluten free camping excursion (unheard of). My husband wants us to get a pop up camper like he had when he was a kid. I said no money. But heck, it's a lot of work going camping. Food prep and bug prevention. I guess you know that.
Love,
Shalagh
😃Thank you! Yes, I do think the journal was the only way for me to truly capture the moment
Yes, there is no way we could have enjoyed it if not for the experience of my friends & hubby. It's simple by observation, but work surely goes into planning & executing a great camping trip! Have fun this summer! Good luck 😀