Tent Invaders and Finger Lights
A year ago, my family decided it would be a great way to kick off the fall with a fun filled camping trip up near Helen, GA. Sincer we had not been on a vacation the summer leading up to this point, it was very inexpensive way the kids and I could get a change of atmosphere. The boys love to be outside, and I have to admit, my husband and I love the outdoors, but camping is not my idea of a weekend getaway for the simple reason that it takes lots of work.
Brian's idea of camping and my idea of camping are two different ideas. Let's start with my idea. I enjoy a rustic cabin around other people, or a campsite that is very close to other people. with electricity and water. Brian likes rustic camping, seclusion, boiling your own water, building a fire, cooking on the campfire, and basically living off the outdoors.
My first suprise leading up to our camping trip was an outdoor toilet. I was very surprised, and realized he wanted to do whatever he could to accomodate me because he knows Melissa is not getting up at night to go in the woods. We also have a very big tent that is roomy and spacious for all five of us. Since Brian grew up camping, he is extremely comfortable in the great outdoors.
We head up to Helen, GA Friday morning. After researching some campsites, we really never could decide on a place, and he didn't want a state park, so we found a few referrals from a camping site. We decide to follow this highway north up the mountains from Helen. Our car transmission begins to smoke, and instead of turning around, Brian turns left on a dirt road and begins to follow this road up a mountain. It said the campsite was seven miles up this very steep winding road that was room for only one vehicle. I got goosebumps when we past some questionable characters in a pickup truck that didn't look very friendly. The worse part was that there was no where safe to turn around, and our volvo was out of gas, while the car was smoking. The boys and I began to cry and I started to pray. Brian realizes that this is not the smartest idea, and he turns the volvo around in the safest place possible, and that was a miracle moment, so we proceed back to the main highway.
We find another campsite in the Chattahoochee National Forest, just 12 miles from Helen in a very remote area. We had no cell phone coverage might I add. It was me, the boys and Brian at this secluded park in the woods. We found a spot after much negotions with me begging and pleading to turn back and take us home, but Brian was insistent we go camping here. He likes remoteness camping...so we found a place away from most people, next to an old bathroom that made a horrific noise when you flushed it. Another interesting factor was that the water faucet, the only one around, took lot's of manpower that I personally lack in order to get the water to come out.
Now that I look back on it though, the campsite was really everything you would want for a camping expereince and I would go back there and camp again. There was a stream that cut through the park, and we could hear water rolling over rocks our whole stay. There was a cool mountain breeze, the trees canopied the place with traces of sunlight, and the air was clean and fresh.
Let me though, begin to describe the first night and where we messed up. It happened to be the coldest weekend of the fall, and it was only the last week of September. Temperatures dropped in the 40's the first night we were there. Brian had an incredible campfire going, and it kept us very warm, but we had forgotten our warm jackets for this cold weekend.
Through out the night, I could hear other campers making fires, yes, other campers did show up. I began to worry if they would put there fire out properly. There was also a bathroom near us, and the doors made this horrible noise, as if someone was being executed. We would hear this noise all night and I would wake up, "What was that!!" You could also hear owls all through the night that sounded like ghost, but the most terrifying thing was the wind. It sounded like a screams and cries all through the night.
Another annoying factor that really had me upset was our campsite location was right next to the bottom of a mountain. I worried that anyone one of those extremely tall trees would fall over on us during the night. The wind was strong with a weather advisory to not do outdoor burning. We watched other campers make bonfires as burning leaves flew into the sky, not knowing if we would expereince an all out forest fire or not. All these elements were really driving me crazy and making this camping expereince unpleasnt and nerve racking.
In the morning, Brian got up and took our new camping perculator and began a pot of coffee on the early morning campfire. He had got up early to make his honey some coffee. I was in the worse mood on the planet. As I walked out of the tent, the freezing temperatures began to make me so cold and I think one of the boys urniated on me during the night, which makes you extremely cold and, I became miserable, and I had not brought a jacket. The boys thankfully were very warm, but we had forgot Jacob a jacket and so I was very upset for him and tried to keep him in the warm tent. I began telling Brian that I wanted to go home. It reminded me of Father Goose when the girl goes to Mr. Eckland and insist he take her home but Mr. Eckland just looks at her like yeah right. I think I got the same response from Brian.
I was absolutely not going to take this anymore. I felt so dirty too. I begged and asked Brian, "Where can I get a shower?" I wanted a nice warm shower and a warm place to be cozy on this very cold day, but he just looked at me as if I was ruining the whole camping expereince. The boys were telling me, "Come on mom, have fun, we love camping, can't you enjoy it."
I go in the tent and start to cry. My husband decideds to take us into town to get some jackets, and promises me that this will help out, so we agree. The heat in the volvo was so amazing. As we go into Helen, my son Isaac breaks out in a rash over his hands. Since my uncle is close by and very good P.A. , we call him about Isaac. He tells us to give him benadryl and invites us over, as he can hear the distress in my voice. My son is crying hysterically b/c he is upset about the rash, and we get him some benadryl, and without hesitation, drive over to my families house.
When we get there, my family takes us in and invites us to use their bathroom. I first give all the boys a bath and then I soaked in a very hot boiling bath, just thanking Jesus. "Oh, thank you Jesus, for this amazing hot bath and that I can clean my body and hair. " It really made me appreciate our home, and modern technology, hot water and lights, a warm house, let me just say.
Aunt Sandra came back with groceries and food and I suddenly realized that we weren't camping, but having lunch with my family. It was great to see my folks and see Granny. My uncle who hikes North Georgia very regularly, gave me a very nice soft down jacket that was perfect for the rest of our weekend. I wanted so bad to chicken out and stay the night with them, but I knew we had hundreds of dollars wrapped up in our campsite and we needed to get going before it became really dark.
They followed us into Helen, and my aunt couldn't refuse buying toys for my children at Betty's Old Fashion Store. One of my son's decided to get finger flash lights, they come in three colors, red, green, and blue. We left the Betty's store with smiles and filled up bags of goodies, and headed to the campsite. My uncle and aunt stayed a while which made it such a wonderful blessing and went hiking with us. They do this all the time and it was not big deal, but for some reason, I again, was scared and uncertain about another night in the dreadful forest. When they left out and went back home, I found myself feeling secluded again in a sense, and was trying to make the best of our stay. As some people left the sites, others came into the sites, and so we had another filled up camp site, which relieved me alot, but Brian was concerned that I didn't feel safe with him. It wasn't that I didn't feel safe with him, I just didn't feel safe in the woods.
During the second night, I found this night to be the hardest night ever camping. As I mentioned before, the stream is running constantly, the owls are hooting, the wind is rolling down the side of the mountain and it sounds like ghost, the bathroom toilets sound like executions, and the propensity of bears and wolves, raccons and crazy people are filling my imagination, not to mention, the trees falling down on us in the middle of the night was still a question in my mind. Did I also mention footsteps... I could hear footsteps all through the night, which Brian said was perfectly normal, "not everyone has a portable toilet Melissa."
I expereinced the biggest high and low this very night, and I must share this moment. I awoke in trembling fear as I heard a quiet noise near our tent, I opened my eyes and saw a huge red light on our tent. I screamed and Brian woke up. "Melissa, what is wrong!!"
"Look, Brian, it's somone at our tent with a red flashlight." I said in despair.
"No it's not", he said laughing. "Melissa, that is Joseph's finger light your aunt bought him, he has it on his finger!"
"Oh, my goodness, his finger lights are the tent invader. I feel so stupid now. " I began to cry and laugh. "So what is that noise I keep hearing?"
"That is the boys moving around in their sleeping bags. You are imagining things way too much. You need to relax your mind and go to sleep."
Brian gets his portable solar/kinetic radio and finds the Christian radion stations, and yes, we got reception in the forest, woo hoo. I couldn't believe my ears, it was Starry Night but Christ August on the radio, and the song begins to describe the outdoors and the starry night that God created. I realized that all this time I was allowing everything to rob me of experiencing the presence of God in his beautiful forest and the experience of camping with my family.. At that moment, I began to close my eyes and embrace God's protection and love, and I removed the fear that had me wrapped up the whole weekend. I held my husband and thanked him eventhough he was fast asleep.
The next day we packed up, and though Brian had lost all patience with me and left me for an hour, he did come back, we did make up, and he did take me for a coca cola and a reuban sandwich in Helen. It turned out to be a great weekend and I learned a great lesson, don't spoil other peoples camping expereinces, just stay home if you can't handle it or suck it up and make the best of it.
Brian's idea of camping and my idea of camping are two different ideas. Let's start with my idea. I enjoy a rustic cabin around other people, or a campsite that is very close to other people. with electricity and water. Brian likes rustic camping, seclusion, boiling your own water, building a fire, cooking on the campfire, and basically living off the outdoors.
My first suprise leading up to our camping trip was an outdoor toilet. I was very surprised, and realized he wanted to do whatever he could to accomodate me because he knows Melissa is not getting up at night to go in the woods. We also have a very big tent that is roomy and spacious for all five of us. Since Brian grew up camping, he is extremely comfortable in the great outdoors.
We head up to Helen, GA Friday morning. After researching some campsites, we really never could decide on a place, and he didn't want a state park, so we found a few referrals from a camping site. We decide to follow this highway north up the mountains from Helen. Our car transmission begins to smoke, and instead of turning around, Brian turns left on a dirt road and begins to follow this road up a mountain. It said the campsite was seven miles up this very steep winding road that was room for only one vehicle. I got goosebumps when we past some questionable characters in a pickup truck that didn't look very friendly. The worse part was that there was no where safe to turn around, and our volvo was out of gas, while the car was smoking. The boys and I began to cry and I started to pray. Brian realizes that this is not the smartest idea, and he turns the volvo around in the safest place possible, and that was a miracle moment, so we proceed back to the main highway.
We find another campsite in the Chattahoochee National Forest, just 12 miles from Helen in a very remote area. We had no cell phone coverage might I add. It was me, the boys and Brian at this secluded park in the woods. We found a spot after much negotions with me begging and pleading to turn back and take us home, but Brian was insistent we go camping here. He likes remoteness camping...so we found a place away from most people, next to an old bathroom that made a horrific noise when you flushed it. Another interesting factor was that the water faucet, the only one around, took lot's of manpower that I personally lack in order to get the water to come out.
Now that I look back on it though, the campsite was really everything you would want for a camping expereince and I would go back there and camp again. There was a stream that cut through the park, and we could hear water rolling over rocks our whole stay. There was a cool mountain breeze, the trees canopied the place with traces of sunlight, and the air was clean and fresh.
Let me though, begin to describe the first night and where we messed up. It happened to be the coldest weekend of the fall, and it was only the last week of September. Temperatures dropped in the 40's the first night we were there. Brian had an incredible campfire going, and it kept us very warm, but we had forgotten our warm jackets for this cold weekend.
Through out the night, I could hear other campers making fires, yes, other campers did show up. I began to worry if they would put there fire out properly. There was also a bathroom near us, and the doors made this horrible noise, as if someone was being executed. We would hear this noise all night and I would wake up, "What was that!!" You could also hear owls all through the night that sounded like ghost, but the most terrifying thing was the wind. It sounded like a screams and cries all through the night.
Another annoying factor that really had me upset was our campsite location was right next to the bottom of a mountain. I worried that anyone one of those extremely tall trees would fall over on us during the night. The wind was strong with a weather advisory to not do outdoor burning. We watched other campers make bonfires as burning leaves flew into the sky, not knowing if we would expereince an all out forest fire or not. All these elements were really driving me crazy and making this camping expereince unpleasnt and nerve racking.
In the morning, Brian got up and took our new camping perculator and began a pot of coffee on the early morning campfire. He had got up early to make his honey some coffee. I was in the worse mood on the planet. As I walked out of the tent, the freezing temperatures began to make me so cold and I think one of the boys urniated on me during the night, which makes you extremely cold and, I became miserable, and I had not brought a jacket. The boys thankfully were very warm, but we had forgot Jacob a jacket and so I was very upset for him and tried to keep him in the warm tent. I began telling Brian that I wanted to go home. It reminded me of Father Goose when the girl goes to Mr. Eckland and insist he take her home but Mr. Eckland just looks at her like yeah right. I think I got the same response from Brian.
I was absolutely not going to take this anymore. I felt so dirty too. I begged and asked Brian, "Where can I get a shower?" I wanted a nice warm shower and a warm place to be cozy on this very cold day, but he just looked at me as if I was ruining the whole camping expereince. The boys were telling me, "Come on mom, have fun, we love camping, can't you enjoy it."
I go in the tent and start to cry. My husband decideds to take us into town to get some jackets, and promises me that this will help out, so we agree. The heat in the volvo was so amazing. As we go into Helen, my son Isaac breaks out in a rash over his hands. Since my uncle is close by and very good P.A. , we call him about Isaac. He tells us to give him benadryl and invites us over, as he can hear the distress in my voice. My son is crying hysterically b/c he is upset about the rash, and we get him some benadryl, and without hesitation, drive over to my families house.
When we get there, my family takes us in and invites us to use their bathroom. I first give all the boys a bath and then I soaked in a very hot boiling bath, just thanking Jesus. "Oh, thank you Jesus, for this amazing hot bath and that I can clean my body and hair. " It really made me appreciate our home, and modern technology, hot water and lights, a warm house, let me just say.
Aunt Sandra came back with groceries and food and I suddenly realized that we weren't camping, but having lunch with my family. It was great to see my folks and see Granny. My uncle who hikes North Georgia very regularly, gave me a very nice soft down jacket that was perfect for the rest of our weekend. I wanted so bad to chicken out and stay the night with them, but I knew we had hundreds of dollars wrapped up in our campsite and we needed to get going before it became really dark.
They followed us into Helen, and my aunt couldn't refuse buying toys for my children at Betty's Old Fashion Store. One of my son's decided to get finger flash lights, they come in three colors, red, green, and blue. We left the Betty's store with smiles and filled up bags of goodies, and headed to the campsite. My uncle and aunt stayed a while which made it such a wonderful blessing and went hiking with us. They do this all the time and it was not big deal, but for some reason, I again, was scared and uncertain about another night in the dreadful forest. When they left out and went back home, I found myself feeling secluded again in a sense, and was trying to make the best of our stay. As some people left the sites, others came into the sites, and so we had another filled up camp site, which relieved me alot, but Brian was concerned that I didn't feel safe with him. It wasn't that I didn't feel safe with him, I just didn't feel safe in the woods.
During the second night, I found this night to be the hardest night ever camping. As I mentioned before, the stream is running constantly, the owls are hooting, the wind is rolling down the side of the mountain and it sounds like ghost, the bathroom toilets sound like executions, and the propensity of bears and wolves, raccons and crazy people are filling my imagination, not to mention, the trees falling down on us in the middle of the night was still a question in my mind. Did I also mention footsteps... I could hear footsteps all through the night, which Brian said was perfectly normal, "not everyone has a portable toilet Melissa."
I expereinced the biggest high and low this very night, and I must share this moment. I awoke in trembling fear as I heard a quiet noise near our tent, I opened my eyes and saw a huge red light on our tent. I screamed and Brian woke up. "Melissa, what is wrong!!"
"Look, Brian, it's somone at our tent with a red flashlight." I said in despair.
"No it's not", he said laughing. "Melissa, that is Joseph's finger light your aunt bought him, he has it on his finger!"
"Oh, my goodness, his finger lights are the tent invader. I feel so stupid now. " I began to cry and laugh. "So what is that noise I keep hearing?"
"That is the boys moving around in their sleeping bags. You are imagining things way too much. You need to relax your mind and go to sleep."
Brian gets his portable solar/kinetic radio and finds the Christian radion stations, and yes, we got reception in the forest, woo hoo. I couldn't believe my ears, it was Starry Night but Christ August on the radio, and the song begins to describe the outdoors and the starry night that God created. I realized that all this time I was allowing everything to rob me of experiencing the presence of God in his beautiful forest and the experience of camping with my family.. At that moment, I began to close my eyes and embrace God's protection and love, and I removed the fear that had me wrapped up the whole weekend. I held my husband and thanked him eventhough he was fast asleep.
The next day we packed up, and though Brian had lost all patience with me and left me for an hour, he did come back, we did make up, and he did take me for a coca cola and a reuban sandwich in Helen. It turned out to be a great weekend and I learned a great lesson, don't spoil other peoples camping expereinces, just stay home if you can't handle it or suck it up and make the best of it.
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