LOOKING AHEAD

In a couple of weeks we will be heading to our favorite place to camp: Pinecrest. Pinecrest is located in the Sierras outside of Sonora and very close to Dodge Ridge, known for winter skiing. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

I have been going to Pinecrest since I was a child and my Mom went to Pinecrest when she was a child. Now, our kids and their kids also make Pinecrest one of their destination points during the summer. The lake is a pristine small lake high in the Sierra Nevadas and sits at an elevation of approximately 6,000 feet. We never have to worry about it being too hot when we are there. Occasionally, the days warm up but you can always count on having to wear a sweatshirt or a jacket in the evenings. And...a campfire!

There's something special about campfires. That time you spend building it, collecting little bits and pieces of wood and pine cones for kindling, and then the final lighting ceremony and the familiar popping sound of the wood as it crackles and burns. It is always important to have "S'mores" too. An important part of camping has ALWAYS been the food we eat. Why is it that the food always tastes so much better when you are camping? It can be the same ol' hot dog that you eat at home but just something about eating it while camping makes it so much more special.

Each year we have a ritual of walking around the lake. It is about 5 miles I think all the way around. Maybe less. But there is always one part that I am never happy about doing and that is walking over the dam. I hate walking over the spillway, high up on the edge of the dam, where you can just imagine what might happen if that dam broke! Last year I RAN across the dam, hoping to get to the other side that much quicker. It didn't make it any easier. Actually, I think it made it a bit harder because I really had to pay attention to where I was placing my feet as I scurried over the cement. If I could walk to the dam and then turn around and go back the same way I came, I would. But, it doesn't seem as though it is an option. By the time you get to the dam, you are almost back to the beginning and by that time you want to end the walk. Maybe this year I will start at the dam first. Get the scary part over and done with before I have time to think about it. The exercise you get makes it worth the walk though.

I'm looking forward to sleeping in our little trailer too. Sure, it is a bit crowded in there but it is cozy. We bought it from my Mom's friend who only used it about 5 times before her husband died. We got a really good deal on it too. And...it came complete with all the dishes, pots and pans, even shot glasses! How could we pass up such a great deal? I have made new curtains for it this year, bought some new dishes last year that have willows and crows on them, and tried to make it even more cozy and "ours".

I recently read an article (for the life of me, I can't remember what magazine it was so that I could quote it) about a group of women who get together in their vintage trailers and go fishing. The insides of these trailers are so great! Each has its own theme complete with special dishes and even some special logos painted on the outside of a few of them. I would love to have a group of women who do this kind of thing with their trailers but I am not sure that I could maneuver the trailer by myself. I have never attempted backing it up, let alone driving it forward. I leave that up to the B-Man!

So, summer brings the opportunity to get out and do things that we can't do any other time of the year. Time to spend with family and friends, time to hike more, read more, just sit and relax more without feeling guilty. And this year, we'll most likely have our new dog with us on the trip to the lake. What's one more body in an already too-crowded trailer anyway!