Brian (the son) and I are off to the desert for three nights…
We will be camping with friends at Ft Churchill Nevada…
Beyond the California State line, beyond Carson City, out Highway 50, the self
proclaimed loneliest road, beyond Dayton, then just before Fallon, head south…
Ft Churchill is a former army post, dating to the Indian wars
of the 1860’s… Today it is a pleasant site
along the Carson River, away from civilizations as we know it, a place to sit,
read, watch stars, and relax…
God knows, I need to relax…
A friend has reserved the group camp ground, and invited a
bunch of his friends (nearly 100) via Facebook, myself included… Most won’t make it, but it looks like there
will be maybe 20-25 of us while I am in residence. This is not the first time for the event, but
it is my first time attending.
I don’t entirely know what to expect… It will be a somewhat
communal experience, with shared food, shared music, group activates, but you
are in the end responsible for yourself.
I only know one other person, and it is clear that most will be much
younger than myself… but I am expecting a good time.
The Escape (a vehicle, a 4 wheel drive vehicle, I have blogged about it before) is mostly
packed. There is the dry box… with pots
and pans, a small white gas stove, a blue enamel coffee pot, and a dutch oven. There is a tent, a rug for the floor of the
tent… an awning, two chairs, two cots (we wouldn’t want to sleep on the ground
would we?!) a old fashioned white gas Coleman lantern, along with tools, rope
and an Ipad loaded with music… Tomorrow we will add fire wood… I know how to
camp… am comfortable in the desert…
We will have a tent, with cots, with an old oriental rug... an awning, and chairs... Like an Victorian Englishman on an adventure, we will be civilized.
I have two cameras… and a note book… If I am going to commune
with nature I will endeavor to write about it.
I have food… and beverage… beer, wine, and some moonshine,
even a bit of water maybe a lot of water, gallons of water, as we are beyond
the traditional water supply.
Camping food is a bit of an art… It needs to be easily
prepared in a rustic environment, easy to clean up after if possible, and easy
to keep… we will start with ice, but by Tuesday morning will likely have more cold
water than ice. It should be fire friendly… I carry a dutch oven… a cast
iron pot with a lipped lid… I will cook biscuits in it. I will cook bacon in a fry pan… this with
coffee will be breakfast. For dinner we
have cowboy steaks, cooked directly on the coals one night, Rib eyes on a grill
another, and a big cast iron pot of green chili for the third. There is corn pre-wrapped in foil with butter
and pepper on it to go with the cowboy steaks… there is a black bean and corn
salad, and cherry tomatoes to go with the rib eye… There is cheese and cracker for lunch… chips
and salsa for the evening… Brian is supplying
the “road snacks” and if reports are accurate, he has done well.
I will take the ipad, and the laptop… I have a battery “jump
box” with a 120 outlet that should give me some hours of computer time… If I
can find a signal I can use the phone as a wifi hot spot to check email and
blog.
Mostly I expect to sit, eat, and converse… walk a bit… watch
the sunrise and sunset… eat (food is important… we already established that) We
will have a couple of guns, and wide open spaces to shoot at cans, likely beer
cans (then pick them up and dispose of them in a responsible way). I am taking a couple of books. I am not sure which, but Abbey’s Desert Solitaire
is high on the list…
I am looking forward to the adventure.
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