the boy scout

When I was in sixth grade, my dad started up a Boy Scout troop in our small town. Since I wasn’t into sports or anything like that, he figured this would be a good way to connect with me. I really did enjoy it and I have always been grateful to him for making that effort. I was a lousy camper though. Early on, my dad saw that, whenever we would go camping, this other scout Drew and I would always go goof off while everyone else set up camp. Dad then split us up into small groups and left us on our own to make it. He put Drew and I together and it was amazing that we survived. I barely remember how we came through it. I think that we got help from one of the other groups. I still enjoy camping but I still usually leave the hard parts for someone else. I’ll go gather firewood.

On Friday, Arturo and I went to the Willamette Wilderness area to go camping. It was nice out. For Friday night, we drove up to a spot and set up camp there. Arturo has become quite the outdoorsman so I pretty much relied on him to keep us alive. We discussed where the tent should go and he said he was going to go take care of the fire. I decided that was my cue to set up the tent. I have set up tents before but never on my own. I have “assisted” others in setting them up. This time though I was on my own. It was not a challenging tent or a difficult setup. However, I did it (for the first time) without help (or instructions) and it didn’t collapse on us. Dad would be proud.

Also, this picture of the tent was taken with my digital camera on the night scene setting. I did not alter it to look this spooky. This is just how it came out. When I first saw it, it was a challenge to put the Blair Witch out of my head.