Camping

 Good morning, FFFs,

It's a rainy morning here. And my to-do list is long. I'm not actually sure if I can get everything done since I don't know how much time we'll spend packing boxes and moving books. But we'll see. Some things I HAVE to get done.

Yesterday my mom, sister and I went up to visit my grandparents since it was my grandma's 93rd birthday. It was good to be there. Now it's back to work, and I'm keeping this short because I'm busy and because today's story is longer than usual. I hope you don't mind. ;) It's another story I wrote from the Picture Prompts and Word of the Day at KDWC. If you are at camp, you may have read it. If not, enjoy! Oh, and it really doesn't have a title, so if you think of one, let me know in the comments.

    “Dawn. Hey, honey, wake up.”
    Still feeling groggy, Dawn opened one eye and promptly closed it again. “Hmmm.”
    “Dawn, I really need you to wake up. We may have a problem.”
    This time Dawn sat up in her seat and yawned before opening her eyes. Somewhat surprised, the car had stopped on the side of the road. Or was it a road? “Where are we Craig?”
    “Uh, well. I’m not sure. I followed Siri’s directions, but she obviously has no clue where anything is.”
    “Can’t you just turn around and drive back the way we came?” Feeling suddenly wide awake, Dawn looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere. No houses, barns, or any sign that life had once been there was an old road covered with potholes which appeared to completely disappear before them.
    “I would. But we may have engine trouble.”
    “Engine trouble?” Dawn’s echo held worry and confusion all at once. “Do our phones work? Can we call for a tow truck?”
    “Nope. I can’t even get Siri to help us. All she says is--” And Craig tried to imitate Siri’s voice. “Recalculating.” He rolled his eyes. “And even if we could call for a tow truck, I have no idea where we are and can’t very well tell them where to find us.” Craig folded his arms over the steering wheel. “Nope, I’m going to have to fix it myself. If I can.” The last was muttered in low tones, but his wife heard.
    “Craig, you can fix it. But it’s going to get dark soon--”
    “It’s a good thing we have half of our belongings in the car including our tent.” Craig opened the door and stepped out. “It’s a bit chilly out here. Let me have a look at the engine and if I think it will be an easy fix, we won’t unload anything.”
    “This could be an interesting evening,” Dawn remarked to herself as she climbed from the car and pulled her jacket on. As Craig studied the inside of the engine, Dawn studied the land around them.
    There were trees and brush. Hills and grassy areas that might work for pitching a tent. “We have a tent and sleeping bags,” she mused. “Clothes, a few books, some cooking pans, a bushel of apples, canisters of flour, sugar, and noodles. We have some spices and the cooler has eggs, milk, cheese, and butter. And the breadbox has bread, crackers, and cookies. Oh, I think we have a few cans of beans tucked around somewhere. No meat though. Too bad we couldn’t have brought along one of Gran’s chickens. Oh, well.  It might be interesting cooking, but we won’t starve. Oh, and we have syrup. I can’t forget that. The last two quarts from Grandpa’s maple trees.” Turning away from the back of the car, Dawn walked to the front where her husband had his head under the hood.
    “Find out anything?”
    A grunt was the only answer.
    “I’m going to look for a place to pitch our tent.” When Craig didn’t answer, Dawn smiled and walked away. “At least we like camping.”
    She soon found a level place in a small clearing near the road. The ground appeared fairly flat and free from stones. After some searching, she found enough large rocks to build a fire circle and then began to collect sticks for a fire. “Even if he gets the car fixed soon and we head back, someone else might need to camp and finding a fire circle all ready and wood nearby would be helpful. Sometimes I wonder if Siri thinks people need to get away from everything and relax so she sends them out to the middle of nowhere.” She laughed at the thought. “Savannah would be in a panic if she were out here. She may be my sister, but she hates camping and bugs and anything that might get you dirty.”
    After getting their site set up as much as she could without a tent or their cooking pots, Dawn returned to the car. Craig was just shutting the hood of their old station wagon.
    “Fix it?” She was slightly disappointed for camping in the middle of nowhere was sounding more fun by the minute.
    “No.” Craig wiped his hands on a dirty towel and then raised his eyes to hers. “I’m sorry, Dawn. I don’t know what the problem is. I can try a few things, but my tools are in the bottom underneath everything. We’d have to unload it all to get to them and by then it’ll probably be dark.”
    “That’s okay. I found a perfect camping place. It’s a good thing we have that five gallon water jug in our car and not in the other vehicle.”
    Craig looked surprised. “You mean you don’t mind?”
    “No, I think this will be fun. It will be an adventure. We might have to eat some strange things, but we won’t starve. And we’ll stay plenty warm in our sleeping bags even if it is fall.” She leaned her head against his shoulder with a sigh of contentment.
    Before long the tent was set up, sleeping bags unrolled, and a fire going. They decided to just have toasted cheese sandwiches, apples and cookies for supper.
    “I can make some sort of pancakes for breakfast, I think,” Dawn said, pulling her coat closer for the night air was decidedly chilly.
    Craig nodded. “Sounds good to me. We don’t have any coffee do we?” He glanced around from the dishes he was washing. Having found a small stream, he had filled a pan with water and let it boil for several minutes before adding a little of their water from the cooler. They didn’t have any dish-soap, but neither one minded.
    “No, and I don’t think we have any packets of hot chocolate either. Hmm.” Dawn frowned in thought. Was there some hot drink she could make in the morning? “I could make tea. I have some mint leaves that my cousin gave me before we left. They are dried and in a little box in my bag.”
    Craig nodded and finished the dishes. The couple sat by their fire but when the breeze began to pick up, they put their fire out, and settled into their tent.

    Sometime during the night, Dawn woke to the gentle patter of rain on their tent. She turned over, snuggled even deeper in her warm sleeping bag, and drifted back to sleep.

    “It was a good idea,” Dawn began as she mixed the pancake batter the next morning, “to put some wood and those logs in the car last night. It would have been hard to start the fire this morning, I’m afraid, with how soaked everything is.”
    “I remembered there had been a chance of rain in this area yesterday. I’m just glad I remembered before I fell asleep. You know, Dawn, this tea isn’t half bad.” And he lifted his cup for another drink.
    Dawn laughed. “For you that’s saying quite a bit. Do you want to pour some syrup into that glass pitcher-thing and heat it up? I still have no idea why my aunt thought I should have it. I don’t even know what to call it or what to use it for. But it should work well for heating up some syrup for our pancakes.
    Before long breakfast was ready and after a prayer of thanks for the day and their food, they began to eat. Craig suggested they roast some apples over the fire and then dip them in syrup, and Dawn agreed quickly.
    When they were both full, the dishes had been washed, and the morning sun was shining brightly, Craig went back to the car leaving Dawn to read or relax.
    Finding herself not interested in any book, Dawn walked down the road a little ways and then back. There wasn’t much to see. When she returned to the car, Craig looked up and shook his head. “I have no idea what is wrong with this thing,” he admitted. “Did you see any signs of life?”
    “No, but we might go up that hill over there,” and she pointed across the road. “Maybe we can see some farmhouse, or something from there.”
    “It’s worth a try, I guess.”
    The wet grass soon soaked their socks, but they kept going. To Dawn the entire thing was an adventure and who better to have an adventure with than her husband?
    On reaching the top of the hill, they stood stock still and stared.
    “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Craig asked at last.
    “If you’re seeing a thriving town just below us, then yes. Look,” Dawn said, bursting into laughter. “There’s a hotel. And a restaurant. They probably sell coffee.”
    “And that looks like some mechanic shop right over there. Honey, I’m guessing that road back there,” and he nodded back toward their car, “used to go to town, but for some reason they stopped using it and it’s become overgrown and full of pot holes.”
    “Come on,” Dawn said, tugging at his hand. “Let’s go down and see if we can’t get someone to fix our car. We’ll have to pack up camp too.” She laughed again and this time Craig joined her.

Have you ever gotten lost on a trip?

Do you like camping?

How is your to-do list for today?