Worst Week Ever (part 2)

So now I'm sitting in the pop-up camper with my best friend after running half a mile in the sun on a 90 degree day and battling the thousands of biting flies that circled around the campsite. The rest of that day, for me and my friend, was spent inside the camper where we felt safe and considerably cooler than we had been out in the sun by the fire. We layed in there and passed the time talking and playing board games and listening to music. That night we went to bed very early and woke up late on purpose.

We had pastys for lunch, and I cant even remember what they tasted like, but I remember I didn't really like it. Then we went down to see the lake. The lake was gorgeous... I'm a water person so I'm naturally attracted to bodies of water, large or small, but this lake, surrounded by huge pines and birch trees and reeds and cat tails with the sun reflecting off the short, choppy waves was simply picturesque. And I did take some pictures of it, I'll put them on here if I ever find them. But look at it was all we did right away, because the flies were starting to get too bad for me to stand, so I went back up and into the camper after a visit to the outhouse. YES. The outhouse. A tiny shack with a wooden toilet and some antlers on the door. It was painted to match the woods surrounding it. And booooy did it stink. Makes me feel bad for people who don't/didn't have indoor plumbing.

But that night was better than the one before because we started to get used to being out in the middle of nowhere, and I even started to accept the flies and other crazy bugs around there, especially after they went away at night and we put on a layer of bug spray an inch thick. Right before sunset I went out on my first canoe ride ever (as I said before, I'm not an outdoorsy type of person.) with my friend, and to ease my fears of the canoe tipping, I had to sit on the bottom of it, rather than the seat. Yeah, I'm a freak like that.

That wasn't bad, in fact it was sort of peaceful with the dragonflies whipping past us. One even landed on my leg while we were out. But the ride didn't last long because it got dark fast. Then we went back to the campfire and sat with everyone (her parents and their friends who owned the property) talking. That night while we were going to sleep in the camper I heard cyotes for the first time, and crickets louder than ever before. 

There's one word that I can use to describe the next two days. RAIN. It poured. We were nearly flooded into the camper with the exception of a couple two-by-fours by the door so we could get out to go to the outhouse or just sit under the canopy to get some fresh air. During the time my friend and I were stuck in the camper and her parents were over taking refuge in their friends' bullet trailer, my friend and I entertained ourselves by singing some songs. One of those was the Bohemian Rhapsody by who else but Queen. I absolutely love the harmonies in this song, and we did our best to replicate them. She'd never sung in a choir before and hadn't even sung in a group since the sixth grade. I showed her why I love choir so much. I sat straight across from her and did one note while she did another and the sound vibrations collided between us and there is no sound I like better than two voices working together, because I'm a geek. There's no two ways around that.

After the two days of rain, there was one more day to go before we'd be leaving the next morning. The temperature reached a high of 65 and it was nice and sunny, plus it was really windy out. A perfect day in my book. We got ready to go out for a canoe trip down the river that was connected to the lake with me and my friend in one boat and her parents in another and the others in another canoe. I was super nervous at first because boats freak me out, but I soon got the hang of paddling, and we were going strong until we got all the way across the lake and onto the river where the wind started going against us. But we did keep on going even if our canoe got caught on the banks two or three times. 

When we'd been going for a little more than a mile, we came to a place that looked like it came straight from a painting. there was a bridge that, had we not stopped before it, we would have gone under. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. It was small because that part of the river shrank into a brook before widening up into a small pond, which was actually still just a part of the river. Between the bridge and the pond there was... a rapid. Just a single, small waterfall between some rocks. But we pulled the canoes up on the shore and sat out there for our lunch. Turkey sandwiches with mustard and macaroni salad. Yumyum.

My friend and I sat up on top of the bridge with out hair blowing into our mouths and our feet dipped into the stream while we ate, and I snapped a few more photos while we were in that place, which, once again, I'll put up if I can find them. Then we packed up our junk and started on our way back up the river towards the campsite. (but not before my friend and I decided to ride the rapid a couple times!)

That was the best day of all of them, if only because of the weather and strange absence of flies, But I didn't regret having to leave one bit. I wouldn't go back if I had the chance, because I LIKE MY MODERN DAY COMFORTS.

When we got back from the trip I stayed that night at her house. The first thing I did when I got there was take a shower, and I swore I'd never take that luxury for granted again. And I haven't! But that night... I tasted Schmirnoff's Green Apple for the first time and mmm. Best alcoholic beverage I've ever consumed! But I don't drink so... I'm not really the best judge. In fact, I think that's the last time I ever drank. But I felt like I deserved it then!