Camping trip to Monarch 2010

We had so much fun camping this past weekend. Although it was for just one night, we had a blast. We camped with the Unity One Camp out for AA club members and totally felt like a family reunion. A lesbian couple was there macking on each other, Gary's first ex-wife and various ATVs roving about were among the not-so-fun parts but cool weather, and great conversations with Jerry, Denise and Gary made a fun filled adventure.
It first began with me getting off work at 6pm so we didn't get there until 7:45pm. Gary and I were like a whirlwind trying to set up camp and get firewood before dark. Thank God for Montana's late sunsets because I didn't finish picking up firewood until 9:30pm.
I knew we would have enough time to make supper so we were smart and had sandwiches ready to go. We got to try out our new air mattresses which were quite comfortable. Gary had his 30/30 loaded and I had my bear spray nearby in case a Black Bear decided to visit us in the middle of the night. But I am sure between leaving a lantern lit and Gary's snoring, no bear would want to mess with us.
We got up early the next morning and I Gary got our fire going. I headed to the port-a-potty the club had rented and never have I been more excited about the blue potty! I stopped by the main fire ring to see if I could chat with anyone. Surprisingly, the only one there was Gary's ex-wife who didn't recognize me. We made small talk and i grabbed some coffee (which was nasty) and briskly walked back to camp.
Gary had boiled some water for the Via we bought at Starbucks... Mmmm instant coffee tasted better than Maxwell house. We got to flirt and chat with each other until Maddie was ready get up. Some fellows were walking toward the main area so Gary joined them to have a Rise-n-Shine AA meeting. So I worked on breakfast. I had to get used to cast iron skillets and ended up burning one dippy egg. That was fun.

When Gary returned, we had breakfast then walked around talking to various people. Then we went exploring the park. Gary hadn't been at this National Forest since he was a kid. Apparently, when he was in the youth group at First Baptist, they would go sledding on a hill nearby. It was fun to watch him reminisce. We tried to go fishing but the water was too fast. We also went looking for firewood and found a healthy supply. After that we headed back to base camp.

We reorganized camp and started on lunch. I made like 3 s'mores while I was grilling chicken breast and roasting "silver turtles" on the fire. I haven't make those since I was a girl scout. Then we played several rounds of Cribbage. I made a couple more s'mores while Maddie napped. BY then we had packed up camp so that we could leave after the BBQ. Then we went to Monarch, Niehart and Showdown to see if we could find a store or coffee. We came back just in time for the BBQ.

We definitely had fun and made plans to go to Sun River Canyon for the 4th of July weekend. I am so stoked! I will post pictures soon!