Planning for poly camp

All through March, April and May, I had been worrying about our weather. How warm it was--much warmer than normal. Especially how dry it was--much, much drier than normal.

And then June arrived.

Flipping the calendar to June apparently did the trick: Since then, we have had plenty of rain. Just rain--no thunderstorms. But you should see how lush and healthy all the weeds on my lawn look now!

I was out, covering a truck pull earlier Friday night. Some of you may have read how scintillating I find truck pulls. On Saturday night, it's a demo derby, and Sunday has a car show, art fair and steak cookoff. How tasty!

No rain over the weekend--it's supposed to be back next week. Today it got close to 90 here. But it was a dry 90, with low dewpoints, so it was nice. Major storms passed through southern Wisconsin and the Lower Peninsula and northern Illinois (plus all the storms in Minnesota last night). It was cloudy here for a while. That was as close to rain as we got.

Of course, I've been following the World Cup, too.

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Since last week's visit to S and her friend, I have been planning for our visit to the poly camp during the first days of July. It's been eventful.

My mission: I am to drive the three of us to the annual event, which takes place in southwestern Wisconsin. I will first drive to Oshkosh (eastern WI) to pick them up and then the three of us ride together--it's about 130 miles away on state highways. A three-hour drive.

(In the past, I described this as a neopagan camp. It definitely is, with the normal rituals, But it is also about polyamory and the Church of All Worlds, so I will call it a poly camp from now on. It's an event for adults--most are in their 40s and 50s, with some younger, some older and a few children here and there.)

In the past (such as last year), I either went by myself or took one person along. Last year, B flew down from Alaska, and we were there two days and one night. Her schedule doesn't allow her to go this year--it's the busy time at her job, so nobody can take days off or vacations. That's kind of a summer bummer, isn't it? So I was expecting to go by myself and spend some quiet nights in my sleeping bag.

Then things happened down south. When it was all over, S had split from her husband, and now lives with a new girlfriend. My wife and I visited them on our trip to Milwaukee and Beloit in early May, and I visited again (by myself) last week.

One thing S and I have talked about for years was returning to the poly camp. That was where we first met during the summer of 2005.

A history recap follows. Feel free to skip ahead four paragraphs.

What happened in 2005: I went to the poly camp by myself (my first time there) and had a whole tent to myself. On the next to last day, S and a girlfriend arrived. They told me they didn't pack along a tent and planned to sleep under the stars. But there was a threat of rain. (Distant thunder and lightning that night, but the rain never arrived.) So I said they could stay with me, since I had plenty of extra room. And ... things happened.

She left her husband not long after that (a fight over religion), and I visited her twice later that year, once in Wisconsin and once in Ontario. She returned to her husband in the spring of '06 and had been with him ever since--until their recent break-up.

Many moons had passed since our last snuggle ... but despite the long separation we remained close friends, even when she decided to try again with her husband (which meant we wouldn't be lovers again for a long time). She gave it a good try, too--about four years. I know she is grateful that I kept on being a good friend through it all, even at times when we could only write e-mails back and forth. Now circumstances has brought us back together.

She had wanted to return to the poly camp ever since, but circumstances (primarily her husband) got in the way. This year, that roadblock has been cleared. After the break-up, we soon started talking about doing that.

S was planning to pay their way after getting a new job, but that didn't pan out. I told them I still want them to go and would send in registrations and pay for all of us. "What a delightful surprise!" she wrote. "When the job didn't go through I fully expected to miss it again this year. Getting to spend more time with you will be wonderful!"

We also discussed things we need to take along. S wrote she "can bring a stove to cook breakfast, etc. ... I'll bring cast iron to cook in and plates and utensils, etc. ... I've been camping since I was a small child. I know whats needed and how to cook over a fire. We will eat well. ;)"

Then she threw me a knuckleball: A young (22yo) woman whom I met during my visit also wants to come along. We would all go in my car and stay in one tent. The trouble with that is, the camping stuff + the cook supplies + four people + their personal gear = more stuff than my car can possibly carry. I'm not towing a trailer (never have driven one) and I don't like the idea of a storage bin on the roof.

I had been hoping to get another car with at least a reasonable amount of cargo space, and I know what kind I want, but my wife doesn't seem too keen about the idea, at least right now.

I thought I'd have to rent a minivan or a pickup truck or SUV once I get to Oshkosh. Either way, it could cost me several hundred dollars, figuring in five days of renting plus about 300 miles of driving. So S said she would tell the young lady that there isn't enough room in the car. So we'll just be three.

Otherwise, the countdown is on. In less than two weeks, we will be there.