Decamping, decompressing, unpacking

Pardon me if I look a little tired and bedraggled this week. I am.

I got back from my trip to the poly camp on Monday afternoon. We left a day earlier than originally planned--S's girlfriend was struggling with allergies and had a really hard time sleeping. She did OK for three days, though, and said she really liked the camp--it was her first camping experience in decades. S is quite used to camping and camp cooking. I fall somewhere in between.

What happened Sunday morning is this: After they walked together to the bathroom (porta-potties), S asked for "a family conference." Oh? I got dressed and sat in the camp chairs with them around the remnants of our fire from the night before.

S said that with the allergy problems the GF was having and with heavy rain expected to arrive later in the day, we might want to leave now. I hadn't expected that, but it wasn't long before I agreed. Things got chaotic after that, as we all scrambled to pack up our gear. To date, two of S's axes are missing in action--not found yet, anyway.

We packed up the car, said a few good-byes, and started driving away. Just a few minutes later, fat raindrops started falling on my windshield, and dark clouds were noticeable to the west. We drove east and eventually got back to their place in Oshkosh. It sure was hot and stuffy inside. Luckily, their bedroom has a room air-conditioner. Certain creature comforts can't be found in a tent.

The trip started from Oshkosh last Thursday at about noon, when we packed up my car. Oh, did we ever pack that poor little car! I had cut my gear down to a backpack and a plastic box about six inches high. The girls came equipped for anything. Big duffel bags. Clothes, meds, cooking supplies, cans and bags of food (and we got more, besides), craft supplies and tobacco--they both smoke and roll their own cigarettes, which they seemed to be doing every other time I looked.

You know what it was like? Ever been to the circus, and a clown drives into the ring in a tiny, little car? He stops and gets out. Then another clown gets out. And another. And another. And another. And they keep on coming from somewhere.

Well, we had a clown car. Instead of clowns, we had three people and tons of stuff, jammed and crammed everywhere, including that car carrier attached to the roof. Cooking supplies, clothes, huge duffel bags, camping gear. The car was way overloaded ... but we made it there and back.

The drive across Wisconsin took about three hours, and we set up camp right away--found a spot close to the porta-potties. I didn't sleep well that first night; had a hard time falling asleep, which isn't unusual. For the other two nights, I took a pair of Tylenols just before bed, and that did the trick.

When I went to bed, I kissed both girls good-night, then retreated to my air mattress and sleeping bag. The girls slept on the other. I typically wore a T-shirt and shorts during the day. My friend did the same or else just a sarong around her waist when it got hot. Her friend stayed in a knit dress. Sometimes people at the poly camp wore more, and sometimes they wore less. Whatever.

Our funniest and silliest experience came late one humid afternoon, when we all decided to use a solar shower--large bags of water that had been heating up in the sun. Think "Laurel and Hardy Take a Solar Shower." None of us had any experience with solar showers before, and we were getting ourselves soapy when trying to get the other one washed up. Of course the girls were laughing. They were having quite a time.

Soon after that, someone was passing out Dove chocolates--the ones that have little sayings on the inside of the wrapper. I got one that said "Today's a great day for a bubble bath." So help me. We cracked up again.

Even though I am a Capricorn, I was an Aquarius during the poly camp: Since I have the strongest legs, it was my job/duty to run over every day or so to fetch a fresh supply or water for kitchen use--dishes and cooking.

S came to the camp loaded for bear ... or at least bear stew. "We will eat well," she promised, and she brought along cast iron cookware, a small propane grill, utensils, a coffee pot and plenty of dry and canned food, plus a great big picnic basket. We did eat pretty well. One time, we had omelettes for breakfast and beef stew later in the day. We had chicken breasts another time. She spent a lot of time preparing meals--later, she confessed she should have spent less time cooking and more time getting around and meeting others.

But her main focus/goal for this trip, she said, was for the three of us to "grow closer" as family and friends. (Read "Stranger in a Strange Land" to understand the concept.) In that, we succeeded--we agreed later that all of us had a very good time and, yes, became closer.

I took my camera along, but I only took a few pictures--fewer as time went on. The girls wanted me to take a few photos of them, and I did. But the camera was not used during our trips (usually buried under a mountain of stuff). It's hard to explain, because the scenery in that part of Wisconsin is just incredibly beautiful. Amazing. I could have spent a week there, just getting shots of this and that--the rolling hills, the trees, the farm fields, the animals, the outcroppings of rocks. Incredibly beautiful.

But that's just the point. I had to keep driving. The clock was running. If I had stopped for every beautiful vista I saw, trips would have been much longer. I know what I'm like with a camera. Either I had to keep telling myself "no" or our short trips would have become long trips. In the end, I only took photos in my mind.

A few unexpected things. One night we heard coyotes (or so we thought) in the woods. Another morning, we heard cows. Cows? Sure sounded like cows--farm fields are nearby. There were a few bugs, but not too many. I didn't get bit up too badly.

I missed the welcome water-sharing ceremony (had to run to town for ice) and all of us missed the main ritual (left early). But at least I got to see my first handfasting ceremony. A very pagan ceremony, with a man and woman committing their lives and love to each other. The familiar wedding vows were replaced by promises of love through good times and bad times, of patience, of treating each other with kindness and patience.

It's called handfasting because at the end, their hands are tied together (made fast) with ribbons by the priestess, symbolic of their lives coming together. It was pagan ... and as sincere and heartfelt and genuine as any wedding in any church. It was performed outdoors, in the ritual circle, at sunset, with birds singing all around and maybe a half dozen butterflies flitting about over us. Nobody spent money on dresses or flowers or booze or receptions. Everyone who attended was dressed in camp casual style, except the bride, who wore a longish white dress. I wish I could remember the words the priestess used; she spoke so well and wisely.

By the way, I was the wedding photographer: The bride asked me to take photos of the event with her camera as it took place. Happy to do that for them. At the very end, they jumped over a broom together. I got that shot, too. The handfasting is a memory that will stay with me for a long time.

And so on and on we went. Because of our early departure, I had to miss the main ritual on Sunday evening and, yes, the Naked Lunch. Maybe next year. I also didn't get a chance to say good-bye to some of the friends I have gotten to know over the years.

There's one more regret: my wife. I called her twice a day from the camp, but she clearly was missing me a lot more than she did last year. The reason was obvious: Last year, as I drove to the MSP airport to pick up B and then drive to the poly camp, she stayed with her sisters. While I was gone, she was having a great time, traveling here and there with her sisters. This year, they couldn't work that out, so she was back home, wondering what to do. I felt bad about that.

The three of us had a very good time. We barely escaped the heavy rain that was bearing down on the poly camp: We had a excellent dinner at a family restaurant along the way and later stopped for a cool-off break at a convenience store. Ice cream bars; on a hot, muggy day, they hit the spot.

Back at their place, we started the long process of unpacking everything from the car and putting it away (except for my own stuff, of course). We went to Arby's for supper and returned to the house. Their place was hot and stuffy. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Tuesday morning, I said my final good-byes and headed north. Ran into more rain, but never very heavy. I was back home by mid afternoon.

The hot and stuffy weather stayed around until this (Thursday) morning--a front went through the U.P. overnight, and the dewpoint is getting a lot better. Finally, some good sleeping weather!