Camping & the Like

Check out this antique water heater.
This is how we make due without a toaster!
My great grandparents last name.... Avery carved out on

a stump in front of the cabin
My great grandparents built a sweet little one bedroom cabin with a loft full of twin beds in Mineral King, a patch of deep mountains east of the sequoias, and it is still being used 5 generations later each summer. A succession of cousins and in laws and family friends take turns each year to get their fair share of crisp mountain air, landscapes of pines that last for miles, and a reminder of what life was like before there was electricity.

So let me say this; the cabin is charming and full of dreamy nostalgia. The mountains are beautiful, and I was happy to see my kids running around exploring, looking for deer & squirrels & enjoying God's creation. But I have to confess to you, this is more Dan's thing. I don't want to be known as the shallow, prissy girl that has to have her make up on and her blow dryer working to be happy, but seriously.... have you seen my hair when I don't straighten it? Will you notice there are no pictures of me posted? That's because I looked frightening for three days straight. And another thing, I'm not a clean freak, but the dirt, people.... the dirt! Four little kids with deep dark lines of dirt caked into their fingernails, and sticky roasted marshmallows in their hair does not a happy mom make!

I know, I'm pathetic, and I ought to be ashamed that I have become utterly dependent on the internet, and the cell phone, and my cable TV shows for my comfort & convenience, but what can I say? I'm a product of too much time at the shopping mall, clever marketing ploys, & doggonit, there's nothing I love more than an over-priced cup of coffee at Starbucks.

But before you judge me too harshly, consider this - perhaps I'm just stating what you're all secretly thinking. You just don't want admit it because being outdoorsy has become trendy ever since the Jeep Cherokee came into fashion in the mid 90s. But let's face facts, I saw Into the Wild, and that outdoorsy guy died, & I saw 127 Hours, and that outdoorsy guy had to cut his own arm off. So the way I see it, staying in the suburbs just may keep me out of trouble, and it truly does do wonders for my hair.