Big Bear Campout

So, I recently attended a father/son outing with the University Heights Ward here in Riverside.  I realize I don't have a son, but it was fun to tag along and be a surrogate father for one of the young men in our ward.  You can see we got along great.

So, Joe (our YM president and good friend), Adam (my surrogate son for the weekend), and I drove up to  the Big Bear LDS camp on Friday night and heard a spiritual message from Bishop Barney while chowing down on chili cheese nachos, cheese puffs, and cookies that were generously provided for us.  Me and Joe both commented it was good to be eating something our wives would never let us eat.  We did a little night exploring by the stream near camp, set up our sleeping bags in one of the A-frames, watched Megamind with the kids, and then stayed up eating candy and playing poker and blackjack.

Here's our shelter for the evening:

Although it was a bit cold (high 30's), I slept fine in my sleeping bag with sleeping pad.  I can't say the same for Joe or Adam, even though Joe did bring an air mattress.  I think the funniest part of the evening was watching Joe eat some lemonheads we had found in the top of the A-frame after losing a hand of poker.  It was an unopened package, so I had no problem eating them, but Joe has an apparent aversion to food where he doesn't know where it comes from.

We woke up early the next morning (around 7 am) and did a little hiking around the camp, before returning to eat breakfast at 8.  I got some great pictures of the lake from a big rock above the camp, which I was informed later (by my wife) is named "Testimony Rock", because this is where girls' campers have their testimony meetings.

 I also got some pictures of Joe after what he described as "probably the worst night of my life".

It's not as scary as it looks

Of course, breakfast was a "Man" breakfast: hash browns, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and lots and lots of bacon.

After breakfast, we did some service for the camp: Raking and removing pine needles from around the A-frames.  I can say that this was definitely the first time I've ever raked pine needles.  It's not quite as fun to jump in a pile of coniferous needles as it is to jump in a pile of deciduous leaves like I did as a kid.

Instead of doing some activities that Joe had planned, we all just did our own thing (in true Father/Son's fashion).  In fact, I don't think I've ever been to a Father/son campout that did have planned activities.  Joe and I decided to go on a hike with Bishop Barney, Brother Wolfe, and their sons.  We hiked up to pretty lake/reservoir above our camp, that is owned by a different camp.

the kids discovering a wilderness survival shelter

After the hike, we played some catch with the football and then came back to the sprawl.  I can say I enjoyed the trip and am looking forward to it in years to come.