That's right! You heard it right. I am officially a camper. Pup, Pink Tips and I went camping in the Los Padres National Forest 2 months ago and I survived. This came about when Pup suggested that we three go out into the woods to go camping--something Pink Tips and I had never done. I was hesitant but told Pink Tips that if she went I would go. Pink TIps had the same idea so we were locked in for an overnight trip at, at that point, an unknown location.
The planning for the trip was a bit hectic and last minute. Pup and I were busy with work and Pink Tips just got done hosting her parents for a week. Initially, we wanted to camp on the beach or a cliff by a beach but we eventually decided on more woodsy camping because Pup said there would be more to do.
So on September 19, 2009, Pup and I were off to Santa Barbara to pick up Pink Tips for our adventure. Since we were about to see Pink Tips, it only made sense that we make a stop at Porto's (www.portosbakery.com). We picked her up some potato balls and meat pies and headed out on the 101.
Pup packing up the rivety Rav
Once we got to SB, Pink Tips graciously thanked us for the Porto's treats and may have eaten one or three potato balls. But before we headed to the forest, we stopped at Santa Barbara Outfitters to find me some water shoes. And what were the chances! Just 30 seconds in the store and I spot some Vibram Five Finger Shoes (www.vibramfivefingers.com) which Pup has been on the hunt for for quite some time now.
Due to the horrid aesthetic of the shoe, Pup and I had made a deal. He could buy the shoes but I wouldn't hang out with him while he wore them. So Pup had made the smart decision not to buy them. But this was different. We were in a store that actually had them in stock and were physically in front of him. So I encouraged Pup to try them on and figure out what size he was. Needless to say, I was being a good girlfriend.
What we thought would be a quick 15 minute shopping trip turned into 45 minutes or more. Pup got his shoes and I even got some nice hiking/water shoes (http://www.keenfootwear.com/product/ss09/shoes/women/waterfront/whisper) to traipse around in.
Pup couldn't wait to put his new creepy shoes on
Making sure his toes are all tucked in
I feel sick just looking at them...
With new shoes on our feet, we headed to Paradise Road in search of what else! Paradise! With the help of some shady old man characters we found in trailers along the way, we found our final destination at Upper Osa Campground. Thankfully Pup followed Pink Tips and my request to stay at a campground where we the car was a few feet away instead of parking the car and hiking two miles to a campsite. We are novice campers afterall!
We carted our bags, potato balls and meat pies to our designated lot and started to set up camp. Pup and Pink tips set up the tent after Pink Tips volunteered so I took on the arduous duty as photographer. I think I had the worst job of all! (Hello, sarcasm!)
Pink Tips sitting on the picnic table to avoid the fire ants
Pink Tips thinking "Why did I agree to this?"
Pup rifling through the grab bag of fun and adventure
Pup laying down the tarp for the tent
Pink Tips laying down her part of the tarp
Now they're moving the tent away from all the fire ants
It looks hard, but I don't think it actually is
Our home coming along nicely
Our humble abode
Thanks to Pup and Pink Tips' hard work, our new home was set up lickety split! We were all ready for some kind of adventure so we set out to find the famous pools at Red Rock. One of the creepy old camp men told us that Red Rock was popular with the "young'ns." I was very excited to jump in some water to cool off from the extreme heat that day. We were all expecting the experience to be more like this: http://12feetunder.com/bin/13/12/spot.php. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any pools and our experience was more like this...
Pup on the hunt for some water to jump into
Doing his best Mountain Man pose
Hiking in the riverbed...where water is supposed to be
If you look really hard, you can see Pink Tips sweating her butt off
After hiking in the riverbed in search of the river for a couple of minutes, we abandoned the hike and drove around looking for some pools. Thankfully we found a reasonably sized pool with cold water to swim in. It was almost completely secluded except for a family with about 5 kids--one of whom had a crush on Pink Tips and almost hit her with a rock and another who said that Pup looked like a "mountain man."
Pup going for a nice little dip
Pup claims he's looking at the water...I think he's looking at the reflection of his bod
All cooled down from a dip in the river pool, we headed back to camp. Somehow we all made it into the tent for a nap. I blame Pink Tips because she went in first, I followed, and of course Pup follows me wherever I go, so he came in last. I eventually became the last man down when Pup went to get things ready for dinner and Pink Tips did other things besides sleep.
Bartholomew taking a little catnap
Pink Tips taking advantage of the peace and quiet to read a magazine
Pup starting up the fire pit for smores
Pup starting the burner so he could start cooking
It looks like we hung something we hunted for dinner but it was just Pink Tips' dirty clothes hanging out to dry...some call it an illusion
Pink Tips concentrating on not messing up our dinner
Now she doesn't care and starts enjoying herself
Camping fashion is so ahead of itself these days
Such a poetic shot: Pink Tips. Cooking. Woods. Surround. Her.
Pup cooked us gals dinner (again, Pink Tips helped out while I took pictures). We had a hearty ground beef minestrone stew with more than enough for three wee campers. Pink Tips had brought a classy twist off cap bottle of white wine that we had with dinner--she was on a mission to get drunk and forget about bears or mountain lions. After cleaning the pots, pans, plates and utensils (yes, I did help this time), we settled in by the fire and made some smores!! It was the best smore I've ever had. Sadly though, I only had room for one but Pup and Pink Tips were able to pick up the slack...fatties.
We lingered around the fire for a bit longer, throwing the remaining potato ball and meat pie in it so we didn't attract any wild animals that could potentially eat us. While chatting around the warmth of the fire, we noticed the most amazing part of the trip: the stars. They were everywhere! None of us had seen that many stars before. We even saw part of the milky way. Living in LA, I had taken stars for granted but they are truly a marvelous thing.
Tired from a busy busy day, Pup, Pink Tips and I settled in the tent for some well-deserved sleep. Pink Tips had the great idea to play a game where we told secrets which ended up with Pup getting annoyed with how loud Pink Tips and I were talking and cackling. He would shush us...how rude.
Everything else is a blur. I pretty much passed out while talking but the night was not as easy as I thought it would be. Pink Tips was lucky to have a sleeping bag all to herself unlike me who had to share one with Pup. This was a learning experience because I will never share a sleeping bag with anyone ever again. I kept waking up throughout the night because I was freezing. I had my sweatpants on and my legs were fine but Pup used my hoodie as a pillow so my top half was not happy. Later in the night, we swapped places but I was crammed into the sleeping bag and was so hot I had to ditch the sweatpants.
Needless to say, by morning, Ninja Kitty was not a happy camper (literally). But I perked up once Pup handed me some hot chocolate and we ate breakfast (corned beef hash and rice). We broke down the tent and packed everything up and we were back on the road towards Santa Barbara. After dropping off Pink Tips and hanging out for a bit, Pup and I drove back to LA to return to civilized living. We got back into the groove of things with Pup unpacking, cleaning and playing video games and me passing out for 4 hours. Gotta love the easy life...
