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Greetings Stargazer.
Just got in from cooking brats over the fire. Singed them a little of course. But, no worries. My wife enjoys my cooking anyway. Says it adds flavore. (for those wondering, we Marsh-Wiggles do not eat children. By brats I mean Bratwurst. I have been knowen to run from giants who enjoy bi-peds for pie).
This was only my second actual participation. Unfortunatly, as I said, it rained, so there were few actual attendees.
As for what I enjoy. Well, I do rather like the idea of getting into the era. As I have come to understand there are at least four that you can get into;
Colonial
Late 1700s to1800s, think Lewis, and Clark
Early 1820 to 1840s
Civil War era
1880s, think cowboys
all have there own outfits, and as you have probably seen, they can get very elaborit.
Since I am just starting I'm still working on my "character". I am hoping on developing two. One is a traveling minister, though the get up will be difficult to come by.
The other one few know of. There were some scientists who were doing field work for some of the eastern museums gathering specimens. I hope to develope something along that line. Both for the fun, and for the chance to educate people.
Have you heard of the Forest City Rendezvouse? it is held every August, and is held jointly next to a stockade re-built from the Dakota uprising. They have also built a 1800s town.
One I do plan on attending is in Elk River in September at the Gun Club grounds.
Enjoy camping this weekend. I will pray for no rain.

Puddleglum, I quite enjoyed reading the beginning of your post. You Marsh-wiggles have such a subtle sense of humor. (And I'm so used to calling bratwurst 'brats' that I had to reread your post to catch the joke. )

I'm not familiar with the Forest City event but found its website. Looks interesting! If my schedule (and aging car and gas prices ) permit, I may check it out this summer. Elk River, on the other hand, is quite close.

Brats (the meat ) roasted on an open fire are always good! I also celebrated yesterday's glorious weather with a fire in the backyard, but didn't cook brats this time. Instead, I grilled a sandwich with that old standby, a pie iron. I've been using these things for years and yet had a new experience yesterday...I carefully buttered and placed the bread on each side of the pie iron, grilled it to a perfect golden brown over the fire, then got ready to enjoy my lunch...only to discover I'd forgotten to put the meat inside. D'oh!! But I was able to insert the meat and heat it a bit. Yum!

Whilst hauling the wood to the firepit I found several additional pieces of debris from last week's tornadoes, including what looked like the plastic covering of a car light. Wonder how many miles that flew across the city?

Oh my. Now I will be accused by the other Marsh-Wiggles of being too light hearted again. Shan't dare poke my nose out the wi-wam for days. Ah well, catch up on mending my stockings while I wait for it all to blow over.
Forgot my manners.
Do you go to the rendezvouse in period garb? If so do you enjoy any particular period?

Many apologies, Puddleglum. I didn't mean to embarass you in front of all the other Marsh-wiggles.

I've not attended Rendezvous in period costume. Might be fun to try that sometime, though.

The weather forecast for this weekend does appear to be a little better now. We may not get rain till tomorrow (Sunday) night - though the chance of severe weather and tornadoes still is expected Monday. That may prompt an early return if things do get nasty.

stargazer wrote:Memorial Day weekend is coming up, and I'll be joining friends camping at William O'Brien State Park, about an hour away on the St Croix River (which forms part of the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin).

Haha cool! I went there last winter to do some XC skiing. And my parents went camping there once. It's pretty!

Not to worry stargazer. I always need time to mend stoking. Though I honestly don't know whyas I do not wear them
If you were to start going to events in period garb I will share the advice given me when I started.
-Do not buy everything at once. This eliminates half the fun of going. Getting into the trading, and dickering is the best way of meeting people.
-Whenever possible, make your own clothing, or gear. Not only is it enjoyable, but if your wares are good enough, you have something to trade.
Too many people purchase everything right-away, then sit, and loose interest.
Hope this finds you dry when you read it. But as I have usually found tents tend to attract water. But then you could catch up on reading. That is if you brought a book. If not, I have always enjoyed sitting, and listening to the rain.

Thanks for the advice, Puddleglum!

We had several opportunities to sit and listen to the rain this weekend, though we got all our hoped-for fires, meals, stargazing sessions, and hikes done between those raindrops.

More exciting was the pea to quarter-size hail we had this morning. We ducked into a picnic shelter to cook our breakfast. Fortunately I'd already packed up my tent! (and my car is so old that a few more dings aren't too critical ).

I just got back from an awesome camping trip! It was my youth group leader, two guys, me, and another girl: winterlife's sister. We hiked ten miles to a bay. About 1/3 of the way, there was a trail but the rest of the time was hiking over tundra that was soggy most of the time. We set up the tents aways from the beach and then hiked down to the beach. It rained that night and the tent that me and the other girl were in had holes. We kept moving to avoid drips. Our sleeping bags were thick, fortunately, and didn't get soaked. We waited until the weather had died down a bit but it was still raining when we started to hike out. It rained a little over half way. Everyone was getting soaked. I was wet up to my knees despite wearing rain pants and everyone else was wet at least that high.

It was awesome! My feet are killing me and I have a small blister but it was great. I just got a new pack in a few days ago and I used it and love it already except for the sternum strap which isn't quite high enough.

Hail during a campout? Cannot say I have had that yet. Though when camping with the in-laws we have had to endure nasty wind storms. Twice.
The first time I had to help my In-Laws out of their collapsed tent. Terrifying at the time, but we laugh now about the image of two bumps moving about looking for the zipper. The last time a branch landed sqare between our van, and the tent.
Narnian_at_heart. Sorry to hear about blisters. Nasty. What I commonly suggest to scouts is carry extra stockings with whenever hiking. Then, whenever possible, sit and take your footwear off about mid-day, and let your feet dry. Then put on the fresh pair. Also, try to find some More Skin. (Not from the critters themselves. Nice fellows, but they mummble a lot.) You should find it at most sporting goods stores. Whenever you feel a "hot spot" where a blister is starting put some on.

Puddleglum wrote:Narnian_at_heart. Sorry to hear about blisters. Nasty. What I commonly suggest to scouts is carry extra stockings with whenever hiking. Then, whenever possible, sit and take your footwear off about mid-day, and let your feet dry. Then put on the fresh pair. Also, try to find some More Skin. (Not from the critters themselves. Nice fellows, but they mummble a lot.) You should find it at most sporting goods stores. Whenever you feel a "hot spot" where a blister is starting put some on.

I did have an extra pair of socks. I saved them for the next day which was fortunate because the first pair got soaked during the night. The other girl had brought some more skin and I used it but only after I had gotten the blister.

Planning on a family vacation along the North Shore of Lake Superior this next weekend.
Sure as ants to a picanick, the weather forcast is for rain on Friday.

Returned from camping, and of course we had a little weather. Fortunatly it held off until we were making ready to leave. Unfortunatly, it is supposed to rain for the next few days, and we cannot dry out the tent.
Well, at least we didn't see any lightning.

Glad you're safe, Puddleglum! The North Shore is one of my favorite places to camp, but it does seem to rain there a lot in the summer (but when the weather's nice, it's glorious!)

(Now that my brother lives near Silver Bay, when visiting we often make day trips to Split Rock Lighthouse, Tettegouche, and some of the other parks there, so I haven't camped on the North Shore for a while now).

My next camping trip comes in mid-July to nearby Baker Park Reserve. This group usually includes several families and a number of 'campfire experts.' We've had some great times playing "Telephone Pictionary" around the fire; the words go through some pretty dramatic changes when you have a dozen or more players.

Speaking of campfires, one thing I've used on occasion is Mystical Fire - a small packet of chemicals (available at many state park gift stores) that you just throw into the fire to get all sorts of color (check out this youtube video for a sample of what it looks like).

The kids love it, and it also proved popular at last summer's Ohio NarniaWeb Moot. Just be sure not to cook over the fire when it's colored.

Looks like there are a few Minnesotans on this site. What with State Fairs, and camping we should be seeing plenty of Narnians about.
One other warning about mystical Fire. Make sure you stay up-wind as much as possible. The fumes are much the same as burning plastic, with the same carcinogens.

Perpairing for a week long camp with some of the Scouts. Mostly packed, but I already got a call from one of the new scout parents with those last minute questions, and full stress
I'm sure I never was that way

I came back from camping yesterday and had a ton of fun! We stayed at Jellystone, and yes it is Yogi bear themed. We did all kinds of stuff.

Hey um do any of you know anything about BSA Jamboree?? Random but it has to do with camping!! My venturing crew is thinking about going in 2013.