Crazy Camper: Post 4

Some times you come across a noise that will stock the world. This is not one of those game changing sounds. In our camping group there is noise that echoes through the trees of the woods and causes camp rangers to go insane. It is known as the "pterradacle", much like the name of the dinosaur, a pterodactyl. Although when 4 drunk men make up the name at 2:00 am it becomes much more slurred.

First to explain to you on how one creates this noise. By cupping your hands over your mouth to funnel the noise, you begin to breath in heavily. Then with all that you have, you put a sharp screech in your voice and release a sound that could be comparable to a gorilla with a garbage disposal for vocal chords.

I  am sure you are wondering how this awful sound came to be, and to be honest the answer is simple. Give four men a 40 pack of beer and let the childish games begin. The first time this noise was introduce was the summer of 2006. It was late at night and the camp ground was as quiet as mouse. Our group had already been warned by the camp staff that it was quiet hour and we had to keep it down. This didn't comprehend well in the minds of the under the influenced adults. One of the dads named Don had a voice equivalent to a rock being thrown down a metal tube. His volume was always on level 10. After he was told to keep it down, he waited ten minutes or so, chugged his beer and cracked open the birth of the "pterradacle" which echoed the camp ground stirring all the birds fom the trees. The staff rushed over and were steaming from the ears, threatening to kick us out from the park. Luckily this screech had also awaken the mothers and the set manners straight sending all the children and "kids" to bed.

This was not the last of the "pterradacle" by any means though. It had instantly become a group favorite an was repeated many times after. The best time was during a bet placed around the camp ground in 2009. One of the boys named Ash was on his 6th hotdog and was cooling down with a packed stomach.  Everyone was trying to get him to keep going to reach more, finally Don had said that if Ash ate 10 hotdogs with the bun he would run through the woods naked and call out the "pterradacle". The camp ground was already on curfew hour so this would cause a big uproar. Ash knew this was something that had to be achieved. So with all of our encouragement behind him we helped to stuff him like a mounted deer and push down the 10th hotdog. At this point Don didn't think itd was going to happen but realizing a bet was a bet, h made his way towards the woods. Moments later, with a silent campground behind us we heard the sounds of the "pterradacle". The greatest thing we had ever heard in camp history. This of course stirred  up the hopeful to catch us staff. But this time we had got away. To this day we still say that the soul of the "pterradacle" lives in the forest of Higgins Lake State Park and to this day, there it rest.

The Crazy Campers Guide: Post 3

Starting from a young age, almost all of us have experienced an activity or event that becomes somewhat of a family tradition and reoccurs every year. For my family and our fellow camping families in our group it had become the annual trip to the Cadillac State Park. This was our groups favorite park to camp at each year and the one we looked forward to the most. Though it wasn't just the confines of the park that made it so great. It was mainly the surrounding places and the memories we shared there that made it our favorite.

One of the best places we looked forward to going to every year was Adventure Island, which was located right across the road from the camp ground. It had everything us kids could ask for, starting as basic as the arcade room and the putt-putt golf, all the way to the hot spots of the go-karts and bumper boats. But the attraction that made this park so fantastic was its two waters slides. The one slide in particular though was a crowd favorite. It was the steep and wild green slide. This slide was a dark tunnel that only allowed a haze of green tint to be inside. When kids rode down it you could hear their screams echo all the way to the bottom where they would plunge into the wadding pool. We would run up the stairs so fast after each ride and zoom right back down the slide with joy and excitement. The trip to the slides was always a high light of the trip for all the kids of the group, but could be a rather tiring day for the parents trying to keep a watchful eye and still enjoy their time in the sun.

There was one time that the parents let there tiredness get the best of them. It was a day that all of the mothers of the group decided to pawn the kids off on the dads and go shopping. This was no easy task for the fathers to handle, especially after a long night before of bon-fire and poker games. The 4 of them were in charge of watching over 12 children who all varied in age and different interest of activities. The day had been a long one but the dads managed to conquer and keep us herded in the water park area. They began packing up all of their cards and helped us get dressed and ready to leave. We were all stuffed into the two mini-vans and departed back to the campers. Upon arriving we all sat around the fire and waited for the moms, who were on their way back to start dinner. All of a sudden one of the dads asked where his son Jack was. Jack was the youngest of all the kids at an age of 5 and was tiny, so he was very easily hidden in the crowd.

The dads knew they had to act fast before Jack's mom got home and had a primal fit over her lost cub. Three of them jumped in the car a raced back to the park. They searched and searched, looking high and low for little Jack. What was really only 5 minutes, turned into hours as they thought he would be right in the open. Finally they discovered him sitting in the corner at a racing game seat watching a older kid play. Snatching him up quickly rushed back home just pulling in right behind the mothers. Jack's mom asked her husband why Jack was the only one in the car with them, and to eager to reply he said they had went to get ice cream. Jack's young brain quickly took note of what his dad said, and asked "When did we get ice cream?", and lets just say that Jack's dad felt the wrath after that!

So whether or not a memory of a place or day is good or bad, Just remember this. Those make for the best camp-fire stories down the road.

The Crazy Campers Guide: Part 2

One of the main rules in camping is to always vacation in large groups. One of the most boring times my family ever had camping was when we went alone. My mother booked a trip to stay at the "glorious" campground of Alger, West Branch. When my family and I pulled into the grounds we had big eyes as we all saw something we would enjoy doing. My father, brother, and I were like kids in a candy store as we gazed upon the crystal clear lake looking at all the largemouth bass sitting in their beds. We were sure they would be on our dinner plates by the end of the weekend! My mother already in her tanning gear ready to sprint towards the beach and claim the perfect spot with her chair as if she were one of the first pioneers heading westward to mark their property. My whole family was certain that we would have the greatest weekend ever as we embarked on our first camping trip alone as a family.

That Friday afternoon was the highlights of our fishing careers, catching fish after fish. We were out on the boat for hours until dark storm clouds started to dance in the skies above us. Mind you this was years before you could have any radar on your phones. It was still the ages of the dinosaur flip phones. So we had no clue what was creeping up on us. Within seconds after feeling the first rain drops it began pouring buckets on us. We hauled our way back to shore and was quickly met by our drenched mother sitting inside of our little pop-up camper. Our perfect weekend was quickly turned into a nightmare.

We were in the middle of a "Michigan Hurricane", or the equivalent to a Seattle light drizzle. The weekend thunder storm turned us from vacationers to hermit crabs, stuck in our trailer which had now become a storm shelter. Our dreams of a camping trip full of fishing and sun bathing what cut short, way too short. As we all sat around the table our only option was to pull out a deck of playing cards and think of every game possible. Believe me when I say this, it is close to impossible to waste 48 hours when your only source of entertainment is euchre, go fish, and the ever so great company of your pouty family members while you are trapped in a 12X6 foot box. I'm not going to say I don't enjoy my families company but rain can put me and everyone else in a pretty cruddy mood and make for a lousy vacation.

My point to all this is since you never know what kind of weather is going to interrupt your trip. Always have a back-up plan. The best back-up plan of all is other families. Why you may ask? Well put it this way. When there are puddles outside the size of oceans to the eyes of kids there is always an adventure to be had whether it be swimming, riding through on bikes, or body boarding in the muddy mess. For the moms of the group they can easily go find a store to spend all their money, and trust me when I say they love, love, love to do that at the local antique shops. As for the dads of the group, let me just say that they enjoy playing cards all day and betting their money and never paying each other. So have other families join in your camping trips. You will not regret it because there will always be a equally time wasting companion for any age group.

The Crazy Campers Guide: Part 1 (Reason for My Topic)

The definition of crazy is "senseless; impractical; totally unsound" and the definition for camper is "a person who camps out for recreation, especially in the wilderness". Though when you put these two together you get a very interesting definition. The best way to describe it in my own terms is "someone who takes the ordinary idea of the outdoors and adds their own unique spin of doing things without necessarily thinking before they act".

I have dealt with a hand full crazy campers in my many years of experience. Granted in my 14+ years of camping I have also been and will most likely continue to be a crazy camping. So you can trust me when I say I know one or two things about the "art" of crazy camping.

Whether I am talking to you about the mysterious life-guard house of Tawas Point or the correct was to secure a trailer awning so that is doesn't catapult into the side of the next trailer. You can count on me giving you helpful information about how to survive in the camping world in the craziest way possible. Each of my post will be filled with two types of content. Although I don't know which week will consist of what material? I guarantee you that you will hear one of two things. The first will depicted both unique and creative ways to modify your camping experience, this could be ideas like where to camp in Michigan, what to wear, what to do that is free and much, much more! The other type of post will be more personal stories about my own experiences such as the deserted land of Mesick, the hidden taco stand, and other crazy adventures that can make or break your trip.

Case in point, this blog I will be giving you both the do's and don'ts of the camping world. In other words: a guide to help you succeed in the wilderness. Also enjoy the exciting and crazy life stories that come along with the ride.

Last but not least, I would like to share with you a little information on who I am. So that you can get to know your author. I was born and raised in Saginaw, MI and am currently still a resident of the area. I am 19 years of age and if you haven't been able to tell already, I am a male. I grew up mostly as an athlete type of kid, always playing football, lacrosse, hockey, and golf. But I was lucky enough to have parents with a little hint of red-neck in them to become an outdoors man. I enjoy hunting, fishing, and of course camping! My other hobbies include being a leader for middle school boys at my church, exercising, fantasy football (since I am too old to play for my high school any more) and welding. This is the very basic description of who I am, but hopefully you get more of a feel for my personality and life-style as I post.

Thanks for reading,
Crazy Camper