This weekend, we went camping. I actually really enjoy camping, but I can't quite figure out why I find it so much fun. There's something about fires, sleeping outside, and beautiful mornings that I like a lot. We actually haven't gone camping the entire time we've been in Tashkent, and the last time we went camping, I was pregnant with William.
One of the biggest obstacles to camping here (and also in Tajikistan) has been finding a place to camp. There aren't any established campsites or camping areas, as 'camping' isn't something that anyone does here. There are camps, but those don't have areas for tents, just concrete huts with shashlik grills outside them.
So last weekend I sent the boys out to go and find us a place to camp. The list of requirements is pretty short - it has to be somewhere that can fit the tent, is isolated enough that nobody will bother us, and has to have somewhere nearby to park the car. When you're camping with nine people, car camping is the only option. They returned with a place to go, but Brandon didn't make any promises about how great it was. "It's flat and isolated, but that's about it."
So on Friday afternoon, the kids and I packed up the car to go on our first camping trip in five years. It was significantly easier that it was five years ago, as I had very willing helpers to haul the stuff, load the car top carrier, and prep everything that I needed. We finished up with several hours to spare before Brandon came home and we headed up to the mountains.
The site that Brandon found ended up being about a ten-minute walk from where we could park the car, and included fording a small river. Brandon ended up personally hauling two-thirds of our stuff and two-thirds of our children across the river himself and everyone else helped where they could.
The site itself was big enough to fit our tent and very isolated, so it fit the bill nicely. We were able to find plenty of wood to make a good fire and enjoy our usual camping dinner of roast hot dogs, chips, and s'mores. My rule for camping food is that it has to be able to cooked on a stick because I don't wash dishes when I camp.
When we bought our tent eight years ago, I bought the biggest tent that I could find. I told Brandon that I wanted one that I could stand up in because there's nothing more obnoxious when camping than having to crawl around in your tent because it's too short to stand up in. At the time it was ridiculously large, easily fitting us plus four small children. This time, however, I realized that it was a good thing we had bought such a large tent because we could barely squeeze everyone in. When they call a tent an eight-man tent, it really means eight sleeping bags and no more. Elizabeth ended up sleeping in the middle of everyone's feet. When she graduates to her own sleeping bag, I guess everyone will just have to squish a little.
All the children had a grand time camping and doing all the camping things. Nobody had to wash their hands, everyone got to eat as many marshmallows as they liked, they got to climb rocky hills and get extremely dirty, and the river got a lot of rocks chucked in it.
And best of all, everyone got to burn stuff. Because who doesn't like setting things on fire? Our campsite had lots and lots of dead branches laying around, so everyone got to burn as many branches as their little hearts desired. Elizabeth learned that one of end of the stick is hotter than the other, and William had a grand time setting everything he could find on fire. What else could a four year-old boy want?
By the end of the trip, everyone was thoroughly dirty, very stinky, pretty tired, and quite happy. It was a completely successful trip and I already have plans for out next one.
