The First of Many
by Camp Cook
We had been at Butch’s near Backus, MN, attending a family reunion, since Friday evening. By Sunday afternoon, everyone had pulled up stakes and headed for home except for my wife’s Aunt Patti and Uncle Bruce from Colorado who stayed an extra day to help pick up the pieces and actually enjoy a little peace while on their vacation. I think that a good time was had by all but there were a lot of people and a lot of commotion. Now, the woods were quiet, the way that they are supposed to be. Butch, Bruce and I broke down the tent city in the back yard and the kids went off on one of many wild adventures. At home in the city they hear things like “look both ways before you cross the street” and “don’t let the dog out of the gate” and “stranger danger”. At Grandpa’s they are free range with woods and pasture and prairie to explore, only limited by their own imaginations… it must be a great place to be a kid.
On Monday we packed. Butch, a first team, all American gear hound is outfitting the trip (he has enough equipment to outfit a Boy Scout adventure camp) so the kids and I only brought our sleeping bags and personal effects. Around 5 pm, we set off for Pequot Lakes and dinner with my good friend Jason. After dinner, it’s back to the house where I got the kids washed, jammied and in bed. Jason came out to the house for a night cap and brought along a well stocked travel humidor for Butch and I to take on our trip… what a guy.