Oh, well. Here are the answers already. I could never be a teacher!
KEY: 1)Embroidered sleeping bag. 2)Coffee pot. 3)Tent. 4)Yellow envelope. 5)Trail sign. 6)Black and white picture of Sequoia trees. 7)Vast rocky hillside with trees. 8)General Grant tree with happy couple in front of it. 9)Campfire. 10)My filthy feet with a new pedicure. 11)Silhouette of trees with a purple dusk.
1. Old Stuff - This is Brent's (hint, hint). Getting out the camping stuff never fails to bring back memories of other camping trips, and I end up taking a lovely stroll down Memory Lane -- Memory Trail, in this case.
2. New Stuff - We thoroughly enjoyed this new appliance in the mornings!
3. Surprises - Halfway to our destination, through various discussions, I discovered Brent had packed his backpacking tent for the two of us (smaller than my newly purchased air mattress). I did not love crawling into a tent in my twenties and was much less excited about doing so here in my mid-forties. Our GPS led us to a Wal-Mart, where we purchased a tent, 10x12, sleeps five. Oh, well, it's too big for just us two, but maybe we can fit grandbabies in it someday. Our surprise was that half the tent measurement was FRONT PORCH, so what it sleeps five of I'm not certain (five itty-bitty grandbabies?), but the two of us slept snuggly.
4. Best Deal in Town - The price is oh, so right at $18 a night.
5. Trail Time - An early afternoon hike is just what is needed to get prepared and in shape for a late afternoon nap.
6. Big Tree, Little Me - I learn so much about God by absorbing the wonder and majesty of all that He has made. These trees make a person look up, which I do believe might be the point.
7. Room with a View - We arrived at our campground just before sunset on Labor Day weekend but were able to secure a prime piece of real estate. This was the view from our (very large) tent porch.
8. Shared Memories - We have pictures of me in front of this tree with my siblings (when they used to let you go all the way up to the tree), and of us and our kids of all ages. I love journeying through life with this mann.
9. Campires - Enough said. But I'll add something. What is shared around a campfire is more weighty than when shared in other settings. Songs are more beautiful; stories, more hilarious; thoughts, more profound.
10. Dirt - Seriously. The floor is dirty, but it's supposed to be. How freeing is that? I love the contrast of roughing it then going home to newly appreciated comforts (like showers and soap).
11. God Loving Me - When my oldest son was young, he looked up at the stars at night and said, "Do you know what my favorite part of camping is? God loving me."
It's my favorite part too.
