Camping with Grandma
We didn't get to spend as much time with Grandma and Grandpa Vawser as we did with our other grandparents every summer, because Grandma Vawser worked pretty much full time in the grocery store. However, we usually spent a day or two with them in Norfolk, on the way to or from our week-long visit in Bloomfield. I can remember two times, though, when Grandma took us camping!
The first time we went camping, Grandma took Aunt Marilyn and eight or ten of us grandchildren, probably between the ages of five and sixteen, to TaHaZouka, a park on the south edge of Norfolk. It was the same park where I had attended Girl Scout day camp a few years earlier, when we still lived in Norfolk. At that time, the park's small zoo included some black bears, and several peacocks that spread their tails whenever we clapped for them. The Elkhorn River meandered through the park, too, providing a place for fishing and wading for those who were feeling adventurous.
Grandpa drove the pickup camper out to the park for us, but he wisely chose to spend a peaceful night at home so he would be ready to work in the store the next day. We pitched a couple of tents, one for the boys and one for the girls. The plan was for Grandma to sleep in the camper with the youngest kids, while the rest of us slept in the tents. However, my cousin, Lynette, and I ended up in the camper, too, because our allergies made breathing almost impossible that night. I don't think Grandma got much sleep at all. She had to remain vigilant because some local teenage boys discovered that several teenage girls were camping there; they kept driving by and calling out to us until late that night.
The next time Grandma took us camping, she chose a more private location. We went to the home place, near Bloomfield. Grandma and Grandpa still owned the farm, but they leased the crop land and pastures to a local farmer. We set up camp in the farmyard, between the house and the barn. The electricity and water were both turned off in the house, so we used the outhouse that was still standing close by. The old windmill provided enough water for our needs.
Our first task was to find some rocks to construct a fire ring--we needed to be careful so our fire wouldn't spread to the surrounding grassland. Then, we gathered enough sticks to make the campfire. When supper time finally arrived, we roasted wieners on sticks and made gooey s'mores for dessert. I am sure that Grandma opened a can of beans, too, because the Vawser clan rarely forgets the baked beans whenever we all get together for any reason.
The rest of our time was spent hiking and exploring in the trees and outbuildings. We found an animal skeleton or two, and followed some deer tracks. Grandma identified all of the wild flowers that we gathered. She had some stories to tell about life on the farm, especially about the pets our parents had as children. Besides the normal dogs and cats and horses, they also collected more exotic pets, including a coyote pup, an owl, and a mild-mannered skunk that never sprayed anyone.
Grandma certainly had a sense of adventure. I don't know of too many other grandmothers, then or now, who would volunteer to take so many grandchildren on even one camping trip. (Of course, we were always well-behaved!) In all of the time I knew her, I don't think I ever heard Grandma raise her voice. She commanded our respect, and we treasured the precious times that we could spend together.
The first time we went camping, Grandma took Aunt Marilyn and eight or ten of us grandchildren, probably between the ages of five and sixteen, to TaHaZouka, a park on the south edge of Norfolk. It was the same park where I had attended Girl Scout day camp a few years earlier, when we still lived in Norfolk. At that time, the park's small zoo included some black bears, and several peacocks that spread their tails whenever we clapped for them. The Elkhorn River meandered through the park, too, providing a place for fishing and wading for those who were feeling adventurous.
Grandpa drove the pickup camper out to the park for us, but he wisely chose to spend a peaceful night at home so he would be ready to work in the store the next day. We pitched a couple of tents, one for the boys and one for the girls. The plan was for Grandma to sleep in the camper with the youngest kids, while the rest of us slept in the tents. However, my cousin, Lynette, and I ended up in the camper, too, because our allergies made breathing almost impossible that night. I don't think Grandma got much sleep at all. She had to remain vigilant because some local teenage boys discovered that several teenage girls were camping there; they kept driving by and calling out to us until late that night.
The next time Grandma took us camping, she chose a more private location. We went to the home place, near Bloomfield. Grandma and Grandpa still owned the farm, but they leased the crop land and pastures to a local farmer. We set up camp in the farmyard, between the house and the barn. The electricity and water were both turned off in the house, so we used the outhouse that was still standing close by. The old windmill provided enough water for our needs.
Our first task was to find some rocks to construct a fire ring--we needed to be careful so our fire wouldn't spread to the surrounding grassland. Then, we gathered enough sticks to make the campfire. When supper time finally arrived, we roasted wieners on sticks and made gooey s'mores for dessert. I am sure that Grandma opened a can of beans, too, because the Vawser clan rarely forgets the baked beans whenever we all get together for any reason.
The rest of our time was spent hiking and exploring in the trees and outbuildings. We found an animal skeleton or two, and followed some deer tracks. Grandma identified all of the wild flowers that we gathered. She had some stories to tell about life on the farm, especially about the pets our parents had as children. Besides the normal dogs and cats and horses, they also collected more exotic pets, including a coyote pup, an owl, and a mild-mannered skunk that never sprayed anyone.
Grandma certainly had a sense of adventure. I don't know of too many other grandmothers, then or now, who would volunteer to take so many grandchildren on even one camping trip. (Of course, we were always well-behaved!) In all of the time I knew her, I don't think I ever heard Grandma raise her voice. She commanded our respect, and we treasured the precious times that we could spend together.
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