Parker County Today July 2017 | Page 73

get it open. So we get up the next morning and our cool- er is open and the kabobs are all gone, just the wrappers were left. It turns out raccoons are extremely proficient thieves. They somehow managed to get my cooler open, and they chowed down on everything, including my special one-of-a-kind kabobs. Just little lessons I learned ... . Now for the positives — we love camping, don’t want y’all to think otherwise. Just wanted you to know what you’re getting into. In fact, now that we have a gooseneck camper and a truck the size of a locomotive, we are in love with camping. The good things are that we love the people we go camping with, wouldn’t take for the memories, and we are looking forward to camping trips in the future. We’re planning future trips as we speak (or write, if you want to get technical). Campfires (the staple of the camping expe- rience), cooking on the campfire, making campfire coffee, and just sitting around it with people you enjoy, just talk- ing, good stories, no cellphones (usually no service), kids and adults equally enjoying just getting together in a less stressful environment (assuming you got your camper backed in) — really there’s nothing like it. Campfire breakfast is the best of the camping activi- ties. Everything tastes so good cooking this way, and great conversation again. Just the best! Marshmallow roasts around the campfire, more fun and great conversation. Creative dinners. On our last trip, for dinner we had corn- on-the-cob cooked on the Webber grill in the shucks, with lots of butter, and really that was the ‘entrée’. Planning the trip with your friends or family or both. The anticipation of the camping trip is a great part of the fun. Hiking. Every park we’ve visited has had really good hiking trails. Just check the park’s website and it will tell all the virtues of the area. Photography. My wife is a really good photographer, mainly because she loves to do it. Couple that with the hiking scenery and you have a good trip based on that alone. Going to your trailer. It’s sort of a little cocoon. After a long but good day of activities, just relaxing and going to bed, and sleeping so soundly, then waking up really refreshed. Going with good cooks. By that I mean they’re not only proficient but passionate about it. Having sharing nights to prepare a meal is such great fun. And I have to mention campfire pancakes. So now my wife says we’re not going camping, but we’re going glamping ... . She has made it fun in so many ways. She decorates with lights, brings her facial stuff along, special glamping bedspreads for the trailer; in other words, she uses her creativity, and that just makes it all the more fun. Let’s go glamping! Serving Parker County for over 60 years Photo by Megan Parks Norma Plowman | Misty Plowman-Engel | James R. Plowman 913 N. Elm St., Weatherford, TX 76086 | 817-594-2747 | 800-593-2747 | [email protected] New Location Opening Soon: 4941 E. I-20 North | Willow Park, TX 76087 Our goal is to serve every family as if they are a part of our own. 71