Two days ago I prepared Miah for a little walk around the primitive campground. We met Jen along the way, and she came with us. She intended to show us the unmarked gravesites of Happy Canyon, an eerie symbol to me. The creepiest parts of 1984 and The Picture of Dorian Gray are the way bodies vanish, and whole histories are erased. At least the people who died in the arid, hard Happy Canyon were given a marker.
We didn’t quite make it to the grave yard because we were poking our way through the tall grass with a toddler. When Jen went ahead to determine our final destination, Miah and I took a break in the shade. Then Miah’s imagination took hold. “Shhhh! Baby sleeping,” she told me, and pointed a little ways up the hill. If I did something that seemed obnoxious to her, she would tell me again, “shhhhhhhh, baby sleeping!” This went on, this hunt for the mysterious sleeping baby, until we reached the tree line. We were almost back to the vehicle by then, so we blew bubbles and investigated the cowboy action shooting ranges like the “Bone Yard” and “Stinky Springs”.
Last night Miah met a toad that tried to squeeze its way into the cabin between the hinges of the front door. Mark caught it for her, but she wouldn’t touch it.
Our Administrative Director asked all of the counselors to pose for a Father’s Day photo that we’ll give to the instructors today. As much as Miah likes the counselors and photos, she surprised us by trying to sit out. When she realized what was going on, she ran in front of the counselors with a little dance. She’s a white streak in that photo. Then she decided to sit in the very front of them and smile. She stole the show, and this made for some great photos.
A few days ago, we encountered a young bear. He’s already been tagged in both ears, so this is not the first time he’s come close. Miah saw him within about forty yards before Mark and Whittington Center staff showed up to chase the bear away from our cabins.
One night during dinner, the Camp Director, Bill, had the campers file out one door in the cafeteria and in through another. As they did, they filed past a five foot king snake coiled on top of someone’s motorcycle. Mark took Miah out afterwards, and I hear that she pet him. The next night, we had to make a hard stop since the truck in front of us came to a sudden stop. The driver jumped out with a small rifle and shot a rattler crossing the road. They try to kill any rattler they see around here, and then cut off the rattle.
Meanwhile, I’m doing better with the bus, which the kids have named Macaroni, but the other day I thought I would give the parking brake another try. After shutting off the bus for the morning flag ceremony, my bus sounded like a sick whale. It took me a minute to finally look out my door and see that I was slowly sliding down hill. I engaged the brake. After the ceremony Mark came over to give me a hand if I couldn’t release it. I got it loose, and then it jerked my nose into the steering wheel. I thought I’d practice releasing the parking brake after breakfast. Oops! This time, I drove my lip into the steering wheel. By then I was tired of my bus beating me up, so the practice session came to an end.
Last night I took my first two shots on a Barrett .50 caliber on the 1000 yard range. We haven’t found a scope that works on this rifle, and the peep sites are a joke. Only a few people, like Mark, have actually hit the paper, so I went just for the experience. It feels like a shove more than a kick. Very cool. This is an opportunity that the camp has only been able to provide in the last few years, so I missed out on this as a camper. Ted, the instructor, says that Mark was grinning ear to ear.
Earlier in the afternoon, I began training to become an NRA certified shotgun instructor. I’ve always wanted some instructor certification, but I didn’t know the potential of serving the community with a certification before. I wasn’t all that excited about getting my certificate in shotgun, but that might have changed.
Mark has meanwhile started to switch to shooting left handed, and discovered that he loves archery too.
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