Rhinestone Cowboy Camping

So this weekend we had the opportunity to go camping with my dad's horse club. I use the word "camping" loosely. We (my parent's and I--Mike and the boys slept in a tent) stayed in a plush motor home complete with running water--shower, bathroom, kitchen sink, convection oven, fridge, freezer, AC, satellite TV, DVD, surround sound, double bed, pull out couches, etc.


I might have stayed in the tent, but it was a 4 man tent and I would have been the 5th and a woman. Too bad. Mike was too manly to have anything to do with this:

I must say the motor home experience was over rated. We spent too much time turning on and off the generator and figuring out the bells and whistles and not enough time enjoying the fire and the nature around us. But all in all I think it was a good thing. Next time I go camping I'll just be glad to camp. The only thing that was worth it for me was the cozy bed part. You really can't go to enough trouble for a good nights rest. But I think a tent, air mattress and quality sleeping bag are just as good, a lot cheaper and a lot less hassle. Owen would disagree. He thought the motor home was great and called it lovingly, "my school bus." It seems appropriate that Owen's school bus have a kitchen. (=

The horse part of the trip was pretty cool. The camp sites all had corals and hitching posts.

The boys all got a chance to feed the horses.

But perhaps the most eventful part of the weekend was how my dad's horse, Buena, almost died. She got dehydrated and colic. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but horses are sensitive and die all the time from colic. We called the vet and she came out and essentially siphoned out the horses stomach.

Yes, she has the tube in her mouth. (YUCK!) She ran the tube up the horses nose into her stomach and then, just like gas, pumped out all the stomach contents.

It was pretty gross, but very necessary and kind of interesting to watch. The whole horse club came out to see.

Fortunately, Buena got better and made a full recovery. She's now, as you say, "healthy as a horse." Of coarse there were the normal parts of camping too. Like sharing wilderness moments like only brothers can.

The boys saw all the local animals in taxidermy style at the nature center. In in real life they saw lizards, rabbits, deer--black tail deer at that, spiders, all sorts of birds and red ants. There was the regular stuff too like hanging out by the campfire waiting for the water to boil for our oatmeal breakfast.

We went to the play ground several times. Mike's family will appreciate this next shot. Yes, things got a little rowdy and yes, because of my boys, Mike included, the play structure was damaged.

It was pretty hot, and I must say I don't think I'll go camping in Orange County in September again.

But, you really can't beat the people watching. What was this lady thinking?

All in all it was a good trip with plenty of quality family time. I would have to recommend the location. Even in the dry season it was very pretty. We stayed at Caspers Wilderness Park in San Juan Capistrano.