It all started as an innocent idea... let's go to the desert to the see the wildflowers. We certainly have had enough rain this year that they were supposed to be pretty good... and in years past, their simple beauty has stunned us. Little bright flowers growing out of sand, scree, hardly imaginable places where it seems so hot and dry nothing could grow... For example: Exhibit A, Anza-Borrego Desert, March 2008 (the last time we were out there for wildflower season):
Notice the date - March 2008. Pre-Stella and Scupper. Should that have clued us into something? Hmmm...
Saturday afternoon we made our way out to a new camping site we had not tried before. County park, dogs allowed. High of 75, low of 51. Sounded great. Here are a few pics before the battery died in the camera.
This is Stella in her Peapod, a travel crib that's basically a tent... it's pretty awesome. I read about it in a NYTimes article my dad sent me on traveling light with kids, and ended up finding one on Craigslist for a great price the next day. it fits perfectly in the back of the van and she loves being in it... or so we thought.
She also loves crawling in the pop top with Dad... Nevertheless, after Stel peed all over the van carpet when i was trying to change her (to which she squealed with delight) we had a lovely dinner, put her to bed and opened a bottle of wine... because wine always tastes better when camping, especially when the bottle was only $4.99. Steve proceeded to spill glasses of wine not once but twice all over us as he was trying to get the fire going again. (they were perched on the edge of the fire ring.) Scupper was just basically cold and annoyed and put himself to bed.
Around 10pm, we decided to call it a night and Stella decided that sleeping was for suckers and proceeded to cry and scream until we brought her up in the pop top with us. Thinking that slumber parties with Mom and Dad are the best thing ever, she wiggled and cooed and screeched (her new found voice) for at least a hour until she finally settled in curled up around my arm. Two hours later, she woke up screaming. Screaming. Not sure why, just screaming. Considering it is whatever ungodly hour of the night and the pop top has an open screened window (and we're in the middle of a campground) I brought her below, Steve closed the pop and she proceeded to finally conk out on me, as I'm sitting up in the bench seat. We look at each other. What do we do? God knows we don't want to wake her up. Steve throws a sleeping bag over me, and I slowly slink to the floor, hoping that i can at least sleep leaning against the seat. Steve tried to "curl up" in the passenger seat in the front. Scupper, sleeping in the driver's seat, looks at both of us and wonders why we humans are so weird.
Cut to 6:45 am. Steve has been sleeping sitting up in a seat... Aimee and Stella are on the floor of the van, half on Scupper's dog pillow,half on the van carpet that Stella had peed on previously... Stella has been blissfully asleep, wrapped in mom's arms and a downy sleeping bag, Mom, on the other hand, has been half-covered by said sleeping bag and is freezing and not sure how many body parts are asleep... wishing that she was as asleep as said body parts.
Stella wakes up cooing, Steve and i wake up groaning. But that's ok. A few hours of interrupted sleep doesn't matter. We're going on a hike! It's ok. it's a new day....
and then we realize we forgot to pack coffee.
and then we think that going down an off-road trail in a 2wheel vehicle without a map of the back roads is a good idea.
This is me, digging out the van back tires with Scupper's dog bowl because the dry, dirt road gave way to a wet, sandy wash. ...
and then Steve realized that (after getting us out of stuck sand) that he's been driving on the back roads with his emergency brake on and could have burned out the back brakes....
and then we think that going for a hike for at least a little bit might be a good idea...
and forget that letting Scupper off leash in the land of cactus might be a good idea... until he chases a lizard, gets a cactus stuck to his paw and tries to get the said cactus off his paw WITH HIS MOUTH.
here's the cactus .... after Steve jammed his own arm in Scup's mouth to get the cactus out.
These are cholla cactus... Cactus balls with spikes that have barbs on the end so that when they go in, they stick. Picture this: Steve ripping cactus spikes out of the mouth, tongue, muzzle and paws of one scared pup while I hold him and tell him it's ok with Stella in a pack on my back in the middle of the desert. And then when we get as many as we could, Steve goes "take a picture of the cactus with my cell phone... you know... just cause."
and then just when you think it can't get any worse, we get back to the van and Stella's diaper has exploded with poo all over her, the backpack, and me.
Needless to say, we hightailed it for home. Steve took Scupper to the emergency vet to get the rest of the spikes out of Scup (sedation required), and Stella and I took a long bath.
Camp site: $20
Tank of gas: $30
Emergency vet bill: $312
Camping trip you'll never forget: priceless
