Camping Done Wrong, Part 2

Tentless, I considered my options.  I could probably find a hotel room, but that defeats the purpose of the trip (squeezing in an inexpensive weekend between bigger trips).  I could drive back to Salt Lake City.  I was feeling somewhat disheartened.

Then it occurred to me that there might be someplace that I could purchase, or even better, rent a tent!  I exited the park, and found myself at Zion Adventure Company.  I inquired whether they rented tents.  “Oh, sure!  Do you want a 2 person or 4 person?”

So while the very nice person helping me went and got the tent, I filled out the waiver, etc., and paid.  $20 for the first night, and $10 for the additional night.  Very reasonable.  OK, that’s more than I paid for my tent, but theirs was a little nicer quality.  And it was a heckuva lot easier than driving back again.  I got a hat, too.

I also stopped at the general store across the street, and got some firewood.  Then headed back to the campsite to erect the tent.  In the dark.

I have to say that this tent was nicely thought out.  It was even color coded, with one silver pole and one orange pole, with the corresponding connections on the tent in a matching color.  Of course, I figured this out after I was well into the job, and declined to switch the poles around.

Mission accomplished!  I had a tent.  Time to set up my bed.  This is where we find out what some of the runners up were…

Camping Done Wrong, Part 1

Sometimes you just need to get all of the mistakes out of your system.  Then you can go ahead and enjoy the rest of your life.  I gave it my best shot this weekend.

I decided to do more camping this year, and see more national and state parks.  I made reservations for multiple trips, including this weekend at Zion NP.  I had my brainstorm a bit late in the season, so the best reservations I could get were for one campsite on Friday night, and a different campsite for Saturday.  D31 and D23 at Watchman, if you are curious.

So, what’s the funniest thing you can forget when you go camping?  Read on.

The back story.  I bought a truck about a week ago (Friday).  The next day, I discovered a screw in the right rear tire.  This is a used work truck, so I’m fairly confident that I know where the screw came from.

Then I found a nail in the left rear tire.  No leaks, no problems – just a screw in one tire and a nail in another.  So on Monday I called the dealer.  The sales guy said he was going to talk to his manager, and get back to me.  It’s been a week, and nothing from @YoungChryslerJeepDodgeRam.  Customer service after the sale – a bit lacking.

So, I made an appointment to take the truck in to my local garage, @OlympusHillsService.  While I was marking the location of the foreign objects, I noted that the right front tire had a tear in the sidewall.  Yep, marked that too.

Car went to the garage on Thursday, and I walked back to the house and drove to work (in the other car).  Around lunch time I got a call.  Neither of the nails (I missed a second nail in the left rear tire) nor the screw had penetrated the tire.  Just embedded in the surface.  Yay!

The bad news – the tear in the sidewall was unsafe.  I needed a new tire.  Long story short, I bought two new tires, and had them shipped to the house.  Thank you @TireRack!  11:30 delivery was promised, and when I went outside to check at 11:32, the tires were leaning against the garage.  Threw them in the car, and delivered to the garage.

I just needed to actually get the truck back so I could head out.  I had done some packing earlier in the week, but then dealing with the tires and truck and the rest of my life got me a little distracted!  So, I was more disorganized than usual.  My big duffel with the cold weather sleeping bag, regular sleeping bag for insulation, blanket for insulation, air mattress, hammer, lanterns, and tent had been checked over and deemed good.  Camp chair added to the mix.  Camp stove and propane were in known locations.

At 2pm I called to see how things were going.  The truck was done!  Cue dramatic music!  I walked over and paid for the truck.  All of that diagnosis, and the only thing they charged me for was $50 for mounting and balancing the tires.  I love the service at Olympus Hills Sinclair!

So I grabbed everything I had ready, and threw a pot, a pan, utensil, coffee percolator, food, etc. into a reusable shopping bag and set off for Zion.

I knew I had forgotten a few things.  I was making a mental list of things to pick up when I got closer.

• Matches – left two boxes right on the end of the table, where I couldn’t miss them
• Hat – could not find $2 Walmart knit hat from trip to Yellowstone
• Coffee cup – how the heck did that happen?

[Approximately 5 hours/280 miles later]

A quick shopping trip in Springdale supplied me with matches and a coffee cup.  And a pastry.  No hats, at least not the kind I was looking for.  But I’ll deal with that later.

I arrive at the park.  It’s 7:30ish, almost dark.  I drive around in a bit of confusion trying to locate the Watchman Campground.  Finally found it, and confirmed my campsite.  It was beautiful!

I started unpacking.  Got out the big blue duffel.  Time to set up the tent, before it gets dark.

Oh, crap!

Where’s the !$#&&@# tent?!?!

How could I have forgotten the tent!!!

There’s the answer to my earlier question – the funniest thing to forget when you go camping is the tent!  In my next posts I will discuss some of the runners up.