Destiny's End

Shady Grove Campground

         Lanae and Heather drove to the grocery store, and made a quick but thorough trip through the aisles. They quietly discussed the foods each other liked, what they did not like, and soon discovered they had a lot of similar tastes. Most of the provisions they brought were canned, but they did load up on hotdogs, buns, chips, and of course marshmallows, graham crackers, and a big package of chocolate bars.
         "What are we going to drink?" Lanae asked her shopping partner.
         "We should get some pop and maybe something a little stronger. I don't like beer much, though. What do you like?"
         Lanae thought hard for a minute, "I don't know. I like most pop, root beer, cola, almost anything. I never drank much, except at parties, then it was beer. I can't say I liked it, I just drank if for lack of anything better. I don't like whisky, but brandy is alright. I've tasted that in stuff when my dad was alive."
         "How about some wine?" Heather offered.
         "I don't know, I don't think I ever drank any. I don't remember anyway. I'm open to give it a try, though."
         "Here's the plan then, we get some pop, and we should get some water, too. Then, we can stop at a liquor store and I'll pick out some wine. I'm no expert on them, but I know the kinds I like, and they don't cost very much, either."
         Soon enough, they had an ample supply of food, beverages, and ice in a big cooler, Heather had stopped to get from her place.
         They talked as they drove, and as they turned off on the winding road to Shady Grove, Heather asked Lanae, "Are you sure you don't mind me tagging along?"
         Lanae broke out laughing, "Kind of late to ask now, isn't it? I mean, what if I did mind, are you going to take your half of the food and stuff, drop me off and then what, get another site next door or something so we can share the rental stuff?"
         Heather started laughing, "Your right, I'm kind of late in asking. I don't know what I would do, I guess just drop you off, help you set up and then go home. I never even thought about it, I just kind of got caught up with the idea when we were talking."
         "I know, I didn't even think about it till you asked. I don't think it would be the smartest move to go camping alone. Not just because someone could cause problems, and nobody would ever even know, but it's been a long time since I went camping. I don't think I know how."
         It was Heather's turn to laugh. "You don't know how to camp out? I'm sorry, but that's funny. You just set up the tent and kind of put your stuff out, then make a fire and well, I." She hesitated, then, "I guess I don't really know how to camp out, either."
         "We used to go camping sometimes when I was little, but my dad and mom did everything. I would swim, play, and we would go hiking and stuff." Lanae explained.
         "Yeah, it was kind of the same with us. I did go a couple of times as a teenager with some friends, but their parents were along." Heater smiled. "I guess we will just have to figure it out and do the best we can."
         They finally got to the entrance to the campground and slowed down. There was a road that turned off to a parking lot by a big cabin. The sign said, "New Campers Register Here."
         "I guess this is where we start at." Heather said.
         They pulled in and went inside. An elderly lady greeted them, "Can I help you with anything?"
         Lanae stepped up, "Yes, we want to go camping for a few days."
         The lady smiled and gave her some papers, then explained how to fill out the registration. "This is a map of the campground and the sites with a "T" are for tents, the rest are for campers. You can set up a tent in the camper area, if you want, but you can't put a camper in the tent sites. I didn't see a camper, so I guess you want a tent site, or two?"
         "Just one tent site, but close to the lake so we can swim, please."
         "We do have a couple of sites with a nice lakefront over here." She pointed at the map. "The other ones are not so nice for swimming; rocks and mud instead of sandy. There is a beach over here, though. These ones are pretty remote and you have to walk in. They are all empty so your pick."
         Lanae and Heather looked a minute then pointed, "This one." They both said at the same time.
         "That's a nice spot if you like privacy." The old lady looked at them kind of questioningly. "I often see couples rent up all four spots so they can have, um, alone time."
         "Oh, I see." Lanae looked at Heather. "We don't need alone time, but it would be nice to have some privacy and quiet. How much is the end one?"
         They are all fifteen dollars, but the end one isn't as nice for swimming, it's kind of weedy on that side. The one next to it is nice. All three of the others are nice for that matter."
         Heather spoke this time, "Can we get these two?" She pointed to the end site and the one next to it with the nice beach area.
         "Yes, you can get both. It's still pretty slow this time of year, so you may not have anyone around in the other two. There are a few trees that separate them, too. It should be quiet and peaceful this time of year. How long do you want to camp over?"
         They again spoke together, "To Monday or Tuesday. Is that all right?"
         "It sure is, and there are no reservations for any of them sites. I'll put you down until Monday, and there should not be any problem if you want to stay longer. This time of year we see very few campers except on the weekends. I'll tell you what, I'm just going to charge you twenty dollars for the two sites, since it's so slow yet. So, twenty dollars for, let me see," She looked at the calendar, then finished, "No charge for tonight since it's getting kind of late, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then you have to be out by three on Monday. That's five days, at twenty dollars a night, I'll need $100.00."
         Lanae hadn't expected it to be so much. She looked at Heather, "Maybe we should only stay until Friday or something. I didn't think it would cost so much?"
         Before Heather answered, the lady asked Lanae, "Are you going to need electricity? Sites without electricity are only ten dollars."
         "No, we don't have anything electric with us. We plan on cooking over a fire and stuff, but nothing electric."
         Heather nodded. "Where are the sites without electric"
         "They are the same ones, only the electricity isn't turned on for the site. That means you only need ten dollars per night, so -- fifty dollars."
         Lanae and Heather looked at each other and Heather asked, "But if we are getting two sites it would still be twenty dollars, right?"
         The lady smiled, "Normally, but I was going to give you a discount on the price, since it's so slow. Fifty dollars will be fine for both sites, and if you want to stay longer, just let me know. You will also need some firewood, though. It costs five dollars a bundle, but I have some old wood I want to get used up, so I'll have some brought over and well just round it off at sixty dollars. If you don't use all the wood, just leave it stacked there."
         They split the cost and soon were driving over to the parking area. The sites they had did not have parking at them, so the two women had to carry their stuff in to the end site. It took a couple of trips to get everything back there, and on the last haul a four-wheeler with a trailer stopped. The trailer was full of wood, and the young guy driving smiled at them. "Toss the rest up on the trailer and I'll haul it in for you."
         They piled everything up on the wood and followed along behind. He was soon far ahead, and by the time they caught up with him at the site, he had their stuff set over by the picnic table and most of the wood off. He was stacking it when they arrived. "Over there is the best spot for your tent."
         He pointed over by some trees. "It's flat, and the trees offer shade most of the day, so it's not so hot in the tent. There's water, a shower, and bathroom over there. It's also the storm shelter if needed. Over there is the other toilet, but there's no water or lights, just kind of a outhouse style." He pointed out the different areas.
         "If you ladies need anything, let me know, or stop by the office and they will let me know. I have a cabin over by the showers and take care of the park, haul wood, and do most anything need's doing." He smiled and held out his right hand, "Names Mike."
         Lanae shook his hand, "I'm Lanae, and this is my friend, Heather."
         Heather shook his hand as well. "Thanks, Mike."
         He went back to stacking the firewood then climbed on the four-wheeler. He waved as he sped down the trail out of site.
         "He seemed nice. Everyone was nice. That lady gave us a super deal. I'm glad we came here, Lanae."
         "Yeah, I thought for a minute we would be spending a couple of nights and then have to leave. She was a sweetheart. Let's get our stuff set up and then go look around."
         The two worked together, but it took longer than they thought to figure out how the tent went up. Once they had it up, they laughed and laughed. They had set it up, and once they figured out how things worked, it had gone pretty smooth, only the door was facing the trees, and they could not get in. Heather asked Lanae, "If we pull the stakes out, do you think we can turn it without taking it all down?"
         "That's a great idea, Heather, let's try. What's the worst that can happen, it falls down?"
         They pulled the tent stakes out, setting them on the picnic table; the tent didn't fall down. With one on each side they lifted a little and gently rotated the tent until the door was facing the center of their campsite. They set it back down and pulled the edges tight. "Good as can be, that worked great. Now, let's get the stakes pounded back in before it does fall down or something."
         From there it was a matter of getting things put away. They soon discovered they did not have enough room for everything in the tent. They put some stuff under the picnic table, and then the rest would have to go back to the car until they needed it. The next task was starting a fire. They had brought along matches, and they pulled some dry grass and rounded up some leaves, but they only smoked and smoldered. They picked up little sticks from under the trees, and tore some paper and cardboard off the packages they had. They tried again and soon had a little fire burning. But when they put the big pieces of wood on the little fire, it smothered it out.
         "Great, now what?" Heather asked Lanae.
         "Maybe I can find something to use, where did we put the flashlight, it's getting kind of dark?" Lanae found the light and walked back toward the parking area. There were some dumpsters along the side. According to the signs, one was for aluminum, one was for paper and cardboard, and the other was for trash.
         She went to the one with paper and cardboard written on it and looked inside. There were some empty pop cases and other boxes in there. She reached in and grabbed a box, then stuffed it full of thinner boxes and some newspaper that was under them. She soon had a nice package of items to use for the fire. She turned to leave and seen Mike walking towards her with a garbage bag.
         "Something you need - Lanae, wasn't it?"
         "I'm just looking for something to get our fire started with. This should do the trick, I think." She held up the box she had. He set the garbage bag down and looked.
         "Yep that's the stuff you want. Did you split off some kindling?"
         "Kindling? What's that?"
         "Here, just a minute and I'll show you." He picked up his trash and deposited it in the dumpster marked trash.
         "Follow me." He returned the way he had come so Lanae followed.
         Soon they were at his cabin and he was showing her a pile of little pieces of firewood. He picked up a hatchet and took a big piece of firewood, set it on end and then with one smooth swing, he had two smaller pieces. He took one of the smaller ones and repeated this, until he had a pile of little pieces, some of them almost paper thin. "Kindling, to start the fire. You put your paper and boxes down, crunched up a little. Pile the smaller pieces on that, and then some bigger ones and then some even bigger ones."
         He had demonstrated this as he spoke and soon had a small teepee looking pile of wood in his fire pit. "Next, light the paper and watch it burn."
         Lanae blushed at how easily he had started a fire. "We don't have any kindling. We have a hatchet, but didn't know why the guy at the store said we needed one. I was kind of embarrassed to ask. Now I know, but if I tried to cut up wood like you, I'd probably lose my fingers."
         Mike chuckled, "That's alright. I mean, that's how you learn, by doing and by asking. I have a lot of kindling here, I'll bring some over, and tomorrow you can, carefully though, give splitting some of your own a try. If you're not sure about how to do it, let me know, I'll teach you."
         He loaded some kindling into the trailer. "This should be enough for a few days. Put some down each time you need to build a fire, or if your fire is down really low, and then put bigger pieces on. Where put your paper and stuff in there and hop on, I'll give you a ride, it's getting pretty dark."
         Lanae took the flashlight out, "At least I was prepared for the dark."
         She sat down behind him and they were back at the site in no time at all. Mike stacked their kindling by their wood, piling some on the smoldering ash in their pit. He left the big chunk in there, since it was smoking, and piled the new pieces against it.
         "You can build a fire like this, too." He add larger pieces then another big chunk on the top of the rest, supported by the big piece on the bottom. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a book of matches. Striking one into flame, he carefully touched the paper on the bottom and it began to burn. Some of the cardboard caught next, then some little pieces of wood started to burn and crackle and within minutes, the fire was growing nicely.
         "Just feed it slowly now, and don't put too much. Once it burns down a little, add another piece or two, and you'll have a nice fire for the night."
         He stood, smiled and then climbed back on the four-wheeler. "Goodnight. If you have any troubles, let me know, I'll be up for a while yet."
         He started the engine and soon was out of sight. They sat around their little fire watching it grow. Soon they had a nice fire burning and Heather was looking for sticks to cook some hotdogs on. By nine that night they had roasted hotdogs, chips, and a can of pop ready for dinner. After they roasted up some marshmallows and put them on the crackers with a chunk of chocolate; S'mores for desert.
         The fire started dying down, "Should we put more wood on, Heather?"
         "I'm pretty tired, I think I'm going to go try out that sleeping bag."
         "That sounds like a good idea, I'm pretty tired, too." Lanae got up and started putting their things away and Heather joined her.
         Soon the two were stretching out in their sleeping bags, the tent glowing from a battery operated lantern. "This is fun, thank you for the idea, Heather."
         "I'm having fun, too. Thanks for letting me tag along Lanae. I'm glad that sporting goods store had everything we needed, and told us what it was." They both laughed.
         Heather turned the lantern off and the tent was filled with darkness. As their eyes adjusted, the glow from the fire offered a relaxing, flickering light. Lanae was just about to drift off when Heather said, "I have to pee.
         Lanae kind of had to pee herself. "I'll come with, I have to go, too."
Heather turned the lantern back on, and they took it with them as they walked to the outhouse, since it was closest. The night had become quite chilly, and they had not put their cloths back on or shoes. By the time they got back, the fire was nearly out, they were both shivering, and couldn't get into their sleeping bags soon enough.
         Even snuggled down into the thick sleeping bags was not enough. Lanae herd her teeth chattering. "I'm froze, I think I'll get dressed and sleep in my cloths."
         "I don't think that will help much, we need to get some heat going. I don't want it to sound wrong, but I think we should put our bags together and snuggle for warmth. Or, if you're not comfortable with that, we can get dressed and go to the car and warm up."
         "I think your right." Lanae was shivering more. "We should have dressed warmer before going to the bathroom. I'm alright trying to put the sleeping bags together and seeing if that works."
         They hustled to zip the two together and soon had one big sleeping bag. Together they snuggled in, zipping it up almost over their heads. Heather's body felt warm next to Lanae, and soon she was feeling warmer, too. "Lanae, you're freezing. I think we should get you back to the car."
         "Your nice and warm, I'm feeling warmer now and I quit shivering. How come your not so cold like me?"
         "I don't know" Heather answered in the darkness. "You felt like ice when you crawled in. Are you sure you're not cold anymore?"
         "No, I think I'll be alright now. That was a good idea, Heather, thanks."
         Soon they were both sleeping sound, snuggled up to each other. As the sky lightened, Lanae woke up to the sound of some animal or something moving around outside the tent. It soon faded, and she snuggled tighter to Heather, who was still breathing softly in slumber. Lanae thought about Sally as she drifted back to sleep, her last thoughts, "I have to call Sally tomorrow."

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