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[mystictechgal]

I'm back! I survived! Really? It was great. What gorgeous country! I think camping is something I need to do more of. There were four of us, plus our professor. I've had some outdoor experience, but have only tent camped once; another student (whom I have known since she was 13--she and her sister are former zoo teens) is 22 and has never before been allowed to be away from home on her own like this, other than one year at camp in 5th grade. A third student is 23, currently has a suspended license, also has no camping experience, and showed up sick with a summer cold--which he has now shared with all of us. The fourth student is a 39yo experienced back-packer--he's planning yet another trip walking the Appalachian trail in August, and our prof. camps solo here every year A's part of her personal retreat (she a--rather unconventional--nun).

We did well, I think. While "third student" spent his time sleeping (not sick sleeping, just avoiding work sleeping) and, when awake, generally being (purposefully) annoying with the occasional touch of rude, the rest of us pulled together really well. Our prof pretty much left camp life up to us. We ate well. The first night our experienced camper made roasted mixed veggies and eggplant Parmesan (the young woman is vegetarian) and cheesecake with mixed fresh fruit. The next night we had leftovers and dehydrated meals. The third night we grilled tofu dogs for her and then I made hotdogs stuffed with Pinconning sharp cheddar and wrapped in bacon. We ate out yesterday. Breakfasts ranged from fresh eggs to bagels with cream cheese, cereal, oatmeal, and fruit, with coffee or cocoa. At night we made s'mores and popcorn.

It was colder than I expected--made worse by eventually getting student 3's cold). What I though was a warm rain jacket when I packed turned out to be a pair of winter weight rain/snow pants; not much use. Our contact at the DNR offered us jackets and I took him up on it, so for the past week I have been "Dan, from Ontonagon" ("Dan" isn't his name, either, but that's what was on the coat.) But, sleeping was divine. Between the nighttime temps and a nice warm sleeping bag these were the best night's sleeps I've had in summer in years--in spite of not getting very many hours, and our nightly visitor (see "What I Learned Today").

As for bugs? Yep, the mosquitoes and black flies were thick. But, I rarely got bitten, even when I didn't use bug spray. The few times I did, iI got tiny welts that itched momentarily and then disappeared. The guy from Fish and Wildlife says I'm apparently fairly immune (as he is). Maybe they just liked annoying, lazy, 3rd student best--he got mobbed wherever we went, no matter how much, or how often, he sprayed himself. I almost got home itch free. But, my prof decided to stop by the side of the road so that we could wade in Lake Huron. There was lots of sand dunes. My guess is that those sand dunes were filled with no-seeums or sand fleas, because I could scratch my ankles raw at the moment. And, since I got home, I now have two bites on my shoulder blade that weren't there this morning.

Glad to be home, but I'm back to 90+ degrees in the house next week. I'm seriously thinking about buying a tent of my own and pitching it in the backyard for the rest of the summer.