Another Full Moon Campers Adventure!
Looking back, I am not sure where my need to build a fire began. I believe it started on my first camping trip with my best friend’s family when I was about 10. Then on a couple of camping trips with my sister and brother-in-law when I was about 12. But school and work became the priority and camping was not in the cards until I met my husband.
I watched and learned from the best fire builder ever, you know the guy, he writes the other stories. Techniques included log cabin styles, teepee styles, lean-to’s, all starting with the tinder and kindling.
There are five families that have been best friends forever who loved to camp in all sorts of terrain. Our favorite was the desert on a full moon. Each camping trip we would plan the next adventure.
While the men tended to camp the ladies would prepare the feast of the day. It became a challenge to prepare the morning breakfast and the dinner. How could we top the last meal? We got creative as the trials and errors turned into master pieces.
The coal base was at first our main priority… keeping the coals hot while we cooked the best meals ever. From baked potatoes, cheesy campfire potatoes, corn on the cob, stir fry, teriyaki chicken to pork tenderloins too name a few. I could go on and on with the meals we prepared, the beer bread we made and the desserts that were to die for. But I’ll stop here on the food as it is making me hungry.
Setting up camp with our tents, camp stoves and camp kitchen and then cooking a meal on the fire was always great fun and a lot of work.
This is where I believe my desire to build the best campfire ever began. Pulling up our camp chairs, filling our red cups with a delightful beverage and maintaining the fire that would keep us warm until the wee hours of the morning. As the night would move forward and the stories and tales would grow you would think we would be moving closer to the fire, but no… the blaze moved us back until we finally let the fire die down before we turned in, preserving the coal base to start again the next day.
As much as I loved my fires, I loved the kids more. They were kids, they ran around the fire, threw unwanted items into the flames and on several occasions almost took a nosedive into the pit. Rules were put in place. No running or throwing anything into the fire until you were 27. They followed that rule for the most part. Considering they were between the ages of 3 and 8 when we started camping, they couldn’t even begin to fathom what I was really asking. Funny part of this story is some of the kids called me on their 27th birthday to let me know they could finally play in the fire. The other funny part is we were 26th when this group started camping and other parents were younger. Got to love messing with kids. : )
Most nights the campfire was all the light we needed. As we sang songs or played hiding go seek in the desert, the fire was our beacon back to camp. It kept us warm and safe as the coyotes on occasion would visit our encampment.
I don’t remember exactly when one of our camping buddies decided to present me with a fire stick so that I could better tend to the fire. What surprised me the most was on the handle of that beautiful tool he had engraved my name on one side and Fire Goddess on the other. It has been a gift that I will always treasure and use to keep us all warm.
Life is better around the campfire… light a campfire and everyone’s a storyteller…but best of all is staying up all night with the fire, stars and friends for life.
Fire Goddess out… for the moment.
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