embrace the wilderness

This past weekend, I went with the college group from my church on a camping trip in the Shenandoah National Park (Big Meadows campground, to be exact). Here are some highlights, and some visuals for added enjoyment.

*playing mock-tour-guide most of the way there on bus 1, supplying such information as "fairies live in fog, and breed in creeks"

*embracing our juvenile glee, and seeing how many cars we can get to wave @ us, and how many semi-trucks will blow their horns in response to our arm-pumping motions

*supplying the last half-hour of the trip to the campground with impressions of Spongebob, Gollum, Pee Wee Herman, Kermit, and so on

*sleeping in a tent fit for 8 to 10 people, with only 3 other guys

*pancakes, potatoes, and scrambled eggs around a fire-pit for breakfast

*during our 1st hike, going off the trail as much as possible to climb every climbable rock/branch/log.. and cross as many creeks with anything similar to a stepping stone

*exploring a cave beneath a massive formation of rocks that we originally were posing on for pictures

*stalking/staring-down/chasing as many deer as possible with our mini "hunting-party" of guys trekking into deeper woods & swamp

*as I had an intense 5-minute staring contest with a deer, another deer crept up behind me... only to feel the blunt force of a whizzing frisbee thrown by my back-up man BJ Templeton

*following/chasing 3 black bears (not our brightest moment....)

*evacuating our evening devotional/discussion due to a curious skunk

*exploring the meadow our campground was named after, and climbing some amazing trees like Mowgli and/or Tarzan

-and now... the pictures-