We decided not to travel very far this past holiday weekend. Instead, we hooked on to our camper, pulled it all the way up behind the house and parked it, overlooking our pond. With a tank full of water and a generator for power, what more would we need?
Friends of ours joined us with their camper and we had a great weekend. There was no traffic zinging by, but most importantly, there was no phone.
We watched deer feeding on the hillside and were entertained by red-winged blackbirds chasing a turkey away from their nest. At night, we sat around a campfire and just watched the red-and-yellow flames dance along some old chunks of wood as the stars twinkled overhead.
We could hear Oneonta's fireworks in the distance and see just the tops of the colorful mortars exploding over the hillside. We didn't see much of the show, but we didn't have to fight the crowds to get out of the park, either.
The highlight of the weekend was the bumper-boat kayaking. Get four kayaks on a small pond with no where to go and sooner or later, someone is going to get wet. Water seems to have that effect on people. You just can't help it. It starts with a little splash of the paddle and ends up with seeing who's still upright in a boat.
We'd paddle as hard as we could to get away from our adversaries. Back-and-forth and round-and-round we went. Carol and Ernie had never kayaked before, but they soon found out how much fun adding a little water to the mix can be. A hard push of the paddle or a bump is all it took to upset someone's boat and send them into the drink.
When first-timers step into one of those strange Eskimo crafts, they think they'll immediately flip over. But in just a few minutes, they find out just how stable it is. After all, your rear-end sits right at water level.
I remember a few years ago when we were camping at West Canada Creek Campground near Poland. Several of us were floating down the stream in the kayaks. There was no white water, just a gentle journey back to the campground. I jokingly told a young fellow named Brandon that a good kayaker could lean over and touch his nose to the water, knowing full well that he'd be tempted to try it sooner or later. It didn't take long for the splash and ensuing commotion behind us. Brandon was upside-down in the river.
Nobody fell for my little prank this past weekend, but everyone got wet. We could have just floated around while enjoying the peace and quiet, but someone would always start the game all over again. You'd just push your little, water-filled craft to shore, empty it out and get back into it.
It was a wonderful time. What more could anyone ask for? A beautiful setting, good friends, great food and fun.
It just proves that you don't have to travel very far to enjoy some of the finer things in life.
What's Happening?
The second annual Boy Scout Clay Target Tournament to benefit the Otschodela Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be held July 19 at the Oneonta Sportsmen's Club on Franklin Mountain.
This event will feature three clay-target challenges, Brook's BBQ, prizes and more. Teams and individuals can participate. This event is a way for local sportsmen to help deliver the scouting program to tomorrow's leaders.
For more information or to register, call Tom Wright at 607-432-6491 or Don Nickerson at 607-638-9258.
Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at robrockway@hotmail.com.
