2014

Another summer, same camping story.  Started the day today at 6 am to get ready to head to Chatfield to instruct a lifeguard renewal class. Nine hours later 14 guards were renewed for two more years.  That was a lot of guards, but it was fun.

Now I am in my tent, all set up and ready for the summer.  This year I am almost constantly training new lifeguards and swim instructors, so not many lifeguarding shifts this summer, but we need the new guards and instructors.

For dinner I had some green beans.  Instead of getting a big fire or a gas stove to boil water, I used for the first time the Biolite my mom got me for my birthday.  It works by taking the heat from the fire to generate electricity which drives a fan to make the fire hotter.  Took less than 10 minutes to boil a mostly full small pot of water.  Instead of using large wood you just burn small stuff.  All the wood I used to make dinner was tree bark I found on the ground as I was clearing a space for my tent.  I have a box I filled with wood I found on the ground that I am going to keep in my car so if it rains I still have dry wood, but every day for fuel I just need to go find fallen sticks and pinecones.

I lit the fire using a small piece of news paper I got from my sister, when she moved into her new apartment there were 4 news papers outside the door, and added a few piece of wood.  Once some of the wood got burning I turned on the fan (it has a battery to start up the fan before there is enough heat).  I put the pan on to start heating and after a few minutes there was a big poof and all of a sudden flames were shooting out as the wood all combusted at once.  Before the poof the fire was really smokey.  Once it fully lit and started burning there was absolutely no visible smoke.  Smoke is particulate and ash that did not fully burn, wasting fuel.  When there is no smoke then everything is burning completely, giving more heat release per gram.

As a result of the Biolite I can now cook in about 10 minutes what would normally take about 30-45 minutes.  Tomorrow is oatmeal!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

And the rain rain rain came down down down...

Wow still remember that song from Winnie the Pool.  And like the 100 Acre Woods we are getting dumped on!  6+ inches around here in the last 2 days.

Not my camp site but the RV park near home was flooded out.  See the school house?  The 5' wide creek is on this side of the school.  All the rest was filled with campers and RVs.  When we took this most of them were on the street trying to figure out what to do.

 My cousin Chris.

And these are from where I camp.  My car bottoms out quite a bit.  Not going to bike to work until its repaired.

My tent was a little damp when I checked it this morning but otherwise it was fine.  Nothing a towel and cup can't fix.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis, the camping lifeguard.

Summer!

Summer is finally here!  Saw my first lightning bug. I was wondering when that would happen.

As I write this I hear an owl to the south of me calling. My coworkers think I'm nuts for camping almost every night this summer, but as I bike down the hill and see my tent at the campsite, I feel happy. 

From the mobile guy with his eye on the sky, Travis, the camping lifeguard. 

Round 2

Never thought you'd hear from him again did you? He's back. And this time his tent way too small. 

Wait Wait Do Tell Me!

Today is my last day camping up here.  I still have a few more posts to put up, but I have a test for one of my classes on Friday morning and the nearest testing center is in the Twin Cities.  Between that and missing my family and cats, I am going to be leaving tomorrow morning for home.   I will do a more proper goodbye when I can, but right now I am a little excited!

I just got a call back from Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me from NPR.  I am going to be a contestant for the Bluff the Listener Challenge!  Bluff the Listener Challenge is where the three panelists each give me an odd story.  One is true, the others are faked (though sometimes really cool or correct and they didn’t realize it).  I have to guess which is real.  The recording is tomorrow night, and airs on Saturday.  As to when and what station depends on where you live.  Look online for more information.  WWDTM is also available afterwords to download.  You can either subscribe as a podcast in iTunes or some other method, or direct from the site at ____.  Listen if you can!  I will post the direct link when it is available.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

LEAVE ME ALONE!

I was nice and asleep (I think I sleep better here than in my own bed) and all of a sudden I was jolted awake!  Frogs keep jumping around and two ran into my tent last night.  Normally I get a frog or two over the night for the last few nights, but two at once is a first.  They seem to not realize you need to go around the tent and instead they try to climb up and over it.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Wait! No! Don't Leave!

The Camping Lifeguard is going on a camping hiatus. I have been asked to house sit until the 20th. I am going to miss camping, but for the next 10 days I can have cold stuff like ice cream, chocolate milk, and cookie dough.

It also leaves the campsite more room, which they are expecting about 200 people for an educational thing. They will need all the room they can get!

I will still post as I have material, but there might be less than normal.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Day Off

I would like to thank one of my co-workers for letting me have yesterday off. My having it off I was able to go on a 4 mile swim along the shore. That 4 mile swim wore me out enough that I took a nap. The nap ment it was harder to go to bed that night, and had I been asleep at midnight like I should have, I would have not gone to the bathroom at 1 am. 1 am was when the aurora was out. Thank you for taking my shift!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

And a two

It has now been two months from today that I officially became the camping lifeguard. It is August, swim lessons are done after 80+ kids, the Forth of July has passed, Bay Days went by with incident. We have had warm water, heavy rains, and hot days.

Swimming in the lake, I think about what I miss about home, but how much I love being out here. I miss my mom and dad, my sister and brother, all of the cats. I miss being a continual system admin at home, and having computers for video and image processing.

I really like being up here though. I feel happy, and not stressed. I know my parents don’t want to read this but I wish I could stay here past the summer...even all year if winters didn’t get too cold in a tent.

There are a few things I have learned for next year. Next year I want to bring my smaller tent. My six person tent is way too big and I only use about half of it. I have a two person tent that I can use all of since I am so tall I have to sleep at a diagnal. There is a water source up here, so I don’t need as many water jugs. There are other things I don’t need, like some cables and flashlights. I think the only thing I want more of is blankets and another pillow.

And maybe a cat.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

OHHHHHH........

♬Happy anniversary! Happy anniversary! Happy anniversary! HAAAAAPPPPY anniversary!♬

I have been here for a month! I have probably lost a gallon of blood to mosquitos, but still here.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

On the Move

On Sunday I moved my campsite. It has been three weeks since I got here. I have been at my site so long that the grass has gone dormant. If I were to stay put, the grass would die. So I moved two campsites down and at the new site there are more trees to run support lines. Take a look:

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

They’re getting bigger!

Since Saterday, the weather has been less than desired. It has been cold and windy and rainy. Yesterday was the biggest waves so far, with some waves four feet tall when hitting shore, on top of a three foot rise in water level. I plan to post videos later, but even when I was there for half an hour after gettting back from swim lessons the water tops rose. When I first got back an occasional wave was going over the top of the beach and into a nearby lagoon. By the time I was done filming, every wave was going over!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Then and Now

I mentioned a while ago Jeniqua was the one who brought me to nature. Had it not been for her, I would not be doing this right now...she got the ball rolling. Let me tell you who I was before her. I remember it like it was yesterday... *Fill screen with white wavy lines indicating flashback sequence*

I grew up mainly with three sets of toys, K’nex, Legos, and a farm set. Oh, and there was the train track but that was almost always with the farm set. Pretty much every weekend I would play McDonalds in the upstairs hallway with my younger sister. When not playing that I would build with K’nex and Legos. K’nex almost always became a steerable car or amusement park rides. Legos were guaranteed to become a weather station. I remember that usually the most pride out of the weather station was not that it was two stories, but that the motor that ran the satellite dish actually had a passive heat duct built into housing. All three toy sets would then merge on the top bunk of the futon I had in my room, while I slept on the couch due to a fear of heights and rolling off something so high.

This pretty much summed up every weekend in elementary, middle and high school, at least until we got the family computer at which computer games also got included. I still think the Christmas gift of Flight Simulator 2002 was a ploy by my parents to get over my fear of flying, which did work and is still an awesome game. My first laptop resulted in lots of cities being made in Sim City, lots of flights in FS2002, empires concored with Civilization 2, and trying to see if Intelligent Qube and Crash Bandicoot from the PlayStation would work on my laptop. My time on my laptop and the family computer is why I know so much about them now...I liked to experiment and break things, then hopefully fix them before the parents got home.

When it rainned outside I would go outside after it was done and use sticks to change the flow of water going down the driveway behind the house, or move puddles in the pasture using the rubber boots I had on and squishing the ground. Sometimes we would build bonfires or I would ride my bike into a cement wall (pre-teen and teen years...also how I learned how to ride and use the rear brake not the front). Sometimes we would head to the ravine behind our house, a forth mile away (I love Iowa, everything is so grid like), and go on a walk or sledding.

One of my favorite places of “where the dead cars are” ravine was the large hole in the ground where the water in the ravine would drain into the neighbors land. It was a six foot diameter L shaped metal tube that went down then under the fence. There was always the worry when sledding we would get swallowed up in it like my closet once did (thanks mom for getting us out) and be trapped forever. Yet, other than the spring pit out there, I didn’t really care about the natural parts of the ravine. Heck I cared so little I spell it revene, which spellcheck says its wrong so I go to reveane. Time to look up words similar to vally (which adds another step since its really valley) in order to get ravine, which odd since I say it revenue.

Anyways, dad would sometimes ask me if I wanted to go to “where the dead cars are” or somewhere else for a walk. I could tell he was disappointed but I didn’t really care about going on some boring walk exploring nature...Train Simulator is more interesting...each tree is six flat services rotated 45° from each other so no mater which angle you look at it looks full. Great way to be pseudo 3-D and use less processing power. No, figuring out how they programmed this game is way more intresting.

Then I met Jeniqua. We met part way through our fall freshman year. She was an outdoor nerd, I was a computer nerd. A perfect contradiction. We became friends and she got me to enjoy the outdoors. In the mornings we would go on a walk either in the ravine or ravine or ravine. When your college is surrounded on three sides by a ravine, its where you go to explore. I just now released that gives a little more meaning to the Jurassic Park gates the college installed. I remember the end of my freshman year, mom was driving me home and looking in the ditch at purple flowers would remind me of her. Nature had become not just intresting, but with meaning to other parts of my life.

In our junior year of college we went camping twice. The first time was just to Washburn and was a trial for an epic adventure to Canada! I believe the socially correct phase for describing the trip is “OMG so AWSOME!” On one night, we hiked to the top of a mountain to watch the sun set, went back down to have dinner and stare at the stars (must be what staring is all about, they both start with star) then slept until 4 am before hiking back up the mountain for pancakes and watch the sunrise.

Before this I didn’t go camping at all but these two adventures started it for me. In fact, both that summer, and the summer after I went back to Washburn to camp, and hopefully see loons. Oddly enough to get there its 16 miles. Sound familiar? Yes, I biked out there and back too. And, unlike what I am doing now, everything I had to camp with was attached onto my bike. Fairly minimalistic, just sleeping bag, pad, tent and JUST enough food to last, and off course my camera. If it had not been for those spring and summer trips, I would be currently living on campus, spending 300$ per month and having my pots and pans stolen like last year.

Thank you Jeniqua!

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...The Camping Lifeguard

The Children of Lac du Flambeau

Three days ago I posted about the Mother Earth Water Walk. That weekend a few groups of people came to stay at the same area I am camping at for the event. One of these groups, the first to arrive, was a group of about a dozen children from the Lac du Flambeau Reservation here in Northern Wisconsin.

I first met them when letting them in though the entrance gate. Once I was heading back to my campsite I noticed they were having some trouble with their tent so I went and helped them. After they were done with that they needed some help with their fire. Turns out this is new to most of them including the mother leading the trip. I stayed to help them cook dinner, which of course hotdogs on a fire pit grill was also new to them. The kids and I started to get along, and by the next day, Saturday, we spent most of the time they were here hanging out.

Unlike Friday, Saturday was a nice day, so after helping start lunch/dinner we all went swimming. The water was cold but the rock collecting was good. Four year old Sky had a bucket and we would stop at each spot of rocks to pick out the prettiest. After lunch the swimming turned into keep away with my watergun. I was severely outnumbered.

Anyone who knows me knows that when I am in the water, any game turns into a game of “Lets drown Travis.” Here is how this name normally works. Three to five kids will hold on to my arms and neck and try to sink me. I, being able to stand just fine with seven kids on me, will sink to the bottom, wait until the kids cant hold their breath any longer and they go up for air, then I swim away, come up and splash them, then we start again.

We are going to take that game and just toss it out my tent window here, and wait a second...sploosh, that is just floating away in the lake, working its way to Canada. No, this game involved no letting go. Turns out one of the girls can hold their breath as long as I can. She also had the tightest grip on me. I never went down to less than two still on me, trying to drown me. Instead of this game ending when someone started crying or a pool check, this game ended after we all decided that shivering meant it is time to get out!

After some s’mores we played a few rounds of a game, which name I cannot remember, but it is equivalent to Sharks and Minnios. Someone would start as it, and the rest of us would have to run to the other side without being tagged. The winner was the last one standing. Well last one to get tagged, as those who survived, and even those who didn’t, and even the taggers, would lie in the sand until the next round.

Another round of s’mores, some story telling how I almost passed out from touching a hot pan a long time ago and it was time to call it a night. It was then I explained to Ricki about how the white man took the land her people lived on and made it their own because of greed and wanting to be wealthy and happy (Read Mother Earth Water Walk Part 1). Once trash was picked up we all said good night and I even got some hugs.

Sunday started with everyone sleeping until 9, then I was invited to breakfast at the local casino. Getting back and onto the road that leads from the highway to the lake was about eight cars coming for the water walk. We all walked along the shoreline from our campsites to where the water would come down to meet the lake, then headed back. You can read about what went on there at Mother Earth Water Walk Part 2.

Back at the beach we played another game of who can get who cold and wet and more rock searching and skipping, followed by lunch. Then it was time for the kids to go home. Packing up a tent and everything else was of course quite an event but some more hugs and highfives and other ways of saying goodbye and it was time for them to depart. There is hope among most of us that sometime this summer they can come and visit again.

The kids, who will be reading this when they can are Elise, Lydiah aka Spazam Girl, the future lifeguard Presley, Kathleen, Merrilee, Sky, Robert, Brooklyn, Ricki, Winter, Audra, Richard, Kenny, JJ, and the leader of the group Betty. Hi everyone! It was fun having you all around. I can’t wait for you to all visit again.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

It's getting hot in here...I hope

It's been cold here lately. Earlyer it was about 50 degrees in the tent, 47 outside. Well meet my tent heater

From the mobile guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard.

Camp Sweet Camp

Since I am posting pictures anyways, say jello to my campsite.

Note the toilet seat cover in front of my door!

My chives from last school year. Cant believe they were still here

Looking out from my campsite

Oh What a Night!

Last night, this morning was my first of many interesting nights to come. At about 2 am some thunderstorms started rolling across my area with extremely heavy rain and lightning. It kept me awake for a while. After the first round passed I went outside to run to the bathroom as I could hear round two comming. I could tell everything was wet but there were no leaks in my tent, my tarps protecting me from the rain and wind were still up and just as I left them. I could see the lightning in the distance where the storm went, and some where the next one was at.

This morning it got really really windy and blew my tarps off the pipes I put up to hold them in place. What was intresting was for how windy it was, there was not much wave action. This afternoon it switched: now the waves are really big but very little wind.

Weeeeeeeeeee!

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

First thunderstorm of the trip
The tent is still dry
Now I need to go potty

I made a hikue!
I want to make another one
The rain is stopping

Hmm, a 7-5-7 and a 5-7-5 hikue...I think I need to back to sleep. How do you spell hikue?

From the mobile guy with his eye on the sky: Travis...the camping lifeguard

PS.  Just found the correct spelling 2 years and 10 days later.  It's haiku.

Easiest way to pass out?

Inflate a sleeping mattress without a pump.

Sorry Nanna, but the mattress you got for me for my birthday seems to deflate at night and starts to hurt me.

From the mobile guy with his eye on the sky: Travis

Oh the stuff you can buy

I went to Walmart today after using the internet in Ashland and picked up a few things. I got a birthday cake for myself, some dinner, some D links to help build my shelter, a broom to remove sand from my tent, and a toilet seat cover.

Nice little in and out trip...should have bought some more rope though.

Oh have you noticed the signature I have used the last few days? I am at my tent right now using my iPhone to make this post and when I do that it will say I am the mobile guy with his eye on the sky. Expect a few more spelling mistakes and a little less sense out of these messages.

Oh and for those who are curious, my eye is always on the sky because I love to watch the weather.

From the mobile guy with his eye on the sky: Tra...

What?
Oh the toilet seat cover? Thought I would have to dig holes? Nope, there is a portapotty here while the landowners friend finishes the new outhouse.
...
No, I'm not using the seat cover for that, I bought it because it was less than a rug, it's fluffier, and I can use it as a door mat and wipe the sand off my feet so I don't track it in then have to sweep the sand out later. Smart ehh?

Like I said, oh the stuff you can buy!

Now please don't interrupt my call sign again

From the mobile guy with his eye on the sky: Travis...the camping lifeguard