just a few weeks after we were married, we decided to take a camping trip to the buffalo. we took a trip to ozark outdoor supply to purchase a new tent and a sleeping bag for me. i do not think something so light should cost so much money, by the way. that's another post.
as a rule, we get away whenever we can. so it was really nice to have something to plan and look forward to after our wedding and honeymoon extravaganza. since i did so much planning for those two and since jett has a lot of experience with camping and general outdoorsy shenanigans, i decided to let him plan this one. one saturday morning, we packed the escape full and were ready to go!
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| headlamp at the ready |
we got all of our gear out of the canoe that we would need for the float. we were car camping that night so we didn't need much. just some clothes, our cooler full of lunch and pbr, and our camelbaks (which are NOT waterproof, we learned). we climbed into our canoe at ponca and pushed off into the river.
this was my very first time to float the buffalo (any river, really), so i was really nervous. jett spent the week before the trip telling me about each of his float trips he had been on and how he had never flipped a canoe on a single one them. he explained how it was a really calm route and we wouldn't even have to do much paddling. relieved, i settled into the front of the boat and yelled paddling directions at jett like the river was mine.
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| queen of the buffalo |
i shit you not when i say that three minutes into the float, we come across a sharp turn. we can hear some people yelling on the other side of it. i get a little panicky (don't worry, still wearing my lifejacket like i'm on a titanic lifeboat), but jett reassures me that we will be just fi-- BAM! SCRAAAAAAPE. we are stuck on a rock. we start to spin. the boat is taking on water. we stand there, helpless, reacting in every way you are not supposed to react. we do not try to dislodge the boat. i stand there like a cartoon character waving a flag on his sinking ship. the canoe sinks. i think i am going to drown (it was waist deep, maybe) and start to panic. we drag the canoe to the bank and i notice that my bag is the only thing left in the bottom of it. i looked downstream to see a large group of people laughing at us, but kindly scooping our belongings out of the water as they came shooting down the rapids.
humbled, humiliated, and pretty pissy, i sat on the bank and went through my bag, taking inventory of the things that were now soaked and ruined. jett walked downstream and collected our belongings as the committee of the buffalo river tried to wrap their pretentious little minds around the fact that we had not adequately prepared by strapping everything down into the boat in a dry bag (lesson officially learned). i stood on the bank holding my camera, doing my best to get it back to life and failing. just as i began to throw myself a pity party about how this was the WORST TRIP EVER and NOTHING COULD BE ANY WORSE THAN WHAT JUST HAPPENED, jett looks over at me blankly. he is holding his empty left hand up, that newlywed finger as ringless as it can be.
after a few minutes of cursing and frantic searching, we met back on the shore. we looked at each other and then just lost it. we started laughing so hard. we looked like drowned rats and almost all of our stuff was ruined. camera, half of our lunch, shiny new wedding ring lost. things had certainly not gone as planned. but you know what? there's life. so we hopped up, loaded up the canoe, and took off back down the river. we ended up having one of the best days of our lives so far.
we made it down the river all the way to kyle's landing. when we got out and back to our car that had been so kindly shuttled (for a nominal fee), we realized that everyone else and their seven children were also planning on spending the night at kyle's. it sounded like disney world all over again. so we packed our stuff in the car and decided to head out to find a new spot to camp.
we found the first gas station to grab some fresh water and some crispitos (because what is life really without crispitos?), drove to several other campsites that were already full, and drove out to the hilary jones wildlife museum out on highway 7. the ranger there led us to erbie and told us it was usually a pretty quiet campground. she also said "it's a gravel road but just keep going and you'll find it." it should start the video at 1:24 if you feel so inclined to watch it (and you should).
anyway. we made to erbie alive, set up camp, and relaxed in the eno until we were ready to cook dinner. let's remember the part of the post where i mentioned that jett planned this trip. that means i also let him plan dinner. let's also remember that jett was a scout at philmont, which is a boy scout ranch in new mexico. let's just say that jett's idea of "goulash" or whatever with summer sausage and half cooked rice was not as good as he remembered it being. so we ate a bag of gardetto's and added to the laughter of the day.
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| ready harry potter in the hammock. that'll do. |
as a girl that grew up "camping" in a pop-up camper in the middle of a campground, i was a little weary of sleeping on the ground in a remote location such as half-abandoned erbie. but nothing takes away the fear of camping like waking up outside. your back feels oddly aligned and everything is ever so slightly damp. you can hear the sound of the trees waking up. and all of a sudden, it all seems worth it. until you remember that you look like this.
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| you can almost smell us in this photo |
after stretching around and stalling, we packed up our little home. and headed back toward the land of food and showering with a few more memories and one fewer wedding band. just another day in the life of a ricks.
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| home sweet home |
another adventure tomorrow!
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