Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Rooster Bullets and Dog Shlobs

Fall break. An extended weekend of recovery and relaxation for me. This year it worked out where my good friends--Jonathan, Daniel, and Michael--and I could go camping. We called up another buddy, Nathan, to ask for a good spot, and he recommended a place near Gilbert on the Buffalo River. So off we went, loaded down for a weekend of fun with just the guys.

One story that came out of the drive up was a point when we realized we had missed a turn off the highway. The ol' iphone map was a little sketchy being out in the sticks, but we did indeed have to turn around. By this point, Daniel and I had to pee pretty bad, so we stopped on the side of the road. Suddenly I hear a weak cry from Daniel and loud barking. This dog appears out of nowhere and all but molests poor Daniel while he's trying to relieve himself. Seriously, the dog is jumping all over him. It made for very entertaining commentary on the remaining part of the trip.

We get to camp on the riverbed just down the street from Gilbert. Amazingly we are the only ones there. Nathan had a fire going and dinner made in a dutch oven. Let me just say that it was amazing. It was a meal with chicken, sausage, potatoes...very hearty and manly. After dinner we whiled away the night--and most of the morning--around the campfire. Nathan had to leave around 4:30 to go to deer camp.

I'm a pretty early riser when it comes to camping. I have a different biological clock, I guess. So I was up a few hours before the other guys, despite only having a few hours sleep. The others slowly trudged out of the tents. I made a little coffee over the fire and we made plans to do a float trip. A little pricey but a great time was had. We went about as leisurely as you can go. Took us about 5 hours or so. Got back to camp and roasted some hot dogs and potatoes over the fire. The effects of having only gotten a few hours sleep finally caught up to me and I turned in pretty early.

The guys had discovered a little country restaurant within walking distance, so the next morning, we decided to eat breakfast there. Coffee was a mere 79 cents. I audibly announced my surprise that it wasn't $4.79 and another table looked over and said, "you must be from the big city." Ha! We all ordered a item off them menu called the Rooster Bullet. Let me just break it down for you (cuz I think my stomach is still breaking it down to this day): country biscuits layered with eggs any way you want them and a meat of your choice. Then the whole thing is covered in skillet gravy. Drowned in it, is more like it. Then there's a side plate of hash browns. 3 out of 4 of us could not finish it. And none of us ate lunch.

We chilled for a few hours on the bank of the river and packed up. I tend to withdraw when I'm outdoors and this trip wasn't an exception to that. But the time I shared with my best friends was great and I look forward to making it an annual trip!

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