Camping Cousins

The relationship between cousins is special. Cousins have the bond of family without the pressure or baggage. They are friends with a little something extra that makes age, distance, and time irrelevant. This interaction can regularly be seen at family reunions and holiday dinners, but the connection between cousins grows even deeper when dropped in the woods.

The author’s and photographer’s camping adventures are the story of two sets of cousins. There is one set of cousins by blood, who laugh and play together. They don’t see each other daily, but new worlds are created when they are brought together. Imaginations soar, and there are giggles galore. It’s always as though no time has passed as they head off to have their fun.

The second set of cousins are made of oil and steel. It’s a connection of quirks that bonds them together. There are sure to be creaks and groans at their age, but they always rise to the occasion when asked to go camping. They are there for each other in the struggle as they navigate hills and potholes. What they lack in distance, they make up for in power. The connection of being together lets the other one know they will get their humans back safely.

The adventures between these two sets of cousins are special, forged in similarities and sealed with differences. The girls have a gap in age and personality. They attend separate schools and have different interests, but when together, it just works.

The vans – that second set of cousins – while close in age and on the surface look to be similar, do hide some differences. One is operating on the idea that slow and steady wins the race. She is rolling with her original parts, struggling up hills with the pop of her engine. The one wearing white hides a new engine below, so it roars up hills, having to wait for their cousin. The extra power is reassuring should the old, gold one need a tow, but distance is an issue with its ability to store fuel running low.

The two sets of cousins are always excited to set off on an adventure with their drivers, no matter the destination. They all know the journey is the experience since the destination is likely not set. Exploring roads in an old Volkswagen Westfalia is what it’s all about. When traveling in a compact home on wheels, it’s all about seeing what there is to see along the way, knowing that wherever you stop will feel like home. The lack of speed by one and distance by the other means that straying too far from their home in the foothills of Mt. Baker is unlikely.

That is just fine for the girls who can get a little antsy while their dads explore the roads, looking for the perfect camping spot that has likely already been taken.

What’s for sure is that the journey will involve beautiful views, an abundance of trees, and rocking out with the windows down. With the music blaring from the half-blown speakers, we explore our area, hopefully finding what will be our new favorite spot. Fortunately for the dads, the pressure is off because it’s the cousins who guarantee that the time together will be a success.

When we finally find a spot, the doors slide open, and the girls rush out. The play begins with exploring the area, and then quickly, their own new world is created. The dads pop the tops and prepare for what they are most excited about, cooking outside. Fires are made, and cook stoves are set up in preparation for a night of eating and drinking while we reminisce about our own good times as we watch the cousins create their very own “good times.” While meant for breakfast, usually the box of donuts is the first thing broken into, and with little restraint, we all devour the contents.

We dig into the cooler with sticky fingers because now, as always, is the right time for a bacon snack. There is something special about bacon cooked outdoors. Grabbed straight out of the pan with the grease still popping, it’s worth the scalds on the arms and a burnt tongue. With bellies bursting, the unencumbered play continues. There are no screens to draw attention away from what’s most important. There are just sticks, rocks, and forts on wheels to inspire the play.

While excursions can end in less than impressive destinations, with the two sets of cousins fed up with their drivers exploring, other times we have found ourselves along flowing streams just asking to be played in. Since the girls are used to hanging with their dads, they know what this means. Out of the vans come the gold pans and fly rods. The gold pans offer the allure of riches as we search for nuggets while finding no more than flecks. The fly rods offer bursts of excitement when sparkling trout are pulled from a stream. While the dads could continue these activities for hours, the girls quickly tire and switch to splashing in the water and bounding from rock to rock.

Once the fun in the water has been had, it’s back to the fire to continue stuffing our faces. While I’m sure we remembered to give the girls some fruits and vegetables, smores are next on the menu. Before smores can be made, the mission of having the perfect roasting stick must commence. This is a combination of finding a green branch that can withstand the heat of the fire, having it long enough to keep the hand from the flame, but short enough to have control. Once the perfect point is carved, we are ready to roast.  When it was first said, “patience is a virtue,” they were most likely talking about the making of smores. From the careful roasting to the melting of the chocolate, it’s a delicate process that, on our campouts, more often than not, ends in a flaming marshmallow rather than the perfect golden brown.

With cousins and dads, now sufficiently full and covered in marshmallow drippings, we sit around the fire telling jokes and laughing the night away. When the sun goes down and stars and mosquitos come out, we know it’s time to retreat to our vans. There are few places cozier than a VW Westfalia. With night lights, we read ourselves to sleep, drifting off to the sounds of the nearby creek. This setting is the perfect recipe for a good night’s sleep.

In the morning, if we haven’t eaten it all, there will be more bacon and donuts before the real adventure of the trip begins: seeing if the vans will start. They usually do, and we dance our way back to reality, dreaming of the next time all the cousins go camping.   X