Muttering could be heard coming from the basement as the two girls walked in the front door. Rita looked to Mindy and raised her eyebrows. "I wonder what is going on?"
"I have no idea." Mindy answered back.
Both girls decided to check it out so they proceeded down the stairs. Rounding the corner they came across such a mess that they had thought a cyclone had gone through. And there in the middle of the mess was Karin, bent over with the upper portion of her body completely hidden from view and her backside up in the air.
"Ahh, Karin..." Rita started, "exactly what is it you are looking for?"
Karin shot out of the box she was trying to get inside of. "Oh!!!" she said startled. "where did you guys come from?"
"Karin, do you know what day this is???" Mindy asked.
"Yeah, it's Thursday. We go camping tomorrow."
Rita and Mindy just looked at each other and shook their heads. "No. Today is Friday! and we are supposed to leave in a few hours." Mindy exclaimed. "You were suppose to meet us for lunch today. Remember?"
"Obviously I didn't." She wondered where she had lost a day. It had been so hectic the last few days it was no wonder she was confused. First the appraiser for the house had come by unannounced and with the approaching camping trip the place was a mess. Luckily for Karin they agreed to come back in a few hours giving her a chance to tidy up a bit. Shaun and his friends had been home and were willing to help out for a case of beer. Pretty cheap at that price considering what they had all accomplished.
Rita looked at the mess on the floor. "So what was it again that you were looking for?" she asked.
"Oh, I was looking for my inflatable camp bed. The way my back has been acting up I need something soft to sleep on." Karin stated. "I managed to find everything but what I was looking for."
Mindy looked around the basement and spotted something peaking out of a box sitting in a corner. She walked over to it and opened the box. "Is this what you're looking for North?" she asked using Karin's online name.
Looking up from her box she glanced over to what Mindy was holding up. "Oh you doll!! That is exactly what I was looking for!!" she yelped. "At least now I know I'll get a good nights sleep."
Rita started gathering up the discarded items on the floor and began to restore order to the basement once more. "Come on you two. Let's get this mess cleaned up so we can get North here ready to go. Sheesh, you'd think a bomb had gone off in here." she laughed.
It wasn't long and the room was cleaned up. The girls made their way back upstairs and got their things put together by the front door. Just then the door opened up and Shaun, Karin's eldest son, came in with a few of his friends.
"Hey mom. You ready to go?" he asked. "It looks like you packed enough for an army here."
"Hi hon. Yup. Sure would have been nice though if you would have reminded me that today was Friday!!!" she scolded him.
He laughed at that. "Ahhh, actually mom, I did remind you this morning. I guess you were too busy to hear me."
"OH! okay, I guess my mind has been on this trip so much that I didn't understand."
"That's okay mom. I understand." he glanced to his two friends. "It must be an age thing or else you're going deaf." His friends laughed at his comment.
"Hey watch it bud. I wouldn't be going deaf if you would keep that damn stereo turned down to a minimal level. You have it turned so high that the nails are popping out of the walls." she turned on him. "Just look at the cracks in the walls because you had the bass turned up so high."
"Hey mom, don't you have to get going now?" he shook his head. He had heard this "tune" a hundred times before and it was getting old. Just like her.
"Yeah yeah. We're going."
"Good. Have a blast and we'll see you next week." he tried to usher her out the door.
Mindy, Rita and Karin turned to the door each grabbing a bag when Karin turned back. "Oh, Shaun, there is a list of phone numbers with how you can reach me hanging by the phone in the kitchen. Tell Mikey and Jeff too, and there's a list of things that I want you to do this week...."
"MOM!!! GO ALREADY!!! We've gone over this a thousand times." Shaun laughed good naturedly. "Go have fun and forget about us. We'll still be here when you get back and in one piece."
************
The three girls settled in the van as they headed to their destination. Karin had invited Mindy and Rita for a week of camping in Algonquin Park. She lived just a short distance away from this vast park.
As they were driving along, Mindy read from the brochure, "Algonquin Park is the oldest and most famous provincial park in Ontario and one of the largest in Canada. Algonquin is just three or four hours away from Toronto or Ottawa, and stretches across 7,725 square kilometres of wild and beautiful lakes and forests, bogs and rivers, cliffs and beaches - a canoeist's and camper's paradise as far as the eye can see."
"Hey that sounds really big North. You sure we want to go camping there?" Rita joked. "We sure don't want to get lost!!"
"One hundred years ago," Mindy continued, "boundaries were drawn to protect the spectacular wilderness area, that is now known as Algonquin Park. This area of ancient rock, which was sculpted by glaciers, covers more than 7,500 square kilometres of quiet forests, rolling hills and an endless network of rivers and lakes."
"Of course. That is what is going to make it so special. But don't worry, we will be getting a map of our route from the "Portage Store" before we head out. We have to let them know approximately where we are heading and some kind of itinerary before they'll let us go out." Some of the areas and lakes were only accessible by canoe and it was to one of these that the girls were heading. Lake Opeongo. It was a reasonable distance for the girls to travel by canoe but was still relatively close to civilization.
"It won't be long now and we'll get to the west gate." Karin told them as she made her way along Hwy 60.
"Oh goody." exclaimed Rita. "I'm really starting to get excited about this trip. I'm glad you invited us along."
******
Passing through the west gates a short while later, they continued on until they reached the turnoff for the store. The car would stay parked here while the girls were out communing with nature. After getting their map and filling in the itinerary forms they did some final shopping before heading down to the docks to claim their canoe.
Packing their booty aboard and making sure it was secured properly, the girls donned their life jackets, climbed in and with the helping hand of one of the marina workers, were shoved away from shore and on their way.
Gliding along the still waters they were struck with the serenity of the landscape around them. They could see a group of loons along the far shore of the lake on the left and a group of geese landing at the entrance to the river. The camp they were heading for was only a few miles downriver and then into a new lake, once they exited the lake they were in. The girls developed a steady pace as they paddled along and it wasn't long before the canoe was sliding up on shore.
"I'll just pull the canoe up a bit more," Karin said, "and then we can start getting it unloaded."
"Good idea North," Mindy agreed, "and then one of the first things we should do is get the tent set up while it is still light out and then we can get dinner going."
"Once I get my share of the stuff out I'll get a fire going." chipped in Rita. "All that paddling has made me famished."
"Oh you're always hungry!!" the other girls cried in unison as they laughed at their friend.
"This is true, but that really was hard work you know." Rita laughed back.
A while later the tent was up amid a lot of fooling around and a few mistakes. The girls stepped back and were pleased with the tableau that surrounded them. Rita had gotten the fire going and had started grilling the steaks and baking the potatoes and the smell from the fireplace just added to the ambience. This evening dinner was with the fresh foods they had bought earlier at the store but after tomorrow they would either have to catch some fish or else delve into their canned goods for their sustenance.
"Well, glad to see you two managed to erect the tent in relative short order!!" Rita joked. "I almost have dinner ready so if you guys want to get your mess kits out we'll be all set. Oh, almost forgot, I even brought a nice bottle of bubbly along for our first night in the wildnerness."
*****
Mindy sat on the log with her legs stretched towards the fire and stifled a yawn. "Well I don't know about the two of you, but I am ready to hit the sack."
"Yeah." North agreed. "I have a full schedule for us tomorrow and the earlier we head out the more we can see."
Rita had a hard time keeping herself from yawning as well. "Sounds like a plan you guys. I'll just bank the fire up and throw a few more pieces on before I sack out. You two go ahead. I'll be in shortly.
************
The girls spent a few peaceful days just exploring the area around their campsite. Tonight would be their last night at this particular one and then in the morning they would move on to their next stop. It was still on Lake Opeongo but it was in a larger campsite where there would be more campers. The park liked to restrict the numbers of people camping in one group so if there were larger numbers, they would meet up at one of these campsights. Park officials would be there to take head counts and to make sure everyone was faring well.
At the end of a satisfying day of hiking and sightseeing, in the quiet of the evening, they trudged back into camp pleasantly exhausted.
Relaxing by the campfire, the food never tasted better. There was something about campfood that was different. As darkness fell they reflected on the day, the haunting call of a loon drifting across the water. The Canadian Geese flying overhead. The other campers they had met on their travels. The blisters on their feet. The sunburn on their necks and noses.
Replete from a hastily put together dinner, stillness envelopes the campsite as layer upon layer of stars appeared in the night sky. The weather had been more than co-operative the last few days.
They girls lay back to see how many of the constellations they could name that were visible at this time of year.
"Oh look, there's Orion and Cassiopeia."
"And of course Ursa Major and Minor better known as the big and little dipper."
"I can't believe how clear the stars are up here Karin." Mindy commented.
"Yeah, I know. It's because there are no lights around to compete with them here." Karin acknowledged. "I noticed a huge difference when we moved up here from Toronto. It was like I was seeing the stars for the first time."
The fire was starting to dwindle so Rita got up to get some more firewood. As she came back and added the pieces she turned to North, "Hey Karin, you have a favorite song you like to sing?" she asked.
North thought for a minute and came up with one that she had always liked to sing around the campfire when she was involved with the Cub Scouts. "Yeah I do have one. This is one of the first ones I taught the Cubs when we use to go camping. I'll teach you guys too if you don't already know it. I'll sing the first few verses. Just join in of you know it. It's called 'Land of the Silver Birch'."
Karin started to sing the song:
**
Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver
Where still the mighty moose, wanders at will
Chorus: Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once more
Boom, diddi, boom, boom,
Boom, diddi, boom, boom,
Boo ooo oo oom.
My heart is sick for you, here in the lowlands,
I will return to you, hills of the north
(Chorus)
Swift as the silver fish, canoe of birch bark
Thy might waterways, carry me forth.
(Chorus)
There were the blue lake lies, I'll set my wigwam,
Close to the water's edge, silent and still
(Chorus)
**
The girls had not heard the song so they let North sing it through. "Wow, that was great Karin. You've got a pretty good voice."
"Thanks. Now it's your turn to sing along guys."
The girls finally got the hang of the song and sang a few more that they all knew as the night wore on. The moon was well over the trees before they called it a night. The morning would be a busy one for them.
*******
Getting up early the girls had camp broken up in no time flat. It was much easier to take down than it was to put up. Making sure the coals of the fire were doused with water and then covered with sand they packed the canoe and headed out. It would take them about an hour to get to the next stop on their journey.
They took their time as they travelled along moving silently through the water with the only sound being the dipping of their paddles. It was just past 8am and it was just starting to warm up. There were still patches of mist rising from the water in some areas. As they glanced over to the shore, they could see a lone deer taking a drink at the water's edge.
It was just after 9 when the girls reached their destination. They could see that others were packing up ready to leave. After beaching the canoe they made their way over to the others and introduced themselves to them with the greetings that maybe they would meet up again before the end of their week, before getting started on their own camp.
After all the trials and tribulations of the first time, they got the tent up with ease. They stowed their sleeping bags and the rest of the gear and then they went exploring.
Wandering around the campsite they noticed that there was one tent up on one of the sites furthest from the beaching area. Walking up they looked to see if anyone was around but seeing no one they turned to go back to their site.
"Bonjour ladies." came the voice from the trees. Looking around again the girls finally saw where it was coming from. Walking out from the trees was the man that they fantasized about constantly on the internet. The reason why the girls had become friends.
************
"Don't look so surprised girls and I'm sorry I startled you like that." Roy stated as he came forward.
The girls just stood there in awe and silence. For once in their life they were speechless. "Cat got your tongue girls?" he laughed.
"Ah No, CAT isn't with us." Karin said not thinking. She was talking about Trace of course. Another member of the list that she was list mom of.
"I guess I don't need to introduce myself to you ladies." he laughed again. "See I am just human after all. I go camping just like a 'normal' person does."
Mindy finding her voice after a moment spoke up. "Oh no, it's not that. We know you do that, but it's just that you are HERE where we are. To say it is unexpected would be an understatement for sure."
"Ah but there is no better place in Canada to go when you want a little solitude. But don't worry girls. If I didn't want company or others around I would not have chosen this for my camp. It is nice to have company once in a while NO?" He sat down on a camp stool as he said this and motioned for us to sit as well. We did. "So how long have you girls been camping?"
Rita glanced up at his green eyes and she too was in his spell. "We arrived in the park on Friday." she informed him. "We are staying at this camp for the rest of our stay and we go home on Sunday."
Roy nodded his head. "I leave Sunday also. So we will be campmates this week then. I will invite you over for dinner tonight and treat you to a true camp meal."
Somthing sounded fishy here. North looked to the other two before she asked what she knew was on their minds. "And what exactly is a "true" camp meal?"
"What? You don't know??" he laughed seeing their discomfort. "Don't worry, I won't poison you. Honest."
"So tell us what it is." North insisted again. "Not beans and weiners is it?"
"Ah no, much better than that although there are beans in it. It's my famous Chili recipe!!" Roy answered. "Just be here at 5 and you can help me cook it. It will be fun. You'll see and you will add another recipe to your repertoire!!"
The girls being intrigued and certainly not ones to turn down a dinner invitation agreed to join him for dinner.
*****
"Okay, now hand me that dutch oven there.. no not that one... the one beside it is an dutch oven." Roy instructed Rita.
"This doesn't look like any dutch oven I've ever used. It's tin plates screwed together!!" she protested. "How can this be a dutch oven?"
"It's a camp dutch oven!!" he laughed. "I do have a 'traditional' one for the main meal but I thought I would show you how to make dessert in this one."
The girls rolled their eyes at the prospect of this. Dessert?? yeah right. But from the looks of things he looked like he knew what he was doing. After having the girls gather the ingredients he put them to work making the peach cobbler which would be their treat for after dinner. After setting it on the coals of his fire, he gave them a wink and told them to trust him.
Next up was the main meal. This was the one that would be cooked in the 'real' dutch oven.
"Okay, North, open up those cans of tomatoes and beans there, and Rita you can chop up those onions and green peppers for me. Mindy, I'll get you to cube that blade steak into 1/2" pieces and I'll get my 'secret' ingredients together. North when you are done with the cans I'll get you to grate the cheese. Then we will make our dinner together."
They were all busy doing their thing and were finally ready to start cooking. Roy made each of them take turns.
"Okay, first off, we heat the oven until it is hot enough and then we add a little bit of oil. Next we will add the meat and brown it and then we'll add the onions." Roy explained as the girls watched.
"Good, good. I think we can add the rest of the ingredients now." Roy said as the meat was nicely browned. In went the tomatoes, in went the peppers and the garlic and Roy's special ingredients. "Voila, we are done for now. Now we let it simmer for a bit."
"Good. This smells really good. I can't wait to taste it." Mindy said as she sat down on the closest chair to rest her feet. They had gone for a hike earlier and her feet were killing her. Even her blisters had blisters!!
"No, no, no time for resting girls. We need to gather more wood for the campfire later, and besides we are not done yet. We have one more thing to make for dinner." he chided her as he shooed her off the chair amidst her groans.
"I though we were done!!" she cried. "What else is left to do?"
"What would a campfire be without making bannock." Roy gestured to the items he had gathered at the table. "Come, we will make everything ready so that when our meal is almost done we can cook our bannock. Then I will look after your feet for you." Mindy blushed as he said this but willingly got up again to help.
Karin and Rita were watching this interchange with amusement. It seemed that Roy had a soft spot for Mindy. The fact that they were here, in the middle of nowhere with Roy was just so hard to believe. None of the other list members would believe them. Karin was hoping that he would agree to have some pictures taken with them. Up until now they had not dared to ask as he valued his privacy.
"Well, while you two are getting that ready, Rita and I are going to go and get something from our campsite. We'll be right back." Karin and Rita went back and without either of them saying a word they both came out of the tent with their cameras. Seeing what each of them had they started to laugh.
"Well Karin, it seems great minds think alike." Rita stated. "I just hope he will let us take some pictures."
"I'm sure he will but if not. no big deal. Just knowing that we spent time with him will be enough for me although I'm not sure if the others on the list would feel the same. I'm sure though, that he will give us at least an autograph."
"Yeah, at least that!!" Rita agreed. "Not to change the subject or anything North, but wasn't the park ranger supposed to drop by today?"
"Yeah, come to think of it, he hasn't come yet has he? I wonder what happened to him. Oh well, we're in safe hands anyway." she replied.
************
By the time the girls got back to the other campsite the meal was just about ready. The dessert had been finished up by Roy and was cooling and Mindy and Roy had gotten the bannock started and all that needed doing was the cooking of it. Roy instructed the girls to pick some "green" branches so that they could get the meal started. Once they had gotten them he explained to them what he wanted them to do.
"Okay, you take a portion of the dough, roll the dough into a long, flat rope, spiral the dough around your green stick and voila we place it over the coals and cook!!"
They got the hang of it finally amid some broken pieces and within a short time they had their bread on a stick ready to go. North lost a piece of hers in the fire and Roy just scooped it out with a pair of tongs. "Remove all embers and ashes before consuming North. I do believe that one is ready." he laughed as he handed it to her. North took the piece, cleaned it off and popped it into her mouth.
"Mmmm, this is delicious Roy. I have made bannock before but not in this way. We usually cooked it in a pan."
Roy gave the chili a final stirring and declared it ready for consumption. Giving each girl a helping they sat back and ate in silence, well for the most part that is except for the odd request of water!!! The chile was HOT!!
After dinner they all helped with the cleaning up and retired around the campfire. More wood had been added and sparks and flames were shooting up in the air. It was a wonderful evening for the girls. Roy gave the girls some insights on his fellow actors and regaled them with some of the pranks they played on each other on the set. Before long the sun was setting and he suggested that they take a little canoe ride to watch as it dipped below the horizon. Taking Mindy in his canoe and Karin and Rita in the other, they paddled out to the middle of the lake to watch as the sun turned to crimson before disappearing.
Roy had agreed to let the girls take some pictures and Mindy got one with Roy silhouetted against the sunset. It was a picture that was going to be the envy of all the girls. Slowly they made their way back to the campground and after securing the canoes on shore, Roy invited the girls back again for a night cap of hot cocoa.
****
The days passed all too quickly for the girls. They had enjoyed every day of their holiday and were not looking forward to going back. The had one day left before heading home to their families and away from Roy. He had taken them fishing and gone swimming and even taught them a few more "camp" meals after pooling their food resources together. The weather had held out for the most part with only a brief shower the day before. More people had arrived at the campsite and the last two evenings were spent with everyone around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and Roy's ever famous bannock on a stick.
They sat around the fire again on this their final night and chatted about all kinds of things. It wasn't as awkward as what the girls had thought it might be. Roy was very human if not a bit shy but that came from being the celebrity he was. It was his suggestion as the evening wore on that they sing some songs and they all picked some favorites. Mindy picked 'Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore' which got a lot of laughs from everyone. North picked 'Nobody Likes me, Everybody Hates Me' and Rita picked 'On Top of Spaghetti' which at the end of nobody was left that wasn't laughing or pretending to sneeze.
Which song did Roy pick? He had to pick 'I Met a Bear' and he had everyone up on their feet and follow along as he did the actions. It was such a sight to see. All too soon the first of the campers started drifting off to their tents which signified the beginning of the end of the evening. They sang one last song as the campfire came to a close.
With the scent of woodsmoke drifting on the air,
And the glow of firelight we always love to share,
Visions of campfires all return,
And as the logs flame up and burn,
We dream of bygone campfires and long for those to come.Tongues of yellow fire flickering up on high,
Reaching twisting fingers up to a starlit sky,
Voices recall songs old and new,
Songs once dear to our fathers too,
Who dreamed of bygone campfires and longed for those to come.Gently dying embers cast a rosy glow,
Voices slowly sinking to tones so soft and low,
Slowly upon the still night air,
Fall faithful voices hushed in prayer,
That dream of bygone campfires and long for those to come.
The girls got up and bade everyone a good night. Roy waited for them and walked them back to their campsite. He would be leaving just after morning light and would not see them before. He wished the girls a safe return to their families and said he would keep in touch. He gave them each a kiss on the cheek and left them there as he retured to his camp.
The girls were tired but too excited to sleep so they made themselves some hot chocolate and sat along the shore, watching as the bats swooped down low over the water.
"Well, I sure had a great time this week guys." Karin said to her friends. "We will definitely have to do this again. I am so glad you two could come with me. I wonder if he comes here every year at the same time."
"Good question Karin," Rita smiled. "Wouldn't it be nice to meet up with him again. Although I am sure that once the rest of the girls find out about this you are going to have them knocking down your door to be a part of this next year. But I'll tell you now that I will be the first in line!!"
Mindy chuckled at the thought of poor North beating them off with sticks. "I would like to do this again too. You have any other places we could check out Karin?" she asked.
"Yup. Sure do. Don't forget I live up here in the north country. Actually that is how I got my nickname." Karin informed them. "One of the things I use to do when we first moved here from the city was go outside and lay down on the grass at night and just gaze at the millions of stars I never even knew existed. I was so overwhelmed with the beauty of it all."
Mindy tried to cover up a yawn and didn't quite succeed. "Well, let's get to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a long day for some of us."
And with that the girls headed to their sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a green eyed man.
The End
This story ©copyright Northstar and the CL list, 1999
Just as North was finishing the last story the clerk came up to her. "I'm sorry ma'am but we don't allow our customers to read our books. I'm afraid you'll have to buy it if you want to read it."
North just smiled demurely as she handed the girl the book. "No problem. I'm done with it anyway." She then turned and walked out the door, thankful that the store had been busy while she had been absorbed by the book.