Glad they got a refund! At least now they may even get to enjoy a tech-free holiday.
Whether they like it or not.
Hmm, I wonder what will happen to the bad ranger...
I'd guess that's a firing offense, or at least earned some serious disciplinary action, depending on whether gossipy Ranger Kendall was right about it being deliberate or not.
Chapter 3
Boyd, Susan, and Blair were all hungry when they woke up. Unfortunately, since they had planned on a having cabin with a kitchen, they had no way to make the pancake mix they’d bought for breakfast without going all the way to the ranger’s station to buy a frying pan for it. “Well, there’s that granola we picked up on the way. It’s kind of like cereal,” Susan suggested.
“It’ll do until we barbecue later,” Boyd said, pouring himself a bowl after handing one to Blair.
“I think it’s good! It’s kind of like a cookie.” She chewed a little. “But cookies are better.”
Susan took a bite. “So this is what being one of those doomsday preppers feels like,” she said afterward. “Here’s hoping society never collapses.”
“Tell me about it. I never realized just how much of a luxury plumbing is,” Boyd remarked. “I won’t complain nearly as much about our cheap toilet breaking after not having one.” He glanced down the trail that led to the bathrooms.
“At least you can just go pee in the woods. We girls can’t do that,” Blair stated in a tone that made it clear she found that unfair.
“She’s got you there,” Susan remarked. “Speaking of which, I’m going to head down to the bathrooms after we’re done eating. Do you need to go with me?” she asked Blair.
“Yeah.”
Blair finished her granola, and went to retrieve the Wilderness Digest from the tent. She had been quite interested in it ever since the ranger left it with them, and had been sharing various facts and trivia from it.
Boyd noticed Susan making a particularly miserable expression while Blair was in the tent. “What’s wrong, honey? Is the granola that bad? I thought it was okay. Not great, but not awful.”
She let out a long sigh. “I’m trying hard for Blair’s sake, but ugh. The bugs, the dirt, the lack of electricity and plumbing, the animals… I miss my bed, and my computer. I thought nature was supposed to be relaxing.”
“It is, when appreciated from the porch of a nice cabin with electric, plumbing, and cable.”
“At least Blair is enjoying herself. That’s the only reason I’m not tearing down that tent right now, and insisting we go home and stop at a decent restaurant on the way.”
After Blair came back, she and Boyd headed to the bathrooms while Susan cleaned up their bowls, saying she’d meet up with them there. Now that they were up and walking around, they realized how badly they needed to go. Especially Boyd, who had not been since right after they arrived in Granite Falls.
Blair headed toward the bathrooms at a brisk pace, while Boyd lagged behind in a shuffling I-really-need-to-go walk. “Hey, did you hear something in the bushes back there?” Blair asked.
“It was probably just a deer or something,” Boyd said, but as he glanced over, he thought he saw a large dark shadow far taller than any deer.
It’s a ranger. Or a hiker. It’s nothing to worry about.
The big brown creature that came out on the path behind him was most certainly
not a ranger or a hiker.
Boyd let out a whimper and tried to stay calm.
Don’t panic. Animals sense fear. Don’t run.He could hear something that resembled a faint growl coming from it as it followed him down the path.
“Don’t run,” he murmured to himself. “Keep calm. Keep calm and shuffle faster.”
Luckily, the bear was not aggressive. After scaring Boyd almost to the point where still needing the bathroom would have been moot, it went down another path and back into the woods. Blair and Boyd were waiting outside when Susan finally caught up with them. She came out of the bathroom last, looking utterly disgusted.
“I have never seen so many flies in my life,” she announced, waving the last of them away from her face.
“It was that dirty?” Boyd asked. “The men’s side wasn’t that bad.”
“It wasn’t too yucky, but there were a lot of flies in there,” Blair said.
Susan washed her hands. “It wasn’t dirty like the staff hasn’t been keeping it up, but I guess out here in the woods, you can’t help but get bugs.”
Blair perked up. “They talk about that in the Wilderness Digest!” She flipped to a page. “Here it is. ‘Top Ten Insects Found in Granite Falls National Park.’”
“Well, the actual park is about a mile up the road. This is just a campground for it,” Boyd pointed out. “The park itself doesn’t allow you to camp there like this.”
“We’re going there tomorrow, right?” Blair asked.
Susan nodded. “That was the plan. Today we’re just going to relax a little and explore the campgrounds. There’s a lot to do here, too.”
“I know! I want to go hiking!”
“That’s fine, but change into long pants first,” Susan said. “I don’t want you getting cut up on briars or getting ticks on you.” She looked at Boyd. “Does the ranger shop sell insect repellent?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to check.”
Blair looked bored by that suggestion. “Can I just go back and change and then hike around?”
“All right,” Susan agreed. “But don’t wander out of sight of any of the trails or cabins.”
“Okay!”
Susan and Boyd were starting off toward the ranger station when Boyd saw a couple of brightly colored lady bugs by the side of the trail. “Hey, Susan, check it out. Just like Blair mentioned in that guide. Too bad she ran off already.” He paused. “Maybe I can catch one and show her.”
“She’d get a kick out of that,” Susan agreed. “I think I see some over here, too.” She bent down to take a closer look, while another hiker walked by.
“OW!” Susan let out an ear-piercing shriek. “They bit me!”
The hiker walking by stopped. “Are you all right?”
“I didn’t think lady bugs bit,” Boyd said, surprised. “How bad is it?”
“I’ll live,” Susan muttered, rubbing her arm. “There are ants here, too. I think it was one of them.”
“Oh, the fire ants are bad in this area,” the hiker volunteered. “You’ve got to be careful of them. They can hurt as much as a wasp sting. You’re not allergic, are you?”
Susan shook her head. “No.”
“You should be okay, then. It’ll just itch and sting for a while before it heals.”
Boyd examined the welt on Susan’s arm. “They must have some cream or ointment over at the ranger’s station. I’ll go get you some.”
“No, I’ll go with you. I want to see what they have that we still need if we’re going to last two more days here, anyway.” She started down the trail.
“Thanks for the heads up about the fire ants,” Boyd said to the hiker. “I knew they were native to the area, but I’d never actually seen one before, and I didn’t realize they were that common.”
“Oh, yeah, they thrive in places like this. The park is pretty good about taking care of it if they see any signs of big colonies, but this close to the woods, it’s a constant battle. Always look before you poke around any logs or sit on them. There are some places you never want them to get you.”
“I can imagine,” Boyd said, although he would have rather not imagined it. “I’ll have to bring my daughter here and show her so she doesn’t get stung.”
“You’re new to camping, aren’t you?”
Boyd chuckled. “It’s that obvious, huh?”
“Kind of,” the hiker admitted with a grin. “But hey, you only live once, right? Got to try new things every now and again.” He extended his hand. “I’m Pawel. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Boyd,” he replied, shaking Pawel’s hand. “Actually, camping wasn’t my idea. It was my daughter’s. My wife and I aren’t really the outdoorsy types. Nothing against it, of course. Nature is fascinating, and I’ve always been interested in botany and biology. Just more from an academic standpoint than a hands-on one.”
“Ah. Well, in that case, you should definitely visit Granite Falls National Park if you can. They’ve got some displays up in the main building, and some fish in that lake that can’t be found anywhere else in Sim Nation. But there’s also a nice grill and picnic area with some games if you don’t feel like being too far out in the woods.”
“Great! We were planning to go there tomorrow, actually.”
“The weather’s supposed to be nice like today, so you guys should have a good time. Take care,” Pawel said as he started back down the trail.
“You too. See you later.” Boyd waved and then hurried to catch up with Susan.
When he got to the ranger station, he found Susan had already bought some of the things they needed, while others, like a pan to cook their pancakes in, were just too overpriced to bother with. Susan purchased a cast iron pot to use on the grill along with some cream for her bug bite, and walked with Boyd back to the camp.
They decided to change into lighter and more athletic clothes since it was getting a little warmer out, although Boyd still found it cool enough in the shade that he wanted a sweatshirt. It also kept the mosquitoes off, and with what the ranger’s station charged for insect repellent, Boyd decided he’d rather go without than buy a second bottle of it. Susan had already used about half of the one she got covering up herself and Blair.
Afterward, the Wainwrights split up for a bit. Susan wanted to go down to the lake, but Boyd got drawn into reading the Wilderness Digest after Blair left it on the picnic table. He decided he’d relax and read in the tent for a while, and meet up later. Blair went back out on the trails exploring on her own.
As she made her way down the path to the lake, even Susan could not help but be impressed by the beautiful view of the sun sparkling on the water against the backdrop of the mountains. For a moment, she felt serene and peaceful, rather than frustrated and bug-bitten. She took a picture on her cell phone, and then realized her battery was almost out as she went to upload it to SimBook. “Figures,” she muttered with a sigh.
A little while later, Blair came back to the camp site and talked her father into walking around with her for a little while. They ended up in the central part of the grounds. Blair was amazed by the giant bear statue.
“Wow! It’s so big! I only come up to its ankle.”
“Yeah. The artist did some pretty nice carving work on it. Very lifelike, although I’m glad they’re not that big in real life.” Boyd noticed what looked like a garden area behind a nearby fence. “Is that an herb garden over there? I’m going to check that out."
“Okay.” Blair stayed by the statue. She was so impressed by it that she didn’t notice an actual bear wander onto the path about twenty feet behind her.
Boyd, on the other hand, noticed right away. He tried not to be nervous as it just stood and stared at him. While he was glad the bear was not bothering Blair, he also did not like having it so close to her or him.
He breathed a sigh of relief when it finally wandered off.
Unbeknownst to her husband and daughter, Susan was on the trail leading in their direction. It was the same trail the bear went down.
She was walking along when it crossed right in front of her.
Oh, my Watcher, she thought, frozen in step.
That’s a bear. There is a bear right here on the trail with me.Boyd had told Susan about his encounter with the bear earlier, and a part of her realized that if he had gotten away just fine, she would, too. In that split second, though, logical thinking barely factored in. The bear slowed down as it approached Susan, its eyes watching her every movement. To say it was unnerving would have been a huge understatement.
The bear only stayed for a moment before it continued on down the trail, although to Susan it felt much longer. Once it was a safe distance away, she bolted for the center of the campgrounds in the hopes of finding a ranger or other campers.
As she came around the bend, she spotted the vegetable garden and the familiar figure of her husband inside the fence.
“Boyd!” She threw her arms around him. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. I was just coming up the trail, and there was a bear right
there! It walked right by me! Barely ten feet away.” Susan looked around in a panic. “Where’s Blair? What if it comes—?”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Boyd assured her. “Blair’s right over there by the statue. She’s fine.” He pointed over to where she was kneeling at the base, looking at the flowers growing there. “That must’ve been the same bear that was up here a few minutes ago. I saw it, too. Those things are enough to give you a heart attack, but so far, the rangers seem to be right about them not being aggressive. Blair didn’t even notice, thank the Watcher.” Boyd smiled at Susan. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Me too,” she admitted, her voice returning to a somewhat normal tone. “Although I wouldn’t mind heading back to camp and getting a fire going, if it really does keep them away. I think I’ve seen enough wildlife for one day.”
“Sure. We can start our barbecue.” He pulled some potatoes and carrots out of his pocket. “Maybe we could try grilling or roasting these, too. Apparently, they keep this garden here as an educational thing for the campers, so they can try the ‘wild food’ experience without the risk of eating actual wild plants that haven’t been identified.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of the ‘wild experience’ for one day. Give me the electricity and indoor plumbing experience anytime.”
