My Deer Camp Vacation

My husband, Gary, thought I would really enjoy going with him to "deer camp" one year. We could take the horses and go riding, and he had bought a special "tent" that he would set up for me to sit in so I could get some good pictures of deer. His daughter and her husband were going to be staying in the house trailer, along with 10 other guy hunters in their tents. Gary and I would stay in our live-in horse trailer. Still feeling like a newlywed and wanting to share everything with my husband, I lost my mind and said "yes".

On our way up to the farm, Gary casually mentioned that "someone" was going to have to clean our trailer's refrigerator because several cans of pop had frozen and then exploded all over the inside of the refrigerator. "Someone?", I thought. "Someone?" "The dogs?" I don't think so!! "Gary?" I knew better! That left just me! Ok, I will clean it out. At least it will be warm in the trailer and I won't have to watch the "gutting of the deer".

When we finally arrived at the camp, I got busy cleaning the refrigerator with the help of the dogs. Thery were incharge of cleaning the floor. Do you have any idea how big of a mess four cans of pop can make when they explode? I ended up washing every single item in the refrigerator including the big jar of frozen pickles and the one candy bar. As I washed the floor, I noticed that a brown gooey substance was still oozing out of cracks and crevices around the refrigerator.

I had fixed vegetable soup to share for supper and Gary brought a pan from the permanent trailer to cook the soup. This pan was so old that it was one of the red ones that was popular in the 60's! The inside of the pan had at one time been Teflon coated. I could still detect a little bit of Teflon around the inside of the rim. The rest of it had departed long ago. I think this had been a dog dish, at least it looked like it! After some rummaging around in my supplies, I found one that wasn't quite that used.

Since there were five of us eating supper that night, and only four can sit comfortably in our live-in trailer, we moved the soup and bowls into the house trailer that had been up on the farm as long as the dog bowl, I mean pan.

The house trailer! Words can not describe "the house trailer". The kindest thing I can say is that the last time I stayed in it, there was a big snake curled up in the bathroom cabinet with the towels. I was reminded that "he wouldn't hurt me" and that he ate mice. I didn't care about either of those facts. He was there first and I believed in squatters rights. Besides, did he have a family living with him? And there were probably other "creatures" and their kin that had also moved in such as flys, mice, spiders, and who knows what else! To say the least, the trailer is not in very good condition and it was last reported to me that there had been a frog in the toliet! That was the end of me staying overnight in the trailer.

When we ate supper that night in the trailer, I was very careful what I touched and where I laid anything. The evening went without any incident, except our two dogs and Megan's two dogs, , swarmed around the table like some turkey vultures! After supper, strategy and plans were talked about on how to surprise those dear little deer that was eating more than their share of the farm crop.

Back at the trailer, (the one with heat, electricity, water, and no snakes or frogs), Gary and I got ready for bed and our two dogs settled down in their respective places. Life was good.

DAY TWO AT DEER CAMP
I got up late Saturday morning to the smell of "Vanilla Coffee" which really seemed out of character for deer camp but the scent was wonderful. About 10:30 it was decided to fix "breakfast" even though some of the hunters went back to the woods. Gary decided to go horseback riding but being a fair weather cowgirl, I decided that it was too windy and cold to enjoy doing anything outside. I spent most of the afternoon reading.

Late afternoon, after Gary came back to camp from his ride, we took off for the woods with the new camouflage tent. I took my camera so I could hopefully get some close up pictures of the deer. After struggling to get the tent to "pop" up, we got settled in the tent and sat quietly waiting the arrival of the deer population. Try sitting on a little 3-legged stool for an hour with no talking, no coughing, no moving .. not even a wiggle! But luckly a doe appeared directly across from the tent. She stood and stared as I snapped picture after picture.

Supper at deer camp on Saturday night, consisted of steak, baked potato, salad and roll, all cooked by the "hunters". Although it was pretty chilly, the food was good and so was the company. The dogs really enjoyed the feast as every hunter gave the dogs huge servings of the meat. The dogs were quite happy to receive them and continued to eat even after we begged that they not be given any more.

By 11 P.M. we were all snuggled into bed with full stomachs and feeling grateful that we had warm covers and heat. Life was good.

At 1:30 in the morning, I was awakened by a wrenching in the corner of the trailer. I sat up immediately and turned on the light. Patches, Gary's Brittany, was vomiting in the corner of the trailer. Gary and I share everything in our marriage, but after all, it WAS his dog that had created this terrible mess! So I screamed in his ear, "Patches just threw-up!"

"What?" he said as he came out of a sound sleep.

"Patches just threw-up!" I repeated, secretly glad that it wasn't my little angel Page!

I bit my lip to stifle a nervous laugh as Gary got out of bed and started cleaning up the mess. With a little bit of grumbling, the mess was cleaned up, the dogs brought back in the trailer, and Gary crawled back into bed. (The bed that I had stayed in and kept warm for him, rather than get out to help him and probably just get in his way.) He sighed a heavy sigh so I snuggled up next to him and patted his arm just to show him that I supported him in his effort. We drifted off to sleep. Life was mostly good.

At 2:30 in the morning, I was awakened by a wrenching in the corner of the trailer. I sat up immediately and turned on the light. Page, my Blue Heeler, was vomiting in the corner. Gary and I share everything in our marriage, but after all, he was on the side of the bed to get out and I was next to the wall and I would have to crawl over him to get out. So I shook his arm as I screamed in his ear, "Page just threw-up!"

"What?" he said as he came out of a sound sleep.

"Page just threw-up!" I repeated, secretly glad that I was sleeping on the inside of the bed and he was sleeping on the outside edge.

I bit my lip to stifle a nervous laugh as Gary got out of bed and started cleaning up the mess. Although he had had practice at cleaning the mess up an hour before, he still grumbled as he cleaned and then crawled back into bed. (The bed that I had stayed in and kept warm for him, rather than get out to help him and probably just get in his way. After all, we were in a little horse trailer with live-in quarters!) He sighed a heavy sigh so I snuggled up next to him and patted his arm just to show him that I supported him in his effort. We drifted off to sleep. Life was good with an exception or two!

NOTE: For some reason Gary has never asked me to go on a Deer Camp vacation again!

Story ID:	238
Written by:	Yvonne K. Meckfessel (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Travel
Location:	Deer Camp Illinois USA
Year:	2004