It was a dark and stormy night...

Do you remember the show "Lambchops Play Along"? I can remember it occasionally being on our TV when I was a child. Shari Lewis, puppeteer, had little adventures with her puppets, the most popular being Lambchop, of course. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check it out. It might bring back memories and you'll have the song stuck in your head all day. You can thank me for that later (wink!). Anyway, the credits song was 5 or 6 lines that continued in a loop "This is the song that doesn't end.....". It's true. It really doesn't. Things like that are great when you're a kid. They're easy to remember, they're super catchy, it makes you giggle, but they can drive adults a little crazy after awhile. After about a minute really. Well, my husband likes to tell a "spooky" campfire story that works the same way. It's a loop story that begins with "It was a dark and stormy night and a band of gypsies gathered around a campfire....". When our kids ask for a story around a campfire it's his go-to tale. Understandably, it's lost is appeal, so my kids REALLY really look forward to campfire stories and adventures with our framily (friends soooo close they become your family) pal Karen Vasco! She tells THE BEST campfire stories! No bands of gypsies or dark and stormy nights with her! Just spooky, edge of your camp chair, chills down your spine stories that'll keep you up all night! She never tells the same story twice. She's truly the hostess with the mostest! Her campfire gatherings also include fun and tasty campfire foods, like mountain pies (who doesn't love a good ol' mountain pie?!), hot dogs roasted over a fire, and smores! No real campfire is complete without smores, just sayin'. 

Karen usually plans an exciting night adventure, a hike or treasure hunt, requiring a change of shoes and flashlights. The kind of adventure you'd be nervous about going on alone, but with a group it's the most thrilling hike EVER! She talked with my daughter, Clare, about how the rocky terrain was a bit like hiking the Appalachian Trail. My daughter instantly felt like a true mountain woman and could've hiked all night long! She hunted for salamanders with my kids near the trickle of a stream at the bottom of the ravine. She fearlessly led the way through the dark, braving slippery rocks and spider webs, clearing the trail for the rest of us. She's seriously the coolest lady ever! 

We practiced our Sasquatch calls, watching and listening for a squatch while we hiked through the darkness. Did you hear that knocking? I'll bet that was a squatch... I was fortunate to capture this rare Claresquatch sighting! Careful, they spit! They're also prone to giggling while attempting to look menacing. Beware when walking the woods at night!

At the end of our adventure our feet were soaked, it'd rained a bit, and we probably had bugs in our hair, but we laughed A LOT and reminisced about past night hiking adventures. We are already looking forward to the next!!!