Smokies Summertime Stories
Hi there, Smokey here! No not the Smokey that we have all grown to know and love (but I do take my name from him). No, I am much more talkative and less fluffy than the original. Anyway, I wanted to stop by and share some stories from camp for all who may be reading to enjoy. So sit back, relax, grab yourself a cup of coffee and or tea and enjoy the tale I like to call “The Creature in the Woods”.
It was a long hike. Not because of the distance, or because we made frequent stops for water. No, it was a long hike because I made the brilliant decision to pack my Smokey Bear cast iron skillet with me on our three day Campout. I like pretty much all of my campers (SHOUT OUT HELLBENDER 2!) am stubborn and decided that instead of having a lighter pack that doesn’t reshape my shoulders, I was going to add an extra 10 pounds to my bag that already weighed about 40 pounds as is. But I digress.
We had been hiking for about two hours now and we had finally made it to our final destination: Trout Pond. After we did our normal camp set up routine the counselors (Ben, Itzel, Val and I) decided to make it a rest hour for our camp so then we could get some sleep cause all of us were worn out. And rest we did because no sooner had my head hit the pillow, I was fast asleep. Two hours later I woke up and I saw that dinner was already underway. The smell of pita pizzas wafted into my nostrils as I practically floated over to Ben who was using my cast iron skillet to toast the pita and melt the cheese (the satisfaction I felt was immeasurable). After a wonderful dinner, we cleaned the dishes, brushed our teeth and turned in for the night. But that was only the beginning.
I pride myself on my ability to sleep just about anywhere but that night, I just couldn’t sleep. As I laid there, looking at the top of the very dark tent, wondering why I sabotaged myself by sleeping for two hours earlier, I decided to check the time. “Ah nuts, its 4 in the morning and I haven’t slept a wink” I whispered to myself. Then out in the darkness, a screech that I had never heard before in my three years of being here, came from my left. Now the thing that scared me the most was not the initial screech, but it was every single one that followed after. You see whatever this creature was, it had a pattern. It would call out and then move closer, call out then move closer. It got to the point where it was finally right above us and then I heard some of the other campers and counselors wake up. So putting on a brave face I got out of the tent and started looking for the source of the noise. My knees were shaking, my face sweating buckets, as I heard the deathly screech as I turned around and looked up to see that THE CREATURE WAS… nothing more than a big ol Screech Owl.
To say the least, we at Green River Preserve have a wide menagerie of wildlife that all of our campers get to enjoy. So stay tuned folks cause you never know what may be out there, cause guess what? They’re out there.
