The Fathers And Sons Camp Of 2009 And A Comment About Firesides

We just returned from the annual fathers and sons camp held in the Uinta National Forest area above Heber, Utah. We were able to squeeze at least a week's worth of fun into a single weekend. Activities included frog hunting, riding 4-wheelers, sleeping in tents, BB gun shooting, catching salamanders, eating breakfast burritos and an actual fireside.

Which leads me to my next wandering thought. When I was in grade school, my parents would go to a lot of firesides, usually on Sunday evenings. I was jealous and a little upset that they never invited me. I imagined that firesides were exactly what the word would lead a gullible pre-teen to believe they are—people sitting around a raging bonfire, cooking marshmallows, making smores and telling ghost stories. I couldn't figure out why they needed to dress up for that, but who asks important questions when jealousy is at the boiling point? All I knew is that with all that practice, Mom and Dad must have been professional marshmallow roasters. Imagine my disappointment when upon becoming a Deacon and attending my first legit fireside, I found out the sinister truth—firesides are essentially another church meeting—no fire, no mallows. Who came up with that name—"fireside?" And while we're on the subject of misleading names—"Stake Center?" To the untrained ears of a young boy, that sounds like a place to order up a medium rare one with all the trimmings. That's another story for another time.

But last night's fireside was just that, a fireside. Complete with what you'd expect from it's namesake—fire, and everything that goes along with a good fire. (mmm, smores) We talked a lot about fathers, what makes a good father and what we've learned from our fathers. It was a great "fireside."

The camp was a lot of fun and I had a great night's sleep. I slept on a cot for the first time and have found it to be much more comfortable than sleeping on an air mattress.

I've included a few photos of the weekend's activities.

4-wheeling. Adam looks pretty relaxed up there.

Adam's buddy Eric came with us. They had a great time searching for frogs together.

The hunt is on!

Here's Adam holding one of the salamanders that was unfortunate enough to be captured. However, he was fortunate enough to be released back into the pond when it was time to go home.