Camping with Norm

This past weekend I went on a camping trip with a buddy to Vermont. The trip was to camp at the Moosalamoo campground which is due south of Burlington. It seemed like it took us forever to get there from Portland. We passed so many other places that would have been great to camp along the way. My buddy Rick said we had to go there since it's not very crowded but mainly since he had never been there.

We got there on Wednesday afternoon and set up our camp. The plan was to do a little hiking and biking for our few days. We brought 4 bikes in case we ran into a few people who wanted to bike with us. Always be prepared when venturing away from home. You never know what or who you'll run into.

Thursday we rode our bikes for good, brisk 15 mile ride. Riding the hills reminds me that I need to workout more. I was beat after riding so long. We decided to just hang out at the campsite and drink a little bit. That night was a full moon so we took a short hike to a clearing nearby to check it out and see if any other people were looking at the moon. Unfortunatly no one else was up there looking at the moon. We went back to the camp and settled in for the night. We both slept so hard that we missed the bear attack to our campsite. Friday morning when we woke up our site was trashed from a bear. The ranger said they hadn't seen a bear there in months but I know it was a bear. I took a few pictures to show that it was a bear.

Friday evening a few people joined the campground. Nothing spectacular like we were hoping for but it was good to have company. They were an older couple and kind of nerdy but they were company.

Saturday we found this lake but the water was way to cold to swim in. A few families were fishing in a canoe but other than that the lake was pretty quiet. We didn't have any fishing poles so we skipped rocks for fun. My longest skip was 6 skips and Rick got his to go 11 skips one time. Then we found some large boulder type rocks that we pushed down the hill into the lake. Those made the biggest splashes. After a while we came across an old rope swing. I dared Rick to take the plunge. He wouldn't at first but somehow we came to the bet of him doing it naked. That fool did it. Said it was cold as ever and would never do it again. Our night ended with us sitting around drinking with Jane and Marty, the nerdy old couple at the campground.

Sunday we drove back to Portland. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Rick wanted his picture with the Vermont sign. That fool put his helmet on to make it look like he rode his bike.

Rick's tent and stupid bike.

My tent area after the bear attack.

The fire area after the bear attack.

Marty and Jane

That fool Rick swinging into the cold lake.