Into the Woods Yet Again...

 'Sup, Internet.

As you guys know, I try and get out camping with my old high school buddies on a semi-annual basis - once or twice a year, if I can swing it.  Last time I went, back in September, Matt Lee - who lives out in San Francisco - had flown in to town to hang out, and he did so this time around as well.  Sadly, this was on account of Sean's mom's Celebration of Life (she had passed away some months before.)  Her service was held at the Grant Township Hall in Clare in the early afternoon, and once that was wrapped up (and I had changed out of my suit back at Dad and Cindy's house in Clare), our group rendevoused over at Trevor's house before setting off for our camping destination.

So here you go, folks - another adventure in the woods (admittedly much shorter, this time around) with the ol' High School crew. . .

Arriving at Trevor's.

This place hasn't changed at all since our glory days in high school.  We hung out here for about a half an hour while the McNerney clan finished packing up the vehicles, then set off for the camp spot.

Sean's little sister, Katie, has a husband who owns this sawmill near Mannsiding Road, south of Harrison.  There's a large open area behind the mill where folks set up tents, campers, etc.  It's not as rustic as some of the other spots this group has camped at in the past, but I was fine with that.

Trevor assists me in setting up my new Coleman Sundome tent.  I bought this one after my last tent - which I had owned since 2005 - didn't make it through our last high school camping trip.  I did a stupid amount of research when shopping for a new tent (obviously, it's me) and settled on this particular 4-person model.  It has specialized walls that keep the sun out better without losing airflow, allowing better sleep. 

Matt assists Scrunge with his trusty tent.

This particular venture wasn't just limited to us five guys:  this was a large Hages family affair, and everyone from the day's previous Celebration of Life, in honor of Sean's mom, was invited.  A lot of his extended family came out to visit for a few hours, but not a lot of folks stayed the night.  Trevor brought his entire family along for the trip, and Sean had his daughter and new girlfriend come along as well.

My tent, Scrunge's, and Trevor's.

These guys had all hung out the night before - while I was celebrating Abby's 11th Birthday at the Marriot in Midland - and had stayed the night in these hammocks, located down a trail on the opposite end of the sawmill.

Inside this old, converted sawmill - which is basically a polebarn that Katie's husband rigged up with electricity and quasi-running water.

Upstairs bar and hangout area.

Definitely fancy for a polebarn.

Trails in the woods.

My tent setup.  A lot roomier than my last tent (which was a three-person.)

Sean, Trevor and Scrunge.

After folks started to show up, and the daylight began to wane, we decided to gather wood for the evening's fire.  This wasn't a problem, seeing how there was a giant sawmill on the property, and no shortage of wood.  Being the creative mind that he is, Sean decided we should build a giant wooden structure so that we could have a festival-worthy fire for the night.

Fortunately, Scrunge brought power tools.

After awhile we let the kids take over - gave them something to do - and we just stood back and drank beer and watched them construct. . . whatever the hell this is.

Nearly finished.

A couple hours later, it was time to set the sum'bitch alight.

This thing went up quick. . . thanks to some gasoline.

You can't really tell, but we had this fire almost 20 ft high for awhile.  Pretty awesome.

Grilling up some trout in the pole barn.

Trevor loves himself some fish.

Definitely not as rustic as the last time we did this, but a good time nonetheless.

Playing with flares.  Always a good time.

As always, we went on a few moonlit walks through the woods towards the end of the night - those are always a good time.  No lights allowed, just walking by moonlight (if there is any - last time we did it in the pitch black.)  Found a clearing about a mile from the sawmill where the land opened up, it was awesome.  What wasn't awesome was I took a stick to the face, right above my eye, that swelled up the next day.

Poor Trevor's truck, the following morning.  After 25 years, this stuff is still funny.

Packing up camp, ready to head back to civilization.  What's hilarious is that Trevor (well, his wife Sara, technically), Scrunge, and I all drive black Ford Escapes, something we didn't realize until we had them all parked next to one another (mine's the one with the fancy black rims.)

- Brian