014 – of bandanas and bonfires

tonight we played capture the flag and made a bonfire.  given those two activities, i found it necessary to dress like rambo.  however, i didn’t plan on the fact that we were going to eat somewhere before.  so i end up walking into this burger joint wearing full camo with a headband around my head.  a mom looked at me as if i was about to steal her children…quite the experience.

so we go to the forest and play capture the flag.  i obviously have an advantage because of my rambo attire and bound swiftly through the forest silently.  we lost both games.

but then we built a fire.  a big one.  maybe too big.  we made it with pallets and starter logs.  the plan was to have a bonfire and then roast s’mores on it.  let’s just say that never happened because it was too hot.  and the fifteen foot flames probably had something to do with that…

so here’s how it goes down:  i put 6 of those winter starter logs in a criss-cross pattern and then basically covered it in wooden pallets.  this is in a clearing surrounded by trees.  hmmmm.  alright, so i grab the lighter fluid and empty the whole bottle.  yes.  flames begin.  soon i’m starting to get a little nervous as pieces of burning pallet start to fall off the pile.  and, in accordance with my tradition of a lack of planning, i didn’t bring any sort of ‘fire coralling’  equipment…brilliance.  so armed literally with a stick and a nalgene bottle, i begin to hold back the raging fire of hades.  my forehead felt like it was in a toaster and now i may have something to tell people when they ask me why i don’t have any hair on my arms.

tonight i put out a fire with lemonade.  a fresh experience all the way around.

~ by falloutofline on June 23, 2008.