Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:30:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 16

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 16 – The Trip.

We left the house to pick up the other boys and load the gear we were borrowing
from Austin's father into the Tahoe, but then we'd be ready to set off on our
camping trip.  Before that happened, however, I had a few surprises, beginning
with when I stopped to get Dean.  When I got out to help him load his things in
the back of the SUV, he handed me an envelope, which he said was from his
father.  When I asked him about it, he told me it contained money that I was to
use to help defray the cost of the food and other expenses I would incur on his
behalf.  I wasn't expecting this, but he said his father insisted that I accept it, so I
folded the envelope and placed it in my shirt pocket.

We picked up Steve next and he also handed me an envelope with a similar
explanation, but it all became clear when we got to Austin's house.  His father
had taken the day off, so he would be there to give me the tent, sleeping bags
and other items I was borrowing from him.  He also handed me an envelope and
told me that he and the other parents had talked about this on their own.  He
stated that after the fairly large sum I had spent on their sons at Jared's birthday
party, they didn't want me to bear the brunt of another expensive endeavor and
had agreed to chip in.  I thanked him for his consideration and told him I hadn't
expected their generosity, but this money would allow me to do even more for
their sons while we were gone.

The campground I was taking them to was located about three hours from where
we lived and the boys were extremely excited as we made the trip.  Almost from
the start, they began asking questions about what different things we were going
to do there and were basically bouncing around in their seats, as they begged
me for this information.  Boo-Boo was about the only one that was remaining
calm, something I hadn't expected, since this was his first lengthy trip in a
vehicle.  Although he started out on Jared's lap, he soon moved to the floor and
remained curled up at Jared's feet for most of the ride.  Since this was such a
lengthy trip, I thought it would be wise to stop for lunch before we got there, but
we had to make one additional layover before we ate, when Boo-Boo began to
whine.  Jared and I figured that this meant the puppy needed to do his business,
so I pulled over and let Jared take him for a little walk.

By the time we found a diner to stop at, the boys were not only starving, but they
were also eager to reach the campground.  I hated to leave Boo-Boo in the
Tahoe, since he seemed to want to go inside with us, but we knew he wouldn't
be allowed in the diner, so we had to leave him in his cage.  I had parked the
SUV in the shade, but in a spot where we could also observe it while we ate, and
we also left all of the windows opened a fraction, so he wouldn't suffer.  He did
whine a bit as we walked away, but then I noticed that he lay down again, once
we started to go inside.

We hurriedly downed our lunch, since we were all worried about leaving Boo-Boo
for too long, and then we drove the rest of the way to our destination.  When we
pulled into the campground, I checked in quickly at the office, to let them know
we had arrived, but I also inquired about the potential campsites that were still
available.  I was then given a map and the man pointed out which sites still
remained open, so I chose one that would give us as much privacy as possible,
yet still not be too far away from the toilet-shower facilities.

This was a fairly large campground, so there were actually four of these facilities,
which were situated in four distinct areas that were pretty much isolated from one
another.  I was mildly surprised to see that there weren't many other campers in
the section I had chosen, and as soon as we made our way there, I could only
see one other couple, a man and a woman, but they were at least seventy yards
away from where we were going to set up.

As soon as we pulled up to the campsite, Jared took Boo-Boo for a quick walk
and I got his cage and placed it on the grass.  Once Boo-Boo had relieved
himself, Jared put him into the cage, since we were going to be busy for a while
and didn't want him to run off or get under foot.  I then got out the tent and had
the others help me set it up.  I think the boys, with the possible exception of
Austin, were surprised at the amount of effort it took to put it together.  It wasn't
actually that difficult, at least not as far as tents go, but since the boys had never
done this before, I think they were astounded by how much effort they had to put
into it and how long it took.  Once the tent was standing and secured, I let them
check it out briefly, before I had them get the sleeping bags out of the SUV and
put them inside the tent.

We also took out the lanterns I'd borrowed, so they'd be handy when it started to
get dark, but I left the snacks and water in the Tahoe, since I didn't want those
things to attract any unwanted visitors.  We'd get them out whenever the boys
wanted something, but then we'd lock them up again after they were finished,
since I didn't want any animals drawn to our location looking for something to eat.

Once we had finished doing this, I took the boys into the woods and had them
gather up any dry pieces of wood they found lying around on the ground, so we
could use them to build a campfire later.  We each had a pretty good armful
when we got back, with branches and twigs of various sizes and thickness, and
then I had them gather up a bunch of rocks, so I could use them to line a fire pit
for later, since I thought the boys would enjoy a campfire before bedtime.

Austin was probably the biggest help with all of this and he also offered to
instruct the others on various points as we went along.  I think the rest of the
boys were impressed with his camping knowledge and listened to his advice very
carefully.  This actually helped me too and I was pleased that I didn't have to do
this all by myself.

By the time we had finished doing everything, it was dinnertime and the boys
were beginning to complain that they were starving.  Since we had worked up
quite a sweat and were dirty after finishing these tasks, I suggested we shower
first and then go out to eat.  I had them get out a towel, a change of clothes and
their small satchels with their personal grooming supplies, and then I drove us all
down to the shower facility.  I didn't need to do this, since the building was
definitely close enough to walk to when we needed to use the toilet, but since
they had a bunch of other things to carry, I felt this would be a better way to get
there.

We took Boo-Boo with us too, since we were afraid he might get stolen or
attacked by a wild animal if we'd left him in the cage, and he wagged his tail
enthusiastically when he realized we were taking him along.  Once we got inside
the facility, the boys eagerly investigated the place.  The urinals were closest to
the door, followed by the stalls with the commodes, and then the shower area.
On the other wall, there was a row of four sinks across from the urinals and then
a bench, where we could sit when undressing.  There were also hooks on the
wall above the bench that we could hang some of our things on, but then the
boys took a closer look at the shower facility and learned it was just one large
shower room, with three showerheads.

Even though I was wondering how Steve and Austin were going to react to taking
a group shower, I encourage everyone to set their satchels with the grooming
supplies on the bench.  I'd planned ahead and had taken Jared and Josh out and
purchased something appropriate for them to bring along, since I figured they
probably didn't have anything of this nature.  Once they had set those items
down, I told the boys to hang their change of clothes on the hooks, along with
their towels, and then we started to get undressed.  Of course, Jared, Josh and
Dean had no problems doing this, since they had changed with me numerous
times before, but Austin and Steve were slightly more hesitant.  Eventually,
Austin started to undress too, but it took Steve a little longer to get started.  Once
he saw the others had no problem doing this, he must have concluded it was all
right and began to join in.

Since Josh and Dean were among the first to enter the shower area and realized
that since there were only three showerheads that we'd have to double up, they
took the middle location.  Jared then went down to the one on the right, and
Austin stopped in front of the one on the left.  I had hung back to see how Steve
was going to handle this, but he seemed fine and went over to join Jared when
he finally entered.  Since I was the last one in, the only showerhead left open
was the one Austin was using, so I asked if he'd mind me joining him and he said
he didn't.  We all had our own soap and shampoo, so we started cleaning up,
and I began to look around, to see how things were going.  I have to admit that
Austin and Steve were both fairly handsome and adequately hung for someone
their age, and showering with Austin also gave me plenty of time to admire his
body, as he swiveled around under the water and gave me a wonderful show.

Boo-Boo had followed Jared into the shower area and was busily walking back
and forth under the spray, but he was also lapping up some of the water
collecting on the floor.  The boys were all very careful about watching where he
was, so they didn't step on him, and Boo-Boo seemed to enjoy this nearly as
much as we were.  At least I knew I was enjoying this refreshing endeavor, as
well as the wonderful show of young boy flesh.

When we finished cleaning up, we went back out to the bench, dried off and put
on our clean clothes, and then we moved over to the sinks to brush our teeth and
comb our hair, before collecting all of our gear and going back outside to get into
the Tahoe.  We then drove to one of the local diners, left everything in the SUV
and went inside to fill our empty bellies.  Boo-Boo put up less of a fuss this time,
and we left him much the same way as we had done earlier, except it wasn't as
hot out now.

After we'd finished eating, I drove back to the campsite and we pulled out the
collection of camping chairs and placed them near where we would soon be
enjoying a campfire.  Once it was dark enough, I lit the kindling, and when we
saw which way the smoke was blowing, we moved our chairs out of the way and
settled in to talk about the trip thus far.

"It was a lot of work to get everything set up, but I think it's going to be worth it
and this trip will be a lot of fun," Josh commented.

"It's been great so far and I can't wait to see what else we're going to do," Jared
chimed in.

"Me too," Dean followed, "and I can't wait to swim in the lake?"

"This is fun, but it's a lot different from what I do with my family," Austin added.
"We don't go out to eat and usually fix our meals on a propane stove or over the
campfire."

"Yes, I thought about doing it that way as well, but I was afraid it might be too
much with so many first time campers and didn't want to end up having to do all
of the work by myself," I explained, and I saw Austin nod his understanding.

"Yeah, my mom and dad always do those things together, but they also taught
my sister and me how to help out, just as soon as we were old enough," he
agreed.

The boys were all looking at Steve now, since he was the only one that hadn't
said anything as of yet.  After thinking about it for a minute, he finally spoke up.

"I think this is fun too, but I didn't know we were going to have to shower
together," he stated.

"Did that bother you?" Jared asked.

"Maybe a little at first, since I've never done anything like that before, but I guess
I'm ok with it now," he replied.

I'd had a feeling that he'd never been naked in front of others before, at least not
since he was very little, but I'm glad to hear that he worked it out for himself.  I
had been mildly concerned after seeing his initial reaction and wondered if it
might cause a problem for us.

As it began to get late and the boys started to show signs of weariness, I turned
on one of the lanterns, and then made certain the campfire was completely out,
before I told them I'd take them over to the restroom facility so they could go to
the toilet and brush their teeth, as we got ready to turn in.  Once everyone had
finished those preparations, I drove them back to the campsite.  Once there, I
grabbed the lantern and made sure that Jared had the puppy do its business
first, before we went into the tent.  We had Boo-Boo's cage in there already, for
him to sleep in, because we were afraid he might try to slip out of the tent later, if
one of us got up during the night to pee.  We certainly didn't want to take the
chance of him running off or have a confrontation with a wild animal, so we felt it
would be safer to keep him in his cage.

Once that had been taken care of, I had the boys grab their sleeping bags, unroll
them and get set to turn in.  Josh and Dean took their bedrolls to the far right side
of the tent and began to get comfortable, and Steve set out his sleeping bag next
to theirs.  Jared then placed his down next to Steve and signaled me to put mine
beside his, so that left Austin on my other side.  No one seemed to complain
about this arrangement, so I had each of the boys strip down to their underwear
and slip into their sleeping bags for the night.  Before long, I could hear the gentle
hum of their breathing and knew they were probably all asleep, before I dozed off
too.

About halfway through the night, I awoke to use the toilet and was surprised to
discover that both Jared and Austin had sidled tightly against my body, with their
arms thrown across my chest.  Each of their arms was actually touching against
each other too and they looked so sweet and peaceful lying beside me, but I
wasn't sure if they had done this accidentally or if they had intentionally placed
themselves in this position.  I think I knew the answer where Jared was
concerned, but I wasn't so sure about Austin.  He had, however, given me quite a
show in the shower earlier, so it did make me wonder.

Reluctantly, I had to remove their arms from my chest so I could get up, and then
I slipped on my shoes and walked to the restroom to use the urinal.  When I'd
finished my business, I went back and took Boo-Boo out to pee next, and then I
put him back in his cage and crawled into my sleeping bag again.

When I awoke the next morning, both boys had their arms draped over my chest
again, so I just lay there for a few more minutes, because I wasn't sure if I
wanted to disturb them.  When I finally decided that I would have to do this,
Austin woke up, and when he saw me glancing in his direction, he merely gave
me a big smile, but didn't make any effort to move away from me.  It seemed as if
he didn't have a problem with this arrangement or being so close together, so he
may have done this intentionally after all.

Eventually, I got up, and Austin did too, so we got dressed and went outside.  I
took Boo-Boo out of his cage first and brought him out with us, and before long
the rest of the boys were waking up and coming out to join us.  Once they were
all awake, we walked up to the restroom together, with Boo-Boo happily running
along beside us, and we all used the toilets and brushed our teeth again, so we
could get ready to go out to eat.

I took the boys back to the same diner we went to the previous evening and we
all ordered a substantial breakfast.  I told them to eat well, since we wouldn't be
coming out to eat again until dinnertime, although I had an assortment of snacks
they could nibble on, if they got hungry in between.  The boys heeded my advice
and ordered an assortment of pancakes, French toast and waffles, as well as
bacon or sausages to go with those items, but some also had toast, hash browns
or eggs as well.  I think they were all pretty stuffed by the time we got back, so I
sat them down to discuss what we could do next.

"Look, I'm going to suggest something to do, to see what you boys think about
the idea," I began.  "I'm pretty sure you've all noticed the lake, and we can go
swimming in it later, but this place also has canoes we can rent, if you want to go
on a little canoeing adventure around the lake.  I know Jared has been in a
canoe before, but I'm not sure about the rest of you, so what would you think of
doing something like this today?"

"I'd love to do that," Austin stated, without hesitation.  "I've done it before with my
father, when we traveled down a river in a canoe, and it was a blast."

"Have any of the rest of you done anything like this before?" I followed, and saw
a bunch of heads shaking in response.  "Would you like to try it then?"

This time the heads all began to nod, as everyone agreed they would like to give
this a try.  Since I knew it would take a while before we'd get out on the water, I
wasn't worried about waiting until their breakfast had settled.  Therefore, I loaded
them into the Tahoe again drove over to the office, where I quickly informed the
guy in charge about our intentions.  I explained that he could just add the rental
fee to my bill and I'd settle up with him before we left, since there were probably
other things he'd end up charging to me before we ended our stay here.  Once
he agreed to do that, he led us out to a shed where they kept all of the equipment
and supplied us with six life vests and six paddles, before he helped me get
down three canoes from a large metal rack.  He then went back to the office,
while I gave the boys a few lessons.

"You are all going to have to wear a life jacket, even though I know you can swim
– it's just a precaution.  Before we take the canoes down to the lake though, I
want to teach you how to use the paddles."

I then taught the boys how to grip the top of the paddle using their inside hand,
while grasping the paddle lower down with their other hand.  Then, I had them
practice paddling in the air, the same way that I had done with Jared, and once
they had this skill mastered, I took Jared and Austin aside.  I did this so I could
teach them how to use their paddles as a rudder too, since they were my
experienced canoers and would sit in the back of the canoe and help steer.
Once they understood what would be required of them, I had the boys put on
their life jackets and showed them how to carry the canoes down to the water's
edge.

Once the boys had put the front half of their canoe in the lake, I had the three
inexperienced boys step into the canoe they'd be in and take the seat in the front,
before Jared, Austin and I pushed the canoes farther into the water.  The three of
us then stepped into our canoes and got into position on the back seat, before
we used our paddles to shove off, so we could begin our trip around the lake.  I
let the others go first, because I wanted to follow behind, where I could keep an
eye on how they were doing.  This would allow me to spot any problems they
might be having and correct what was wrong, without them lagging behind.

I took Josh with me, along with Boo-Boo, because I felt I could watch the puppy
best and keep him from jumping into the water for a swim.  I had his leash
wrapped around my leg, but I also kept one foot on it as well, while allowing him
just enough leeway that he could stand on his hind legs and peer over the side of
the canoe, without going further.

Dean had opted to go with Jared, since he felt more comfortable with him, so that
left Steve to go in the canoe with Austin.  I let Austin and Steve take the lead,
with Jared and Dean in the middle.  I advised them to keep a couple of yards
between the canoes, in order to lessen the likelihood of collisions.  With that
admonishment, we began to make our way around the lake.

It didn't take long before I noticed that Josh and Dean seemed to be tiring more
quickly than the others, since they were the smallest, youngest and probably in
worse shape than the rest of us.  However, I was impressed that they didn't give
up or begin whining about the situation, possibly because they didn't want to
wimp out in front of the others and then get teased about it later.  They managed
to keep up, even though they were both pretty winded and sore by the time we
got back to the spot we'd started from.  After we took the canoes, paddles and
lifejackets back and checked everything in, I stopped to chat with the boys before
we got back into the SUV.

"Did you all enjoy that?" I wondered, while gazing from one face to another.

"Yeah, I liked doing that, but it sure tired me out," Dean admitted.

"Yes, it does take a lot out of you, that's for sure," I agreed.

"It was fun though," Steve added, with a huge grin.  "I'd never done that before,
but I wouldn't mind doing it again."

"I agree," Austin chimed in.

"Me too," Jared added.

"I'm worn out, but it was fun," Josh stated.  "I'd be willing try it again too."

"Ok, we'll try to do it again before we leave," I agreed.

These comments had kind of surprised me, but I was glad to hear that the boys
were all willing to give it another go.  Even though most of them had probably just
gotten a month's worth of exercise in one day, there were a great deal more new
experiences still ahead of them.

>From there, we went back to the campsite and chilled out for a while, as we sat in
the camp chairs and talked.  During this time, the boys gave me more of their
reactions to our little canoe adventure and then we chatted about other things we
might do, so I had an idea about what they might be up for next.  Once we
finished doing that, we went into the tent and I had them change into their
swimsuits, so we could go down to the dock for a dip in the cool lake water,
because I thought it would refresh them and ease the soreness in their
overworked muscles.

Before long, five naked boys were standing around me again, as they hurriedly
put on their swim trunks.  Once they were ready, we walked down to the dock
and dove into the water.  Boo-Boo eventually jumped in behind us, although he
was a little hesitant at first, since the dock must have seemed quite a long way
above the water, but he finally found the courage and jumped in too.  I watched
him to make sure he wasn't having any problems, but he seemed content to
swim along with the boys.

We stayed in the water for quite a while, and then we went back to the campsite,
dried off and sat down to talk again.

"Dang, this has been great and it's only the first day!" Steve exclaimed.  "I've
already had more fun here than I've had all summer long, except for Jared's
birthday party.  I'm really glad you asked me to come along with you."

"Me too," Austin added.  "I mean, I've always liked Jared, but I didn't know he
liked me enough to ask me to his party and now this.  Thanks, man.  This has
been really great."

"I've always liked you as a friend," Jared replied, "but until Bob moved in next
door, I've never done things like this either.  When he started doing this stuff with
Josh and me, then I finally had something I could invite others to join in and I'm
glad you agreed to do it with us."

The rest of the comments were pretty much the same and we continued talking
until the boys started complaining they were hungry and began urging me to take
them out to eat.  After thinking about it, I decided to take them to a different place
to eat tonight, but with similar results.  The boys were obviously hungry after all
of the physical exertion from the day's events and they packed away one heck of
a lot of food, as they refilled their fuel tanks again, in anticipation of what we were
going to do tomorrow.

We stayed up for a while after we got back and I lit another campfire.  We spent
the next hour enjoying the beautiful evening and the glimmer of the firelight, while
discussing suggestions about what we might do next.  As the boys started to tire,
I put the fire out and walked with them to the restroom.  I didn't feel we needed to
shower tonight, since we'd had a good swim earlier, so we just went to the toilet,
brushed our teeth and headed back to the tent and crawled into our sleeping
bags.

Before I fell asleep, both Jared and Austin cuddled up against me again, so I
began to think that Austin was doing this intentionally and liked being
affectionate.  I wasn't sure if he did this with his father or other family members,
but since it was something he had elected to do, I wasn't about to discourage
him, so we went to sleep like that.

The following morning, we got up and I took the boys out for breakfast again and
they ate many of the same things that they'd had the day before.  Once they
were full, I took them back to the campground and prepared them for the next
new activity.  This time, I'd decided to teach the boys about archery, since the
campground also had an archery range and equipment we could rent, and the
boys seemed to like this idea.  Since they were agreeable, I drove them down to
the office again and cleared everything with the guy there, and he was soon
providing us with three bows and six target arrows for each one, and then I led
the boys over to the archery range.

When we got there, I demonstrated to the boys how to do this and then let them
go three at a time, while one of the boys who wasn't shooting watched Boo-Boo.
There was a six-foot high dirt berm a short way behind the targets, to stop any
arrows that missed, so I let each boy shoot his six arrows and then had them go
down to retrieve the arrows after everyone had released his allotted supply.
Once they came back, I let the other two boys have their turn, while I shot with
them, and then we went down to retrieve our arrows.  We went through this
process several times, until the boys had become somewhat proficient, but had
begun to grow tired.  It takes a great deal of arm strength to pull the bowstring
back so many times and it had obviously taken a toll on their arm muscles.

>From there, we went back to our campsite and relaxed for a while, before we
went in to slip on our swimsuits again, so we could go back to the lake for a dip.
This was one part of our trip that Boo-Boo really enjoyed too and the boys were
great with him when we were all in the water.  The boys were amazed with how
well he could swim, since he wasn't very old, but I told them it seemed to be an
intrinsic trait in Labs.  That information seemed to satisfy them and we had a
great time for the next hour.

After canoeing yesterday and then shooting the bows and arrows today, as well
as swimming on both occasions, I was surprised the boys' arms weren't about
ready to fall off.  None of them were complaining though, so I saw no reason to
stop them from having more fun.  When I finally told them it was time to get out
and return to the campsite, they didn't argue with me and we took Boo-Boo and
walked back to the tent.  When we got there, we were fairly dry, so we merely sat
down in the camp chairs and relaxed until it was time to go eat.

When the boys began to grumble that they were getting hungry again, we got
dressed and I took them to a different place to eat.  Once again, they ate
everything that was set before them on the table, with the exception of the
dinnerware, utensils, ketchup bottle and the salt and pepper shakers, which
made this experience very similar to watching a swarm of locust attacking a
wheat field.

When we got back, the boys asked me what we were going to do tomorrow, so I
told them one possibility was that I could take them to a place where they could
mine for gems, if they thought that sounded like something they might wish to try.
The boys asked what this would be like and what it would entail, so I explained to
them that it would be similar to an old-time prospector panning for gold, although
we'd be doing this looking for other semi-precious stones.  I told them the place I
had in mind had bags and buckets filled with a quantity of dirt that had been dug
from an area known to have gemstones, and then they'd have to dump this
material in a apparatus and then swirl it in water, to get rid of the excess dirt,
which would allow them to inspect what was left.  They seemed to want to give it
a try, so we agreed that's what we'd do.

Seeing we were going to be leaving the campgrounds to do this, the boys
decided that they wanted to shower tonight, even though we'd spent so much
time in the water earlier.  I told them this would be fine, so we grabbed all of our
gear, climbed into the Tahoe and I drove them back to the shower facility.  The
boys were a lot faster getting undressed this time, even Steve, and we entered
the shower area together.

Josh and Dean paired up again, but this time they took the showerhead off to the
right and Jared asked me to join him in the middle, so Austin and Steve teamed
up at the remaining showerhead.  Austin seemed to be making sure I was able to
get a good look at him again, but I also got to inspect Steve a little more closely
as well.  Jared didn't seem to mind me doing this, since he was doing it as well,
but after I got an eyeful, I turned back and finished cleaning up.  Jared even
asked me to wash his back, which he hadn't done the previous time we'd
showered, and I noticed Austin seemed to be very interested in watching me do
this.

Once we had finished our showers, dried off and slipped on clean underwear and
shorts, we moved to the sinks to brush our teeth.  Boo-Boo was very good during
this whole time again and spent some of it licking our legs, but once we were all
done, we went out, got back in the Tahoe and I drove them back to the tent.

I was surprised that the boys had merely gone back to the sleeping bags they
had used the night before and no one asked to change places with anyone else,
but I didn't mind being sandwiched between Austin and Jared.  I'm not sure if
Austin might be gay as well, or if he was just a kid who liked having an adult's
attention, but he seemed to enjoy being next to me as well.  Before long, he had
cuddled up against me again, and we all fell into a deep sleep.

The following morning, after taking the boys out for breakfast, I drove them over
to the place where we could pan for gemstones.  I'd noticed this place on some
of the other camping trips I'd made here in the past, but I had also done
something similar to this when I was younger, so I had a feeling the boys might
find this interesting.  They seemed to think so too, once I'd told them about this
place, so I was hoping they'd feel the same way after they'd actually tried their
hand at it.

When we went inside the building, I pointed out the buckets filled with dirt and
other items, before suggesting that they each select one.  After quickly looking
the buckets over, they each chose the one they wanted and I paid the cashier, so
we could take them outside.  Once there, I had each boys select one of the
wooden boxes with a wire screen bottom, and encouraged them to dump some
of the contents of their bucket into it.  Then, I explained how they were to take
this box and dunk it into the trough located behind them, which was filled with
running water.  Doing this would wash away the loose dirt and leave only the
rocks and other larger pieces for them to sort through, to see if there was
anything worth keeping.  The boys would inspect each piece carefully, in order to
determine if it was just a stone or something more valuable, and then I'd double-
check to make sure that they didn't miss something.

They had to do this multiple times in order to inspect the entire bucket full of
material and I watched to make sure they pulled out each of the items they were
here to find.  I think they were surprised by the rough appearance of these items.
They probably were expecting them to appear cut and polished, such as you
would find in a piece of jewelry.  Once I explained to them that these items might
look like that, once they had been prepared, the boys began to realize that this
wasn't exactly an instant gratification type of activity.

Once each of them had sorted out everything worth taking with us, I told them
that I would arrange to take them to another place later, where there were guys
with a shop who would explain what they could do with the gemstones they had
discovered.  I told them those guys would be able to give them a better idea
about what the rough stones might look like after they worked on them and the
boys seemed satisfied with my explanation.  Happily, they gathered up their
semi-valuable discoveries and placed them in containers I had purchased for this
purpose, so they wouldn't lose any of their hard work, and then we made our way
back to the campground.

"That was pretty interesting," Austin stated, once we were in the SUV.  "I've gone
camping a lot, but I've never done anything like that before, so I'm really glad I
came with you.  Thanks for inviting me."

Jared and I each told him he was welcome and we were glad he was able to
come along too.

When we got back to the campground, the boys decided that they wanted to go
swimming next, but I told them we needed to collect more firewood first, so we'd
have plenty for later.  After we finished doing that chore, we went into the tent
and put on our swimsuits, so we could go down to the lake and rinse off the
sweat and dirt from collecting the firewood.  Jared carried Boo-Boo down to the
dock this time, since he'd taken the puppy's harness off earlier, because he
thought it bothered Boo-Boo while he was swimming.  I can't tell you what a kick I
get out of seeing Boo-Boo swimming with all of the boys, because it's simply
precious to watch.

When I took the boys out to dinner later, I told them not to stuff themselves
tonight and leave some room for later, because I had a special treat for them
when we got back.  They immediately began questioning me about what it was,
but I wouldn't tell them, and since no one was with me when I picked up the
supplies for this, they couldn't guess what I had planned either.

When we got back, I started stacking the wood for a bigger fire, but I wouldn't
light it until it got dark.  The boys began pestering me while I was doing this,
because they wanted to know what I had planned, but I told them they'd just
have to wait and see.  Later, I went to the Tahoe and retrieved the bag of things I
had hidden from them, and when I came back, I opened it and pulled out a box of
Graham Crackers, chocolate bars and a bag of marshmallows.

"Great!  We're going to make Smores," Austin announced, after seeing what was
there.  "My dad does this with us sometimes and I love them."

"What are Smores?" Josh wanted to know.

"Wow, you've never had one before?" Austin asked, and Josh shook his head in
response.  "They got their name because you always want 'some more,' and
what you do is put a marshmallow on a stick and roast it over the fire first.  When
it's done as much as you want, you take half of a Graham Cracker and put a
piece of chocolate on it, and then put your marshmallow over that, before
covering it with the other half of the Graham Cracker, and then you eat it."

"So they taste good?" Dean asked, still unconvinced.

"They're great!" Austin assured him.

It wasn't quite dark yet, but now that the boys knew what they were going to do, I
had them go snap off a slender twig from one of the trees, so they could use it to
put their marshmallows on.  Before they got back, I lit the fire, so when they
returned, I had them start roasting their marshmallows, while warning them not to
get it too close to the blaze.  Once they were ready, I helped them make their first
Smores, at least everyone except Austin, since he knew what he was doing.

"Wow!  These are good," Josh announced, once he'd taken a bite.

Everyone else was soon agreeing with his assessment and I think each of the
boys had two or more of these special treats, before we were finished.  I was
glad this was something else they seemed to enjoy and that I'd been able to
introduce them to this new snack.

When we got ready to turn in later, I was surprised when Steve asked if he could
move his sleeping bag over and sleep next to me.  Before I could answer, Austin
told Steve he could place his sleeping bag between his and mine, which sort of
surprised me, because Austin had seemed content to cuddle up against me thus
far.  I guess maybe he'd decided that maybe he needed to let Steve have a
chance to do this as well and didn't wish to appear too greedy.

Anyway, we shifted the sleeping bags around and got rearranged, and then we
prepared to go to sleep.  Before we did that, however, the boys wanted to know
what we were going to do tomorrow, so I told them that I thought we could take a
hike, and everyone agreed that sounded like a good idea, so they settled down
and soon drifted off to sleep.

When we were getting ready to go out for breakfast the next morning.  Steve
informed me why he had requested to sleep next to me.

"I didn't want to cause a problem last night, but the night before Dean was farting
a lot and I didn't think I could take another night with that smell," he explained.  "I
hope that was ok."

I had to chuckle before I answered him.

"Yes, that was fine and I wondered why you had suddenly made that request," I
replied.

After we'd finished our breakfast, I drove the boys over to a place where they had
several hiking trails we could choose from.  After looking at the map and talking it
over with them, we chose to go out on the ten-mile trail.  That was fine with me,
although I was surprised they had selected one of the longer options, and I
wondered how Boo-Boo was going to handle this distance.  After thinking about it
briefly, I decided one of us could always carry him for a while, if it was too much
for him, so we got ready to set out.  Before we got started though, I had each boy
grab a couple of bottles of water out of the SUV, so they could take them with us,
because I was convinced they'd need to re-hydrate before we were done.

The trail was pretty flat for the first mile or so, and I spent some of my time trying
to point out various items of interest as we walked along, but then the path began
to rise up sharply, as we encountered our first major obstacle.  After climbing this
hill, we took a very short breather at the top, so we could take a drink.  I quickly
placed a jar lid on the ground, which I had carried in my pocket, and then I filled it
with water, so Boo-Boo could have a drink too.  Once everyone was taken care
of, we started out again.

We didn't encounter our next obstacle for another couple of miles, but this hill
was even steeper than the one we'd climbed earlier.  As we were slowly making
our way up this incline, I noticed that Boo-Boo was beginning to struggle a bit, so
I offered to pick him up and carry him for a while.  Jared was fine with the idea,
since he didn't feel he had the strength to do it, and I soon had the feeling that
Boo-Boo appreciated it too.  Almost as soon as I placed him in my arm, he began
to lick me, as if he were thanking me for picking him up.

I carried Boo-Boo for quite a ways, since the trail wound and undulated for the
next couple of miles, and then I felt he was probably rested enough to walk on
his own again.  We continued on and were now probably a little over a mile away
from reaching our starting point again.  We were currently headed down a
gradual slope, when part way down we came across a tree root that was partially
exposed across the trail.  Most of us had no problem stepping over it, but for
some reason though, Josh failed to notice it and stepped on it instead.  When he
did, he twisted his ankle and dropped to the ground in pain.  He tried to get up
and walk on it again afterward, but he said it hurt too much, so I told him I'd carry
him, piggyback, until we got back to the Tahoe.  He was fine with this idea,
although I knew this was going to create quite a physical challenge for me, but I
did what was required.

It took nearly everything I had to carry Josh the rest of the way back, because we
encountered one more change in elevation before we got there.  I somehow
managed to make it, but just barely, and Josh thanked me, as I placed him inside
the SUV.

>From there I drove everyone back to the campground and we were all content to
take a breather after this.  We sat around for quite a while, while the boys
downed more than a few snacks, as they attempted to regain their strength.
Once they began to perk up again, one of them suggested that he wanted to
shower next and then relax some more, before we went for another swim in the
lake.  Everyone seemed to agree with his idea, and I was fine with it too, so we
grabbed our things and I drove them to the shower facility.

The boys got undressed very quickly this time, because I think they were eager
to get out of the clothes they had worn on the hike, which now reeked from the
profusion of sweat that had dried on them.  We all ended up in pretty much the
same places as our previous shower, with Josh and Dean at the showerhead on
the right, Jared and I in the middle, and Austin and Steve on our left.  I think the
boys were actually getting used to doing this, and maybe even enjoyed showing
off and checking out each other, because they were indeed giving quite a show.

Once we'd finished washing up, drying off and putting on some clean clothes, we
then went back and spent the next hour in the camp chairs talking about various
aspects of our trip that they had enjoyed so far.  Everyone kept exclaiming that
they were having a great time and loved everything we'd done, and they said
they were glad that they'd been able to come.  The boys all thanked me
numerous times for suggesting this outing and doing everything for them.

Now that the boys had recuperated from the hike, they were finally ready to go
swimming again.  I noticed that Boo-Boo was getting excited too, when he saw
the boys putting on their swimsuits, so I guess he's starting to associate their
putting on those garments with going down to the lake to swim, so he was
looking forward to getting into the water with them.  Since he's basically wearing
a fur coat in this heat, I could understand why he would feel this way.

I told Jared we wouldn't need the leash or harness, and no one would have to
carry Boo-Boo either, because I was fairly certain that he was going to follow us
down to the lake without any problems.  That's exactly what happened, but as we
got closer, Boo-Boo raced ahead and leaped from the dock, into the lake, before
any of us even got there.

We swam until it was time to change and get ready for dinner, and the speed
with which the boys did this let me know that they were truly hungry.  On the way
there, I told them to save some room again, because there were enough supplies
left over to have Smores again this evening, and the boys all seemed to like this
idea.

Although I'm sure they left enough room for the Smores, they still packed away
one hell of a lot of food again.  Even the waitress seemed awed by how much the
boys ate and she certainly earned her tip by lugging all of that food to our table.

After we got back to the campsite, I arranged the wood to start the fire a little
later, but I was planning to wait until the boys' meals had time to settle first.  I
was also slightly concerned that we might run out of wood first, before the boys
had time to roast their marshmallows, but after I tossed the final piece onto the
fire, it lasted long enough for the boys to fill up on this treat.

Once again, each of the boys made at least two Smores, although I'm not sure
where they were putting them, seeing how much they had devoured earlier.
However, they are all growing boys, so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised.

When we went to turn in later, the boys stayed where they were the previous
night, with Steve next to me again.  Austin looked hurt that Steve stayed between
us again, but he didn't say anything, although I suspected he wasn't about to let
this happen tomorrow night too.

The following morning, after we'd emptied our bladders and brushed our teeth,
we headed out for some breakfast.  While we were eating, I overheard some of
the locals talking about a storm system that was moving into the area.

"Did I hear you mention something about storm warnings?" I asked, in an effort to
find out more.

"Yep.  There are thunderstorms that will be moving in shortly and the
weatherman says these storms might last two or three days," one of the other
customers informed me.

"There are both storm watches and storm warnings posted for this county and
several others," another customer added.  "I guess we're expecting a real doozey
of a storm, or maybe a series of them."

I certainly didn't like the sounds of this, so I urged the boys to eat quickly, so we
could get back to our campsite.  Once we were there, I sat the boys down to
discuss the situation with them.

"I'm sure you heard what they were saying at the diner this morning," I began.  "I
know you probably don't want to hear this, but I'd rather not be here during a bad
storm, especially a thunderstorm, and it sounds as if they will continue until we're
supposed to leave.  What would you say about going back early?"

"Aw, dang," Steve said.  "I was having a great time, so I don't really want it to
stop until we absolutely have to."

"Can we stay at your house until Friday then," Jared asked, "because our parents
aren't expecting us back until then, so can we?  Please?"

The others quickly chimed in their support of his idea.

"Let's pack everything up and take down the tent then," I offered.  "If we get back
and find no storms are headed our way, then we'll set the tent up in my backyard
until Friday.  If we're having storms there as well, then I guess we can camp out
in my living room, if that's what you boys want to do."

They were fine with my suggestion, so they quickly rolled up their sleeping bags,
packed their other things into the satchels they'd brought with them and then they
helped me take down the tent.  Once we had everything loaded into the Tahoe,
Jared picked up Boo-Boo and we all piled in and buckled up.  Now, we were
ready to make the three-hour drive home and then I'd determine if we were going
to set up the tent again or sleep in the house.  I had expected Jared and Josh,
and possibly even Dean, might want to do this if we went back early, but I
thought maybe Steve and Austin might prefer to go home, but I guess I was
wrong.  It's not a problem for me though and I'm fine that they want to continue
with this experience.


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