Last Hurrah of Summer ...

We're doing something tomorrow that I said I'd never do in Montana -- camp in a tent. We'll be taking Nicole to college tomorrow and on our way back home we're going to spend two nights camping. We're not taking our travel trailer because we're towing Nicole's car with our van. So instead, we've decided to be brave and tent camp. Yeah, in grizzly territory. One night will be at a campground along the Beartooth Highway. The second night will be in Canyon inside Yellowstone National Park. I'm trying to remember what to pack, since it's so easy to rely on things already being in the trailer -- like towels, silverware, and the bathtub!

Right after Nicole was born, I gave Rick a 2-room Coleman tent for his birthday. We used it quite a bit when the girls were little before venturing into the world of RVs. We got a pop-up trailer first, then a 24 foot travel trailer, and now we have a 28 foot one. Ironically, we were just thinking of getting rid of the tent the other day, but then this opportunity came up. The boys have never slept in a tent, so I think they'll have fun with it. Of course, we're staying in places that have both had bear incidents recently, so that will be a concern. We have bear spray and I'm sure we'll be just fine. It should be interesting. My latest middle grade novel is about two girls who sneak out to tent camp in the Montana wilderness and they have a bear incident. I guess I'll just call it research for my book. Works for me.

Nicole is really excited about starting Rocky Mountain College. This will be her second year of college. It will be nice that she's in the same state, unlike last time when she was all the way over in Florida. RMC is about 8 hours southeast of here in Billings, so she'll be a little closer. As it turns out, her roommate is going to be one of her friends from where we live, so that will be nice for her. She's frantically trying to pack now and hopefully we'll be ready to leave early in the morning. I've got the coffee maker all ready to go!