Hot Lava and Cold Beverages

I love the Fourth of July. I love fireworks, hot dogs, and freedom. But this year I did something a little different. I didn't even have any hot dogs (gasp!), but I did have a couple of burgers (sigh of relief). I spent Independence Day camping with some of my best friends in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. Anybody who knows me knows I'm typically anti-camping. Sleeping in on the ground in the woods? I thought we'd evolved past that point. But I had more fun than I've had in a long time.

My week started off on Tuesday (why? because that's when we left. screw Monday), when I met up with Tony (not only one of my best friends, but one of my favorite people, and for a bitter old misanthrope like me, that's a pretty short list). We had breakfast, played a little Manhunt (an extremely violent and therefor extremely fun game, where I was pretty much stuck when Lanso's kid Cameron completely showed me up after playing it for the first time for about fifteen minutes) and headed up north to Jill's parents' property in Lava. This was my first time up there, which I'd been looking forward to for weeks and was not disappoionted.

I would say we set up camp, but Jill and her mom, Jari, had it all set up before we even showed up. I set up my three-man tent ("three-man" apparently means it takes three people to set it up and only one man to sleep diagonally inside it). And so the three-day, two-night excursion was set.

Day One; July 3, 2012

After we set up camp (our tents, I mean), we set forth on a most excellent adventure.

-went to the rope swing. I might have actually done it myself if the water hadn't been so shallow. Tony broke his ass going off of it. And I laughed hysterically, the way friends do.

-went to the swimming pool, where I went off a water slide for the first time in years. It was fun, but the long walk up the stairs was akin to the hobbits' hike to Mordor. Needless to say, I went once.

-got a hamburger from Fat Jack's with Mike, Rikki, Shane, and Aimee (or as I like to call them by their Hollywood couple name, Shamee). I won't say it was the tastiest burger I've ever had, but it was up there. They stacked three rather thin, but juicy, slices of beef on a sesame seed bun with pickles, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, and onions upon request (of course I requested onions).

-had Jari's famous Dutch oven lasagna. I could probably write an entire post about that piece of heaven, but I'll spare you. Sufficeth to say, it was delicious.

-played the funnest game of Murder I've ever played.

(Tony, pre-jump)

(Tony, post-jump)

(Tony thought getting higher up on the rope would send him out further. It ended up just being a farther drop to  the shallow water. And still, I laugh.)

(Jill and Penny, watching safely from the other side)

(Mooche playing fetch with Jill. She's kinda dumb, likes playing tug-of-war with misshapen objects, and she's bigger than she thinks she is, but I love her.)

Day Two: July 4, 2012

-woke up before everybody and started reading God, No! by Penn Jillette. He is a funny, charismatic guy who writes funny, deep stories, and he is one of my heroes.

-ate Shamee's breakfast burritos. Shoot dang, they were good.

-went river rafting. I was hesitant to go, but Tony and Jill convinced me. I was only sorry briefly, when my raft flipped me onto some jagged rocks, but the second time was more fun, because I knew what to expect. Even the second time I flipped was funner.

-Rikki made us some taco soup. I love taco soup, but this was the first time I'd had it with Nacho Cheese Doritos crunched up in it rather than regular tortilla corn chips. Epic win, Mike.

-went and soaked in the hot pools. It was enjoyable, but it would have been more so had it been a little colder outside.

-bailed out on the hot pools early and went to the Blue Moon bar with Tony. While Tony and I were having a philosophical discussion, I ordered some food, a "Blue Moon Burger w/ cheese" and fries. One of the best burgers I've ever had (what is it with Idaho and awesome burgers?). And let me just say, these were those no-preservative Idaho potato French fries, the way it's supposed to be. And Tony liked my fry sauce/Tabasco sauce mix, so I ain't alone!

-met up with Jill at the park for their daughter Lily's first firework show. She wasn't even paying attention to the fireworks at first, until a couple of particularly loud ones caught her attention. There was one guy behind us who was cheering for the noise as opposed to the fireworks themselves. "Whoo!" said Tony, in character as the noise-lover. "I took three Viagra, I'm ready to go!" Let me just say, I love fireworks. Tony doesn't (unless he's the one lighting them off). But there wasn't a lot of order in their show. They set off their famous "lava fireworks" (set to appear as those there's a fire waterfall going down the mountain) way too early. But I guess I'm just a critic, I'm not part of the Fire Department (but I desperately want to be the one setting off the fireworks someday).

(I woke up and they were wearing a sombrero. I feel like I missed out on something. But isn't Lily Loaf lovely?)

("Mexican in disguise! I can go twice as high. Take a look, it's in a book, Reading Rainbow!" Tony would sing this about Mike and several times more about Rikki)

(I like to point out that in pictures, Tony perpetually looks as though he's done something wrong. He assures me he has)

(The Loaf, just after she finished eating a gazelle)

Day Three; July 5, 2012

-woke up and helped Lanso make breakfast. Or rather, I started helping him, as we were assigned to make breakfast together, but Rikki kicked my clumsy ass off of egg duty and took over. Oh, well. I swear, I'm not offended. It gave me time to make a bacon-wrapped marshmallow. Nummy.

-packed up and headed back home with Lanso and his kids. They're all real ball busters. But the biggest ball buster wasn't Lance, or even one of his kids, but one of their friends, Bradley "Babs," who may be only 12 years old, but busted balls like a pubescent Don Rickles.

-had a Rambothon (watched the first two Rambo movies, I'll be finishing the rest today). 'Cause nothing says American freedom quite like America's favorite freedom fighter, John Rambo!

(just as in Return of the Jedi, Lanso Calrissian did the lion's share of the work)

('Merica)

(This is Jari's dog, Tippy. I think she looks like one of those rat-dog creatures from Willow)

(Tippy in the Nelwyn village)

(not pictured; Don Rickles)

Happy 4th, hermanos!