The Twins 1st Camping Trip

I grew up knowing that the land would one day belong to me. This huge stretch of wilderness. I remember hunting for arrowheads as a kid there. The Keechi Indians left a fair share behind. I remember the old windmill and the well that never went dry.

My grandmother told my father he should buy it. "Land--God isn't making any more of it," she would say. So he did. The best investment he ever made. They lived on some land nearby a long time ago. He inherited the other part from my grandfather. I heard a story that my grandmother had acquired some land through adverse possession; although I'm not sure which land that is.

I try to picture Old Juantia (as my dad would call her) boiling a pot of water to wash clothes out there. "She thought the washing machine was the greatest invention in the history of mankind," my dad said. The house they lived in is just a chimney now. I try to imagine her living there with her kids. No wonder she was such a tough woman.

"The land," was always a source of conversation for my dad and I. "Have you been out to the land?" "How's the land doing?" Along with various tales of wild animals, mineral leases, hunters, and other land-related topics. When I told him I'd never sell it and would leave it to my children, his eyes filled up with tears and he hugged me and said how much he loved me. I meant it too. I love it as much as he did.

So it was with great joy that we took the girls on their first camping experience to the land. There are two parcels roughly the same size. One will belong to Rowan. It is Rowan's Ranch. The other will be Evelyn's Ranch.

Rowan was so excited. She kept repeating, "Ro-ro's Ranch." Then turning to Evelyn and saying, "Evey, No. Ro-ro's." We'd say, yes, but Evelyn has a ranch too.

Rowan's is really beautiful. At night we could hear the coyote's hallowing. At one point they seemed a little too close. All through the night I kept waking up thinking I could hear some animal right outside the tent. Was it a wild pig? A coyote? Maybe a bobcat? No one else stirred, even our dog who slept a little too soundly.

The stars were amazing out there. You could see the Milky Way so clearly. I had forgotten how brilliant they are.

The next day we drove to my father's grave. I miss him so much. I kept thinking how I'd like to tell him that we camped on the land with the girls. How I heard a pack of coyotes. How Rowan was saying its her's with such pride.