Buffalo Cove Field Trip

Buffalo Cove Field Trip

Twelve sixth-graders, two goats, three dogs,
camp guide.  For three days we ruled the wilderness.
Well, not exactly, but we survived.

Buffalo never roamed these mountains,
but surely bear, mountain lion, and fox;
we saw squirrels, birds and bugs...

and one lost bloodhound we named "Bob".
Our camp dogs ignored her; we were tired & hungry,
yet I wished I could have shared my food
when I saw her hiding in the brush.

The fresh air surprised me.  Deep breaths,
inhaled, swept energy through my veins.
Almost better than caffeine.  Almost.

No phones, no T.V.; we made rope.
Strips of bark, looped, twisted, overlapped.
I loved the repetition.

Stepped quietly, feet sideways, heel,
ball of foot, toes.  Learned to be silent,
melt into Mother Earth.

One for all, all for one.  We learned the hard way.
S'mores promised, but one boy kept talking.
Graham crackers, marshmallows, Hershey's. Gone.

Camp guide about to dispense the secret,
"How to keep warm."  Talking boy kept talking.
We woke up shivering. The next night,
we were overjoyed to discover "Quiet boy".

Happy to return home, yet sad to leave.
Mom and Dad groaned when I confessed
"My teeth were taking a sabbatical",
toothbrush found, unused.

by Spencer Bednar, November 11, 2019