Hacer Camping

Literally, "to camp."
I figure it is appropriate for the title of this post to be in Spanish, as the purpose of my latest adventure (a camping trip) was to study over the long weekend ASU likes to call Fall Break. And I did study, a lot.
A few weekends ago (three, to be exact) I took the advice of my office mate Bob, and set out on a study camping trip before Midterms. There was Political Science to be studied, the History of Journalism to be read, and Psychology to be reviewed. And what better place is there to do that than in the middle of a scrub brush forest, by the light of the sun, next to your boyfriend who happens to be studying some of the same items as you?
This is the first trip where I really had to ask permission of my parents to go. I've asked them for money (Europe) and I've asked them for blessing and for them to hold on to their peace of mind (Oregon), but I've never really asked them permission to go on an adventure with a friend. Even though I am a legal-age adult, I live under their roof, and because I would be using their tent and camp stove, I felt it necessary to ask if I could go on a camping trip with Daniel...just me and him.
After much deliberation, and assurance that his parents were letting him go (he told them he was going camping...not asked), my mother came around to letting me go. My dad was more alright with it from the beginning, as he said "We want you to feel [like an adult], and let you make your own choices. But if you need me to come get you, just call. No questions asked." There's a reason I get along with him better...he respects my choices, but still expresses he is there to help me if I need it.
That was on Tuesday. The rest of the week Daniel and I spent much time planning a menu, creating a packing list for each of us, and getting excited. This was our first overnight trip together.
Friday came around, and went. We left early Saturday morning, after I baked orange rolls and emptied my backpack of laptop, calculator, clicker and tablet, and filled it with hard back textbooks. Daniel picked me up and took me to his house, where we loaded the car with all of my stuff, and his few bags, and we were on our way!
After we stopped for the routine picnic food, which was simply ice this time, I picked up the car keys and drove all the way up to Sedona.
We arrived two hours later and stopped at the customary visitor's center to say hello to our forest service friends, and ask their recommendation for a dispersed camping site. We were pointed to a beautiful place somewhere south west of Sedona, where there were wonderful views of Red Rock state park. It was described as "Not too cold at night, but [you guys] brought a tent, right? Because you're going to want one." We had brought a tent, and it provided just the perfect amount of insulation.

We set up camp quickly, with my dome tent, chairs, and camping stove, and Daniel's shovel, tarp, and Subaru. It was nearly 2 by the time that was done, and it was time to shut off all cell phones. We were free from all social media for the weekend! We didn't understand that turning our phones off meant we had no idea what time it was, at all. So from then on, we followed the pattern of the sun. We woke up with it, we went to sleep when it set, and we ate when we were hungry. It was a glance back to the simple way of life.
Looking back, the rest of the trip was really just a blur. We only spent two full days at the camp ground, plus two half-days (so three days total). The weather was warmer than I would have hoped, as I packed sweat pants and footie pajamas (they make those for adults now, and they are just as comfortable as they were when you were a kid.) I ended up wearing shorts and tank tops, getting a light sun burn, and reading the day away.
The entire plan for the weekend was, after all, to study, and to study a lot. We sat by the fire pit reading for hours at a time. We went back into town once (on Sunday) to buy a starter log for our campfire, because all the brush was wet. Besides that, we stayed out of civilization's way!
Now that my midterms are over, I can attest that the plan worked. The hours we spent studying in our little dispersed campground paid off with two A's and three B's, which is pretty spectacular. Chances are, we'll plan another little camping trip for December, before finals start.