My father was raised by the Boy Scouts. His own father bailed when he was young, and Dad found his people in a sleeping bag, around a campfire and under the stars. He taught me preparedness, first aid, and to love and respect the environment. “Always leave things cleaner than you found them”. We kids spent a lot of time picking up trash, cigarette butts and bottle caps.
Dad was a blue collar worker and as our clan grew in the 1950’s we became a family of campers. Five kids piled into our huge Chevy wagon, sometimes including a few cousins and always Fritz, the dachshund. Daddy had his own little scout troop and he loved it.
Dad’s factory closed down the first two weeks of August every year. We borrowed a huge canvass tent and my mom managed to buy a camping stove and lantern. We traveled up and down the East coast of the US from New York and Virginia to the beaches of North Carolina. Believe me, camping on the beach takes a special skill.
To give my mom a break, Dad did most of the cooking. Preparing food over a campfire was a challenge my father embraced. He could bake a birthday cake by lowering a cast iron pot into hot coals. He cleverly placed a few pebbles inside to balance a pan of cake batter. The pot was called a Dutch oven, and it worked perfectly.
I have so many memories of the games we played while driving down the highway. They were designed to entertain without devices and to prevent the incessant barrage of, “are we there yet?” He sang in his baritone voice, songs that I later realized were from his childhood scout troop.
https://youtu.be/8ZlpNVECeaw?si=FJ_dt_iejc60kNBd
My dad loved parades, holidays, especially Halloween and family vacations. We always won prizes from his imaginative costumes dreamed up at the last minute from wigs, face paint and long underwear pulled from a box that was kept in the attic.
My childhood was filled with memories that even now bring a tear to think about. He was one-of-a-kind and those simple times are long gone.
DOS TORTAS
the adventures of dos tortas 
I wish I could have met him. He sounds amazing.
He reminds me so much of my grandfather.
what wonderful memories. Thanks for sharing
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I could write a book! Glad you liked the post.
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He would have loved you
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Alex – this is so touching…what a wonderful father…so intelligent and ahead of his time..i’d love to see more photos…
We’ll be at Pehaltun on April 21st or 22nd…need anything? I leave April 7th for mex city – so let me know before then ..
Love from Boise…visiting my son and getting our first leg of permanent residency…xoxo to all
Lorrie Jones
Simple Serenity
simpleserenity.comhttp://simpleserenity.com/
253.312.3117
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Will be in touch
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Ok 😊
Lorrie Jones
Simple Serenity
simpleserenity.comhttp://simpleserenity.com/
253.312.3117
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Very nice blog! We had the same Chevy station wagon in blue.
Joel Grieshaber
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Those things were tanks.
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love this—what a great childhood!
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My parents did a pretty darn good job for having less than stellar role models.
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Wonderful memories of an amazing childhood. And your dad was quite a looker 😉
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Was he ever! A real ladies man in his youth. Devoted to my mother.
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I loved your post about your dad. So special.
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So good to hear from you. Think of you often.
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What a great dad! My parents never took us camping. I got sent away to Girl Scout camp and learned to love the out-of-doors. That way this is continued into adulthood and I’m thankful for the opportunities I got.
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