Camping with Reed is always an adventure.  Dating back to when we canoed, and walked the canoes, down the Heart River to Lake Tschida in1981 to our several misadventures on the Missouri, we've always gotten a bit more than we bargained for when we camped out.  This year was no exception.

Reed was home for Meredith's graduation but we managed to squeeze in one night at Fort Lincoln State Park just across the river from Bismarck.  We invited the Klines, Jack and Derek, to join us.  You can count on Jack for good eats; he's a tremendous cook.  And he always brings his guitar, which makes for a pleasant diversion.

  We drove the pickup to the park and unloaded our gear in the mid-afternoon.  Reed set up the tent and soon Klines arrived.

  I know this looks like a tough job, but someone has to do it.

  Derek brought his guitar, too, and the two made some decent sounds together.

  The geezers sing a duet

  The park sits next to the confluence of the Heart and Missouri Rivers, and waterfowl is plentiful.

  It gets dark early in the park because it sits below a small bluff and there are plenty of trees around.  When it got suitably black, and we were engaged in lively conversation, Derek exclaimed, "Reed, someone is taking your truck!" Sure enough, someone started it up, put in in gear, and spun out of the parking space and headed north.  Reed bolted from his chair and gave chase.

Their is an oval shaped road traversing the park and the truck was heading away from the exit but it could simply go around the circle and get out.  Reed headed it off and somehow got in front of it.  He hollered at the driver, "Stop! Right now!" and pointed at the dark windshield.  Meanwhile, I grabbed the camera and was heading to a cut-off point to try and capture the culprit on film.  That's when I saw Jack's wife, Shannon, doubled over in laughter, standing behind a tree.

Back at the truck, Meredith stepped out from behind the wheel and said, "Hi, Reed."  They came back to the campsite together where we were joined by Pam, Jack and Shannon's daughter, Witney, and her boyfriend, Mitch.  They had plenty of chuckles, at our expense.  All I know is, Meredith would make a fine wheel wo-man.