My good friend, Grammy Dee, from Grammy’s Grid, hosts a blogger’s link party based on story prompts.
This story is a writing exercise and is linked up to Grammy’s Grid – Short Story Prompt Link Party 13 This is how it works…
- write a short story using the short story prompt she provides
- publish your post
- then add it to the link party HERE.
This month, she used an image instead of a sentence as the short story prompt. Here is her image.
Here is my story.
Let’s Go Camping in the Desert!
Let’s go camping in the desert!
He knew I am all about the desert, it has rocks, and cactus, and cool nights, and warm days. Oh, how I love the desert. The dinosaurs walked through America’s deserts and oh the fossils, and…
But then he said this, “let’s take the van, and tent camp”.
There were other words that followed but my ears couldn’t take in anything after “tent camp”.
You Love the Desert!
He tried to remind me of the splendor of the desert, but I couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying.
“But you LOVE the desert!” And I do adore it. But. But.
This girl has a healthy respect for the desert. There are snakes, and coyotes, and scorpions, and giant spiders. Any of which could send me to a hospital with chest pains at just the sight of them.
Visiting the desert during the day is one thing. Camping in the desert to me means, pulling the 5th wheel to one of the “Oasis RV Resorts” at the edge of or near the desert.
He insisted, at our age, it could be the last time we tent camp and actually sleep under the stars. So. With a deep sigh and almost certain pre-regret, I agreed.
We Loaded the Van with the Basics
I reluctantly packed the van with all the basic essentials and our tent. The larger tent had long ago, been given to the girls for their families to use for their camping trips. At lakes and State Parks. Near civilization.
Nevertheless, we packed just the basics for roughing it in the desert and headed west.
Setting up Camp
Hubby drove until he found the perfect spot and we set up camp.
I was careful to spray the perimeter of our site with my anti-scorpion/anti-snake/anti-giant spider essential oil mixture I prepared just for this occasion, in hopes of deterring any undesired visitors.
Our campfire dinner was marvelous. We rarely eat hotdogs, especially those grilled over a wood fire, but they were delicious, and we laughed at how much fun we were having roasting them. Of course, we followed with a dessert of smores and were as happy as two children as we roasted our marshmallows!
The Setting Sun
The sun set behind the flat-top peaks and quickly disappeared. There was no moon that we could see and the night sky was dark, except for the stars. So many stars! Millions and millions shining in the sky.
And then it happened.
A beautiful shooting star! Darting across the sky and disappearing in seconds. Breathtaking!
As we sat there cuddled near our dying fire, I spotted another meteor burning across the sky. And then another…and another!
What in the world was going on? I usually keep up with “sky news” and all celestial events, but I had been so busy with family this month that maybe I had missed something.
You Have Indeed, Missed Something
Hubby chuckled at my wondering and said: “you have indeed, missed something, but I didn’t”. Puzzled, I looked at him and with his big smile, he said, “tonight is a very special night.”
Oh dear God, what have I forgotten?
My mind began to race with trying to think quickly what important event I had overlooked.
No, not my anniversary, that was in June. No, not the day we met, January. No birthdays missed.
I was completely stumped. The past few weeks had been such a blur with all the business of grandbabies.
What could I have forgotten? Surely he will forgive me. It’s been a rough summer and he will understand my not remembering.
I’ve Got Nothing
Hubby got up and walked over to the van, and came back with a blanket that he spread on the ground. As he walked over to me and held out his hands, he asked if I had figured it out.
Afraid of hurting his feelings for not remembering this important event, I was sadly forced to admit, I had nothing.
My Surprise!
He helped me to my feet, and with arms spread to the sky, he announced proudly, that tonight was the Perseids Meteor Shower, the king of the meteor showers!
Perseids Meteor Shower is one of the most significant showers of the year, with a display of over 100 meteors an hour! What a perfectly amazing surprise!
We laid on the blanket and watched the desert sky, counting hundreds of shooting stars, and making wishes on them all.
My final wish before we drifted off to sleep under the stars was that I would never forget that beautiful night.
This post may be linked to link parties! To see where I party click here!
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and was created as a writing exercise. My stories may or may not be based loosely on real events, and should not be taken as fact. This story is the work of my imagination. Any resemblance to any living person is purely coincidental.
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