Almost had to stab someone this weekend
It's a frightening thing when at 345am your tent trailer handle is being rattled because someone is trying to see if it's unlocked.
I love camping. I have a fun time hanging out in nature, taking walks on the trails, seeing water falls, playing in the river. I love taking the opportunity to hang out with friends and family, bonding with the kids, maybe a little fishing now and then.
So when Venka called and said, "Let's go camping," I was all in. We called another buddy, spent way too much money on gear and snacks, and loaded up the minivan, borrowing a tent trailer from my wife's father (because she hates camping as much as I love it, and a tent trailer is closer to a house, which makes it bearable for her), and drove out to Niagra Springs.
The first night was fine. We got there late, got set up, and went to sleep, woke up the next day and spent all day playing with my friends and kids. That afternoon the babies were cranky and refusing a nap, so the wife and I loaded them in the van and took a little drive. At the ranger station box a black Nissan Altima was stopped. No one was in it. The station was closed, so i thought it a little weird, but figured they were either dropping an envelope in the self pay box or reading some posted notifications on the bill board. They came around the corner, got in, and drove up the hill to the waterfall. We also stopped to look at the waterfall.
Afterward we drove out of the canyon and took a little trip to get the girls to fall asleep.
When we came back, that same car was back at the ranger box, the three people sitting in the car. Weird.
We drove down the hill and the woman driver got out and went to the box. it wasn't easy to see, but it occurred to me that she was probably trying to jimmy the lock on the self pay box. Stephanie took a very far away photo. All it really showed was she had a black shirt, but it was something.
We went on about our evening, grilling bratwurst and hamburgers, swimming in the river, and generally having a great time.
That night, however, wasn't as calm and relaxed.
Stephanie woke me about 345am.
"Why is someone trying to open our door?" she pushed me a little to rouse me.
"What?" Then I heard it too. She had locked the door, but someone was indeed testing it to see if they could get it to open.
I leaped from bed, reaching in the dark for my knife and van keys. The keys hit the floor, and Stephanie heard the person run off. Not wanting to go out in my underwear, i pulled on my pants and grabbed a flashlight, stepping outside.
I woke Venka and Tony, but Tony had locked his truck so wasn't interested in getting up. Venka and I walked patrol, checked on the kids in the tents, and looked around. The camp on the north side was on high alert, one guy sweeping his flashlight across the grounds, and another flipping the alarm on their car to get the headlights on. We turned on our flashlights to be noticed and walked that way to check on them. They had heard someone creeping and were checking.
It took me about 2 hours to get back to sleep, and for the rest of the night i remained dressed with my knife on my hip. Next time i'll bring a gun.
The ranger did confirm the next morning when we reported it that the lock box had indeed been broken into.
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