When I was younger, my family and I would go camping almost every year- and I don't mean just me, my brother and my parents either. We brought two of my four cousins along with us when they could make it over from Wyoming.

One year, we took a different vehicle than every other time, so we didn't have room for my eldest cousin in any of the seats. He ended up in the trunk. At first, he was quite okay with it, nice and comfy just kind of sitting there and chatting along with the rest of us. But then we hit an area with a bunch of turns- the speed limit wasn't all that slow either, so he started tumbling around back there.

We made tiny jokes, asking if he was having fun, or getting dizzy, or was going to 'take that' from the car. One turn was particularly sharp and he bashed his head against the back of either mine or my brother's seat. He made a few funny, insulting comments at the car and I and the rest of my family- even the driver, my dad- were laughing our butts off as he glared.

***

Later on, in a different camping trip in a different car... he was a year or so older, I think... I woke up and that same cousin who was stuck in the trunk that last time, was in sweats, a sweatshirt and a bunch of other warm stuff, sitting as close to the fire as he could get without catching on fire... shivering. Granted, it was a little chilly because we were in a shaded area, but it was summer, so it was way too warm to be shivering, especially that close to the fire.

My mom walked up to me and saw me looking at him, telling me he'd seen my dad dunking his head in the river to wake up and wanted to try it. My dad definitely warned him that it was cold, but he did so anyway. The water in that river came straight down from the mountain and the glaciers off of it.

You'd have to have been there and seen my face to know how I reacted, but I'll just say it was too funny for words and that he wasn't a fan of my reaction.

***

One more from camping, eh? 

Alright, last camping short. 

We went on a hike to the 'pool' as we called it- the base of a waterfall only a couple miles from our campsite. A nice mild hike for those of us with medical problems and the like. We took our shoes off, and the farthest I went out was about hip-height, but that was good enough for me, and at that time, it was good enough for my dad also.

At one point during all of the fun, my cousins decided to get onto a big rock near the waterfall... well, the older one wasn't paying attention, so the younger one pushed him in. He fell, arms flailing into it and for a second I was slightly worried, but he came back up- sputtering and glaring, but then we all started laughing and he joined in.

These aren't long, and they aren't much, but I hope the bits of images that come to mind bring smiles to your faces. It did to mine, remembering all of this.