Snaggletooth Goes Camping!

Hey kids! Just thought I'd check in an share some pics from my recent camping trip.

I know, that's not all too entirely geek-centric, but luckily, as I stopped for gas before hitting the road, I was digging into my backpack to grab my wallet when I found a certain little stowaway. I think he got left behind when I brought a bunch of my vintage Kenner Star Wars figures to work. Well, lucky for him, because it looks like good ol' Snaggletooth is going camping!

We had a good time rocking out to my Pandora Metallica playlist during the 3 hour drive into the National Forrest Preserve.

When we arrived, we found that the majority of the group who had come a day earlier had all gone fishing, so the place was deserted...

Fine by us, since we used that time to get the tent set up. He wasn't a whole lot of help, but he did a good job of supervising...

We did all kinds of fun stuff over the next five days. Like hiking...

Sitting by the campfire...

Snacking on beef jerky...

Take a dip in the river. It was sooooo cold!

For lunch, we grilled hot dogs over the fire...

And slathered them with cream cheese, the Seattle way...

We did a lot of sitting around in our camp chairs, joking and laughing. Snags found one that matched his outfit...

And I can't lie, he had a couple of brewskis. What the heck. It's camp.

He had a lot of fun playing with the dogs until they were worn out from all the adventure...

We even built him a little house!

And there was lots of snacking...

Every night, tired and smelling like wood smoke, we hit the sack in our sleeping bags to get a good night's sleep in the fresh air...

It was one heck of a trip for this little guy and as much as we were all looking forward to getting back home and taking showers, it was a little sad to say goodbye to our faithful favorite campsite for another year...

But we'll be back again next year! And if he's good, I'll be sure to bring Snaggletooth along again.

Action Figure Camping Trip! Part II

When we last saw the gang, Indy had just bought a new RV and the whole crew decided to all go on a camping trip together. So Indy, along with his wife, Spider-Woman, and their best friends, Captain America and Princess Leia, and Boba Fett and Scarlett, headed off to grab their gear.

Our story picks up with Indy, Spider-Woman, Cap and Leia pulling up to their camping spot in Indy's new RV...

"Awwww YEAH! We're here!" yelled Cap, hanging out of the RV door.

"Oh, what a gorgeous spot!" added Leia as Indy pulled the RV to a stop.

"Aaaahhhhh... Just smell that fresh air," Indy Said, surveying the camp. The air was fresh, the birds singing, the sun was warm, and somewhere off in the distance a moose, or possibly an elk, bellowed its call.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Cap's sidearm cracked off three rounds.

"What the hell was that?!" Cap yelled, scanning the treeline for Nazis.

"Jeezus, Cap! What is wrong with you?!" Indy yelled. "It was probably just a moose. Or maybe an elk."

"Yeah, Cap," said Spider-Woman, getting up from the ground, where she and everyone else had dropped for cover. "You really need to chill."

"Oh... right... an elk. I thought it sounded like a Nazi." Cap said, calming down and holstering his gun.

"Okay, gang," Indy announced, "Let's get the gear out and camp set up."

Indy started a cook fire, since lunch-time was looming near. Cap got the mountain bikes down, anticipating an exhilarating ride through the surrounding trails, while the girls set up the tables and chairs.

"I don't know why we're bothering with a fire," said Captain America, "These beans are just fine right out of the can."

"Honey," answered Leia, "Forgive us if some of us would like to maintain a modicum of civility during the trip."

"I'm just sayin'," replied Cap, "When I was in WWII, and we were hunkered down in the trenches of bombed-out France..."

"WE KNOW!" interrupted everyone in unison, squelching yet another wistful WWII story.

 "Anyway, while you two citified softies," Cap said, gesturing to Indy and Spider-Woman, "rest your dainty little heads in your fancy-pants RV, Leia and I are camping old-school, in a tent, like God intended." Cap looked over his recently built shelter.

"Yeah, well, " Indy replied, "I'm not sure I'd want to be sealed in that portable gas chamber with you tonight after all those uncooked beans you've been eating."

Cap looked down at his almost-empty can of beans, then over at his wife, who rolled her eyes at him, then said, "Yeah, good point."

"Hey," said Spider-Woman, "I hear a vehicle approaching."

"Oh yeah," agreed Leia, "I bet it's Fett and Scarlett!"

And sure enough, with the rumble of a vintage engine, and the crunch of tires on a gravel road, Boba Fett and his wife, Scarlett, drove up to the camp.

"Wooooo-hooooo! Waddup, fools!? Let's get our camp on!" Boba Fett yelled, hanging out of his 1969 Dodge Charger.

"Hey ladies!" Scarlett yelled to her girls, happy to see her best friends again.

"Fett! Welcome to the camp, brother!" Cap said with a big grin.

"Yeah, glad you made it, man," Indy added. "I can't believe you drove that car up here on a camping trip."

"Hey, if you'd spent as much as I did on this sweet ride, you'd drive it as often as possible," Boba replied, eyes sweeping over his bright orange baby.

Indy looked nervously at the four-legged ball of teeth and growls standing by Boba's side. "Oh great, you brought Timber," he said, giving Cap a look.

"Awww, come on," Fett replied, "Timber here is a sweetie! We just have to keep him supplied with lots of raw meet to keep his bites to a minimum."

"Seriously, dude," Cap said, "I think it's weird that you've adopted a dog that belonged to one of your wife's ex-boyfriends."

But Fett just ignored him.

"How was the ride up?" Leia asked Scarlett.

"It was okay," Scarlett replied, "but Boba wouldn't let us listen to anything but Styx, Rush or Journey the entire way up here."

"So, uh..." said Indy, looking over Boba's gear, "Where's your tent?"

"Tents are for punks and cowards!" replied Boba, "We're sleeping under the stars, brother!" he announced, unrolling two sleeping bags onto the grass.

"You know, in WWII," said Cap, "all we had was our bedrolls..."

"WE KNOW!" said Indy and Boba.

The rest of the day was spent in the usual relaxing way that goes along with camping. Indy spent some time in the RV, researching the location of the crypt of King Solomon...

The girl caught some rays on the roof of the RV...

Boba Fett grilled up a little something for Timber while he tried to get cell phone reception...

Captain America got to know some of the local wildlife...

Timber did something stinky in Cap's tent...

And Boba did the same thing on a rock...

Later that afternoon, the guys headed out for a brisk bike ride.

"I feel stupid in this helmet, Cap!' yelled Indy.

"Safety first, chum!" replied Cap.

Boba Fett had a little trouble keeping up.

"Yo! Guys! Wait up! This bike wasn't really made for this kind of terrain!"

Soon the sun set, and after a night of making s'mores and sharing stories (most of Cap's were about WWII), it was time to hunker down for the night.

Boba Fett rolled out the sleeping bags...

Cap roasted a little late-night snack over the fire...

Indy made sure all of the gear and food was secured...

Scarlett showed Spider-Woman how to breakdown, clean and reassemble several types of assault weapons...

And Leia got the tent ready.

"Uh, honey," she called over to Cap, "there's something stinky in here..."

Soon it was time to go to bed.

"G'nite, babe, "said Scarlett.

"Nite, hon, " replied Boba Fett.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzz," added Timber.

 "Did you have fun?" asked Leia to her husband.

"Oh yeah," said Cap, "Camping like this reminds me of the time in WWII when me and the boys..."

"I know, honey," Leia interrupted, laying her head down for the night.

"Well," Indy said to his wife, snug in their queen sized bed in the RV, "I'd say this camping trip was a big success."

"Absolutely, " Spider-Woman agreed, "Now we just need to do this every weekend for the next 6 years to make the price you paid for this RV worth it."

And with that, our gang fell asleep under the night sky, to the flicker of the fireflies and the chirp of the crickets. As they slept out in the fresh air, stomachs filled with s'mores and skin coated in bug-spray, it was clear, in the quiet of the woods, that all was well...

... or was it...

Ch-ch-ch... ah-ah-ah...

THE END?

Action Figure Camping! Part I

When last we left my action figures, Captain America was still trying to get Boba Fett to let him ride his new Schwinn Stingray...

"Come on! Just a quick spin! Like, I'll just go around the block then bring it right back."

"No."

That's when they heard an approaching rumble. The guttural chug of a diesel engine and the crackle and roll of massive wheels...

"What the..."

What approached was a gleaming machine of pure beauty. Part transportation, part home away from home. A vehicle designed to eat up the countless miles and rest its massive frame in campgrounds all across the country...

"What's up, fools!" said Indiana Jones, "Check out my new wheels!"

"Dang, Indy, this is suh-weeeeeeeeeeet!" exclaimed Cap.

"Yeah, well... dig my new bike, Jones." said Boba Fett, but they just ignored him.

Indy surveyed his new house-on-wheels like a curator appreciating a newly acquired Renaissance painting. "Yeah," he said, grinning from ear to ear, "I've been threatening to get one of these for years. Think of all the archeological digs I can take her on!"

"This baby's got everything!" Indy bragged. "Windows that open..."

"Tons of storage and a drop-down set of steps..."

"Slick dolphin graphics..."

"And dig this; it even came with a couple of sweet new mountain bikes!"

"Nice! Can I ride one?" asked Cap, not wasting any time.

"Hell yeah, bro! We're gonna do some serious off road ridin', man!" said Indy, filled to the brim with new-purchase adrenalin.

"Well, you know, I got a bike too, so..." Fett mumbled, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Check it, " Indy continued, "It's even got a drop down ladder for roof access."

"Let me show you the inside," Indy said, eyes twinkling with excitement. "It's got a cushy cab up front, complete with cruise control, MP3 player and a glove compartment. It's literally a compartment specifically for my gloves!"

It started to dawn on Cap and Boba at this point that Indy may be a little too excited.

"It's got a nice little dinette area for playing cards or eating chili dogs or dusting off a 13th century Mayan artifact..."

"A fully working kitchen..."

"A full bathroom with a sink, a shower and a toilet, so you don't have to bathe in a freezing lake or poop in the woods..."

"And of course... this is where the magic happens!" Indy bragged, stretching out on the queen size bed in the back.

Cap and Boba gave each other a look, as if to say "Yeah, right," but it was lost on Indy, blinded as he was by his new toy.

"So, what do you guys say? I'm thinking it's time for a good old fashion camping trip!" said Indy, desparately trying to get his buddies on board.

"Well," said Cap, "It would be pretty fun. I could bring some gear and our sleeping bags."

"Yeah!" agreed Fett, getting more and more excited about the idea, "I've got a tent that me and the Mrs. can sleep in."

And speaking of wives, as if summoned from thin air, the significant others of our trio of best friends (and BFFs themselves) walked up to see what their husbands were scheming.

"Okay, boys, you all look like you're planning something that we're all going to regret," said Scarlett. Spider Woman and Princess Leia gave each other a knowing look.

"Well, "said Captain America, "Indy here got this new RV and we were thinking that it would be a blast to all go camping." A hopeful look spread over his face. His wife, Leia, didn't look convinced. She was a princess after all.

"Actually, Spider Woman said, "My husband has been wanting to do this for years, so I have to support him. I'm in." She looked at her friends. "Oh come on! It'll be fun! We can watch our husbands act like cavemen all weekend."

The girls finally agreed and a weekend was picked for their camping trip.

"Alright!" Indy exclaimed, "We'll hammer out the details while you guys grab some gear. We're going camping!"

As Indy and Spider Woman drove away, Dr. Jones could barely contain his excitement.

"This is going to be great! Just imagine all of the ancient artifacts we could dig up!"

"Honey..." Spider Woman said, getting that put-her-foot-down look on her face, "This is meant to be a fun, relaxing trip with our friends. So no digging."

"But what if I find something? Like an ancient Indian artifact?" he said, looking for some leeway.

"No." said his wife, with a healthy dose of finality.

"But it'll belong in a museum!" he said.

"So do you." she said with a wink.

TO BE CONTINUED...