2019年10月27日日曜日 - 
Cody -The Campout
Tent?
Check. Grill? Check. Coolers? Check. Fishing gear? Check. Lantern? Check. The
list could go on for some time...
Those are a few of the things you'd need
for what could be considered a typical camping trip, or campout, in America.
Oh, and we mustn't forget the s'mores, too.
While camping to escape the doldrums of
daily life may be the primary objective, pitching a tent out in the sticks is a
great opportunity to engage in a variety of activities that go hand-in-hand
with the wildnerness: horseshoes, dirt bike riding, fishing, hunting and
swimming.
The places that you'd typically go camping
vary by region and state, but for the most part they will be quite far from the
city and in a mountainous area. Some will have hook-ups for RVs (recreational
vehicles) and Fifth Wheels, which offer a more cushy and luxurious experience,
but almost all should be equipped for good, old-fashioned camping in a tent.
Some of them have only this! If you want an authentic experience, avoid the
bungalows, cabins, cottages, RVs and Fifth Wheels and rough it in a tent.
Now, dirt bike (motocycle) riding,
fishing, swimming and hunting are all pretty self-explanatory. What might throw
you off a bit, however, is the game of horseshoes. Twenty or so paces away, a
heavy metal stake is driven into the ground. Usually in a sandy, loose dirt or
bark-chip pit. Then, players take turns throwing horseshoes (yes, literally the
metal bars that are put on a horse's hooves to protect their feet) and trying
to get them to land touching the stake. Bit odd, isn't it?
As for eats, a typical campout will have
whatever may have been caught or harvested via hunting (trout, salmon, catfish,
bass, sunfish, deer, grouse, elk, et cetera) as well as the classics: potato
salad, baked or BBQ'd beans, hotdogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, watermelon,
canteloupe, and of course, pie (cobbler
or crisp of varying fruity flavors from apple to blueberry, blackberry,
marionberry and peach) served hot a la
mode with vanilla ice cream.
So, if you want to understand what an
American campout feels like, grab your rod and reel, a cooler, a tent and some
of those dishes and head out into the middle of nowhere (and be careful, of
course)!Lantern: ランタン
typical: 典型的な
s'mores: スモア
doldrums: 憂鬱
pitching: 設営する
engage in: ～に従事する
hand-in-hand: 協力して
wildnerness: (自然のままの)荒地
region: 地域
equipped: 装備する
authentic: 本物の
bungalows: バンガロー
RVs : リクリエーション用自動車
explanatory: 説明的な
heavy metal stake: 重金属の杭
hooves:ひづめ
odd:奇妙な
harvested : 収穫された
via:～経由で
trout：マス
catfish:ナマズ
sunfish：マンボウ
grouse：ライチョウ
elk: エルク
rod：釣り竿