Yep, you read that right :) The PMEL profession is, in general, inhabited by a bunch of nerds. Closet or out in the open they exist quited prodigiously. At any rate, one of the things I'll miss this summer is the annual Mtn. Home PMEL Camp Out, usually very non-nerd-like by nature but somehow we manage to usually make it into a big geek fest. We go to a free camp ground about an hour and half away from base that's right next to the river. We tend to get a spot that's got a bank right down to the edge of the water for the purpose of trying to push people in to the cold water. The camping trip is usually in June before the burn bans go into affect but the water is still damn cold .
This is Dave getting mauled by his closest friends. :) They were making fun of him for some reason and decided it was time for a group hug. They were sweet enough to hold it long enough for me to get a picture. As you can see, Dave was not that pleased. Mwah ah ah.
Hutch and Trindle. Poor Trindle was drunk most of the weekend, but he's also a robot and was training for the AF marathon so he got his ass up and ran every day we were camping . . . and then came back and drank us under the table. He is epic.
This was Matt on the Walrus that someone brought for fun. I never rode on it, but apparently it was meant for more of a relaxed pool-type setting rather than a rocky, unstable Idaho river. Go Figure. But it got mad props from the fisherman watching them put in to begin floating the river. They all started cheering and laughing when it went by. Then one of the stupid airmen, while drunk tried to put it on the fire. Dave had to play babysitter and lock the damn walrus in our car until the next day. But don't worry, nothing happened to the walrus - just the guy who tried to put him on the fire.
Trindle doing what he does best at the campouts. Other than putting the rest of us to shame with his robot/Chuck Norris abilities.
This picture is taken from our campsite to one of the hills on the opposite side of the river. A bunch of guys decided to go hike up that hill one morning and we kept trying to see if we could spot them. I didn't have any binoculars so I couldn't see them but a couple of the guys did.
This last year was the first time any of us had really gone floating down the river. It was still numbingly cold, but of course once you got in and stayed in you couldn't feel it anymore. Like Megan. She floated the river about 4 or 5 times. The ride wasn't very long, maybe about a mile or so but it had some pretty bumpy spots.
This particular picture of Dave was after he hit bottom - literally - on a fairly large rock. He kept complaining all night that his butt hurt and all the guys made fun of him for having been raped by a rock. He kept drinking and the pain eventually went away. :)
So these are some of the fun memories I have from my experience at the lab campouts. Other memories I have are ankles for the first time, Pete's shorty shorts (I'll never get that image out of my head) and the mass amounts of booze. It shall all be missed. I was told the PMEL over here in Germany does a big pig roast every summer so that could be fun too. I'll keep you posted and let you know how it compares.
