Early June 1962, Larry Bob and I (your humble blogger) decided to go "camping" on some land near Eyota, MN and close to Bob's farm (The farm was in Eyota, MN about 12 miles east of Rochester, MN on Hwy 14). I discuss the farm in the blog "Shooting a Fox Under a Full Moon" We had two years of Rochester Junior College under our respective belts and we would be going our separate ways to work and/or continue earning a 4-year degree.
We planned to pitch our sleeping bags in an abandoned house on the land shown in the photo below. The whole setting was like a page out of the year 1850. We were staying in an old settler's home. There was a stream nearby and a spring where we could get fresh water.
Abandoned "Settler's" House
We brought our guns in case we had an opportunity to shoot something. We carried plenty of food and looking at the photo below of Bob on the left and Larry on the right, we may have had some moonshine. Maybe even some of the "White Mule" that Larry had brewed and distilled in chemistry class.
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Bob on left and Larry
Bob brought along his "pet" Raccoon on a leash. I put "pet" in quotes for a reason. I believe Bob found it as a baby (called a "kit") and decided to nurture it and keep it as a pet. The raccoon probably had had a name but I don't recall. I also don't remember if it was male or female. The photo below shows Bob with his raccoon.
Bob and his pet raccoon
The photo below, shows your humble blogger with a pipe in his mouth, his trusty Winchester across his lap and the raccoon on his head . Bob is on the right.
Dave (humble blogger) on left, raccoon and Bob
The raccoon was nothing but a nuisance, as you might expect a tamed, wild animal to be! Since the animals are nocturnal we got little sleep as it moved around the inside of the house within the limits of its leash, disturbing every can or piece of junk that was in reach.
In the morning I took the raccoon "for a walk" on its leash down to the stream where I had dug a hole the night before and had laid a wrapped slab of bacon in it, covering the hole with dirt to keep the bacon cool. If you recall a slab of bacon usually comes from pork belly or back and is cured with salt and smoke. Slices of bacon are cut from the slab. We brought along a slab so it would not spoil quickly. I have an example a slab of bacon below. I purchased the photo (inexpensive) from dreamstime.com for use on this blog:
© Vladislav Gurfinkel | Dreamstime.com
As we got to the stream the raccoon took advantage of the opportunity to wash its paws in the water while I was unearthing the bacon for the trip back to camp and a nice breakfast. Suddenly the raccoon lunged at the slab, grabbing it from my hands. A tugging match ensued as it dug its claws deeper into the bacon as I tried to pull the bacon away. It got the advantage because of unfairly using its teeth on my hands!! Either Bob or Larry heard my yelling and came over to help regain custody of our bacon from the raccoon.
Other than the the unruly raccoon, our 1962 camping trip was unremarkable. A notable exception was the sight and sound of June bugs hitting our lantern as we sat on the steps of the house in the evening.
That was our last outing together. I came to realize in writing this post some 48 years later, that our camping trip was not about 3 friends camping. It also was not about the beautiful late spring days and nights following a long winter. It also was not about Bob's pesky raccoon (I originally planned to call this post "Leave the Raccoon Home") It was all about saying goodbye. Just as spring was transitioning into summer, we three were transitioning from college pals into citizens of the world. Soon we would be gone, scattered in all directions, trying to find our way...
