How NOT To Put Out A Fire

Day 20; Nashville & Appalachian Mountains

Matt ready in his cowboy getup.

Yesterday Adrian had mentioned an optional activity for people to do today; shooting!

With this in mind I made sure I looked the part!

But first we stopped for breakfast at McDonalds and had the most unusual thing to eat.

A McGriddle. It had syrup inside the bread! INSIDE?!

Food shop done and we were on route to Kingston for those who wanted to try out shooting some guns.

We went to Frontier Firearms Shooting Range.

Em, Matt, Sarah, Colin & Me Lady Jane all wanted a go.

I was in my hat and the boys in their boots.

#onfleek

We unfortunately had the slowest man serving us and it had been 45 minutes and we still weren't inside the range!

Finally it was time to pick the guns and ammo, Me, Em, Sarah & Matt picked the same gun and Colin went for a massive beast!
They had specific names but it was just: black gun, bigger black gun to me.

50 bullets each we kitted up with our goggles and headphones and went into the range.

It was crazy! I can understand how people can get into shooting and want to own a gun, the adrenaline was pumping everywhere!

Em went first on our lane and then Lady Jane.

We actually were really good and all out shots were within the middle and smallest target zone ....

until Matt came and had a go on our lane.

Holes everywhere in our paper!

We ran waaaaaaaay over time because of how slow our guy was so the rest of the group had come back and were just sat outside in the bus waiting for us. Oops
We took loads of pics and the occasional slow-mo video of the gunshots and it was time to leave.

As we paid up we played with the 2 cats they have there; Koko & PurrBaby

No srsly those are their actual names.

Purrbaby was my fave.

Purrbaby <3

We even made it onto their website. LOL

Famous!

Into Virginia and to our campsite.

It was getting dark so we had to set up camp quickly and it was my groups turn to cook dinner;

"Spaghetti bolognese"

Someone mentioned they'd seen a skunk so we were on high alert!

Michaela got a fantastic picture of it glaring right at her!

Here's a great lesson now for you kids:

How NOT to put out a cooker fire.

So group 2 is making dinner, we need water for the pan.

I volunteer to trek down to the toilets to fill up the pan.

Pan was too big.

So flooded the bathroom.

Back up the hill.

Asked to clean out bigger pan.

Flooded bathroom again.

So tried to clean it in the shower.

Shower drenched me.

Back up the hill.

Suddenly the hob and gas pipe sets on fire and we kinda all just stood there like :/ Ummm.

Kayla's shouting instructions to get water.

So I'm back running down that bloody hill to the bathroom again filling up the pan in the shower.

Meanwhile back at camp, Kayla's throwing all sorts on the fire to put it out;
Ice - didn't work

Milk, OJ - didn't work.

Everyone else was still just stood there watching, because we're so good in emergencies.

Jana finds some water and saves the day.

Im still in the shower at this point filling up the pan hoping there'll be a camp to return to.

Couple days pass and the pan is just about full so I run back up the hill ready to be welcomed by applause as I extinguish the fire.

Its out.

Oh.

Glad we can all laugh about it now :)

The water for the pasta refused to boil so we did what we could but basically had a massive lump of soggy gloopy pasta each with some tasty bolognese.

Eating dinner, Jana whacked out the 60s playlist and it was good times from then on!

We settled around the fire, still on lookout for the skunk.

Maho takes charge and is straight out with the crackers, chocolate & marshmallows to make smores.

Addict.

I tried something abit new tonight, used a Reece's PB cup in mine, but forgot to break the cracker in half so had one massive smore.

Colin was tucking into his PB cup and realised he'd left the wrapper on.

*Doh!*

I visited the bathroom one final time for a shower, even though I was already soaked and then headed to the tent to get changed.

Im in the tent getting dressed when I hear Ellie outside.

"There's the skunk, its circling someone's tent over there - who's tent is that??"

"Which tent?? Is it near me?"

"Oh, yeah its circling the one you're in"

Brilliant.

Death by skunk it is then. I awaited my fate.

Any minute now it would spray and i'd be doomed.

But thank the lord it never came!

My torch scared it away and I was safe.

I tried to sleep, but skunks faded in and out of my dreams.
I just hoped I'd survive the night.
Surprised I didn't wake Emily up saying there's skunks in the tent tbh!