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When I was a kid, we never camped. My dad said he’d had enough of that in the army, so no – when our family went on vacation, we stayed at motels with pools. Or at his fishing lodge (which he shard with a few of his buddies). It wasn’t exactly luxury, but the lodge was pretty cool – we were right on the river where there was a dock and we could fish for trout, and my dad could go fly fishing to his heart’s content. We always jumped in a few times- but the river was really cold, so we didn’t do a lot of that.
Years later… I met my future husband when we were both in school – I was studying nursing and he was working on his PhD. He thought the
best place on earth was, … The Middle of Nowhere … aka the back trails of Banff Provincial Park in the Canadian Rockies. Well he was right, sort of. Except that when you hike the back trails, you have to carry in everything you need, sleep on the ground, and try not to think about grizzly bears.
That’s right – grizzly bears.
But if we were going to be together, I had to adapt (and so did he 
– but that’s another blog). Way too many times we saw evidence of bears during our long hikes deeper into the back country. And what did we do about it? We would hike another 8 hours in the opposite direction to get out of their territory. Hey – we’re not dummies. He’s got a PhD and I’m – well, I’ve taken care of some really bad injuries of all kinds. I had no interest in having to deal with a mauling out on the trail.
So that was my experience with camping: 100 miles from indoor plumbing, with packages of freeze-dried food in my pack, along with my sleeping bag and toothbrush and everything else I couldn’t live without. Forty-five pounds, in fact. (He carried the tent and teeny stove, and his pack always started out at 60 lbs).
Fast forward a few years, and we’ve got three kids. My lovely husband decides the kids need to experience camping. Which – true enough, they loved!
Of course they loved it! The crowded campground was full of kids and dogs – RVs and… The Camp Store! Penny candy! Ice cream cones! (Whoa – this is not what I expected out of camping!) There were camp fires and marshmallows. They stayed up late. They swam, they rode their bikes everywhere. But guess what? We had to pack the car and a cartop carrier to bring everything we needed. Pots and pans and a stove. Food. Bicycles. A big tent. Sleeping bags and pads for the kids, and air mattresses for my husband
and I. (When then the kids saw the air mattresses, they were done with sleeping on the actual ground). Beach towels. Chairs. The list goes on and on. In fact, I have a master list on my computer that I print out when we pack up, so we don’t forget anything crucial. Like somebody’s pillow. (Did I tell you that our pillows when backpacking were just our down jackets stuffed into our sleeping bag bags?)
Fast forward again. We go camping now, without the kids. Lo and behold, it’s more like it used to be. Just my husband and I in our tent. We bring the stove, but only to make our morning coffee. Otherwise, it’s simple eating, or a drive to the nearest town for a meal in a restaurant. Things change… and one day, we’ll probably go along camping with our kids when they have kids of their own.
Have you ever camped? What do you like or dislike about it? I’d love to hear all about it, and I’ll send one lucky responder two books from my backlist. Come on – tell us your camping tales!
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Aug 13th
2010
5:04 am
Solveig Said:
I love camping
. My hubby, not so much. I had to wheedle and cajole him into sleeping in a tent for one night! with our two year old son, whom I thought would love camping. The result was me not wanting to camp out at least for another two years. First of all I had forgotten that our tent was only for two so in the end I got barely a half a meter of space to sleep on (on the side with no room to move) while our son took up most of the space. The little boy I thought would love camping did indeed love being outside and playing on the grassy field we camped on but being inside the tent, not so much. It took two hours to get him to go to sleep. He fell asleep at midnight and woke up at six, very grumpy, wanting to go outside right away. My hubbie was even grumpier if that is possible since he did not get much sleep either so the end result was two very grumpy sleepy guys in the car the rest of the day. “sigh”. 
So I have decided not to go camping again until my son is a bit older and has learned to appreciate how fun it is inside a cozy tent :Ö) Although now I can see another upside. At least we did not have to worry about grizzlies 
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Aug 13th
2010
7:06 am
Kristan Higgins Said:
Oh, dear Lord, no. I like running water (and I don’t mean a river, Margo!). But McIrish and the kids like it, so we all win. I have some time alone, the kids commune with nature. But good for you, Margo!
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Aug 13th
2010
9:11 am
Buffie Said:
LOL, Kristan. I’m the same way! Those weekends home alone are just fabulous!!!
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Aug 13th
2010
7:53 am
kris Said:
We never camped as kids, but I did camp a few times in college on geology field trips (they were somewhat of a requirement for my major). I also camped a few times while dating my husband right after college. But, I’m a 5-star kind of girl at heart. If my vacation spot doesn’t say “resort and spa” at the end of it, I’m not going.
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Aug 13th
2010
8:10 am
donna ann Said:
I enjoyed camping for the most part when I was younger — can’t sleep on the hard ground anymore & air matress aren’t much better, I like a bed nowadays
Last time I went camping was prob about 15 yrs ago. Went on a short vacation in early Sept with my mom & older sister (who used cot or air matress, I got stuck with hard ground). We decided to camp so we could spend more money on really good meals 
We planned to do plenty of sightseeing so only needed a place to sleep and light breakfast in the morning so figured camping would be a good idea. The campground was a state park and really nice and after Sunday was practically empty. Which was pleasant, peaceful and a little spooky for 3 females by themselves with no locks. It was really enjoyable (although we all agreed to be getting a little too old). We had a lot of fun that trip, and did I mention, really good dinners 
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Aug 13th
2010
8:28 am
CrystalGB Said:
I have been camping. My husband loves it. What I hate most is the bugs and fear of wild animals.
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Aug 13th
2010
8:45 am
Kirsten Said:
I went camping exactly once in my whole life. Daddy didn’t like it for the same reason as your dad. I was very young. There were a lot of bugs. And when I say a lot I mean A LOT. We had to let nature take its call in the bushes and we ate pirate sandwiches. Which were just big chunks of bread with some salted butter spread on them. It was really dark outside but luckily quiet so no bears or other wild things that would come and eat us, I think. But mostly I remember the bugs & dad telling me fun pirate stories. (Which sounded like army stories disguised, but I was really into them.)
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Aug 13th
2010
8:57 am
Margo Maguire Said:
Solveig – we didn’t camp until the youngest was about 5 or 6. But we DID try motels on several trips – and oh boy. My two younger ones (both boys) always ended up sharing a bed, which was a nightmare for the rest of us!
Kris – I think a camping-field trip would be fun with colleagues!
Kristan – You really start to appreciate the comforts of home while you’re out roughing it!
Donna Ann – I know what you mean about the security issue. You can’t help but wonder sometimes…
Crystal – We had a few funny run-ins with wild animals. The most memorable was a skunk. We were in the Smokies with the kids and we all woke up when we heard somebody snuffling around the campsite. Needless to say, we all held our breaths and kept perfectly still until the big old skunk waddled off!
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Aug 13th
2010
9:07 am
Laurie G Said:
My husband and I went camping on our honeymoon. We went to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Olympic National Parks. We also drove through the Cascades and the Redwood Forest in California. We went back to Olympic National Park 5 years later. I loved camping at Glacier National Park in Montana. We’ve also gone to Banff and Jasper in British Columbia, Canada. Locally, Point Beach State Forest, Copper Mellon State Forest and Wyalusing, parks all in Wisconsin!!
I like the outdoors, the campfires, the hiking, the primitiveness! I dislike the lack of a shower and running water after 3 nights, the bugs, the hard ground, the safety concerns…wild animals, strange people.
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Aug 13th
2010
9:10 am
Buffie Said:
With two boys in Scouts, camping has become a part of our life. Or rather I should say a part of the hubby’s life!!
I have gone camping . . . once. We camped with the Scouts near a lake. Went hiking and played ball during the day. But as evening arrived and the camp fire started, I was a little amazed at all the varieties of camp food. Dinner was yummy. Dessert consisted of smores (can’t go camping without them!) and a delicous peach cobbler baked right on the camp fire. As darkness overtook the campsite, ghost stories were told and camp songs were song. All in all it was a pleasant experience.
But I have to be honest (and a little selfish) and say that since that camping trip, I have enjoyed MANY weekends home alone while the hubby and the boys go camping. It’s a great male bonding experience — at least that is what I tell the hubby
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Aug 13th
2010
9:29 am
Karen H in NC Said:
The only camping trip I was ever on was a week in Michigan’s UP in August. There was Mom & Dad, my 2 older brothers & me (I was 9). Did you know that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in August is….well, cold? We spent a week, sleeping on the ground, in a tent, rolled up in blankets (no sleeping bags back then)in our clothes because it was too cold to get into PJ’s. A couple of nights all five of us slept in the car because it was too cold to sleep in the tent! Saw lots of great country but that was the LAST time I ever went camping!
Now my daughter and her husband are a different story. They just spent 3 weeks in Alaska on the shores of the Bering Sea. Here’s a picture of their tent on Dave’s Facebook page. Check it out! No polar bears here!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1011721472&v=info&ref=profile#!/photo.php?pid=182437&id=100000901700982&fbid=135961716443884
Hope that link works for ya’ll
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Aug 13th
2010
9:31 am
Karen H in NC Said:
Looks like you might have to paste it to a browser. And the tent is photo #4 in a group of 7
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Aug 13th
2010
9:29 am
Christi Said:
I’ve camped a lot in my life… some of the times I’d really love to forget!
I come from a family of 10 kids so while there were a lot of things I didn’t like about it (ever see a HUGE black field spider from down south ) for the most part it was always great fun and a time for us all to be together. Fast forward to having kids – I had boys and I have a husband who loves to camp so again I camped in a tent. And I always had fun just for the family moments it brought us. Fast forward one more time to the time in life when I hit about…. 37 or so…. I stopped camping and turned into a hotel/condo girl. Now my favorite place is Mytle Beach in a greawt big ocean front condo WITH maid service.. or Las Vegas… and baby I am NEVER looking back! 
I did tell my husband I’d camp with him agian if we had a camper with air and a bathroom.
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Aug 13th
2010
10:02 am
Rebekah E. Said:
I’m not big on camping. My husband and kids love it. I will camp as long as there is a bathroom that is clean. Having a bathroom is the one thing I can’t give up.
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Aug 13th
2010
10:20 am
Shana Said:
Ugh! Hate camping. I don’t think I’m a wilderness kind of girl. The last time I remember camping, it rained the whole week. This was when I lived in Michigan. Now I live in Texas, and it’s way too hot to sleep outside!
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Aug 13th
2010
11:49 am
Shannon Said:
I must have flushing toilets and running water. Hubby’s been trying to convince me to go camping with the kids. Not going to happen.
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Aug 13th
2010
12:48 pm
Margo Maguire Said:
LOL – we do like our creature comforts, don’t we?
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Aug 13th
2010
12:52 pm
runner10 Said:
I’ve only camped at the edge of our back yard with the kids. I want to be close enough to the house to have an inside bathroom. That is my idea of roughin’ it!
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Aug 13th
2010
2:18 pm
Laura T Said:
oh… camping. Well, when I was in girl scouts… it was a sight to behold. We were the Beverly Hills Troup. We brought make up and hair dyers to the weekend camp, much to my Junior Scout Older Sister’s dismay. They camped in tents on the ground…
WE camped with the Brownie Scouts in the lodge because someone brought a bag full of candy and we were raided by animals (and too freaked out to join the real scouts haha)…
I think that is all I can share online. Other stuff is too embarassing, and I might incriminate someone haha.
Bathrooms, Running Water, and a Hotel. And a resturaunt. And shopping nearby, and I will camp any day
…
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Aug 13th
2010
4:01 pm
chey Said:
I haven’t camped very much since I was a kid. I don’t like really roughing it. Have to be at least near an outhouse. l prefer to have electricity and water hook up for the camper.
Then I did a camping tour in Europe one summer. Yeah, sure we slept in tents. But just down the road (yes, the roads in those campgrounds were better than our town’s roads) was a building with indoor plumbing (including SHOWERS!) and electricity (I can use a blowdryer and curling Iron while camping!). i think I prefer this kind of camping.
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Aug 13th
2010
5:53 pm
Johanna Jochum Said:
I hate camping I have a nice home why should I pretend I’m homeless for the weekend. I hate being cold or way to hot. I hate flys and mosquitos. I hate smelling like a campfire. I hate not having a bathroom and having to rough it behind bushes or using disgusting porta-pottiies! I hate eating out of boxes and coolers! I hate sleeping on hard lumpy surfaces. With that said my hubby and my kids love it! So I grin a bear it. I slowly begin to unwind. I remember that I love catching crawdads down by the river. I love singing campfires songs and telling ghost stories at night. I love roasting marshmellows and making smores. I love reading a good book in our old beat up lawn chairs. I love snuggling with the kids in the sleeping bags I love exploring on the ATV’s. I would not miss these memories for the world. Thanks for the reminder and thanks for sharing today!!!!
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Aug 13th
2010
6:13 pm
catslady Said:
My parents didn’t believe much in vacations – I can remember a couple of days in a resort hotel about an hour and half away. I made up for it when I got married and we both traveled as much as we could. I was thrilled when my daughters were in girl scouts and volunteered to be an assistant leader to enjoy camping with both girls – I loved it. My husband camped some as a child but never really was interested later on. One of my daughters really loves it and the other not so much lol.
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