Family Camping Trips
>> May 17, 2013
If you have never gone camping as a family
it is certainly something to consider. It is the most bonding experience you
will most likely ever have since it is sort of like being on a Survivor
television program without the cameras being there. That might be just a little
stretch but it sure seems that way for us city folk. This is also especially
true if you do not have a family history of camping. This was the case for me
and my family. We actually started to camp because of low funds in the bank
account and wanted a vacation. How hard could it be, we thought? We have so
many memories of camping trips that we often laugh about and sometimes cringe
over when they come up in conversation.
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We have been on several camping trips over
the years and they all come with a story. There is never a dull moment when it
comes to our family camping trips. If you are avid campers, successful campers,
perhaps this makes you wonder what is wrong with us. We never seem to have it
all together, we never have the right supplies, and we have just never learned
exactly the right way to camp. Maybe we should study up on camping techniques
but then I think it would somehow lose its magical bonding juju that has kept
us going over the years.
Our camping experiences started when my
daughter was only three years old. I was a single parent and did not have a lot
of money. My mom and I were talking about taking a vacation but neither one of
us had too much money. It was summer and we wanted to go somewhere cooler than
Texas and decided on going to New Mexico. I had heard some co-workers talking about
a place called Cloudcroft, New Mexico and along the way we were going to stop at
Carlsbad and see the caverns. We figured out the finances and we could afford
the gas, take a cooler filled with food, and camp along the way. You can do a
lot of things when you are low on funds if you put your mind to it and you don’t
mind roughing it a little. We had a garage sale, made a little extra money and
off we went on our adventure.
We were not up to driving long distances
with a three year old on board so we made frequent stops and only drove about
eight hours a day. We had to camp a couple of nights before we got to our
destination and putting up camp and taking down camp is quite a chore. We had
to stop and stay over one night before even getting out of Texas! My mom was
fifty two and even though I brought her some padding she had some aches and
pains that seemed to multiply each morning. Now that I am in my fifties I fully
understand what she was dealing with. My daughter had a blast doing everything.
She was a lovely traveling companion until it came to sleeping. We put her in
the middle of a three man tent for safety. It gets cold in the dessert at night
and especially cold when we made it to Cloudcroft, with an elevation of 8,600
feet you can imagine and that was summer! We dressed her warmly, maybe too
warmly because she continually rose up her little legs and pulled the blanket
off of us all night.
The mornings were the worst part, getting
up to weather in the thirties and forties with frozen dew drops on the outside
of the tent. Everything felt a little damp and it was certainly hard to get up
and start the fire. Everyone else in the camping park was in an RV and were
looking at us like we were crazy. Our closest neighbors felt particularly sorry
for my little girl and invited her in to have hot chocolate and watch cartoons
while we made breakfast. And guess what the only thing she remembers about that
trip now that she is grown? Yes, the cartoons and hot chocolate. This is why we
took the trip, the memories. I think she has a small memory of the giant
rooster that got territorial with her and chased her every time she got near
him. On the day we left the park we found out that is why the camping park cat
only had one eye, ugh.
After I remarried and my son was born we
tried camping again. My husband let it be known that his idea of camping was a
hotel with a pool so we were on our own. My son was a very active boy who loved
to hike and fish so I figured this was the way to go. With my dear mom in tow
the kids and I braved the adventure called camping again. We had a larger tent
this time and did not go so far from home. We found out that the state parks
are the safest, nicest places to go so we made reservations at one a couple
hours from home. They had a wonderful fishing lake and lots of cool shade trees
and hiking trails. What I did not know until we arrived is that they also had
much more than that. When we were setting up camp my son was getting antsy so
my daughter took him for a walk to check out the lake. She was seven years
older than him and very responsible. When they came back she looked a little pale
and my son was very excited as he exclaimed, “They have alligators here mama!”
I looked at my daughter and she assured me that this was true. The excitement
was mounting.
The regulars told me that if you do not
bother the alligators, they will not bother you. Who in their right mind would
bother an alligator? Certainly not me. We found out something else that trip.
You have to put your food into your car or up in a tree if you do not want to
be harassed by the local wildlife or be totally without breakfast. We were up
in the middle of the night taking care of this oversight but we had missed one
bag of cookies in the corner of our tent. All night long we were kicking at the
tent and I even got up with the flashlight to chase the varmints off but it was
to no avail. In the morning we found a small hole in the tent and the cookies.
They never made it in but they were willing to die trying!
When my children got a little older we went
on a camping trip just the three of us. We had actually made reservations for a
cabin at a state park but were too late in making the reservations and could
not get the cabin the first night of our vacation. We decided to stop at
another state park for the one night in our tent. It was a small three man tent
and we had our two tiny toy fox terriers with us. We got into the park late and
set up camp and unknowingly set up our tent on some rather annoying roots. We
had a small dog cage for our dogs and had to bring that into the tent because
they were barking at everything that moved. Can you see it? A three man dome
tent with a thirteen year old boy, twenty year old young women, one old lady,
and two dogs. The smell was not great, the roots were awful, and it was
terribly humid and hot on a summer’s night in Texas. I think we all managed to
fall asleep finally when we were awakened by a big dog that started to bark an
alarming bark. The next thing we heard was a shot ringing out through the thick
night air from a very large gun. The dog went silent, the voices stopped, and
we sat up and looked at each other in horror. Who got shot? Was it a wild
animal, the dog, or something or someone
else? It was still dark so we all just kind of stayed put and tried not to
breathe until the first sign of light. That was the quickest I have ever seen a
camp come down and we were out of there!
When we made it to the other camping park
with the cabin we were so thankful. It had a small air conditioner, a table and
chairs, and bunk beds. This was the life. No indoor plumbing but we were smart
and had gotten one near the potties. The only thing we had not done was get some
fire wood to cook with that first night. We had found the cutest little grill
at a local store. It was a tin throw away kind of bottom filled with charcoal
and a small metal grill top so we thought we would just grill up some hot dogs
real quick. Like I said, it was small, so we set it up on the picnic table
outside the cabin and started her up. The hot dogs were coming along real
nicely when my daughter started telling me she smelled something burning. I
said, “Sure you do, it’s the coals.” She mentioned it again and did some
investigation this time. She got out the pot holders and moved the tiny grill.
It seems we had set the picnic table on fire, but nothing that could not be put
out with just a little bucket of water! Thankfully no one noticed.
We talk about our camping trips from time
to time and how they brought us closer together as a family. You can’t get much
closer than sleeping together in a three man tent. Not only that but when you
are depending on each other without the comforts of home it really makes you
appreciate and support each other in ways you don’t get at home. I am so glad
we have these times and memories to share.
Author
Bio:
This post is contributed by Christine
Maddox. Currently she is pursuing her Master’s degree from University of Texas
as well as blogging for www.4nannies.com.
She loves to write anything related to parenting, kids, nanny care etc. She can
be reached via email at: christine.4nannies @ gmail.com.
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