With the coming of spring comes the annual appearance of Crocus’s, Robins and warmer weather. But, this spring the temperatures are slow to rise. Even though, I am looking forward to packing up my tent and camping supplies and my wife, kids and Fido, our family pet dog… and heading to our favorite camping spot in the woods.
It’s been a while since I’ve been camping. I bought a tent about 5 years ago… a large conical tent shaped like the traditional Plains Indian tepee. It hasn’t seen the light of day yet. Still In the box. This year will be different. As a matter of fact, I plan on going on that trip in a couple of weeks… if mother nature agrees. There’s nothing worse than a sudden cloud-burst of rain driving us into the tent. And after the downpour trying to dry all the stuff that was left outside during the storm.
When I was a little boy my dad, mom and brother went to a state park, our favorite destination, for our traditional annual picnics. These outings I remember with great fondness and I guess this was what got me interested in camping. And what better fun than sharing a camping trip with your family.
A lot has changed for the better since then. Way back 40 or 50 years ago the parks were nice to go to, but compared to those same parks today we didn’t realize what we were missing. There are better wooded hiking trails, mountain stream fishing, more camping areas, fancy large picnic pavilions, larger swimming pools, tennis courts and quaint little back-woods restaurants complete with logs burning in a stone fireplace and of course, home-style cooked meals. Can’t you just smell the scent of wood burning in that fireplace?
Camping has always been a favorite activity for me. My favorite camping spot has to be private and located along a stream… these are the most in demand. In order to get one of these spots reservations need to be made. There’s Mountain Laurel galore in most of the parks along with dense forested mountaintops… so peacefully quiet you will be overcome with feelings of wonder.
What a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle of life back in civilization. And, especially during the summertime, you will enjoy the cooler temps, take off your shoes and socks and wade in the cool mountain water that runs in the stream. Sit back and relax, listen to the sounds of nature around you. Did you hear that? No loud motor vehicles running up and down the highways, no neighbor mowing the lawn, no kids screaming, no television… just the sounds of water rushing over large rocks and different species of birds singing their tunes.
What can be better for the kids than this? Sharing the great outdoors for a couple of days living out of your tent in the middle of a mystic-like forest will surely feed the adventurous imagination of the young folks. Don’t forget the camera because there will be lots of nature to capture to share with the kids later on in life in remembrance of that wonderful camping trip.
https://youtu.be/l8xpVSJXEY4