I’d rather be camping

I just spent the weekend in a small one room cabin in the woods with my husband and two sons and loved every minute of it, even when it wasn’t perfect.

This was our first foray into “cabin camping” as a family; we usually tent camp and one year we even tried a yurt.  We have also rented an RV many times.  Camping is just another part of how my kids grew up.

I know camping isn’t for everyone.  I have plenty of friends who think we are crazy for wanting to sleep in the woods in a tent.  They would rather be in a hotel and I get that.  But we love being IN nature and camping is the best way to do that by far.

My oldest son started camping when he was only 6 months old in a tent.  He was such a trooper.  My youngest had his first RV trip also as a 6-month-old.  My step-kids also joined us for many years.

Tent camping

Most of our camping adventures have been in a tent.  For years as the kids were growing up we went twice a year – spring and fall.  We visited various Maryland state parks and stayed in Shenandoah National Park several times.  It was something we all looked forward to every year.

Tent camping actually requires lots of equipment.  I’m quite sure we could have done with less, but we were camping with four kids and although we might be slightly crazy we didn’t want to be completely uncomfortable too.  We keep all our camping stuff in bins so packing is relatively easy, but there have been times we have forgotten things.

Once we drove out to Catoctin Mountain Park and realized that we didn’t have the poles for our tent.  Clearly this is really bad.  We had used the poles to create a balloon arch for the school’s color run and never put them back – so random.  This was such a rookie move.  We had to drive into a nearby town, find a Dick’s and buy a whole new tent.  Good thing we actually needed one so maybe this wasn’t so bad.

There is a whole new level of closeness with your family when all six of you sleep in the same tent lined up next to each other.  Tim and I have a queen size sleeping bag and pad and then the kids would line up next to us.  It was tight quarters, but no one complained.  Kids are very resilient and no one grumbled about sleeping on the ground on a thin pad and sleeping bag. 

This is not so much fun when it’s been a hot day and they haven’t showered though, especially as they became teenagers.  I’m sure you can imagine. 

Then there was the time one of them inexplicably took off all his clothes and feel asleep on the top of his sleeping bag – when we checked on them later with a flashlight it was something like, first one “oh, so cute”, next “sleeping soundly” and then “AHH total nudity!”  We still laugh about it.

We had some trips that were more roughing it than others.  Mathews Arm campground at Shenandoah State Park is in a great location and just lovely, but there are no showers which is an adjustment.  One year we stayed there for 3 days over Memorial Day weekend and it was super-hot, like 100 degrees in May hot – Caroline and I washed our hair with water warmed over the fire.  The next year it was unexpectedly 30 degrees overnight. We literally slept in everything we brought, including hats with our sleeping bags zipped up to our heads.  Good times.

Variations of camping

As my boys got older and Tim’s kids opted out of camping, we’ve tried a few different things.

We greatly enjoyed our one year in a yurt at Shenandoah State Park in Virginia.  If you are unfamiliar, a yurt is a semi-permanent structure made of canvas.  The one we stayed in was pretty big inside with beds and a table.  I kept thinking of the tents in Harry Potter that were magically so much bigger once you went inside. 

We were able to sleep inside, while still cooking, eating and relaxing outside.  We were able to enjoy the campfire every night.  It felt a lot like semi-camping.  And I won’t lie, it was wonderful when it started to rain not to worry about everything getting soaked - we didn’t all have to huddle in the tent or under the tarp over the picnic table waiting for the rain to stop.

The yurt was a success and voted in for a repeat visit.

Prior to the cabin, the yurt seemed luxurious.

Cabin camping is a tremendous step up from sleeping in a tent on every level.  For one, you need much less equipment.  If I’m being honest, it’s also much more comfortable.  Think bed versus sleeping bag and pad on the ground.

We’ve stayed in cabins that were basically houses on several occasions with the whole family, but not in a campground. Tim and I once stayed in a cabin in the woods with no electricity and an outhouse - a mouse even scurried over Tim while we were sleeping. He was NOT a fan.

This past weekend our cabin had one room with a double bed and bunk beds.  We prepared food and ate outside and had a 200 step walk to the facilities.  Also, unbeknownst to me it had electricity - it was luxurious!  This was truly “glamping”.

We’ve also rented an RV many times for our trips, but those adventures are a whole separate blog.

Why do we purposely sleep outside?

As I said earlier my family loves being IN nature and camping is the best way to do that.  Although if you asked them, they would probably say I’m really the nature lover and they all come along for the ride.  I think that’s like many things in our lives.

So many of my favorite things happen when camping.  I love sitting outside in the morning drinking my coffee and reading my book while everyone else sleeps, I love laying in the hammock in the afternoon after a long hike and letting myself doze off and I most love the conversations for hours around the campfire with my family.  Many places we go do not have cell service, so there is no TV and there are no phones to scroll through.  It’s just all of us talking.  I love this.

I also enjoy hiking wherever we go.  Camping gets us to the starting line that much faster since we are already in the woods.  Our practice is to plan at least one long hike a weekend when camping, sometimes two.  The family likes to joke that these are really death marches planned by me, but I know they actually enjoy them almost as much as I do.

A family tradition my husband started years ago was to plan a long hike and bring along an MRE (“Meals Ready to Eat” for those not in the know) for lunch. 

Now an MRE is made for the military to eat in the field, so these are not gourmet meals under any circumstance, but boy did the kids love them.  We would each pick one from the box – choices ranged from Beef Taco to Cheese lasagna to Chili and on and on.  Now an MRE doesn’t just have the “meal” in it, it also has a bunch of other foods.  You could have crackers and peanut butter or bread and cheese spread.  There was also the possibility of granola or pine nuts or pretzels.  Then dessert was anything from an M&M packet to apple crisp to cookies.  While you heated up your main meal – using the plastic pouch complete with heater that you added some water to and propped up on a rock (very clever), we would trade food and then settle down and eat.  This was not great food of course, but it was so much fun to see what you got, to share, to trade and to tease.  Those were such fun hikes and such great memories.  I’m smiling just thinking about them.

I know camping and the woods aren’t for everyone, but to me it’s been a wonderful way to combine some of my favorite things – family, exercise, quiet and nature.  There is nothing like coming out of the tent in the morning and taking a deep breath of the clear, fresh air and listening to the birds sing.  This is my happy place and I am thankful I have been able to share it with my family all these years.

Now I’m just looking forward to seeing where our adventures will take us next.  Happy Camping.