Camping
You would think that somebody who has spent, literally, months living in a tent in various campsites would be an expert camper. Not so.
Every summer I think I should take my family camping. Then I am stricken with a sudden feeling of inadequate camper-ness. Where would we go? What do people do when camping? What do they eat?
In the time I spent camping, I was living in a tent somewhat out of necessity. With my friends on our way to Alaska. Or with my husband, basically doing the same thing a couple of years later. So the tent was basically "home base" and we mostly slept there. We ate a lot of sandwiches and dry cereal, with real meals provided for us by local restaurants.
I know how to make a campfire and heat up Campbell's soup, with s'mores for dessert. But people talk about Going Camping like it's a vacation and this to me is mystifying. I don't like the KOA-type places, with video arcades, swimming pools and hoe-downs. The idea of camping to me is to sort of rough it, live outside for a while. But what do people eat? What do they do? How do they make entire meals on a campfire? Do they have special equipment? Where does the coffee come from, if not the Dunkin' Donuts outside the campground gates?
*Sigh* I need a lesson on camping.
Every summer I think I should take my family camping. Then I am stricken with a sudden feeling of inadequate camper-ness. Where would we go? What do people do when camping? What do they eat?
In the time I spent camping, I was living in a tent somewhat out of necessity. With my friends on our way to Alaska. Or with my husband, basically doing the same thing a couple of years later. So the tent was basically "home base" and we mostly slept there. We ate a lot of sandwiches and dry cereal, with real meals provided for us by local restaurants.
I know how to make a campfire and heat up Campbell's soup, with s'mores for dessert. But people talk about Going Camping like it's a vacation and this to me is mystifying. I don't like the KOA-type places, with video arcades, swimming pools and hoe-downs. The idea of camping to me is to sort of rough it, live outside for a while. But what do people eat? What do they do? How do they make entire meals on a campfire? Do they have special equipment? Where does the coffee come from, if not the Dunkin' Donuts outside the campground gates?
*Sigh* I need a lesson on camping.
posted by cjblue at 8:42 AM
3 Comments:
I'm no expert on camping but I do enjoy it. I've only really gone camping in a tent for a weekend at a time. You can bring food in a cooler for a weekend. Such as: bacon and eggs, hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad, marshmallows, sandwich stuff, etc. You can also bring a coffee percolator. But -- what if it rains and all the wood gets wet and you have no fire? In that case, I pack up and go home. I hate camping in the rain.
What do we do when camping? Well, first of all, I only like to go camping by a lake. Therefore, I swim!
I spend as much time swimming as I can. There's also lying in the sun reading a book, fishing, canoeing, looking for little newts and crayfish, taking walks in the woods, etc. It's pretty fun. And don't forget drinking beers by the campfire at night! :-)
If you have kids it's great because they hook up with other kids and roam around. That's about it.
As for the all-out 2 week in the wilderness campers - I have no idea how they do it. I think maybe they have those little dehydrated meals? Yuck!
Gosh darnit, you just need to get a propane tank and a stove. Buy a rubbermaid container and fill it with dishes and cooking stuff then off you go. (Bring a cooler full of food).
You're so cute cj! :-)
Yes, I remember camping-in-the-style-of-Kate. But let's ask Laura how she REALLY camps, shall we? heh. xoxoxoxo
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