With my first camping trip of the year just days away, I’ve been thinking of some of the little things that make camping so enjoyable for me. Some of them are:

- No distracting television (although I have to admit I will be going through a little withdrawal next week because I’ll miss American Idol. I’m glad I have a DVR to tape it so I can watch it when I get home.)

- I don’t have to do anything more with my hair than wash it.

- I don’t have to wear makeup.

- I get to be outside as much as I want.

- The smell of grass.

- Birds chirping.

- The smell of a campfire.

- The sound of the waves lulling me to sleep at night (okay, this doesn’t happen every camping trip - only the ones where we are camping near large bodies of water which for us is the Great Lakes - usually Lake Michigan)

- Roasted marshmallows

- Pudgie pies (especially reuben pudgie pies and cherry pie pudgie pies - yum!!!!!)

- No cleaning to do

- Falling asleep at 9 pm because I’m tired and worn out from the active day and the fresh air (no tossing and turning and having sleepless nights)

- Sitting outside and reading a book

- Being entertained by the antics of other campers

- The peacefullness and relaxation of not having to think about anything more than what I’m going to wear (something comfortable) and what I’m going to eat (something easy that I can cook outdoors). Everything else during the day is optional. There’s no “set in stone” plans. We do what we want when we want.

- It’s inexpensive.

Gas prices in the United States are poised to be the highest ever. I live in Wisconsin. Today (May 2, 2007) gas prices once again went over the $3 mark. It’s currently $3.09 at my local gas station but as high as $3.22 in Milwaukee.

Prices are expected to go even higher. Experts are saying we could see $4.00 a gallon gas by the summer.

Will the super high gas prices keep people from camping and taking their RV’s out on long trips? The informal survey I did of 8 people said they still plan to camp as much as they usually do. To make up for the higher cost of gas they’ll cut somewhere else. Two people mentioned they’ll go out to eat less so they can still camp as much as normal. Everyone else said they weren’t sure where they were going to cut expenses to pay for the extra gas but they were adament that they will still go camping.

My family is still going to take several camping trips this year. Only one is more than 3 hours from where we live. Shorter distance camping trips is one of the ways we’ll save on gas. And when we take our September camping trip 6 hours from our home we’re considering doing it the old-fashioned way, leaving our camper at home and taking a tent so we don’t have to tow a camper so far.

What are your plans for camping this year? Will the high gas prices change them? Or will you cut somewhere else so you can still do as much camping as you originally planned?

As I was cleaning out my camper this weekend I was thinking of all the fun times our family has had while camping. In particular it brought to mind one rather funny incident although I wasn’t at all amused at the time.

During a meal while on a huge family camping trip (we had 4 families camping at the campground and had invited the rest of my husband’s brothers and sisters, along with his parents, to join us for a meal) I went into our camper to grab something for the meal - I don’t remember what anymore.

As I walked to one end of the camper (we have a pop-up tent camper) the camper suddenly tipped towards that end, causing me to scream and freak out. My husband hadn’t remembered to put the stabilizing bars down on the camper when we had set it up the night before so when I was the only one in the camper and on one end of it, the darn thing tipped.

I stood in the camper trying to figure out what to do while everybody in the family was laughing. I was not only embarassed, but I was rather annoyed too because I heard my husband clearly say “whoops” so I knew it was something he had done or not done. And, it didn’t help that he was laughing the hardest. Nor was I happy that he didn’t come help me.

Instead, I slowly made my way back to the middle of the camper, braced myself as it tipped back upright, then walked out of it and put the stabalizing bars down myself (after I figured out what the problem was).

Then I spent the rest of the day and evening avoiding my husband because I was mad at him.

Now, everytime we go on a camping trip with our family we are asked if we put the stabilizing bars down because otherwise “I’ll get scared and freak out on everyone again.” Why is it that families only remember the stuff you don’t want them to?