by Thomas Kling

Created on: April 25, 2008

When I was a teenager, I went camping for the first time with my friend and his family in their RV to Thousand Islands, New York. Having never been camping before, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had ever had in my life. Exploring nature, the company of good people, campfire songs and stories, and boating all around the St. Lawrence River left a lasting impact on me. But though I reminisce warmly, nothing can surpass the pleasure my own children and I experience camping out of a tent.

I suppose it all depends on a camper's comfort level with nature and his reasons for going in the first place. For me, I go to relax like I wouldn't be able to do at home, to rough it enough to appreciate what I have a little better, and experience a little bit of excitement outside of my daily comfort zone.

Relaxing away from home is the number one reason why people go on any vacation but even in the work that needs to be done when camping; there seems a more urgent need for the work making it not as boring. Last year my kids learned a valuable lesson about cleaning up after you eat. After my kids saw a mama bear and her cubs in the park, and a rather large raccoon suddenly caused some clanging noises outside our tent in the deep, dark, otherwise silent night, we haven't had a cleanliness issue since.

We're not exactly a family of survivalists, but we purposely don't bring a lot of things with us. We don't bring a lot of food, but enough to get by. We don't bring games, music, or TV for entertainment but instead rely on what's there. And, despite some thorough planning, sometimes we forget some things that might be nice to have-like a can opener. There was also the year when we got to test out our new tent in a rain storm only to find out it leaked profusely. What do you do when it's pouring rain outside and there isn't any way to dry out inside? Well, call me crazy, but those are the kind of things I like to try to figure out. We didn't like to be sopping wet all day or spending half the next day wringing things out and hanging them up, but when we finally got home to OUR shower and clean clothes, it made us appreciate having them.

Camping can be very relaxing, but it also has its dangers too. It's important to be safe, but knowing there are risks adds a little zip to life. When you're out in the middle of acres and acres of forest and the trail doesn't look like the trail anymore and you haven't seen anyone else in a while, you start to get a little anxious. When you're paddling a row boat across a small lake to see what the sign says on a unique looking rock bridge and the paddling starts to get a lot easier right before you can read the sign which says, "Warning: waterfall, sharp drop," you become a bit concerned. And somehow, the thought of what "could" have happened doesn't quite fall away those last minutes before sleep wondering what else lies between your family and that cheap layer of fabric over your head.

Experiences like these might keep some people from leaving the creature comforts of their RV, but by the time we're all safe and sound back home, my kids and I are already laughing about our adventures while we recount them to my wife, and planning out how we're going to do it even better next year.

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