I spent my corporate life staying at some of the best digs around the country. A few years back I realized how much I missed camping and fishing, something my dad was good about spending time doing with us. He used his USMC service experience teaching us how to survive outdoors and made it fun.
So I got the itch again, though I'll admit it is harder these days sore knees and all, it's worth it and surprisingly Mrs. Bear is really into it. We camped off and on in our earlier years. Now we Glamp:
Comfy cots with memory foam pads rolled on top. Marmot sleeping bags that we slept on top of last trip. Ceiling fan and overhead light. Pads for news and NR! Eight foot fold-out kitchen including a kitchen sink, full cabinets and spice rack. Buddy heater and all the fancy gear. People gawk.
To keep it real I still use a white gas Coleman stove and lantern that's brighter than anything else.
We had some friends show up early to cook breakfast, in my kitchen, stay all day, hiked, had wine and played cards, cooked dinner and sat around the fire then left late in the evening. They have a trailer but enjoyed coming over for the day and just hanging out without the hang-ups of hauling a trailer.
Nothing like cooking dinner overlooking the cliffs at Big Sur with it's crashing waves, lighting a fire at morning and night, warming coffee over a fire pit grate, cooking Tex-Mex burritos wrapped in foil on top of the coals, playing cards and enjoying a nice bottle, listening to the sound of nature, viewing sunsets. You can look out a window and see it, but you won't feel it. When we camp with friends who are trailer people, they spend all their time cooking and hanging out in our site, often out late with us star-gazing, cooking smores and telling stories.
We have learned to set-up and tear down camp rapidly, have more than the essentials for surviving the zombie apocalypse, or a hurricane, with food and gear we can carry in our cross-over van. It's a good life. Going back! |
