Posted October 12, 2011 l Updated July 19, 2017

Camping growing up was the bee's knees for me. When I think of all the fond memories of my childhood, camping was numero uno. I don't think I am alone when I say that, as many of you have great memories exploring the woods and spending time in the great outdoors as kids. 

My favorite camping memories from childhood began with a tent

I didn't grow up in Virginia, so my memories involve the below sea level of the sand dunes in the desert, to the grand rugged peaks of the Sierra Nevada in California. The Cuyamacas, the Colorado River in Arizona, and more were our playground when we went camping.

Many of these areas are no longer available to the public overnight, but we had the same mosquitoes and sunburns as we do here in Virginia.

BETTER THAN AN E-TICKET

Growing up in Southern California, we did have a chance to go Disneyland as a child. So excited to go to Disneyland, then we stood in line out in the heat for hours to ride a 3 minute ride (hours is not an exaggeration). We were assaulted by all the sights and sounds of life-sized animated characters, spending tons of money I don't think our family had, in fact I know our family didn't have. Buying a packet of tickets per person, and relishing those three "E" tickets, and having to choose which 3 rides/attractions out of 11+ that required the E-Ticket. Funny how an e-ticket means something totally different now. 

I am sure my parents relented as they were being told to be "good parents" you must take your kids to the Magic Kingdom, and as kids we probably begged and pleaded to go.

Saturday morning cartoons never fueled the fire to go camping, but to spend money we didn't have.

Disneyland E-ticket (coupon booklet) photo courtesy of David Cobb creative commons

But, my favorite memories are still of the times our family went camping. It was an economical choice compared to a theme-park. I often wonder if my own children cherish some of those same camping memories. As a parent it was not as easy to go camping as it was when I was a kid. Heck just getting the time off, getting organized and packed up was a lot of work.

Being a parent is not quite as carefree as being a kid.

Camping has its less glamorous side too

WHY I LOVED CAMPING

Let me think back and try to articulate the reasons, you see it was an "experience" and tied to that is always plenty of emotion, so to put it into words, well it is not that easy. I will start by sharing the things I really enjoyed about camping.

*I hope you will share your stories and reasons for your fond memories of camping as well with us on Facebook, even share a photo or two.

Fire-ring camp cooking, and poking sticks in the fire after the sun went down

BREAKFAST

• awaking from a warm cozy sleeping bag even when the frost was falling outside before the sun came up
• bacon and eggs on a Coleman cook-stove sizzling
• smoke of the campfire lifting skyward
• hard cold "lawn chairs" around the campfire (no they didn't come with drink holders)
• holding a mug of hot cocoa to warm my cold fingers as I sat on those chairs around the campfire
• laughing around the campfire - poking fun at my sister's "camp hair" or at mine
• birds, squirrels, rabbits and deer in the woods crunching on twigs and leaves

FISHING

• baiting the hook
• untangling the knots in the line
• the sound of the river swirling and swishing past
• the crow sitting up in the tall tree on the other side of the river "Caw Caw!" waiting for us to catch a fish
• grabbing the net to collect the fish
• stringing up the fish
• proudly bringing the fish back to show mom
• dad cleaning the fish
• mom frying the fish over the fire in a cast iron skillet
• picking fish bones out of my mouth

EXPLORING

• running
• chasing each other, kicking up pine needles and other natural debris
• finding unique rocks and interesting pinecones (and sap glued to our finger tips)
• discovering trees that seemed like forts
• making our own bow and arrows from sticks we found
• swimming
• venturing into the outhouse and racing out as fast as you could
• scared of snakes - and never seeing one
• scared of bears - and never seeing one (although at night with the weak illumination of the  flashlight and plenty of moving shadows we thought we did)
• climbing trees
• hiking to the top of a bluff

MOM AND DAD

• being there together
• no TVs no phones 
• arriving after dark after falling asleep on the drive to arrive in a special place
• getting yelled at for opening the igloo too many times
• brushing our teeth in the ice cold stream (getting numb teeth)
• tent marriage therapy (this is when mom and dad attempt to put the tent up together)
• starting the fire (dad getting mad and cursing and blaming the green wood)
• lighting the lantern (dad getting mad and cursing the old mantles)
• sleeping in the tent together (stinky dirty socks and all)
• playing cards at the table with the red and white check table cloth 
• jiffy pop on the open fire (burning most of it and eating it anyway)
• ghost stories around the glowing embers of the fire with the darkness just outside the safety of the fire-ring

NOT GLAMPING

Now there is "glamping." They have satellite dishes on RV's that are too big to park in a camp-spot. They have WIFI. They have built in DVD players in vehicles to keep kids amused on the drive to the campground (Updated: Netflix and streaming whatever they want to watch). Parents who won't let their kids get dirty.

Parents, your kids want to get dirty.

GAIN OR LOSS

For all we have gained, what have we lost? Do you have any idea just how good that hamburger is that is cooked over an open fire? Or bacon that is sputtering and spitting in the great outdoors. How incredible it is as a kid to sit at the picnic table and play cards with the adults. These were all important coming of age things for a kid like me. These were the things that formed me, and helped instill a love the great outdoors today.

I was super shy, and I learned from the wilderness stuff I could never be taught in a classroom.

RICH

We had no idea at the time, how truly rich we were when we got to go camping. In fact most of the kids in my class had never even been camping. We were rich beyond measure.

I have two sisters, one lives in the Pacific NW the other in Ireland with their families. So we are spread apart by many miles.

I would give anything to be back around that campfire with them. Poking at the flames with sticks, joking and laughing heartily, and eating that burnt Jiffy Pop.

As kids we were rich beyond measure when we went camping

MAKE PLANS

Please make plans to take your family camping at a Virginia State Park. If you don't camp under the stars, then book a cabin, a yurt or even camping cabin which is sorta-like-camping. Cook your s'mores outside and hike, bike and explore. 

Virginia State Parks provide comfortable and economical overnight accommodations, with more than 300 climate-controlled cabins and more than 1,800 campsites, ranging from primitive sites to developed sites with electric and water hookups. There are also now paddle-in campsites. And many cabins are available year round. Call 800-933-7275 to reserve yours today.

CONSERVE IT

My Dad instilled a love for the great outdoors, he is an avid hunter and fisherman, always needing to be outside exploring what is over the next hill, he taught me to take care of what we have so we will always have it, and he is a true conservationist. This he learned from his father and so it goes.

Make those memories now, your kids are counting on you

*Join in the fun and conversation of your childhood camping memories with some of your friends and family at the Virginia State Parks Facebook page here.

 

Posted October 12, 2011 l Updated July 19, 2017