Camping

As a kid, I never realized that one of the reasons we went camping on our family vacation each year was that we really couldn't afford to do much else. I always thought we went camping because camping was fun!

We spent many days at Meramec State Park; catching tadpoles and crawdads, digging holes in the sandbar and playing in the Meramec River. Nightfall brought a campfire and lightning bugs.

The campground was its own little community, with new "neighbors" on each trip; all there to share in the fun and camaraderie that made camping unique. As a general rule, the people were friendly and respectful of those around them.  

I loved our camping trips. We didn't have anything fancy; just a simple, canvas tent. Dad had built a wooden box that held all of our standard camping supplies. We had to haul water in a large, plastic jug from the spigot the campsite provided. Mom cooked on a Coleman campstove or, occasionally, over the campfire. 

We scrounged around for just the right stick for roasting marshmallows. 

Yes, camping was fun. I thought camping was the most wonderful vacation possible. It wasn't until I was an adult that Mom told me we camped because we couldn't afford to do some of the other "vacation" things. It wasn't that we all (Kim excluded, of course) didn't LOVE to camp; just that we didn't have many other options.

We couldn't afford to do "real" vacations with our kids, either. Most of our vacations when they were young were spent at Mom and Ted's farm. We took a couple of weekend "trips" when the boys were older, but mostly we just stayed home. The only "real" vacation we took with the boys was when we spent a week in Northern Wisconsin with some friends. 

I regret that we couldn't do more with the boys, but we enjoyed the things we did. I hope they look back on those trips someday with the same joy that I do about our camping trips.