Who Did You First Go Camping With?
Friday June 26, 2009
Want to be a hero? Take someone camping for the first time. The excitement of that first campout will create memories that will last a lifetime. I remember the first time I went camping. I went with friends in the neighborhood. We camped out under the stars along the Licking River in northern Kentucky. All we had were our dad's old army sleeping bags, a Coleman pump-style fuel lantern and our imaginations. I don't know what happened to my friends, but I sure remember that first campout.
The first time I went camping was with my wife and kids. As a kid I read up on all the Boy’s Life magazines I could find, but my parents would never let me get involved in camping as a child. We had a great time and all that reading paid off. The kids are on their own now but my wife and I still camp. We have even introduced our granddaughter to camping, at seven years old she loves it.
I was going to say my Mother has always taken my brothers, myself and several cousins camping. Poor Dad always stayed home. Something about his tent always falling on him during WWII. I’m sure Dad would have taken us too, if he could have, so I voted “Parents”.
My Uncle Bud, my dad’s brother, was the genesis of my love of outdoors and camping!
He gave a marvelous, selfless gift!!
Our families: me and my youngest cousin, sister, two moms, and dads, went “ruffing it, carrying heavy backpacks,” up a well-traversed mountain in the foothills of Virginia… when I was an adolescent, several times, to my utter joy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each visit was extraordinary!!
-We learned what type sleeping bags to buy (and those NOT to purchase) Tents, too!~ (Oh, it was soooo…cold on the mountain in early October!)(Proper equipment was essential!)(The “barbie” sleeping bags were a BAD idea!)
-How to pray when my uncle bud and my dad, his brother, got lost in the fog at a high elevation (winding round and round the rock crevices for hours…)(this is the age before cell phones!)
-How to make a warm, hearty campfire;food: it draws family together
-Wine warms the spirit, soothes the soul
-How “the dads” worked together, and dealt with a snake, ready to strike, “on the trail” as we made our way up the mountain
-Laying, at campsite, watching the stars, millions of bright, cheery constellations twinkling from the heavens…
My first camping experience was with my husband and 2 small sons (ages 5 & 6) in a borrowed pop up camper.
His grandmother was moving from Arkdale, WI to Wisc. Dells, WI. We stayed at a very small campground (Southfork) and it was very warm. My husband left me there with no car and 2 small kids to take care of while he went to help other relatives clean out their house & barn & other storage/landfill area. Thank goodness they had a very nice bathwater warm pool because we spent a lot of time in it. I still have the picture of the pool and building on our fridge. I also had one of those big turbo round silver fans in the camper to circulate air. My oldest son was very afraid and crying when we got there because he was asleep most of the way in the car ride up there (approx. 4 hour drive from where we live) and when he woke up he didn’t know where he was. Took a while to calm him down.
Needless to say, even though that was my first camping experience, eventually we graduated in campers over the years and now our sons our 17 & 18 and we have a 30 ft 5th wheel trailer with 3 slides that we love. Hopefully we get to use it this summer as disel prices have soared astronomically!!
The first trip I can remember was a weekend fishing-camping trip with my grandparents and parents. I am almost 70 now and was about 4 or 5 then. We slept in cars and trucks with blankets, (or quilts) and pillows. We caught fish, cleaned and ate them, went for walks in the woods, looked at stars at night and made “home-made ice cream”. I will never forget those times and and the fun. I love fishing (and Nature’s marvels) and now travel in a 37′ 5th Wheel(4 slides) with my husband or an Arctic Fox truck camper with a slide when I am by myself. I thank God everyday for my maternal grand-father who started it all.
My dad was the first to introduce me to the world of camping. Now I take my own son.
I don’t remember the first time I went camping with my folks. It was pretty much an every summer thing. I don’t ever remember NOT going camping. Then as I grew up, I spent as many weeks each summer at Scout camp as I could possibly afford. My grand parents also took us camping whenever we visted them in Colorado. Then I had my own daughter when I as in my mid 20’s. She slept in a tent for the first time when she was still in diapers. She had her own tent that she could set up and take down alone by the time she was 6. Now at 18, she’s an avid backpacker and has a deep love and appreciation for the great outdoors. There is no better way that I know of to bond with your loved ones and family members. And no better way to create the fondest of memories for all to look back on.
Exactly, it’s a very good experience. Is special. Camping in the wilderness, trees, birds, stars, … A aexperiencia endangered.
my first camping trip was at giffords state park with a friend and my nephew. we camped in a leanto. we had a campfire to beat the band. we had a hibachi to cook on and a cheap cooler. we had no air mattresses. it was fun despite the little equipment. we have moved up in the world with more advance camping equipment.