Going Camping

When going camping you shouldn't just assume it's going to be fun, because it won't be. Not unless you take the proper precautions and bring all of the necessary supplies like water, bug spray, and anti-bear riot gear. If these prerequisites are met your chances of having fun are as good as a Snickers bar.

After I have all of my camping gear assembled I load up my car and head to a small patch of woods commonly known as my backyard. Before setting up my tent I need to find a nice, flat area without too many rocks, roots, or bears. Not that I don't like those things, I just can't sleep if I know there's some big rock in the vicinity.

Now that I've found the perfect spot, it's time to pitch the tent and get a nice camp fire going.This however, is often the time when I realize I forgot the matches. No problem, I'll just use the time honored tradition of not having a fire. Once the fire is out of the way I move on to the pitching of the tent. Tents can be tough to set up, but luckily I won't have to worry because I forgot that too.

Since I don't have to deal with building fires or setting up tents it leaves me more time to enjoy nature, just as I must have intended. Breathing deep I take in the rustling of the leaves and the moist country air as I decide that the great outdoors is one of the only places where you can get wet when it rains.

Once I'm all bundled up and cozy in my Subaru I turn on some soothing rock music and relax. There's nothing like the patter of rain on the roof and a little Tom Petty sifting through the air to make me feel like I'm sitting in my car in the backyard. "I'm camping now!", I think to myself.

As night sets in it starts to get a little cool so I turn the car on to get some heat. Not long after I run out of gas and have to resort to the time honored tradition of shivering. By around midnight I'm shivering so ferociously that you'd think I'd burst into flames. Luckily I don't. In fact, I find I can shiver as violently as I want and it doesn't even matter, so that's nice.

By the time 3 AM rolls around I have the car vibrating madly and most of my teeth chattered out, but at least I don't see any big rocks anywhere that would prevent me from sleeping.

Once 4 AM hits I'm not sure if I'm still cold or just completely numb, dreaming or having an out of body experience. I try pinching myself but it's a bust. I didn't feel it, but I don't know if I pinched myself.

After the clock hits 6 AM I'm quite confident that I'm either fast asleep or dead. This is what I love about camping, it's back to the basics. Though, the next time I go I'll probably wait until one of the Spring, Summer, or Fall months, just to spice things up. Not that this time wasn't spicy. I love camping.