Friday, June 18, 2010

Camp

IMG_8277 When I was buying all of our camping equipment, I asked Jake if I should get sleeping pads.

Sleeping pads are really unnecessary, Jake said. They take up a lot of space. Plus they’re for wimps.

I thought, yeah, you’re right. Better to be a minimalist.

Well, I barely got a wink of sleep last night. My hips felt like they were digging trenches in the dirt.

Oh, that’s right. They were. Then I thought, wait a sec, I already know I’m a wimp. What was I trying to prove?

We’re Jacksons so we don’t do car camping. We don’t do running water, dutch ovens, flashlights, or sleeping pads. (It’s really no wonder Jake hates sleeping outside.)

No, we walk up to the campsite and make our 3-year-old walk the whole way, with her own backpack, and she screams and cries and says that she’s sleepy every 10 seconds. And when we’re not looking, she picks up rocks/sticks/pieces of plastic and puts them in her mouth, just to get back at us.

IMG_8262 Here’s the real Jackson. Didn’t even bring extra clothes. Just one shirt. We just watch while he makes the fire (Luckily, Jacksons do bring a lighter, if they remember one. We’re not that hard core.).

IMG_8294 What I love about camping: hobo dinners (I have no idea why, but I love this meal), s’mores, firelight in the evening, and the fact that we were able to escape the heat our our house. For a little while.

Except for the not-sleeping part, we made the most of our 14 hour trek into the wilderness. That’s all I could handle, since I had to take like a 4 hour nap in our bed today. I also really like my dutch oven and that it sits in my cupboard and I don’t have to carry it anywhere. And that I don’t have to gather tons of wood for one meal. And that I don’t burn everything.  IMG_8299

I guess I like a little camp. And then a lot of home.

4 comments:

Eva said...

Say what?! Pregnant and camping with no sleeping pad? Camping in any form + making a baby DOES NOT equal a whimp in any way shape or form. You're as hearty as it gets, my friend.

Mariko said...

I did think having all this extra fat would help with the cushion. I think it has the opposite effect, though.

Jesse said...

After our last four day kayaking adventure, within a week of getting back I bought myself an inflatable air mattress. Pacific outdoors, ether. The 3/4 length weighs only 14 oz, slightly more than my ridge rest which basically just feels like the ground but less cold. Anyway, I've used it 4 night since then, 3 backpacking and one car camping. I think it was $40 on sale, and worth every cent. I should've gotten it years ago. I totally know how it is with car camping. Having basically never did it in Hawaii, I am still kind of anti, but gradually I am figuring it out. Kids love it. And most mainland camping is car camping. Camping Tip no. 2. Hammocks.

Jesse said...

Btw, where'd you go? Everything tastes better in the mountains. We've found it's a great time to introduce new foods to the kids.