I simply couldn’t help but notice the group of people gathered around the small campfire. It was a familiar sight to me because I walk the same path almost everyday in a neighboring RV resort near our home. However, on this particular night, it’s as if the scene opened up all of my senses ushering in a flood of memories that I couldn’t help but be thankful for. The family laughing, children playing and riding bicycles, the amazing smell of food cooking on the grill, the family dog resting by the picnic table, and the birds singing in the trees above, all of this seemingly staged against the backdrop of Ozark hills and forests. It was an image that one might see highlighted in a favorite outdoor magazine. I intentionally slowed my pace to make sure that I captured the moment more fully.
I continued my walk remembering the countless experiences I had as a child waiting for our big family weekend camping trips. We would load up only our necessary clothing and hygiene essentials, some groceries, firewood, and a few favorite games and toys to keep us from driving our parents totally crazy inside such tight quarters.
Our family of six originally began our camping excursions inside a large tent, sleeping on air mattresses or inflatable rafts. Many years later and through dedicated savings by my parents, we were able to progress up and into a very nice RV that required an 8-passenger Suburban and special vehicle brake system to pull on the highways safely. My brothers and I felt as if we were finally arriving to our campsite destination in total comfort and style. How exciting it was for us to have our own bunk beds, a small bathroom, a two-burner stove, small refrigerator, and a table inside our weekend “home on wheels.”
The best part of camping, however, was not the dwelling. Camping was really about the time away from our busy schedules, the time together as a family, the smells and slow-cooked tastes of our favorite campfire dishes, the makeshift clothesline wrapped around two adjacent trees sagging with wet towels and shoes, the playtime, the community bathhouse, and the beauty of nightfall resting over a sparkling campfire.
I can remember such detail in my mind and through my senses four decades later. I pleasantly realized that I just could not help but repeat the experience of camping with my own children many, many times throughout their childhood. We too, as a second-generation camping family, collected a considerable amount of equipment and gadgets for our weekend getaways. And our tent magically morphed into a full sized RV over time too. It’s amazing how that happens when you love camping.
I truly hope that some day the same fond memories and thoughts of our camping trips will be awakened within my children and that they will repeat the tradition with their children. Camping is a family adventure worth repeating as many times as possible and a tradition worth passing to the generations.
