The idea of a camping trip was conceived just a week prior, when I happened to note that we had yet to try out the small tent I had purchased at a clearance price the summer before. Although my idea of "roughing it" typically means a hotel without room service, I had adjusted to the concept of camping a few years ago through backpacking trips to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and, subsequently, to the top of Pikes Peak. While my camping experience was still very limited, I decided that I could certainly handle a couple of days of "car camping" at an Ohio state park, since I had managed rustic camping in those other locales, with no electricity, no showers, and with only the supplies carried in on my back.
And so I rather impulsively announced to my husband a week ago that we should go camping. Having grown up camping all over the place with his family, Scott jumped at the idea with no hesitation. We made a quick list of supplies, hit Walmart and Meijer to grab a few items and, within a few days, had all the necessities for a weekend of camping packed neatly into 3 large plastic totes. We cut out of work last Friday at noon, and had the Volvo packed for the weekend an hour later.
A leisurely drive through a non-stop rain delivered us to Hocking Hills State Park by late afternoon, where by some miracle the downpour stopped the moment we arrived. Scott and I had the tent up in no time and a camp fire was started.
Campsite set up, we then prepped the food for dinner, which included a batch of beautiful fresh veggies that we bundled up in a foil pack and cooked over the campfire, to accompany a grilled piece of sirloin. (Yes, I understand that this is nobody's news in terms of camp cooking techniques, but I had never tried it before and really delighted in the simple fun of it all.)
Given my love for home design and accessories, I am compelled to mention that I was also totally digging the new plastic dishes on which we ate. It may be camping, but we had decided that there was still no reason food had to be served on paper plates, and so we splurged on these very cool chartreuse green dishes at a local discount store (and by "splurge", I'm talking about spending ten bucks to buy service for four).
Following our campfire dinner, we spent another hour or so by the fire. Bedtime announced itself shortly after dark when it became obvious that a thunderstorm was going to arrive momentarily, and so into the tent we dove. I'm happy to report that, while a driving rain continued all night, our tent stayed dry as can be. In addition to discovering that our tent was a fabulous little water-proof model (made by Eureka), I also learned that there is nothing more comforting than the experience of sleeping in a tiny tent with the sound of the rain outside hitting the tent all night.
Like magic, the rain stopped at six the following morning, the sun appeared and we crawled out of our small shelter. I made coffee by heating water on my tiny backpacking stove, and Scott confirmed my belief that a hot cup of Joe, even instant, is better than no coffee at all. After grabbing quick showers in the surprisingly clean campground bathrooms, we were off to the hiking trails by 10:30.
We walked first to Old Man's Cave, then along the river to the Lower Falls, and finally went a couple of miles or so more to a point known as Cedar Falls. Roundtrip, it was about a seven mile hike, and we loved every minute of it. The scenery was beautiful, the trails were well marked and clean, and the hike reinforced for us just what a fantastic state park system we have here in Ohio.
After arriving back at camp that afternoon, we took a short drive around the area, and then capped off the day with icy cold beers and our all time favorite meal of hotdogs cooked over an open fire.
On Sunday morning, we were again up with the sun and, following a couple hours of drinking coffee and relaxing, we broke camp and were in the car by ten. Because it was a glorious sunny day, we took a roundabout route home, and spent several hours meandering through Ohio on backroads, along with a stop in Springfield to visit friends and (more on this topic in a later post) to pick up Devil Dogs at the Kroger grocery store there.
We arrived home late that afternoon and I realized that, over the span of the weekend, I had become a camping convert. While at Hocking Hills, we had no cell phone service, no computer, no TV, no electricity, and we had the time of our lives! We have decided to take another camping trip in two weeks to a different state park, and I simply cannot wait for another opportunity to cook, eat and sleep outdoors, enjoying nature and the simple pleasure of each other's company. It's cheap, it's easy and it's a wonderful respite from our crazy-busy lives during the work week. Here's to camping!
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