Thursday, June 7, 2012

Try Camping by Barbara Edwards


Camping opens a whole world of new experiences. Maybe instead of camping month it should be camping all year. For a writer, camping appeals to the need for quiet time to find the inner muse.

Camping exposes you to scents, sounds, touch that the ordinary life doesn’t have along with a variety of interesting people. I could tell you about the places I’ve camped, but I already do on my regular blog, http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com.

 My first time camping was with the Girl Scouts in a canvas shelter on a platform. Not too wild, but the air was clear. At night I needed a flashlight to find the path to an old-fashioned out- house.  Yep, I remember that trip as the scariest in my life.

Since then I’ve camped rough, with a sleeping bag and a water-proof ground cloth.  It had its moments as we watched meteors burn into the atmosphere in August. I backpacked the Appalachian train with a tiny tent that had flexible poles. That time we got caught in the remnants of a hurricane and hunkered in the tents until the trail dried.

I camped in a blue canvas tent at a Camporee with the Boy Scouts. Ten thousand boys, two thousand male leaders and two women together in that tent who shared the fun over a long weekend.

Then I started Civil War Re-enacting with the Third Florida, Company A. Our Captain believes in as authentic a portrayal as possible. For years we set-up a six-foot canvas A-frame just like the ones used by Confederate troops.  I learned that if you touch canvas in the rain it leaks like a sieve. It can be warmed with a kerosene heater. To be cool, you leave the flaps open and hope for a breeze. It is glorious fun.

The next logical step was a tag-a-long trailer. I found a small trailer the incentive to kill the person I shared it with within a month.  

The next year we bought a fifth-wheel that is hitched to our pick-up truck. Roomy enough for our big dog, we have traveled to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, the Florida Keys, Charleston and twenty years of Civil War battle re-enactments.

We’ve talked about getting a RV like the Holiday Rambler or Prevost, but I like smaller. 

Maybe a class C or even a Truck Camper with a slide. We’ll see.

I hope I let you see how much I love camping. I hope to see you there, exploring the world.



Check out my website: www.barbaraedwards.net  

6 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

When we were kids, we had a giant green canvas monstrosity of a tent that my dad got when he was in the navy. Hotter than hades inside. Those were the days... Sounds like you have some fun adventures in camping, Barbara.

Barbara Edwards said...

Hi Jannine,
I bet you did, too. I still love camping in new places.
Barbara

glenys said...

Barbara - lovely blog - you almost made a die-hard anti-camper like me want to put up my tent. We did camp before the kids, then we got into renovating house after house. Now when DH says let's camp, I remind him that I camped out at home for years, now I need my creature comforts...yep, selfish to the bone :-( But still, your descriptions do sound nice...

Alison Henderson said...

I haven't camped since Girl Scout and probably won't again, but your pictures are lovely. You clearly love camping and it's allowed you to do some amazing things.

Barbara Edwards said...

Hi Glenys,
I admit that I don't enjoy sleeping on the ground any more. Give me a soft surface any day.
I like my comforts too.

Barbara Edwards said...

Hi Alison,
i hope the memories from Scouting are sweet. I know mine are.