Roughing It
Dec 19th 2007
Suzanne EnochMy Life As A Plebe
My five-year-old nephew informed me over dinner on Saturday that I should go camping with him the next time the family goes. In fact, we should go immediately. Even after I explained that staying in a tent in the snow wouldn’t necessarily be a great experience, he seemed unconvinced. So then I asked him WHY I should go camping. I, you see, am an indoors person. I didn’t see snow up close until I was twelve. Oh, and I’m not fond of seafood, or the freshwater kind. Or bugs.
According to him, at the particular campsite they visit once a year, there are buildings where you can go to the bathroom.
And if you don’t want to go to the bathroom, there are bushes right there with bugs and lizards in them. Apparently this is a good thing. There’s no hot water, but you can’t take a bath or a shower anyway, because there are only some toilets in the building. And one lady they met washed her hair in the lake and she had a headache for three days because the water was so, so cold.
Also, you can walk around the side of the hill and up past some trees and then down this way and climb past some rocks and there’s a tree that fell over a stream, and it’s a great fishing place. And once they went to a different place and they had to walk SO far that they had to rest, and another time Mommy rolled down a very steep cliff, but she was okay. There are no sharks in the water, and the trout taste SO good the way Mommy cooks them. Oh, and one time Daddy slipped on the tree that fell down, and he plopped right into the water.
He saw lots of squirrels and chipmunks and lizards, and one deer, and one snake. And if you see a snake, you should just freeze and then back away and blow your safety whistle. If the snake moves toward you, then you scream and run away.
To a five-year-old boy, all of this is apparently very enticing. I heard the words no hot water, eat trout, fell down cliff, and snake, and I decided that my job as an aunt would be to take him to Disneyland.
Do you like to go camping? Do you fish and eat what you catch even though it’s been snacking on worms? Have you camped in the snow – or otherwise bad weather? Or is your idea of roughing it to go without room service?
44 Comments »
44 Responses to “Roughing It”
evlqn on 19 Dec 2007 at 1:55 am #
Back when my sons were younger we did a lot of camping. However our campsites were electrified and had hot and cold running water AND showers. I never met a fish, living or dead, that I liked and I see no reason at this stage in life to change. I always took a stack of books to read while my husband and the boys did guy things. It was worth anyone’s life if they interrupted my reading if I said, “I am on the last six pages.” One time we were late getting to the camp grounds and had to set up after dark in the rain, it took weeks to get all the mud out of our clothes. I figure if the deity had wanted me to be an outdoor girl I would have been born with a lifetime membership to the Sierra Club. I wasn’t, I’m not.
Kimberly W on 19 Dec 2007 at 2:09 am #
I have camped most of my life but it hasn’t been the “normal” form of camping in asny way shape or for. For you see, my family and I have been historical reenactors since I was three. We do mainly military reenactments from the 1750’s ’til the end of the War of 1812. This means sleeping in period tents, period bedding, while wearing period clothing without any modern contraptions of any sort.
The normal time frame that we do this in is usually a weekend which is usually the span of Thursday morning - Monday morning. There are however some events that I have gone to that go even longer. There is a Medieval event I do every summer that lasts 2 weeks, I am there more like 2 since I am on staff, but since this is held at a camp ground we have showers available.
I have camped in the snow many times and actually if you put your tent up right before it snows the snow becomes an insolator. It’s how igloos work:)
Kimberly W on 19 Dec 2007 at 2:14 am #
Continuation from above:
I have camped in every insane weather condition you can think of including torrential downpors that lasted a week+, the desert, and double tornadoes.
I know that this is not in any way shape or form the normal modern camping experience of the average person. I have actually never been modern camping at all nor have I ever even set up a modern tent.
As to eat what you catch, I am with you on seafood and its freshwater coumterpart being icky. Blech!! I have however fixed freshly caught game at camp in which I had to dress myself.
Now that I have scared everyone, I will let you get back to your regularly scheduled program;)
Kim on 19 Dec 2007 at 4:44 am #
My idea of roughing it? Reading your blog. OMG, its making me hyperventilate just thinking about it. LOL.
From page 2 of Kim’s Rules for Life:
I do not do dirt, bugs, snakes, grass, hot or cold weather. Basically I do NOT do outside. I must also always have a working bathroom within 5 feet.
Karen Rose on 19 Dec 2007 at 5:43 am #
Roughing it = hotels w/o room service or elevators.
Camping? HAH!! Although I think I’ve owned a camp shirt. That’s a style, right?
Your nephew sounds adorable. And I vote you keep your role as Disney-aunt. I bet he tells his friends about the aunt who takes him to Disney, with a similarly colorful narrative!
Luckily DH hates camping, too. I’m a lucky girl.
ilovetoread on 19 Dec 2007 at 6:45 am #
Luckily, my DH also hates camping! I also do not do bugs, snakes, lumpy sleeping surfaces, outdoor “plumbing”, etc. Yuck!!
Emmiebee on 19 Dec 2007 at 7:28 am #
HMMMM, roughing it? Well, maybe a ranch with a nice stable and walking trails- oh, and a spa to come back to of course. And a great restaurant with room service. And fabulous shopping nearby. And a fireplace with deep comfy chairs and cocoa with little marshmallows and whipped cream. Yep, I can rough it like nobody’s business.
Emmiebee, She Who Will Never Camp Again. Ever. Don’t Even Ask.
Lisa H on 19 Dec 2007 at 7:29 am #
Let’s just say my best friend gave me a magnet for my Birthday last year that said, “I Love Not Camping”
I have grown accustomed to the finer things in life, a blow drier, air conditioning, refridgerators, mattresses, swimming in a pool that does not have algae.
I would rather amputate one of my limbs than spend anytime in the great outdoors!
Have I answered the question sufficiently?
Emmiebee on 19 Dec 2007 at 7:36 am #
Hey, Suzanne, I know that Disney World in FL has a resort called the Wilderness Lodge. Quite the rustic feel, without any of the horror. Does that count? Does Disneyland in CA have something like this? I’ll vote for that!
-Emmiebee, Delicate Flower
Cookiedough on 19 Dec 2007 at 8:04 am #
Hmmm roughing it!lol!
My family is a bit twisted when it comes to camping. My brother- he of the birthday video-loves it . He sleeps in a cave when he goes out. He once tried out his new sleeping bag by sleeping on his balcony in a blizzard. He goes out with the same group of friends since high school and they portage through a huge wildlife park for three weeks every summer. His wife just sighs, hand him a cell phone, an epi pen for bee stings and hopes he comes home!
I tried camping once 12 yrs ago with my then 15 yr old nephew. I brought a small tent, a thin mat and a sleeping bag.
He had a queen size air bed, and a ten man tent.
I brought hotdogs and marshmallows to roast. He brought a camp stove and oil for french fries. who makes french fries at a camping ground???
I was miserable and he laughed all weekend.
I’ve never camped since. I’m supposed to go document a kids survivor weekend next summer.
Cookiedough on 19 Dec 2007 at 8:09 am #
and while the kids all sleep in tents in the back yard, we grownups get beds in the grandparents’ house. the “yard” is complete with ocean front beach, salt water pool. My kind of roughing it.
I used to look after the grand daughters of this family, so many a summer night, I’d just keep them there and give the parents a break in town while we swam and had weinie roast on the beach, then have another swim and all snuggle in bed. I love it!
Karen Hawkins on 19 Dec 2007 at 8:27 am #
Susie, I could just hear your nephew!
I go backpacking with my DH once in a while. We used to do it more often, but he’s working on his pilot’s license right now, so we can’t be gone many weekends.
I have ALL the gear, too. Backpack, sleep mat, tiny tent, cool stove, hiking poles, gps, and best of all, freeze-dried lasagna. I loooove hiking! I am not, however, fond of spiders. But since I see those at my house, seeing them in the ‘wild’ doesn’t seem to make them any scarier. In fact, it disturbs me more to see one in my house because they BELONG outside.
All in all, I’ve had some exciting, terrific, great experiences. And when you get home, you appreciate your bed and luxuries all the more.
DebMarlowe on 19 Dec 2007 at 8:32 am #
Your nephew sounds adorable, Suzanne! He’s sharing the excitement!
Emmiebee, I’m LOL because last year when we went to Disneyworld I didn’t want to stay at the Wilderness Lodge because we’d have to take the bus everywhere instead of the monorail! Hee hee. Roughing it!
I used to love going to my grandparents’ hunting cabin in the mountains. No plumbing. Had an outhouse. We’d cook over the fire. Alas, I’ve gone soft!
SuzyQ on 19 Dec 2007 at 8:53 am #
I do NOT do tents. Back in high school, I was a twirler and had to go to band camp (the movie American Pie just flashed in my head!) where we had to sleep in a tent for an entire week. Let me tell you, we were not happy campers. Even though the tents were on platforms, the sides were just tied off here and there so anything could crawl right up inside. I think the director got so sick of us complaining that next year we had cabins.
My family has some property in upstate NY and when I was young, I used to go camping up there almost every weekend in the summer with my cousins. Our dads had built a cabin complete with fireplace, but no running water or electricity. The bathroom was an outhouse. We used to cook outside and wash the pans in a stream. When the moms came for the weekend, we stayed at a motel because they wouldn’t sleep in the cabin. Back then I didn’t get what all the fuss was over. Now I do – a bathroom, shower, and cozy bed are a must.
SuzyQ on 19 Dec 2007 at 8:53 am #
continued . . .
As for fish, the only kind I eat is tuna – from a can. I will fish with my kids but do not put the worm on the hook or take the fish off the hook – does that still count as fishing?
Julia London on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:45 am #
I like to hike and I like to pretend to fly fish, only because you are up in the mountains and its gorgeous. But at the end of the day in the woods, I want a hot bath, a thick robe, and a hot toddy. You don’t get that at campsites, I don’t think.
My family owns a cabin in the mountains in Taos. That’s perfect — you get all the outdoor stuff but with creature comforts. Before the cabin, we went through the RV phase. Three of them, lined up at the camp site. Indoor plumbing, but that was about it. Those days are long gone, thank goodness!
Freshechelle on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:50 am #
This one time, I stayed at a hotel that didn’t have valet parking.
cail on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:50 am #
a little over 10 years ago i met an amazing guy, who is now my wonderful boyfriend while camping in maine. obviously the activity holds a soft spot in my heart.
also, i make excellent trout. i definitely come from an outdoorsy family.
(that being said, i wouldn’t be a happy camper in the rain/snow/mud, unless i knew that was what i had signed up for….)
cail on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:50 am #
Fresh, that’s hysterical!
SuzyQ on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:52 am #
LOL Fresh!
doglady on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:56 am #
I remember I went to camp when we lived in England and it was near Bath. Touring the city of Bath was great. The camping part was NOT! Wandering thru an English forest at night in October searching for the latrines. No thank you!I was 9. Went back to the UK when I was 22. What did my dumb butt do? Camped out in Scotland! In March! Can you say little blue singer? Also stayed in a camper on a sheep farm in Wales. We seriously considered dragging some of the sheep into the camper for warmth! I don’t mind bugs, snakes or critters much, but I do NOT like latrines at night. Visited a “fish” camp in in a place called St.John’ Landing in Louisiana after my DH and his buddies graduated from med school. Visualize 6 psychiatrists, their spouses in a SHACK in the middle of a Louisiana swamp fighting mosquitoes the size of B52 bombers. The ladies stayed huddled in the shack because of the yard dogs - two alligators named Marcel and Marie. I do NOT like roughing it. Period!
doglady on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:57 am #
Suzanne, your nephew sounds like a doll. I have two nephews and they are just terrific. I have not, however, succumbed to their invitations to go camping with them or to go “snipe” hunting!
Mia Rose on 19 Dec 2007 at 10:26 am #
I love camping! Haning out by a campfire with lots of friends, drinking from when you wake up to when you pass out, eating simple (and of course fattening) foods, usually gorgeous views to wake up to, having lots of time between books and quiet time and fun conversations with friends because there’s no tv… and the more the merrier!
But there are definitely limitations to what I feel is a fun camping experience.
First, I don’t do Winter camping… I prefer not to turn into an ice cube, thank you.
Second, Camping is only okay on a short time frame… i.e. weekend trip or something. Unless it’s summertime and there’s a clean river/lake nearby you’ll have to vacate because of the smells emitting.
Third, I need a decent air mattress that’s not going to go flat in the middle of the night so I wake up sore and miserable. That’s just not fun.
Marie Conley on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:04 am #
This is my idea of camping and I love it. First we take the RV up to the camp site. We have a shower, though cramped. A bathroom with a working toilet. A bed where I sleep next to mom and on the other side is Bob and my sister is up on the platform above the cab. We have a kitchen with food such as hamburger and pancakes and if I wake up early enough Bob will make pancakes. Then it is out to the lake.
Which we have the boat and fishing equipment. I get to drive the boat, tan, and basically lounge around in the sun. Then it is time to go back to camp for supper. After supper we curl up in our respective beds and watch movies.
Yes this kind of camping is fun, but if you expect me to sleep on the ground in a tent you’ve done lost your mind.
Paula on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:06 am #
As a child we always went camping, this being the result of being a farmers daughter! The last two years my DH and 2 sons have been camping. It is fantastic, the boys go off to play with new found friends and my DH and I get to sit in the sun and read. I’m not too keen if it is wet and cold but so far we have been lucky. Thanks to the french weather, we have found a really good campsite in France which has some decent showers with … (wait for it1) HOT water! The boys love it too as they aren’t too restricted over their activities. I would definately not go camping in the snow, that would be way too cold!!
claudia dain on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:10 am #
Hold onto your hats…my honeymoon was a camping trip! Oh, we had all the luxuries. We rented a cabin in Sequoia/King’s Canyon Nat’l Park. It had a pot-bellied stove, a couple of dingy windows, open rafters that drifted dirt down on the bed every second, a bath house/latrine about 5 minutes down the trail.
The stories I could tell you! LOL
I grew up camping. My parents were addicted to it. We went camping in a huge old Army tent every summer, all across America. Cooking over an open fire, sleeping bags on the ground, getting water from a spigot to brush your teeth.
Now, get the images in your head and then add in that my dad was a paraplegic. What a picture, huh?
Karen Hawkins on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:15 am #
Warmth is important. I won’t hike or camp in bad weather. I mean, sure you get the occasional unexpected storm, but to PURPOSELY camp or hike in the cold time of the year? No, thank you!
Btw, I am a Seccret Luxury Camper. I also take one luxury item to flaunt while we’re roughing it. One year, I packed lobster salad in a bag of ice and when we stopped for our first break, we had lobster salad and crackers while sitting in the middle of the most beautiful forest. I love doing things like that! Makes the camping/hiking experience all the sweeter.
zambonigirl on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:26 am #
your nephew sounds adorable. i bet he’ll like pirate island, nee tom sawyer island, at disneyland. be sure he asks the pirates what their curse is.
i used to camp wheni was younger. we had a camper, though. and hot water.
Suzanne Enoch on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:40 am #
Kimberly W, you frighten me. *g* My cousin’s done some Civil War re-enacting. I visited his camp during the day and asked him who watched the tents at night because they didn’t actually sleep in them, did they?
Suzanne Enoch on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:43 am #
Emmiebee, no Disneyland doesn’t have a Wilderness thingy. As Zambi suggested, I have taken him to Pirate Island (nee Tom Sawyer’s Island) — and that’s as wildernessy as I get.
zambonigirl on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:49 am #
don’t forget the jungle cruise. fierce animals and restless natives.
RachelG on 19 Dec 2007 at 11:52 am #
Growing up, my family used to backpack in the Sawtooth Wilderness area. It is very rustic there and everything you pack in, you have to pack back out. I haven’t camped on top of snow, but a few feet away from it. It was August so it wasn’t too cold during the day. Oh, and yeah. The lakes and streams are glacier fed, so you get a brain freeze headache from brushing your teeth.
I don’t camp anymore. These days roughing it means living in our cabin with no air conditioning in the summer.
rachelg
Gannon on 19 Dec 2007 at 12:08 pm #
The last time I went camping was when I was 14 years old. We were in Scotland, so there were no snakes. Yay!
I just don’t think I could “rough it” and have to go to the bathroom behind a bush–no thanks! I love hiking, but I agree with Julia. When it’s all over I want a hot bath, and most importantly, indoor plumbing!
Suzanne Enoch on 19 Dec 2007 at 1:54 pm #
I forgot to mention the other bit of information he gave me — if you need to, you can go to the bathroom out in the bushes, but only at night. This didn’t sound very fun to me, either. So I agree with you, Gannon and everyone else who prefers indoor plumbing.
And yes, Zambi — I forgot the Jungle Cruise. I could handle a cruise.
KariE on 19 Dec 2007 at 2:12 pm #
I love the idea of camping and that’s about it. Actually going out and doing it doesn’t thrill me. I don’t know how that happened because I use to LOVE to camp. Gathering firewood, pitching a tent, rooling out the sleeping bags. Oh how I was all over it like 10 years ago. And the smell of the sleeping bags when you got home and aired everything out *inhale* *exhale* ahhhhh. I remember girl scout camp and everything that went with it: boiling water for dishes, digging holes for the faux toilets, gathering rocks for the fire pit. I couldn’t get enough of it.
There are 3 little things that keep popping in my head as of why I don’t like to camp now: spiders, snakes and alligators. My husband has been trying to get me to go the Myakka State Park and do the primative camping. I just can’t bring myself to do it. But I love the idea!!!
Suzanne Enoch on 19 Dec 2007 at 3:15 pm #
My teacher sister goes camping several times a year with her class — star watching, etc. She has a 3-season tent (no winter), sleeping bags with various temperature ratings, and several other items that frankly frighten me.
You campers out there, do you have temperature-rated sleeping bags?
TheNightPoet on 19 Dec 2007 at 3:51 pm #
I love going camping. I have been fishing and have eaten the fish too that we catch, even though I’m not one that likes a lot of fish. I went on a canoe trip at the beginning of September with some friends of mine and we camped. It was a lot fun. I had never been canoeing before then and after going I’m planning on going again next year. We’re already planning on going again next year.
I’ve been camping when it’s rained before and that’s not fun, because you have to stay inside the tent all day. When we went canoeing, it had started raining toward the end of the day when we were almost done canoeing, but luckily it stopped pretty quickly.
I have never camped in the snow and although I love camping, that is one thing I will not do. I don’t like to be cold at all.
Andrea
ArkansasCyndi on 19 Dec 2007 at 4:53 pm #
When I “camp”, it’s in a 40ft fully loaded Newmar Dutch Star Motorhome, preferably parked on a level a concrete slab surrounded by freshly mowed green grass.
Roughing it for me = black and white TV with no cable or satellite (shivers in horror at the thought)
Ann in IL on 19 Dec 2007 at 5:54 pm #
Ahhh, camping. Been there. Done that. NEVER AGAIN.
In a white tent during a horrendous thunderstorm. Tents across the road sliding down hill in mud.
Critters scratching at the side of the tent.
Bathrooms three blocks away.
Grate for the campfire so far above the fire that it took three hours to cook hamburgers.
Too many bad memories to recount.
Nope. Not me. I’ll take a motel anyday.
Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Dec 2007 at 6:12 pm #
Not into camping, sorry. I only did it once in college and the mosquitos drove me nuts. They weren’t biting me, mind you–they were just buzzing around my ears driving me insane and making it impossible to sleep.
It’s funny you should blog about this, though. Nick’s caregiver today is going camping over New Year’s. It’s her boyfriend’s idea. It’s COLD here. But apparently, he’s all gungho about it. She seems a little less so. I told her she has my complete sympathy.
Suzanne Enoch on 19 Dec 2007 at 7:50 pm #
Hey, how come nobody commented on my photo of Bigfoot? Another hazard of camping — giant hairy sapiens-like creatures. *g*
Aspen on 19 Dec 2007 at 9:35 pm #
I had a camping experience I will never forget. One year many years ago my family hosted foreign exchange students. The kids are usually rich high schoolers or early college. Anyway my dad decided it would be oh so much fun to show them camping “American style.” Whats the difference? Who knows but we went. One of the girls wore her silk teddy to the campfire and stated she only spent the night in “the finest hotels” while traveling. The strap to her nighty broke and she had a fit like you wouldnt believe. Needless to say she was one Unhappy Camper.
darkshire007 on 22 Dec 2007 at 12:53 pm #
I love camping! I enjoy eating what I catch and yes, I’ve camped in the snow. It was an artic survival course, in January, in Fox, AK. Enough said.
Nanette on 25 Mar 2008 at 8:27 am #
RV camping is not camping. If you love luxury and convenience so much, then why camp at all? Buy a video of the outdoors and watch it on TV.