Like many guys my first camping experience happened with the Boy Scouts. I have memories of camping trips where I learned to start fires with nothing but flint and steel. I shot my first rifle at Boy Scout camp. I stayed up all night telling stories and having a good time around a campfire. Camping has always been an interest of mine.
But then one day, Boy Scouts was over and I found myself in High School with a part time job. Then college. Then after college and my first real job I found that camping was just a distant memory. Until the day a friend of mine said he was going to throw away his tent. There was nothing wrong with it, he just didn't want it laying around anymore. So I took it.
I can remember very fondly the first time using the tent at a nearby State Campground, my wife and I had no idea what we were doing. I had some memories of camping with the Scouts, but most of those were stored away deep in my memory. We packed a small bag with some cloths, deodorant and toothpaste. Stopped at the Casey's near the campground and bought some food (S'mores, frozen pizza and bacon) and headed to the campground. I showed up, paid my fee for camping and setup the tent and realized I didn't have firewood. So off to the camp store we went. There we found the wood we needed, along with matches, some candy bars and Pepsi. We were set to camp!
As we got back to the site, we threw the pizza on the grill (and immediately realized that pizza and camping are not a good combination) and it started to rain. We barely got the pizza done before the fire went out. So we took it into the tent to eat. Once we were done eating we realized we didn't have anything to do - no cards, no books, nothing. So we sat around, talked and listened to the rain. After several hours of that we decided it was bedtime. That's when the lightning and thunder started.
The next morning when we got to the campground, we packed up the tent, cleaned up our mess and went home. It was the most memorable camping experience I've ever had and we didn't even spend the night.
So why, if it was so bad, do I love camping? I don't know, it planted a seed in me that just kept growing and growing. Several weeks later, we tried camping again and actually spent the night....in the rain. Then over the course of a few years we camped, started building our supply of camping gear and became more confident.
Then, two years ago we traded in the tent for a popup camper and have had two kids since. Now camping is a completely different and even more fun.
I've learned a lot since that first rainy night and know that I have a whole lot more learning to do. So, I'm going to use this site as a resource for any camper from the newbie to the seasoned pro. I want it to be interactive, I want it to be informative, I want it to be fun and I hope that you'll find it all of these things too!
