Opening Day is right around the corner, but for me, it has nothing to do with baseball. To me, Opening Day, or weekend, marks our first camping trip of the season, and after another long, very frigid winter, it can’t come soon enough!
Skimming through previous blog posts on Feedly (another awesome tool shared by an awesome fellow blogger), I noticed that none of my posts shared another of my loves, camping during the summer months. Fall camping, but not summer.
Okay, glamping. We have a travel trailer and we take our Keurig. And we have a data signal.
Believe me, though, I’ve put in my time roughing it. For twenty years prior to having our camper, it was tent city. Every year we still ride to Sturgis, South Dakota for the annual rally and it’s rustic camping for two weeks. We even once had the pleasure of pitching our tent for the night in a gravel parking lot because we arrived at our destination one summer night after the gates closed and the ticket vendors went home. In my younger days, I experienced backpacking weekends on top of the Pictured Rocks and also the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. But, I digress.
Ever since the Spring equinox last Saturday when we had our first backyard campfire of the year, camping has been on my mind. I can’t wait to pull the tarp and de-winterize, and restock for the upcoming season. Thinking of past camping trips has also has me digging through my stock portfolio for glimpses of summers gone by.
It’s cliche to say that photography “captures the moment”, but it does. When I see my work and other’s work from past times and past seasons, I can hear the crickets, smell the fresh cut grass, feel the hot sun. My Shutterfly account is filled with albums from years of camping trips, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween. To flip back through those and see how our families and their kids have grown is beyond priceless.
I’m also on mission to get healthier, so I’m anxious to re-plan the normal camping menu with healthier choices this year, in order to not reverse all the work I’m doing now. I have some ideas already in mind and can’t wait to share them!
Camping trips are usually when I take the longest photowalks, exploring the trails, the park, the lakeshore. I’m drawn to nature and landscape photography, so getting out for some photos and some exercise is part of a perfect weekend.
So when is your Opening Day? Will you head for the state parks or are you a Camp Holiday Inn type of traveler? Campers, what is your best camping tip or trick?
Kathleen – I can’t wait to try my new battery operated mini air pump. If it works, I’m hoping I don’t scrap it because it takes up too much space – I’m looking forward to no more huffing and puffing to blow my bed up!
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Yes, an air pump is a must have! We also carry an inverter that plugs into Bill’s bike to power it. 🙂
I really want to see the Pictured Rocks! I think I want to get into camping!
They are breathtaking! There also a boat tour you can take out of Munising to view them from the lake.