Camping

This past weekend I went camping for the first time in 25ish years. The last time I was around 6th or 7th grade in Boy Scouts. And this time, its because my son joined Cub Scouts.

We tried to make another campout last fall, a very basic one night thing that had food provided. Figured it would be a good place to start. But then it rained. And by rain, I mean torrential  downpour. We got about half way there and decided, nope, let’s not do this in the rain.

But my son was really excited about it so we did set up the tent in the backyard. That is when I learned I am too old and out of shape to sleep comfortably with merely a thin pad of foam underneath me. It was a miserable night, made worse by my comfy bed being just a few feet away.

When the opportunity for another campout came up. This time would be two night and we would responsible for feeding ourselves. My son was still super excited by the idea so we decided to give it a real shot. We got some air mattresses and a camp stove and headed out into the wilderness.

Of course, mother nature was going to try and make it a true test. The first time, another torrential downpour came through. We were prepared though and it was in the middle of the night. So everything was set up and we were snug and dry inside.

Then the temperature dropped. From a muggy upper 50’s Friday to a bitter cold and extremely windy low 50’s.  It’s amazing how much difference humidity makes at that temperature.  I was in short sleeves Friday night and bundled up Saturday. The trees blocked the wind most of the time but it still swept through some.

The real test came Saturday night. It dropped below freezing. For a native Floridian who lives in southeastern Texas, this is not something I’ve experienced much. It’s never been a problem before though, as I don’t tend to be outside the few hours every year it gets that cold. This time I was sleeping in a tent.

Sleeping in a tent at those temperatures was an experience. Not one I’m excited to repeat but all in all, not terrible. We were prepared with good sleeping bags and layers of clothing. We opted for nice big ones rates for 30 degrees. For the first time, I actually slept completely in the sleeping bag. It has always been too warm to do that before.

So we survived the elements. And we had a lot of fun. Getting away from the internet for two days was nice. My phone became a camera only. It’s amazing how long the battery lasts when you shut down data/bluetooth/wifi, I lost 20% battery in 40hrs.

My son had a blast. Getting to stay up late, having other kids to play with all the time, eating s’mores. Since their cubscouts, and most of the ones that came are his age level, 1st grade, it was not a difficult experience for the kids. A few of the older boys there were actually responsible for doing some things. But they all managed to keep each other busy.

I think we’ll do it again sometime. Maybe not at the same place unless its cold again. Brazos Bend is a literal bog. I imagine its quite unpleasant most of the year, between humidity and mosquitoes. But we grabbed the Texas State Park pass so want to try out other parks in the state. Sometime before May or after October I think.