Our first camping experiences together involved a number of mishaps, including wildly underestimating how long it would take to walk 1.2 miles in the Colorado mountains with arms full of supplies. But since then, we've pretty much perfected the fine art of car camping. As much as we love the idea of being minimalist backpacking campers, carrying the few things we need on our backs, on each trip we tend to fill up a sedan with the tent, tarps, sleeping bags, pillows, cushy sleeping pads, a cooler of food and drinks, a box of cooking supplies, games, etc. It's probably my fault, but Mike isn't usually complaining by the time he's relaxing in a comfy chair, drinking a cold beer, and cooking a delicious meal over the fire.
All our camping trips tend to have things in common. Mike gets to work building a fire while I pitch the tent and set up sleeping bags. Then he sits down to enjoy the fire, and I take photographs. Of him.
(Clockwise from top left: Custer State Park in South Dakota, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, and Acadia National Park in Maine)
Then we usually cook dinner in a skillet over the fire. Favorite meals include fajitas and corn on the cob.
Typically, then we play some backgammon.
And none of these things would be possible if we only backpacked. Someday we'll try to make the switch -- maybe like when we can just trek off through our backyard and camp in our own woods.
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