Camping 101

Day 16

I have to tell you, camping is way more easy than I thought it would be.  Many people who know me now, would never believe I was a camper, however, when you grow up in a family with eight kids, camping is pretty much the only type of vacation my parents could afford.  At the time, we all wondered what it would be like to stay in a hotel, sometimes trivializing the whole camping experience, however, in looking back, camping was some of the best memories I have.  We camped pretty much everywhere in California, Arizona and New Mexico.  Though I camped a lot as a kid, I really haven't camped much as an adult.  I've done a few backpacking trips into Yosemite and a couple of weekend trips when I first got Ringo, but nothing like I'm doing now.  Thus, I can see why many people didn't think I would last more than a few weeks.  Well, just want everyone to know that today is Day 16.

I have done a few days of mountain biking on some incredible trails and have seen lots of animals along the way.  A couple of deer have walked right into camp when I was in Oregon and I came across a couple of snakes on a cool ride in Washington.  It was pretty intimidating at first, but then I realized they were just out enjoying the sun.  If I had any idea what type of a snake it was, I might have felt differently!

Many have asked what it has been like camping. And to be honest, it's been amazing. I have stayed only at State Parks in California, Oregon and Washington. Though all had the types of things I was familiar with, such as great hiking trails, mountain biking trails and facilities, there have been some unique elements as well. First, once you get past San Francisco, you start passing lots of people that are bicycle touring up the coast, all the way through Washington -- what this means to camping is that most of the state parks have these "igloo-shaped," huts called "yurts" that bicyclists rent as they tour up or down the coast. Also, the shower sitch has been funny. In Cali, the showers are free and included in the campground fee. In Oregon you need to use tokens sold by the rangers -- no tokens...no shower!! In Washington, you pay .50 for a three-minute shower. I only had two quarters, thus, I've never taken a faster shower!

So as you can see, what was once old, is now new again...the circle of life!