Category Archives: Camping Out

“Northern Minnesota Waterways” By Chad Robert Parker

Minnesota is beautiful! There are trees, hills, and lakes. Lots of lakes. More lakes than you can imagine. I have a portrait on my wall with the glowing embers of a fire at the side of a canoe-in campground. It’s almost magical! The memories of lake camping are equally magical to me.

My family loved picking a lake to visit for a weekend trip, camping nearby, boating, swimming, and fishing. Some lakes were better than others. Leech lake was aptly named. Yuck! Around Duluth was always cold. Always! You may think, of course it is, Minnesota is a winter wonderland. Visit once during the summer. You will be surprised. The rather private settings are full of hidden gems. The fear of cold keeps most away. Even up North there are four distinct seasons, however, and it gets plenty warm. Believe it or not, some days are hot and humid. On those days, farther North is ideal. You can relax to a warm evening amidst the sweet smell of pine forests.

On one camping trip a photographer was taking pictures for a book about Northern Minnesota’s roadways. He was capturing shots to show off the beauty of some less traveled areas. He asked if he could include a picture of my older brother, who was just playing around in the lake, looking like Huck Finn, while standing on a raft we had taken all morning to lash together from fallen logs. We obliged like roadies getting some limelight. Then we played the rest of the day on our raft. I miss those days on Minnesota waterways.

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“Car Seat Campers” By Kirsten Baillargeon

We were traveling from North Carolina to South Dakota for a Family Reunion. Due to our lack of funds we needed to camp each night. The first stop at my brother’s house was for 2 nights. So far the trip had been uneventful. Then we headed across Indiana. We crossed into Missouri with the intent of camping near Whitman Air Force Base. We showered at the gym and headed back off base after stopping at the Commissary to shop for groceries. After cooking dinner at the State Park, right off base, we settled in our tent to sleep.

Alura our 3 year old Daughter began to cry. We tried to comfort her. Still she cried. Finally we put her back into the car into her car seat. She promptly went to sleep. This was repeated every night of our drive. Upon arriving at our campsite and meeting up with the rest of the family Alura met her older cousins and her youngest uncle. Alura slept just fine but only in their tent with them.

Upon returning home, once again every night we stopped, Alura would cry until she was returned to her car seat. She wanted her “Wawy,” “Anroo” or “Dedee” these three who she would sleep and camp for.

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“Smell of the fresh outdoors” by Chad Robert Parker

I went on lots of campouts with my parents. My dad was my Scout Leader for many years. My youngest brother is several years younger than me. I’m not sure how often he went camping before our skunk sighting. But the way he reacted had me wondering if he had too much of the California city life.

He was jumping up and down trying to say something to get our attention. Our backs were to him while we were enjoying conversation and the warmth of the fire. At first we ignored him, but then he got louder. I think he was shocked to find that the animal he thought was a cat was indeed a skunk. I was shocked to find him freaking out. I thought we were going to get sprayed for sure. The skunk scurried off without incidence. My brother finally got the words out, “skunk, skunk, skunk.”

We had a good long laugh over that one. Many campouts have followed. I trust my brother knows what to do if there is another skunk, or at least what not to do. Maybe we just had to get the city out of him.

 

 

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