Our family enjoys camping in the great outdoors, but we sometimes struggle to find the time to make it happen. Between school, work, church, family vacations, and kids’ activities, there’s only so many days in the year. When the youth in our church congregation decided to put together a camping trip, I was wishy-washy about wanting to go. The weather was supposed to be cold, I have precious few uninterrupted weekends, and as much as I enjoy camping, no one really gets a good night’s sleep on the cold, hard ground. Then, I thought about the last time I had–or rather, we all had actually gone camping together–realized it was over a year before during our Clingmans Dome adventure. That got me over my hesitation and we decided to join the rest of our friends at Bear Creek Camp.
Our church bought Bear Creek Camp several years ago from the Boy Scouts, and has been slowly renovating it for use by the youth and families of the area. Evelyn, Claire, and Kate have gone several times for a week-long summer camp, and Jack has joined the young men on their campouts there. Our family has done service, from helping clean and updating the cabins to clearing brush and painting old buildings. However, the trip as a family was a different sort. We’d never stayed there together, and so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. We woke up early, packed the car, fed the animals, stopped by to get some small-town, homemade donuts, and listened to a family-friendly audiobook on the way.
By the time we arrived, several of the activities were already underway. We parked and strolled down to the gun range and hatchet throwing to join everyone else who’d preceded us. Jack and I split the kids between us and the older girls to make sure everyone stayed safe. The younger kids joined their peers at the rife range, and were given a gun safety lesson on how to handle the tiny rifles, which were little more than glorified BB guns. With an adult over their shoulders, everyone learned how to safely handle, load, and shoot their gun.
It was pretty impressive to see how quickly they picked up some skills, and how the modified their tactics as they gained a simple understanding of the cause and effect of where they were pointing and whether or not they were hitting the target.
Unsurprisingly, Evelyn had probably the most hits on target–she’s been shooting several times already. Henry picked it up pretty quickly, Adam only hit the target because he had help, and poor Kate, out of thirty rounds, only hit the target once. Probably a good reminder that sometimes, we all have to try harder and longer once in a while to succeed.
I didn’t make it over to the hatchet-throwing wall, as I was helping the younger kids at the rifle range, and then took a turn shooting myself, but I heard stories. There were also several near-bullseyes, and lots of razzing each other as they took turns heaving the hatchets at the thick wood wall.
While I helped put away the rifles, everyone else ran off to try the obstacle course. Though it’s not technically a playground, it gave the kids the same feel. After testing out the various obstacles, they turned it into a friendly competition and started timing each other. Claire had the best time, and Kate was a close second, which I’m not surprised. I think I could have given them a run for their money until the last obstacle, which was climbing a slippery rope up to ring a bell. Not my forte at all.
When everyone was worn out and sweaty after the obstacle course, we wandered back to base camp for lunch. It had been a coordinated effort to bring food enough to feed the people present, and though I appreciated not having to do the planning or shopping, my kids were confused about some of the food choices. Why was the bread white? And why was the cheese wrapped up in plastic? They sounded a bit like food snobs, and it was a good reminder to them how good they have it at home with most of their meals from scratch.
With lunch finished and cleaned up, we split into two groups to do some service around the area. It’s part of the non-payment “payment” for staying at the camp, and a great way to have a chance to serve as a family. We were assigned to help clear the trails, though other than some minor tree trimming and stone step rebuilding, it was little more than a guided hike. Fine by me–I love hiking. But, for poor Adam, it wasn’t his idea of a good time. He’d started the day with a cough that only seemed to get worse, making it hard to keep up on the steeper hills, and he received an accidental whack to the eyeball with an errant stick. By the time we were headed back, he was full-on wailing, punctuated with a frustrated, “UGH!” every few seconds. Sad!
When we returned to camp, the weather had warmed up to a pleasant upper 60’s F, and we all gathered around the campfire while the kids came and went out into the adjoining field to play tag or swordfights or hide and seek. At this stage of my life, I do not have many opportunities to just sit and be. That ability was glorious in itself. I listened to the natural flow of conversation, added a few stories of my own, enjoyed a few songs and monologues led by Kate, and otherwise observed. Though I was running on an hour less sleep and a high activity day, sitting still was as restful as a full-on nap.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, and the cold crept back into the air, the circle around the fire grew tighter and the marshmallows were passed out. There’s nothing that says, “camping” to a child in particular, than torching a marshmallow on a stick until its charred black on the outside, then eating the gooey remains. Yum. While the marshmallows were going around, another family arrived after work, bringing some seriously amazing lightsabers for people to play with, complete with sounds and flashing lights, just like the sabers in the movies do. All our kids went into the field to battle until they were cold or tired, then retreated into one of the cabins for a rousing game of D&D.
While we’ve stayed in cabins when camping before, the cabins we stayed in at Bear Creek were anything but roughing it. They had bathrooms, a fridge, sturdy, comfortable bunks, and heat and air conditioning. I was prepared for a long night out in the cold, but those cabins were as close to glamping as we’ve ever gotten. Not sad about it, either. After their eventful day, Adam and Peter went to bed early, and I’m not even exaggerating when I say they were out within minutes. Zoey, Henry, Jack, and I followed, and when the girls were at a stopping point in their D&D game, they wandered in sometime before midnight.
With no blinds on the windows, we were all up at the crack of dawn (I guess that’s the minor “roughing it” part of camping we endured, haha). We dressed in our warmest outfits, and staggered out to the again-burning fire to make oatmeal packets. Slowly, families packed up and dispersed until we figured we ought to get on the road, too.
One of the things we enjoy post-camping upon returning to civilization is to enjoy a pitstop at a restaurant, usually one we don’t normally frequent. There’s just a pinch more appreciation for the experience of someone bringing food right to you, and eating your fill. There were no leftovers, and by the time we were done, we were all sleepy and content. But, we noticed the nearby town square was closed, so we peeked around the corner and found…
…the town’s Trunk or Treat. Did it matter that we had no costumes? Nope. Did it matter that we only scrounged up three bags in the car? Nah. If there’s a Halloween party or activity, we’re there.
Maybe I should just keep costumes in the van, just in case we find something in October. Regardless of the fact that none of our kids got the “cute costume” comments from the adults (not even Adam, who was still in his monster pajamas, haha), the kids had a blast. They collected candy until their pockets were full, and enjoyed the music, chaotic bounce house obstacle course, and the ambiance of an early Halloween activity. By the time we loaded up in the van for the final leg of the drive home, we were all riding the high of impromptu fun.
Several of the kids only lasted a few minutes in the car before they crashed, and later repeated it at night as they were being tucked into bed. Glamping, playing, and having fun is a lot of hard work! All of which we would gladly repeat if we could even replicate half the experience of this weekend.