Love And A Beautiful River
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
Canada
November 14, 2015 9:35am CST
I grew up camping in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. My parents were avid campers and camped often all summer long. Camping was an inexpensive way to enjoy mother nature at its best.
As an adult I lived in Kansas. Kansas for a mountain lover was not a good place to camp. I never even considered it because it was hot and uncomfortable outside, and there were snakes everywhere, especially near water. I was terrified of snakes.
Every summer I would fly or drive to New York with my children to stay with Mom and Dad. Mom was not well so between my sister and I we took care of mom and the house and our children who got along very well in that country setting with a pool in the backyard. Dad was free to play in his garden and not worry about cooking dinner.
It was 1986 during dinner one night Dad looked at my sister and I and said “I want you two to go upstairs and find a tent and sleeping bags and take those children camping". Elaine and her X had camped often but I hadn't since I was a child. We agreed to go for a sleep over, not wanting to take time away from Mom.
We had a blast. Our children were small and loved it too. We camped where we camped as children, next to a shallow rocky mountain river. It was heavenly.
It was that winter when our mother died. Our Dad once again said to go camping. We planned ahead. A friend of mine from Canada came with us with her children that next summer. That turned out to be officially the first real “Camp Insanity”. If anything could go wrong it did. But that is another story.
Have you camped and enjoyed living outdoors with mother nature?
18 people like this
21 responses
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
It was probably easy for us to do because we did it a lot as children. You love what you know, and camping is still a priority for a part of our summer.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (79769)
• United States
14 Nov 15
Camping has never been my thing but it always sounds like so much fun. I do have family members who are avid campers and they all gather together and have a great time.
3 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (79769)
• United States
14 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate what a wonderful family tradition that you are passing on from generation to generation.
2 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
When we first started it was my sister and all our kids, Now they are grown and camp with us when they can, Elaine's girls are all mothers now so the grand kids are there now too. Fun Times.
2 people like this
@purplealabaster (22094)
• United States
14 Nov 15
We used to camp every year, and I really enjoyed it. The funny thing is that the kids did not like it, so my ex-husband and I would go by ourselves once a year. Now, I prefer to stay in a cabin or camper rather than in a tent, but I still like it from time to time.
2 people like this
@purplealabaster (22094)
• United States
15 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate I didn't mind the tent before, but I got into a car accident that damaged my ribs. Now, sleeping on the ground is just about impossible. An air mattress does help, but it just seems easier if we can borrow the camper or use the cabin.
We did try to go camping in the tent with the youngest one year, but she did not like it at all. She got very sick that weekend and ended up in the hospital - I think that she got one of the really serious flu strains from a mosquito bite, even though we doused her in bug spray. Now, every time she thinks about camping in a tent, she remembers being so sick, and it makes her stomach upset.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
Our kids were almost babies that first year. My youngest and Elaine's youngest were 4 that summer. The others home that summer were 5,6, and 8. Every year it was an adventure for them, they were cousins not siblings, they got to play together and they loved it, I think it was because they were so young and there were so many of them. Elaine and I have talked about a camper but still enjoy the tent. When we started just getting a tent up was a chore, now it really easy and the nylon tents are so much better than the old canvas.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
@purplealabaster I can see why she doesn't like it. Elaine and I wrote an article that was published in the NYS Conservationist, an outdoors magazine and we were paid a bit of money. While discussing what we should buy with the money we decided on two cots. We have never looked back, those two cots have been replaced now because we wore them out but it makes sleeping so much more comfortable. If I had to sleep on the ground I wouldn't be camping either at my age.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
14 Nov 15
It sounds such a lovely way to spend your holidays, and no doubt you've learned a good many tricks over the years to make things easier.
We used to camp with our parents occasionally as children, and then I took off on my motorbike one summer with a tent in my pannier. That was when I was I was a teenager, and I haven't done it since. Love your photo.
3 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
I remember reading about your motorcycle and tent. You were braver than I was, I always had company while camping. We love camping with a full moon. It doesn't often happen but we enjoy it when it does.
3 people like this
@softbabe44 (5816)
• Vancouver, Washington
14 Nov 15
No, i haven't had that luxury.
2 people like this
@softbabe44 (5816)
• Vancouver, Washington
15 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate It sounds really adventurous thou.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
Its a lot of fun. But it takes planning and a sense of adventure. We love it but we also know other who don't.
1 person likes this
@softbabe44 (5816)
• Vancouver, Washington
16 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate All you can really do is try it out and see.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
@bookbar We still go every summer even though our children are grown. They join us if they can. its very relaxing. My sister's grand kids visit too, memories of days long gone by.
2 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
I'd like to have a cabin in the wood somewhere by water but I guess i will continue to love camping with my sister. Hubby retired but works every week a few days all summer so I'd be on my own. Wouldn't be fun alone.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
15 Nov 15
I do want to go camping sometime. We've never done it, but I talk about it a lot. I think you've found a nice spot. I'd like a spot like that, somewhere the kids can swim.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
15 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate The trouble is getting the camping gear. Renting a cabin for a weekend is too expensive. I've thought of buying a tent and a few things, but that's not cheap. I'd need to get it over time and I just never seem to have the money.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
I hope you do it, its a lot of fun if you plan ahead...This campground is near Wells NY, you can find it on line. Its on the Sacandaga river. When the kids were small there was a damned up pool to swim in, that is gone now but its still a favorite place to play in the water. If we rally want to swim we go south about 15 minutes to another campground on the reservoir. If you stay at one state campgrounds you can use any of the others for free during your paid days.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
16 Nov 15
@katsmeow1213 We started with borrowed tents until we knew we were in love with the experience so we bought our own. They can be expensive but they don't have to be. The tent and the gas stove are the biggies, a screen tent for cover if it rains or a tarp is the next, bedding can be blankets but sleeping bags are warmer and more comfortable. The last screen tent I bought at a yard sale. Let me know if you ever do camp.
@rebelann (111194)
• El Paso, Texas
19 Nov 15
Yeah, snakes would put a damper on gettin any sleep but I'm more afraid of tarantulas @PainsOnSlate
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111194)
• El Paso, Texas
19 Nov 15
Are those showers for anyone camping there @PainsOnSlate ? I'd think there'd be a line of people waiting for showers, unless you are supposed to make appointments to use them.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
19 Nov 15
In the state campgrounds there are showers and you bring your own bed. I don't think the dessert will be a lot of fun either. Snakes.....
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (48476)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
I do like camping, but not in a camper or a tent, I like staying in a cabin. Its so much more rustic and cozy and that was how we camped when we were growing up. Our family, and another family, would drive up to the Muskokas and stay in these adorable little cabins for a week. We would have bon fires at night, and fish and swim and hike all day long.
2 people like this
@Juliaacv (48476)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
@Auntylou It was rustic, but there was running water and beds, and it was dry when it rained out. My hubby and I stayed in a chalet, which is a couple of steps up from a cabin, when we were on our honeymoon. It was private and just big enough for the 2 of us.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
AnjaP was just mentioning that and it sounds heavenly. My hubby still works a few days every week all summer so camping with my sister is the next best thing...He's a fisherman so he would like that too but he loves his job more... I treasure a couple of weeks every summer with my sister.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
I can't wait to hear your story. That first year that we stayed for 10 day earned its name "camp insanity." After that year we were famous - 
I will write about it for my next discussion. 
I will write about it for my next discussion. 1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
14 Nov 15
As long as I can drive to NY every summer we will continue to camp. We really are good at it after almost 30 years. You must have missed it after your move.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
19 Nov 15
@JudyEv Yes they are much easier to put up and take down now and they are tight so no critters or bugs get in with the sippers and floors.Lots of air because of the sippers too if you want it and warmth if you need it by closing the windows. My sister camped on the ocean a few times and said the wind was terrible, they loved the place and the water but not the wind.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325825)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate I think I'd prefer rivers to the seaside but the mosquitoes are always a problem. As we get older we seem to react more too. Of course there is repellent and tents are fly-wired here.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325825)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate We had a camper trailer when the boys were little and had some nice holidays with it. Tents nowadays are so easy to put up aren't they? And they have floors, windows and zipped doors etc. We'd go to the seaside for a few weeks each summer when I was a child but the tents needed wooden poles. The campsite had a supply of poles so we didn't need to take our own. But the tents were cumbersome things made of heavy canvas.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
17 Nov 15
I've never been camping. I can't imagine New York as a setting for camping but I guess that's because I've never been and only seen pictures of high rise buildings and traffic x
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
18 Nov 15
New York had some big cities but it also has hundreds of thousands of acres of mountains and farm land. Its a beautiful state.
1 person likes this
@shellyjaneo (1081)
• United Kingdom
18 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate It's crazy how you only really see one side of a place, through media and the TV. I assumed New York was all cities. You've made me intrigued to go there now. Big cities don't appeal to me but I do like a nice contrast x
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
18 Nov 15
@shellyjaneo when I lived in Kansas (a flat dry, farming state) I brought a friend home with me for the summer to NY. She had never been and was disappointed to see the mountains and farms, she thought the whole place would be cities too. She loved visiting New York City!
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71666)
• United States
19 Mar 17
Aww thank you for showing me this post I loved it as I have all of your posts! I think it was a wonderful idea your father had and get a great tradition started for your sister and you and your children. The Adirondacks are beautiful my father has a small home there.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
19 Mar 17
We love the Adirondacks and really look forward to going there every summer.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
It is fun and is a popular thing to do in the mountains. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. 
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130064)
• India
15 Nov 15
Nothing of the sought happens here. The only thing I remember was going on an overnight picnic where we all got out of our hotel and lit a campfire and sang and danced around it.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130064)
• India
15 Nov 15
@PainsOnSlate I have great memories of that event. We too played games and sang
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
Campfire is a highlight of the day while camping. We played word games around the fire and sang too.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
16 Nov 15
That's one place I would never want to camp. it just doesn't sound like the mountains.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
We look forward to it every summer, we already have our reservations for a favorite site for next summer. Its not wilderness but its a beautiful place with a wonderful river to entertain us.
@troyburns (1405)
• New Zealand
15 Nov 15
Our family camped around Northland a couple of years ago, which was a great experience. The sounds of nature and nothing else.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
15 Nov 15
Where we camp, its a state campground, lots of campers but the babbling river hides all noises of neighbors.
1 person likes this
