Camping Trip

Tweet

Last week, I spent 5 days in the woods on a camping trip with my son. This year, we included four of my son's cousins, ranging in age from 8 to 15 years old. For three out of the four of them, this was their first camping trip. Of course, we had to pick the very time that Florida was in a sustained polar vortex where nightly temps were in the low 20s (-4 to -6 C). Add the high winds and the fact we were sleeping in tents, and you can imagine how cold our nights were. But everyone was a trooper and did very well and had a great time. And thankfully no one got frostbite. lol We were under a full or mostly full moon the entire time, which made for some great nighttime hikes through the forest. And with four kids in tow each hike, my expectation was that we didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of seeing any animals (not to mention the frigid cold air making them less active). However, much to my surprise, we saw lots of deer. heard packs of coyotes howling each night, and found lots of bear prints in the sandy soil, although thankfully we didn't encounter any. I always look forward to camping trips like this to rest, relax, and recharge, and although it was a little harder this year with so many active youngsters in tow, I did manage to enjoy myself immensely. Plus, I made all the kids scour the woods for firewood, while I just sat by the campfire and warmed my body and soul. I also loved looking up into the night sky and gazing at the beautiful full moon. There's just something hypnotizing about it. The attached photo is of the full moon during one of the evenings. It almost looks like daytime, but smartphone cameras these days do wonders with nighttime photo conditions. Plus, as an added bonus, you can see the contrail of a navy jet on its way to a nearby bombing range about 10 miles from us in the forest. It was fun during the day watching them practice bombing runs. Anybody care to join me for the next camping trip? I promise we'll go when it's warmer!