Crazy Little Thing Called Camping

I think if you surveyed 100 people about what they thought about camping, you'd get everything from "I love to get out into nature, carry everything in with me, catch my dinner, and sleep under the stars" all the way to "I love to enjoy nature from the inside of my 40' RV". Fortunately, Heather and I both grew up camping sans RV, but with some of the more traditional creature comforts like T.P., an air mattress, and a proper campsite. Camping is something that we both have fond memories of, and that we love to do together! We've found the weather in Nashville to be somewhat prohibitive. Surprising? The problem is that the majority of the summer is sooo hot and humid that it would be uncomfortable to be outside all day and night. The best weather (spring and fall) are often so short that they can slip right by you without noticing! Also, this year was the year for the 17-year brood of cicadas to come out in the South. If you aren't familiar, it's a time when billions and billions of cicadas come out of the ground and the trees to eat, mate, and die over the course of one month or so. If you haven't heard what 10,000 cicadas sound like before, let me explain to you. They are loud!!! One of my professors measured the sound level near a tree full of cicadas, and found the level to be about 85dBSPL. This is definitely loud enough for one to need to raise their voice to be understood. Not exactly an ideal setting for being outside and sleeping in a tent. Not to mention thousands of cicadas covering every tree and all over the ground! Yuk! So anyways, this last weekend we saw an opportunity and we took it! We packed up all our gear (and Draco!) and drove south to Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill, TN.

After a little over an hour drive through the country, we made it to a very nice little camp ground! Now as far as I know, there is nothing in the state of Tennessee to hold a candle to the natural beauty of a place like Wallowa Lake. But we do the best that we can with what we have. We were able to claim a good camp site on the end of the row, with only one neighbor. It was first come, first served so we got there pretty early and were able to set up camp well before lunch time. We took a little while to relax and enjoy the scenery while eating lunch that we brought from home. The weather was perfect. We were comfortable. We were happy! Well, I shouldn't include Draco in that. Draco must have been the one that grew up camping from an RV. While he was able to find a somewhat comfortable spot to hang out under the table, he wasn't really himself. He really just liked to sit in the tent. Every now and then when we'd let him off his leash, Draco would make a mad dash for the car and look for an open door so he could jump in and leave! After the 2nd or 3rd time, we got the message. Draco prefers to camp indoors on carpet. *Sigh*. Who knows, maybe he'll get used to it, or maybe we'll just leave him at home next time!

In the interest of brevity, we built a fire in the afternoon, roasted hotdogs and had baked beans and salad for dinner, s'mores for dessert, and played cards next to a lantern until bedtime.


Here's Draco in his natural habitat... shelter. :)

Heather and Draco are helping to get everything set up!

I'm honing my fire-building skills. Yeah, there's some room for improvement.

The best picture of all! Heather is reading at the table with Draco at her feet, and the fire is going strong.

This trip definitely re-wet our appetites for camping! The weather has been fantastic lately, and the immediate forecast looks bright! We're hoping to make another trip to a new camp ground in the next 2 or 3 weeks. So stay tuned for that!


Also, I'll be able to announce some big news regarding my 4-th year clinical externship (a.k.a. where we will be living next year!) on Wednesday. We'll definitely post again then!

Until next time,
-Tim & Heather