Camping Memories: The Beauty of Camping

In our dimly lit basement I recently opened a photo journal; instantly, I was transported back to the time when my children were eleven and fourteen. The journal was full of so many great camping memories! Pulling a beat up camper trailer behind our truck, we set off to experience as many national parks as we could in one summer. I planned to infuse history, geography, geology and nature into my children through the beauty of the parks and through the excitement of travel.

Camping Memories

Now my children are seventeen and twenty. As we page through the photo album together, they tell me that they remember much of the history and beauty, but mostly they think about the times we sat around the campfires, playing our instruments and talking. They remember learning flexibility because of the cold showers and the abrupt changes—both of weather and of plans—that always accompany camping. But, as my young adults laugh and playfully argue with each other now, I tell them that what I remember most is watching their friendship grow with every mile we traveled. The camping memories, to me, is more beautiful than any of the national parks we enjoyed in that glorious summer of camping.

Author: Sara Whitestone

Edited by: CampTrip.com