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Bloviating: to you, from me. Chide me if you will. algot@runeman.org

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Mon, 24 Aug 2009

Vacation Camping

Vacations serve me best when they provide a partial change to my habits. I don't need to suddenly become a different person: hang gliding, bungie jumping, sky diving, etc. are all out of the picture. For me, going into a semi-separation from my ordinary world is good.

My wife and I go camping. We set up and sleep in a tent. We use a nice queen size air mattress. We even take a pillow from our regular bed. We don't go to the wilderness, nor do we hike miles into the forest. We go to a national forest campground. It has cleared camp sites with a fire pit and picnic table. We can park our car close so we can store our food. The camp sites are far enough apart that there is good privacy. Russell Pond, just off Interstate 93 is just south of Lincoln, New Hampshire and signs warn of black bears. Keeping food safely stored at night keeps bears from rummaging through the site outside the tent!

We can go to the market in Linclon as needed. It keeps our food plan flexible. We have a gasoline stove for simple cooking, but one of my favorite out of the ordinary activities is finding and cutting dead-and-down hardwood. I saw it into segments that fit the fire pit, and then split the logs into wood that will burn easily. Several places near the campground sell bundles of wood, too, so we wouldn't be stuck if I felt too tired to cut. Cutting the wood myself with a hand saw and axe is a good way for me to get some exercise, though, so we rarely buy wood.

Rain is always a possibility. Some years, we have had longlasting downpours, and once had so much rain that it lifted the tent floor an inch beside the air mattress. We actually wondered if the air mattress was going to begin floating. This year, we only had a brief sprinkle. The weather was warm, too, so we enjoyed the cool, clear water of the pond for which the campground is named.

posted at: 11:27 | path: | permanent link to this entry