Buffalo News - Camping is a great way to see nature at its best

Buffalo News - Camping is a great way to see nature at its best

The camping life soothes me. Do you wake up to the birds singing? Or fall asleep at night listening to the crickets chirping? Perhaps you live in the country and sleep with open windows like I do. Then you know what I'm talking about.
It brings me one step closer to nature. But if you've ever gone camping, then you also know that it is the ideal way to experience the outdoor life.

My husband, daughter and I enjoy tent camping. There's nothing quite like falling asleep with the faint smell of a fire still lingering in the air. It's almost as great as waking up to the sunshine hitting my tent as the fresh air seeps through the windows.

We hear the wind brushing through the branches of a nearby tree and a squirrel racing across our campsite. It's sounds such as these that I'm too busy to notice when I'm home.

But nature isn't the only thing that makes camping wonderful. I enjoy the fact that when I'm camping, the days seem to last forever. Time doesn't matter when I'm out in the wilderness. It's the one time I don't follow a strict schedule but instead allow myself the freedom to do whatever I want.

With no laundry to be done, no grass to be cut, I can sit back and read a book if I want. If, after I finish my breakfast of eggs and bacon, I want to take a mid-morning nap, I can do that too.

There are no rules to follow while camping, no normal everyday concerns and pressures that we have all grown accustomed to.

Our camping trips would never be the same without the group of friends who join us. It's become a tradition to get together at least once a year for this relaxing getaway. We began camping before any of us had children. But now that most of us are parents, we bring the kids along for several days of hiking, canoeing and bike riding. It's something that they are beginning to love as well.

Our children also get to experience a different type of life while camping. There are no TV shows to watch, but there are salamanders to find. You won't find motorized toy vehicles to ride, but nature trails wait to be explored. With lots of open space to run and have fun, it's a great change of routine for the entire family.

Fine dining takes on a new meaning when cooking over a campfire. Out come the paper plates and plastic silverware (and no dishes to clean). Hot dog on a stick, anyone? Or how about a famous s'more with its gooey marshmallow center?

And let's not forget the entire experience of building a fire, using its flames to cook, and then sitting around it for its warmth and light. Sometimes we engage in important conversation, other times we laugh about past memories. And more times than not, we turn on the lantern and play a game of Pictionary or cards - things we wouldn't take the time to do at home.

When people say things like, "I'll never go camping," or suggest that I'm crazy to sleep "on the ground," I wonder if they know what they're missing. If you've never tried it, I urge you to do so. Load the cooler, set up your tent and blow up an air mattress. As you relax under the shade of trees, witnessing nature at its best, you'll soon realize there's nothing quite like camping or the life that awaits you there. And that's what makes it so incredible.

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MY VIEW is a personal column. For submission guidelines on columns appearing in this space, visit the Buffalo.com Web site and click on Top Stories. Then click on Opinion, My View and Guidelines; or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Opinion Pages Guidelines, The Buffalo News, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240.