A Note about Camping Full Time

We have started getting a lot of questions and interesting looks when we explain that our family of 4 is now camping full time without running water or electricity.  It seems that there is a widespread opinion that this must be misery and we will have no end of bad anecdotes to share.  I’m afraid we’ll have to disappoint on that count.  Here are a few of the things we’ve experienced as we move through our second full week living at the farm.

Last night we enjoyed home cooked (and grown) potatoes and cabbage cooked in (home canned) chicken stock with fresh tomatoes.  This was accomplished with very little fuss on a camp stove that we are becoming very adept at using.  Man was it delicious!  While we ate sitting outside around our patio table (that is larger than our old dining room table I might add and the chairs are more comfortable) we were treated to a glorious double rainbow in the Eastern sky.  I can’t remember seeing a rainbow as brilliant as the lower of the two.  It had rained for most of the day so the air was cool but the sun decided to peak out for most of our meal.  I wouldn’t have noticed any of that living in town.

You can see the lower rainbow in this picture clearly

Home cooked cabbage and tomatoes.  Yum!

There are 2 pairs of cardinals and a pair of yellow orioles living in the locust grove.  We get to watch them swoop at each other as they come and go.  There are countless other birds on the farm that pop in and out of our space as we go about our daily life.  It has given Catherine the inspiration to become a bird watcher so she is now cataloging all the different birds she sees. 

As I make my semi-regular middle of the night voyage to the composting toilet in the shed, I often see the most amazing moonlit views around the farm.  We are near the crest of the hill with the trees on the other side dimly visible.  There are no sounds except the occasional insect or owl and the wind in the trees.  It is almost like we are the only people on earth.  When the moon was near full, we could see almost as well as in the daytime making for a stunningly serene and quiet view of the world.  Somehow everything looks a little bit magical when seen in the silver light of the moon.

One day last week I had to walk down to my car at the bottom of the hill before work in the morning.  As I wandered down the driveway enjoying the early morning fresh smell of dewy grass and a light breeze, I realized that I was following a coyote.  He was trotting through the north field on my right, completely oblivious to the fact that I was there.  He moved with the simple grace of an animal that has often come through this field and is on his way to a familiar spot.  We listen to the coyotes call every evening at twilight.  It has become an expected ritual that tells us the day is over and it’s time for bed.

Do all of these things mean that there is no downside to long term camping?  Of course not.  We all miss some of the luxuries of life like a hot shower (camp showers are just not as convenient although we all get clean) and a real refrigerator.  On the whole though, the experience has been far more pleasant that we expected and I really don’t have any complaints.  Soon, the solar panels will be up and wired and then we’ll regain many of our lost comforts (although not the shower).  The kids, in particular, are looking forward to the return of electronic entertainment.  I hope that being able to turn on the lights again won’t make us forget the moonlight or stop looking for the birds though.  We might have to turn them off again to remind ourselves to enjoy where we are.  That is the key to happiness, wherever we may be.