1. Prepare to build a fire. Camping is nothing without a fire.
2. Laugh a lot.
3. Have plenty of places to rest. R & R is what camping is all about.
4. Invite a friend.
5. Be still.
6. Savor the campfire smell.
7. Thank God for beautifully orchestrating the bird/wildlife concert of chirps and tweets and other unusual but sweet sounds for your entertainment.
8. Notice the tall trees.
10. Choose a heavy and bold patriotic table cloth and feel happy.
11. Roast your hotdog, don't toast your hotdog!
12. Enjoy it all.
13. Savor, savor, savor!
14. Hold marshmallow's close enough to the fire for a gentle melt with just a touch of outer crisp.
15. Or, If you prefer burned and black, set that baby on fire!
16. As night closes in, refrain from telling spooky stories and try to forget about the black of night that encompasses your lone camper out there in those secluded, bear infested, silent woods.
17. Once locked inside the safety of your camper, ignore all outside sounds even if they resemble that of a hatchet murderer. Just repeat over and over again, Freddie Krueger... go away.
18. Take lots and lots of pictures! So that when your husband points out the hatchet hanging from the tree beside your snuffed out campfire the following morning, you can go back and examine those photo's... one by one... blowing them up... and finding that though the scene of the terrifying hatched-in-the-tree eluded you, it was indeed there the night before.
19. On your way home, be sure and freeze the beauty of it all. In your mind and on your camera disc if possible.
20. And think of what comes next. Amazon. Research for a softer and more comfortable bed so that your next overnight camping experience will be with actual sleep.
Glad you didn't take the dog on that one. Just sayin' ... no sleep for you means no sleep for me. Not cool.
