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CAMPING MEMORIES
BY ANGEL LYN NANCE
JUNE/JULY 2010
I grew up camping with my parents and grandparents, but when I married Nathaniel, I became part of a more ambitious gathering. His family’s annual camping trip serves as both a family reunion and a mini-vacation that aunts, uncles, cousins, babies and seniors enjoy.
More than 20 years ago, Nathaniel’s Uncle Keith and Aunt Darlene started inviting other family members to go camping. Eventually, the annual event grew to include Grandma Betty, her six daughters, and all of their kids and grandkids. Most years include additional people, such as friends or Nathaniel’s Dad’s side of the family. Now, we get together for one weekend every October at McCormick’s Creek State Park in Spencer, Ind. It is a great way for everyone to relax, visit, and have fun together.
Nathaniel’s most vivid memory of camping as a child is of Grandpa Frank catching a raccoon for the kids to see. “It was crazy,” he recalls. “He actually was bitten by the raccoon. Everyone thought he should get rabies shots, but it was just like Grandpa Frank to catch a wild animal to show us!”
Since October is a popular month for camping, we reserve our spots in the spring. Usually our group of approximately 40 people reserves seven sites. Since Grandma Betty can’t walk long distances, she always picks the site across from the bathroom, and the rest of us choose adjoining camps. Nathaniel and I pitch our tent nearer the woods, where it is less noisy in the evening. This makes it easier to put our baby, Lydia (1) and our boys, Elijah (7) and Malachi (5), to bed in the evening.
One of the benefits of family camping is that there is always something to do, including the option to do nothing at all. At any time of day, some of us are playing corn hole while others sit around and talk. Elijah and Malachi love racing around on scooters while cousin Jazzlyn rides her trike. Smaller groups set out to hike or visit the park’s attractions like Wolf Cave, the waterfall, pony rides, the playground, and the evening hay ride. My in-laws like to take my boys to the cave or on a pony ride to give Nathaniel and me a break.
One big tradition that involves most of the group is the annual football game. Most of the men and teenagers and some of the women head to an open field for a touch football game. Those of us who don’t play will take the little kids to watch. Someone always gets hurt, the winners brag more than a little bit, and the adults are often sore the next day, but everyone enjoys it.
Food is always part of the fun. Several of us love to cook over the campfire. Although each family prepares a meal, there’s lots of sharing. We love to sample Sherri’s potato soup and Diane’s chili. Last year, my sons invited everyone within our loop to eat my beef stew, even people we had never met. It really wouldn’t have mattered if the strangers had taken us up on the boys’ offer; there’s always plenty of food. In the evenings, we tend to gather around Uncle Keith’s campfire.
Nathaniel’s cousin Adam and his fiancée are musicians, so we enjoy listening to them sing their songs and join in on songs everyone knows. We also tell stories about previous camping trips, such as Grandpa Frank and the raccoon, but now we warn the kids to never touch wild animals! After the kids are asleep, more jokes, stories, and beer are passed around. Gradually the adults retire, too.
Since both Nathaniel and I grew up camping with our families, we expected that our kids would cherish outdoor family time as well, and they certainly do. It can be challenging for us. The weather in October can be a big variable; we’ve had cold years, hot years, and rainy years. Plus, we both have to work harder when we have a baby or toddler around the campfire. But our sons both look forward to the family camping trip with the kind of anticipation most kids save for Christmas, and our little Lydia loves to be outside. It is so rewarding for us as parents to be able to provide lasting memories with our kids and our extended family at the same time. At the end of the weekend, we are all exhausted but also eagerly thinking of next year.
Angel Lyn Nance lives in LaGrange with her husband Nathaniel and Elijah (7), Malachi (5) and Lydia (1). This is her first feature for Today’s Family.
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