Camping

I wasn't very thrilled with camping as a kid. I grew up in a teeny little house where we 5 kids were all crammed into a tiny single-bedroom. The trouble with camping is--well, it was the same. Everybody still got crammed into one small room, but in this case it was a tent (later upgraded to a teeny trailer). Now we had the frustrations we already had plus new ones of cooking, setting up tents, and finding firewood. My dad always turned surly when he had to put the tent up, so I always tried to stay scarce during that part of the experience.

When I grew older camping was the last thing I wanted to do, and after graduating high school I left home to join the Air Force. Life went on, and I enjoyed myself as I partied and traveled the world on Uncle Sam's dollar. I had one nude camping experience in North Carolina just before I was discharged, and had several brushes with camping during my post-military, single years. All of them involved nudity. Camping was very sporadic with me then, and had tapered off to the point I had basically stopped completely. When I met my first wife, Teresa, camping once again became an interesting option. You know how everything looks a little shinier and brighter when you meet someone? I guess I had been away from camping long enough to get the negative vibes out of my system, and started gravitating back towards it. Maybe it was like an old comfortable shoe that I hadn't been able to wear for a long time.

One of the first times we ever went out camping we ended up shucking our clothes. It was August, so it was plenty warm, and we were camped alongside a shallow river with a small tent and a sun awning. I was surprised to find this picture of it! It didn't take long for me to get "daring" and lose what little clothing I was already barely wearing on such a hot day. My wife did the same and we enjoyed our little private camping spot. She wasn't as much of a wanderer as I was, and she ended up staying in the shade of our camp for most of the day. I remember climbing up a nearby hills, occasionally turning and surveying the view as I advanced upward. I thought, "Look at me standing here on a sun-drenched hillside with no clothes on!" It was so much fun. I didn't really need to go anywhere either--I was totally happy just picking around the camp area with a beer, occasionally wandering into the ice-cold stream to cool off my feet. To me, camping is all about enjoying the simple things. You blank your mind and enjoy the sights and sounds. It was better that day though. Because we were naked! At one point I was under the shelter, sitting on a camp stool when I heard voices. I looked over as a couple of guys came into view in a canoe, guiding themselves down the shallow river. I just stayed put, and we nodded and waved at each other as they glided past.

A year or two later she was pregnant with our daughter, Sarah, and we started talking about our camping with a little different focus on it. Did we still want to go tenting? Did we need to upgrade the one we have? After exploring options, we opted for a small, cheap-ass motorhome. While it was one of the worst vehicles I've ever owned from a "money trap" perspective, it was a lot of fun. We took it camping several times over the next couple years, and almost every one of them involved nudity while we were out. I had always preferred being away from other campers because there was always some sort of music blasting or other loud noises, and now that I was beginning to enjoy being naked in nature I was even more inclined. Luckily, the motorhome had great ground clearance (for a motorhome) and was already a little beat-up, so driving it down small dirt roads in the woods was easy and usually resulted in some nice spots.

Stay tuned for more.