Food for Thought and Everything Else

Well, it's the first week in May and we have had non-stop rain showers for the last week or so here in Central Virginia. That hasn't kept my wife and I from planning our first camping trip of the season and things are starting to come together nicely. We have both been extremely busy with work and our daily lives recently so... no time like the present for a little get away to clear the head and put some bugs in our teeth!

We haven't finalized all the details yet, but it looks like we will be heading south into North Carolina and possibly into Smokey Mountain National Park. We will, or course, be taking our Trekker Trailer with us so that we can take all of the comforts of home on our trip. I have already started the mental checklist of items that will be needed and will probably start to lay stuff out in my shop this weekend.

BTW, when I say all the comforts of home I don't want anyone to think that we are those people that take their TV set and blow dryer with them when they camp. Not at all. I have been a camper and backpacker all of my life and have a deep appreciation for the simplicity that is supposed to be associated with camping. When I say "all the comforts of home" I mean a good shelter (I have a very small, light backpacking tent), comfortable bedding (blow up mattress and sleeping bags) and awesome food and drink.

I'm going to talk about the food and drink just a bit because anyone that has done much camping knows what a difference good food can make. Bringing along a couple cans of beans and some hot dogs may have cut it when I was in my teens, but nowadays my standards are much higher. My wife and I both love to cook and we tend to take that interest with us when we travel. I have a couple of stove options that I take along, as well as the necessary pots and skillets to create a veritable feast at our campsite.

We like to do a lot of hiking when we camp, so all of that activity really builds up an appetite. There is nothing better than a long hike, a nice hot shower and an incredible evening meal with a good bottle of wine. Add to that a little campfire and you have the recipe for the perfect day. By the time you climb into your little tent palace at the end of a day like that... you have no choice but to sleep like a baby!

Then, of course, in the morning there's breakfast. Now I don't want you to think that the only reason that we camp is so that we can eat (the truth of the matter is that the only reason that we work, live and breathe is so that we can eat!). SO, for breakfast there are some requirements. You must have coffee. I use one of the old, traditional percolating pots that you can sit on the stove or the fire. They make killer, "cowboy" coffee which can usually get you going for the rest of the day. Even if the coffee isn't the best you've ever had... the smell is so nice that you don't mind the sometimes strong, bitter coffee.

The next critical element is the bacon. As far as I'm concerned, nothing defines the "camping experience" more than the smell of bacon in the morning. That coupled with the lingering smell of the campfire is one of the most powerful "scent memories" that I have. My parents took us camping a lot when we were kids and I will ALWAYS remember the smell of the bacon coming from that big, green Coleman stove that my parents had. It was the big honker that had the "wond flaps" on the sides and burned white gas. Man, have I had some great meals from those Coleman stoves! I recently saw an episode of Antiques Road Show where they were selling some old Coleman lanterns that used that white gas. People were going crazy over those things, I'm sure because they are such a wonderful reminder of our past and what seemed like a much simpler time.

I feel sorry for kids nowadays. Everything is so different. I wonder how many kids actually go camping with their parents, like we used to go camping. I bet not very many. And even if they do, I'll bet it's in a motorhome or trailer with, truly, all the comforts of home including video games, tv and the like. Do they really experience nature that way or do they just take their "stuff" to a different venue with a different view?

But I digress...

Like I said, we're going camping next week and we're going somewhere cool (literally and figuratively) in the mountains. We are taking the motorcycle and our trailer so as to simplify (and amplify) the experience. It will be an awesome trip filled, no doubt, with mostly good experiences and some bad experiences... but then so is life. I guess you could say that camping is a metaphor for life (or not).

Either way, I suggest that you get out there yourselves and go camping or at least go explore someplace that you've never been before on your motorcycle. There's a big, wild, wonderful world just waiting to be experienced, so get out there and experience it.

I'll see you on the road!

MotoRush