Hi all, I just got home from camping with my G/S. We went to a G/S site and stayed in a cabin. Had a great time but there were mice in the cabin! ICK! Was thinkg of you Pat and know you will not need to worry about that in your new tent! lol

Sounds like fun Marcia! I wish that we were planning a camping trip. I love to camp.

Susie in MN

Oh Marcia, I wish I had you here to go camping with us and help us thru it. We are set for 4 camping trips this summer, once school is out. The first one is at a Girl Scout Camp - Camp Shawnee in Ringold, VA after that it's out in the woods by several different lakes. I dread the bugs, snakes, and now mice, but I went ahead and signed up for every single one of them. I hope one day Ryan sees what a fine mom I really am. BTW the troop leader is begging me to become her co-leader. We have a co-leader now but she's never at anything.

Yall' are so sweet to expose your children to new ideas that aren't even "your own preferred style"! Pat, who am I to say it? But.......I'm proud of you! Slowlytypinwoman, you know we may be lost twins displaced at birth!

For myself, I love camping, and never feel more at peace with my place in the world than when I'm camping.
I've slept on a cot on the beach on Galveston Island, listening to the high-pitched "cries" of the coyote (in Texas we pronounce it long I, long O, silent E, like Ky-yote) right slowlytypinwoman?. We used to camp on Padre Island. We could see and hear the coyotes. They would sit just over the dunes in the dark and yelp amongst each other. As our fire died down, and my friends, each in their respected tents, quiet'ed down, the coyotes slowly crept up from the safety of the campfire shadowed dunes, and up to my cot as I lay breathlessly, not afraid, but rather excited, as if I was witnessing the secret truth, that they were indeed both as afraid, and as intrigued with me, as I was with them. Timid like scared dogs they stretched out there noses to sniff me thru the mosquito net, ready to dart off if I made the slightest movement. It was a life changing moment, hard to put into words. The point is simple, it made so much sense, yet I don't know how to finish this post. So let me think.....

When I see the peace and perfect cohesion of "Mother Nature", I see there are no mistakes, there is no "bad timing", it confirms for me that God creates no junk, that for each and every thing, there is a purpose and reason and a plan, and an affect, and effect (which is different). It reminds me too, that I have a destiny and a purpose. No matter how small I may feel now, I am part of a greater "plan". There may be those I fear, but there are also those that fear me. Part of my duty as a christian is to humble myself to those persons. IE: our children too!
I believe in enpowering our children, not with state and federal laws.... though certainly not without those inaliable rights given to us by the government, but along with the laws of "Mother Nature", who doesn't take rights away, but instead, empowers us with no limits to who we may be.

Gee started out I was just gonna say HI! Oh Well please forgive me for going on.................... and on...................................... ........and on.....................and on...................................... ..and on!
I love you people! Really!

After all that carrying on, I forgot to add my Camping With Children (http://hometown.aol.com/chelleswt9/index.html) link

Thanks Trailside. I loved your post!

Great post! I love to camp too! But living here in the woods is like camping everyday!

We loved camping in Canada the best! It's such a beautiful country and the people are wonderful! They always were there to offer their friendship and help when we needed it. We used to camp up in Ear Falls (Pacwash Lake) and the beauty was breath taking!

In fact, that's how we discovered Minnesota! Thanks Canada for being such a terrific neighbor!

Susie in MN

Trailside, that sounds like an awe inspiring experience you had.
Alex and I plan to do loadsof camping this year. With all the home repairs we did last year we were only able to go once in the Fall.

Susie, I would love to camp in your neck of the woods. I have always wanted to go to Canada. Minnesota is lovely. When is it the mesquitoes don't bite there? LOL