I’ve saved the best summer joy for last: camping.
People who know me are often surprised at how much I love camping. After all, I have made clear my aversion to cold temperatures. And, I am not an especially hardy soul, always choosing easy to moderate hikes over the strenuous. But I do love camping. My husband, John, might interject here, saying that I love “glamping”, which glamping.com defines as “a fusion of glamour and camping”. Merriam-Webster calls it “outdoor camping with amenities and comforts (such as beds, electricity, and access to indoor plumbing) not usually used when camping.” Whatever.
John has every reason to express his opinion here, because, quite honestly, he makes my camping easy. He organizes the boxes, packs all the stuff like the grill and the pots and pans, and the sheer volume of stuff we bring which cannot all be listed here. And he sets it all up, inflating the mattress, unloading the car, setting up the camp table.
Still, it is not what I would call glamorous. We sleep in a camper tent. I do cook outdoors on the Coleman stove. I schlep my towel and toothbrush to the shower house every night and morning. It’s true, we are not cooking over an open fire or digging a pit to go to the bathroom. But it is outside, and that is why I love it.
Before we headed out last week on our big trip to the National Parks of New Mexico and Colorado, someone asked us what we were looking forward to. John named the parks and sites we were going to see. I said the camping. The sleeping “outdoors”, the cooking outdoors, and reading a book around a blazing fire. That is pure joy. We did plenty of camping this summer, and I loved it all.
Still, there is a limit to my joy. When you are in the mountains, as soon as the sun sets, the cold temperatures rush in. At one point, I was eating dinner while wearing my puffer jacket, hat, and gloves. There is a limit to my unabashed camping joy. When the temps fell to the mid-30’s at night, I finally threw in the towel – we spent the last night of our trip in a warm bed in a warm hotel.
God’s glory is everywhere when you are sitting outside listening to birds in the morning, and coyotes at night. The smell of the pine trees, the rustling of the leaves, the peaceful breeze, the warm sunshine. What a joyful end to a joyful summer.