This year, my family marked a big milestone: we camped inside Yellowstone National Park.
It was fantastic. It was everything I’d hoped for. And it was also a big achievement. We’re not super adventurous campers; in fact we’re fully into the Glamping life. We have a travel trailer. 1A “travel trailer” is the insider term for a hard-topped camper (i.e., no popup) that has all the amenities to incentivize us to continue camping (sink, toilet, beds, microwave, TV).
But I won’t apologize for this type of camping. It’s enabled us to get outdoors, away from our home, out into the wild and make amazing family memories.
Early on in our marriage, I was determined to value such outings because I wasn’t accustomed to this kind of leisure travel as a child. And Yellowstone did not disappoint. We saw all manner of otherworldly sites, animals, and nature.
On the final night — day #1 of a 2-day return trip — we drove through a wildly hard rainfall through Wyoming. It was pretty loud and scary, but we made it to our little camper overnight stop. We got in late and the rain was still coming down hard. The family retreated quickly into our cozy little camper, our home far away from home. I had my poncho on and I quickly got our shelter all set up for the night.
The family was inside, making due with a tough situation by making microwave meals and firing up a great Pixar movie (Wall-E). Popcorn and ice cream followed. I looked around and saw that I had everything I needed. Though the rain and thunder crashed down outside, I had my wife and kids inside in this close-quartered abode with me. I am rich indeed.
I can’t wait until next year’s big camping trip.
Footnotes
- 1A “travel trailer” is the insider term for a hard-topped camper (i.e., no popup)
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