CAMPING

I’ve been a camper most of my life. 

When I was growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, that was pretty much our only vacation.  My dad had a lot of seniority in the nail mill where he worked, so he could get summer weeks off.  We camped in a tent and cooked on a Coleman stove.  We almost always went to the Allegheny Mountains on the border of Pennsylvania and New York, near Salamanca, NY.  We’d typically stay for two weeks.  Dad did a lot of the cooking and we ate good meals.  Their best friends, Speed and Estella Fisher, always accompanied us.  The Fisher’s kids were my sister’s age, so I was pretty much a loner.

When we arrived, he and Speed and I would go to a nearby lumber mill and load up on wood.  Dad had a roof carrier to carry our tent and all the camping gear.  With it emptied, he’d lift me up to the roof and they’d hand me the wood so I could stack it neatly; then they’d fill the trunk and we’d be good for the duration of the trip.  It made me feel important to be able to help.   

We’d swim in the Red House Lake in the afternoons and occasionally go to the park’s dump in the evening in hopes of seeing bear.  It was pretty exciting!  Some guys would feed them hot dogs and marshmallows – getting remarkably close to them. 

The campfire, however, was the main time of the day for us.  We’d sit around the campfire and I’d listen as everybody told stories and laughed heartily.  We’d eat marshmallows and occasionally make popcorn over the fire.  Quite often, we’d be visited by raccoons and they enjoyed the marshmallows as much as we did! 

We all slept in an umbrella tent with mom and dad on cots while Beverly and I slept in sleeping bags on air mattresses.  Campers were available in those days, but I was a teenager before my parents bought their first camping trailer. 

Games were popular back then; we’d play Rook, Stadium Checkers, Monopoly and a few others.  I was often allowed to play and it was a fun, family time.

My parents got into camping when I was about two years old [1954-5].  My dad took several weeks of vacation and took our whole family on a trip out west.  No hotels – we camped along the way.  My only memory of this trip is based on movies that my dad took as we travelled.  I do know that we hit Seattle [where dad’s best, boyhood friend lived with his wife and family.  He was my namesake:  Harold McNeese.]  We saw the California Redwoods and also the Grand Canyon.  I was potty-trained on this trip because all gas stations had a two-hole outhouse.  My dad would sit me up beside him and I learned to ‘go potty’.  J  Sorry!  TMI?

Camping was – from that time on – our annual vacation. 

Debbie and I followed suit when we were married [August 11, 1973].  We inherited their umbrella tent which we used for a number of years.  Eventually we went through several pop-up campers as we raised our family.  It was an inexpensive vacation in those days.  We’d haul our kids' hot-cycles and bikes along and they had the run of the campground.  We went to Pymatuning Lake [on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio] for a week or two almost every summer!  Usually these trips included Deb’s sister, Laurie, and her husband, Charlie Mahosky.  They also had three kids – Marshal, Barbie and Jesse – who were about the same age as our kids: Travis, Troy and Tracie.  Swimming, water slides, bike riding, canoeing and riding in Uncle Charlie’s boat were the activities we enjoyed – along with, of course, playing lots of games. 

My love for the outdoors and hiking eventually led me to develop an interest in backpacking.  I’ve hiked major portions of the North Country Trail from the Ohio line through Pennsylvania and into New York State.  As the kids grew older, I began backpacking with a close friend, Tom Roush.  He taught me what I needed to know, having been a boy scout.  We hiked the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail together several times [a 70-mile trail in southwestern Pennsylvania]. 

Most of my backpacking, however, has been done alone.  It was adventurous and gave me lots of time for solitude and developing my own skills.  Consequently, I’ve spent hundreds of nights alone on various trails – including three hundred miles on the famous Appalachian Trail in 2018.  Over the years of my ministry, I’ve taken several groups from the churches I served on backpacking trips over the years – even coed groups!  Too many stories to tell for this blog!  J

Debbie and I are camping as I write this article.  We’re celebrating our fifty-first anniversary at Geneva-On-The-Lake [Ohio] for several days.  We have a nice camper now.  About ten years ago we graduated from pop-ups to hard-tops.  We camp alone sometimes, but often with a large group of family and friends!  On a pastor’s salary, it’s been a great way for us to travel, explore and get away from the normal pressures of life.

For quite a number of years, we camped in my sister, Beverly’s back yard in Rochester, New York.  They were kind enough to feed us and let us swim to our heart’s content in their backyard pool.  Great memories of cook-outs, playing video games and trips to the Rochester Zoo – which was a great adventure!  We’d also occasionally add a trip to Lake Erie and Niagara Falls!

Camping today is not as cheap as it used to be, but it’s still a great way to see new places and have tons of fun.  As the kids were growing up, we went almost every summer to Punderson State Park – near Aurora, Ohio - so that we could visit Geauga Lake Amusement Park one day and then Sea World the next day!  Great vacations and precious memories were made! 

This week we’ve enjoyed just being together alone.  We each brought a novel along.  We’ve split our time eating in the camper some and eating out a few times too.  A lot of times, we’ve played games – but not this trip.  We’ve just enjoyed being lazy and being together. 

I’ve always wanted to take our grandkids – Rylie and Coltin – on a one-night backpacking trip along with their uncle Troy.  But they’ve always lived too far away to make that happen.  Sad!  😒

As we’re hitting our mid-70’s, we’re finding it a bit challenging to do the work needed to prepare for camping trips.  We always dreamed of doing a cross-country vacation to see parts of this land that we’ve never been to, but that dream is seeming less likely to happen now.  But, maybe…

Pardon my late-night ramblings; I just came in from watching the campfire die out.  Deb and Gabe are sleeping.  I will be too – shortly. 

It’s been a good way for us to entertain ourselves and our family through the years.  I have no regrets about these experiences.  We made lots of good memories!  As long as I can hook it up and haul it, we’ll keep at it.  We talked today about how laid-back we are when camping; it gets us away from the responsibilities of home and work.  Now, more than ever, it’s a time for reflection and enjoying one another!  I highly recommend it!  😊