Campin'

We took the girls camping last weekend. We spent 3 days in an undeveloped campsite located in the Sierras on the Stanislaus River. We had a ball. Maggie was filthy from rolling in dirt for 3 days straight. La Nina was exhausted from playing with her buddy from morning 'til night. And it seems Dad and I spent our time packing and unpacking our camping gear, but it was worth it.

The camp out left me with a serious question: How do families without an SUV go camping? We packed our SUV including the top rack and had could barely fit the dog in the back of the car. Now campers of the past had more room to work with: There were no car seats dominating their back seat and the kids could just ride a top gear.

But today, cars start off half full if you have two adults and two kids in car seats. Still, the experience left me wondering: Why does it take so much stuff for a family of four to spend three days in nature? I took a critical look at our camping necessities and made a few discoveries. The following are probably items not brought camping by families with small cars:

1.) The families with smaller cars probably don't bring comfortable chairs to use around the fire. They most likely rely on picnic tables in the campground. But if you want to cozy up to the fire and roast some marshmellows, those chairs sure come in handy and they work well for afternoon napping too..

2.) The fact we always take two ice chests is excessive. But I really like to have one ice chest for food and another for beverages. I know it means more space in the car, but juice in the morning, soda at lunch and a beer at night, works for me...and doesn't fit into a single ice chest along with food for 3 days.

3.) My guess is some families don't bring an automatic drip coffee maker for their coleman stove. However, this necessity eliminates the guess work required for percolating coffee the old fashion way. Maybe some people don't even bring a coffee pot. Now that would be roughing it.

4.) Blenders and a power converter for your car battery are probably not in the back of every camper's car. I suppose it is not a necessity to sip margaritas while watching the sunset, but it is a lot more fun when you do.

I have considered what it would mean to leave these items home and decided that I would buy the Dad a higher step stool that fits in the car and longer bungee cords so he can stow more items on top of the SUV. While I may be willing to go without a shower, I refuse to skip my coffee and juice in a comfortable chair near the fire. And if I don't have that evening margarita to look forward to at the end of the day, I may as well stay home.