This week we have a special guest post by our friend, Meeghan. Meeghan grew up being a camper; something I did not. Today, she shares her childhood memories as well as her camping hopes for her own children.
Growing up, camping is what my family always did for vacation. We camped at many of the state parks in Nebraska. Camping seemed to be the most affordable thing for our family of 6 six. I credit my mom for always making these camping trips fun and of course memorable. We always had good meals and dessert; we always rode our bikes or skateboards all over the place, went on hikes, swam at the pool and if available went horseback riding. Camping was one of my most favorite things to do as a child and is still to this day.
As a very young child we always camped in a big green tent (see picture above from Louisville State Park Louisville, NE near Omaha). The tent was an old Boy Scout tent that my dad received from a friend. The tent was quite complicated to put together. I remember my dad cursing the entire time because it never seemed easy to find which pole went with which. But when he finally accomplished this task I vividly remember standing in the middle of the tent and feeling it was so HUGE! I remembered the plastic tarp that covered the ground was so loud to walk across – nothing quiet about it. I remember the big metal zippers that this tent had – weird thing to remember, huh, but many of you may remember the old camping tents and pop-up campers had these types of metal zippers. Do any of you remember these kind of zippers? My older brother, Colin, remembers camping during a rainstorm and water rushing through the bottom of the tent – obviously this tent was not up to waterproof standards of tents today!
We eventually graduated to a popup! (See picture above – Two Rivers State Park in Waterloo, NE also near Omaha). I loved this camper! Some of my fondest memories are camping in this popup! My dad paid next to nothing for the popup and traveled out of state to get it.
There was no electricity – we always used the faithful old Coleman lantern for light at night. I can still recall getting ready for bed in this old camper by that light. The only hook up was water. Everything else was manual – you had to crank the handle by the hitch to raise the tent part and then you slid the beds out. I used to be so excited to take my turn at cracking the handle. There was an old ice chest that you had to use a block of ice to keep the food cold – normally we just used coolers to keep our food. The camper came fully stocked with bowls, plates, and silverware – I mean real silver! I now have all the silverware in my camper and use it regularly!
The one table in the camper was always pulled down for a bed. If I remember correctly, my older brother always got to sleep on the table bed and he never had to share with anyone else. It’s lucky to be the oldest! The rest of the family bunked-up on either of the side beds – mom and dad on one side and my little sister, little brother and I bunked on the other.
All our meals were eaten outside on the sites picnic table and/or foldable table we carried around with us. I don’t remember eating extravagant meals for breakfast – always cereal. Although, for dinner my mom always did something fun. Many times mom cooked over the fire in a pie iron. And for dessert we made tin can ice cream.
Tin can ice cream was always a must whenever we camped and you automatically made friends with other campers while making it. The photo above is my sister and a family friend rolling the can back and forth to mix the ice cream. Inside the big can is a smaller can with all the ice cream ingredients. Surrounding the smaller can is ice and rock salt. As you the roll the back and forth the cans get colder and colder with the motion and the ice cream is made. This whole process takes about 30 minutes – with the making and the rolling included. It’s one of my fondest memories camping.
I’m not exactly sure when we stopped camping. The popup was eventually no longer able to be camped in and purchased by a man who made it into a trailer. It was sad to see it go but the memories will forever remain.
When I met my husband we always camped in a tent on air mattresses. We did this for a few years including some wonderfully fun trips with Pam and her family!
(Smith Fork Campground Smithville, MO)
We started building our family and once we had children we never made it back to roughing it in a tent. In 2012 we purchased a travel trailer, a 34 foot 2007 Summerland with one slide. It has bunks for the kids and queen bed for us. It has been the best thing ever! My children love it! It’s the perfect size. As I am writing this I realize my children have really never slept in a tent. Shocking I know! I’m not sure if this makes us officially bad parents but we have been able to provide them with some wonderful camping with good meals and campfires
My husband’s family has a family campground near White Cloud, KS right on the Mighty Missouri River. This is the only place our camper has ever been and the only place our children have ever camped.
Nine other campers sit on the property all family. Our campground has full hookups. We leave our camper there all summer and we go up on the weekends from April to October. The campground has a boat ramp and a dock for all of the family fishermen.
We also have a building that we call a cook shack which all of our meals are cooked in. You haven’t had a breakfast until you’ve eaten breakfast at a the river. We also cook our dinner meals in the cook shack where we have anything from fish to steaks to fried chicken. Lots of laughter has taken place in the cook shack. Great memories have been made here.
To us our family campground isn’t like any other campground around. The memories we have made as a family and that our children have made will never be forgotten. Our children and their cousins have the best time in the world each and every weekend. Without the camper I’m not sure they would be as close as they are.
We worry as our children grow and become more active in sports that our time at the river will be less and less. As we see this happens our hearts begin to hurt a bit. We know there will also come a time when our children are “too cool” for the river. This too will be a hard day for us. But before this happens there plenty of camping trips that I would like to take! I’m ecstatic to have the river and I know each and every time we’re there is a great time; but I very much want to take our camper other places! I want my children to experience setting up our camping site and making friends with other children who are camping too and to ride their bikes throughout the campground. We definitely have many luxuries at the river and I want my children to see what camping can really be. Our next big family vacation will be taking the camper somewhere. Not sure where because there are just so many place we would like to roam. I can hardly wait!
Clingmans Dome is on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. Due to road closures (Little River Road was closed because of downed trees during our visit) we had to take Wears Valley Road (Hwy 321) over to Pigeon Forge and down to Gaitlinburg on Hwy 421. It took us about 90 minutes to drive to the parking lot of Clingmans Dome from our campsite. Clingmans Dome sits at 6,643 feet (Denver, Colorado is the mile high city and sits at 5, 280 feet).
We left our campground by 6:30 a.m. and arrived in the parking lot by 8:00 a.m. The view from the parking lot that greeted us was nothing short of breathtaking. The view was not the only breathtaking thing: the temperature of the air (my goodness it was chilly) took our breath away as did the smell in the vault toilets also sucked all the wind right out of us! We held our breath and held the doors open to use the restrooms and luckily we found sweatshirts/jackets/blankets in the trucks to keep us warm on our hike.
We made the hike to the top, there was no reason to linger there for us. we could not see a few feet past our faces. The signs at the observation deck inform us that more acid rain falls here than any other national park in the country.
Two other trails intersect at Clingmans Dome. The most known, The Appalachian Trail, is a 2,190 mile footpath from Georgia to Maine. It crosses 14 states and six national parks. I am excited to say that we hiked the width of the Appalachian Trail! The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is a 1,150 mile trail that starts at in the North Carolina mountains at Clingmans Dome and ends at the Outer Banks.
After a morning of hiking ( I reached my 10,000 step goal by 10:00 a.m.) we were famished. Allen lead us all to Atrium Pancake’s in Gaitlinburg, Tennessee. Angie and I ordered the Baked Apple Pancakes and we were not disappointed. we were both served a golden brown pancake that was the size of the serving plate. Baked in the pancake batter were cooked apples. I am telling you, I could have eaten the whole thing without syrup it was that yummy. But, they do served the baked apple pancakes with homemade apple syrup and I just had to try it. I do not know how it was possible but the syrup did in fact make those pancakes every yummier! I am sorry to say that neither Angie or I could finish our pancakes but we left Atrium Pancakes happy and ready for a nap!
When it comes to mountains, my entire frame of reference is the Rocky Mountains. I do realize that the Ozark Mountains are in my own home state and I have visited them before and they are amazing. But the Rocky Mountains were my first mountains and will always be my frame of reference to all others. (Maybe this is why I gloss over the Ozark Mountains?)
One of the perks of staying in Townsend is the close proximity to Cades Cove, so on our first full day we headed to the national park and straight to Cades Cove. We should start by defining “cove.” Where we come from a cove is part of a lake. It is a smaller section of water close to land that you ancher down in. That is the not the case here. Here a cove is a flat valley between mountains or ridges. Cades Cove is an 11 mile one-way loop through the national park. It was settled in the early 1800’s and for over a century people called the cove their home. Industry soon followed in the means of mills, blacksmiths, wood working, orchards, and even a few distilleries but farming was the main occupation in the cove. The population of Cades Cove reached 685 people with around 135 families right around 1850. Churches and school were built.
Tennessee and North Carolina began buying land that is now part of the national park and gave it to the government for park use. Cades Cove residents were given the option of selling and leaving. Some sold quickly and others resisted. Not everyone left Cades Cove. Some agreed to less money for their land if they could remain on it until they died. The last school closed in 1944 and the post office closed in 1947.
Before visiting The Smoky Mountain National Park I knew a little of the parks history. The land was all privately owned and lumber companies owned 85% of the land and were logging it. Besides depleting the trees the changing forest also impacted the deer and animal populations. Thankfully conservation efforts have been successful as we were able to see many deer and bears during our visits to the park.
It took us a few hours to make the 11 mile loop.The view is very scenic and you never know when an animal will appear which will stop all traffic. The buildings former residents used/lived in are still available so it is worth it to stop and hike around. Every time we found a large group of cars stopped, we stopped. It served us well. We ended up seeing a total of 6 bears that first day in Cades Cove. Sometimes we found out people were stopped to see deer and to be honest that thrilled us less because we have them at home. Either way, when you see a large buck with velvet on his antlers, you still stop in awe.
We stopped at the Visitor Center and Cable Mill area and walked around. The cable mill was still running and grinding cornmeal the day we visited. It was a pleasure talking to the mill operator as he explained how fast the mill could run and course or fine the former operates could make the cornmeal or flour.
It was hot during our visit and there were warning signs everywhere cautioning us to be aware of snakes. They like to find cool places to hide during the heat of the day and that can include many of the old buildings. Thankfully we did not find any slithering creatures during our visit. We did find access to the stream that runs along the mill. The Short Chic asked permission to put her feet in it. Being accustomed to the mountain streams in the Rockies I told her yes but the water would be freezing cold. Little did I know, the Smoky Mountain streams are not ice cold but actually enjoyable to be in.
There are two gravel roads in Cades Cove that provide short cuts in the loop. Hyatt Lane and Sparks Lane are two way gravel roads that help you navigate the park if you want to repeat or skip parts. I think these roads are excellent for adding to the adventure of visiting Cades Cove. We traveled Hyatt Lane late in the afternoon and were greeted by some serious photographers looking for wild life and if I had to be specific I would guess bears. As we found out, bears like blackberries and like to come to the meadows that are full of wild berry bushes.
According to the 
Pamela
Stocking the inside of your camper is a necessity. How you approach this task is personal preference. I feel as if I have been on a developmental process for the past six years trying to figure out the best way to stock our camper.
The new camper, purchased in July 2015, brought me the extra space I lacked in our pop-up camper. Space I used to add a few things my ever changing philosophy decided I needed. I found myself stocking the camper with the same comforts I have at home; nice sheets, fluffy absorbent towels, firm pillows, new pots and pans, and yes we still have those pretty dishes. However, I never use the pretty dishes or the pretty flatware, or even the pretty glasses.
Pamela
Wayne
Roam With Friends 