Wilderness, fresh air and a night sky filled with bright stars… for many, camping creates lasting family memories. To get you in the mood for this year’s season, here are stories from Kaboose editors and moms. Have a read through, then go and share your best—and worst—camping stories in our community. Meet you there!

Things to Cherish

“My favorite thing about family camping was being in the tent at night. There was always something special about being there with nothing else to think about or do. We would look out the window at the stars and the moon and make up stories and laugh.”

“My parents used to take us to a campground for wiener roasts every summer. We had to pick our own stick and whittle it. We always had a competition as to who could get the smoothest end. And on top of hot dogs my mom made the best potato salad. I remember laughing and feeling really good.”

Not Exactly Perfect

“I’ll never forget when we were camping with our crooked orange tent that leaked if you touched the inside canvas. It started to rain. This was no ordinary rain, there was thunder and lightening and it seemed to be really close. We decided to pack up and look for a spot with more shelter and trees. We drove around and found another spot and felt safer--the tent didn’t leak all night. When we woke up the next morning to a clear sky we saw that we were right underneath an electric tower. And here we thought we were being safe!”

“Everything was loaded up and our boat was attached to our old station wagon. We started on the curvy mountainous roads to go camping in British Columbia and just as we rounded the corner there was the police with a speed trap. My dad panicked and turned off the engine while going 80 km an hour with the car in ‘drive.’ He pulled over and we all held our breath to see if the old wagon would start up again. It did, thank goodness. We still bug him about that to this day.”

Games We Played

“When I was a kid, all the sixth graders went camping for a week and played a game called predator/prey. The idea was that you were supposed to learn about the food chain through the game. I was a wolf, at the top of the food chain, so I ‘eat’ most of my friends. We all had so many lives marked by colored tabs and once you were tagged by an “animal” that could eat you, you had to hand over a life. There was a huge area that we got to play in with a swamp and lots of trees. It was a sixth grader’s paradise.”

My favorite part about camping with my family was campfire story time. My father always made up tales about a bear named Joe who saved little children from a mean forest witch. We’d sit by the fire and listen, holding on to each other during the scary parts. He’d even go into the woods earlier in the day to hide props (like a witch’s wig) to make the story seem more real. Each story always started with “Once upon a time, long, long ago.” Even now I get a tingle up my spine when I hear those words.

Swap camping stories and activities with other parents in our community. Plus, be sure to check out Happy Campers! The best camping activities.

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• Camping Buckets
• Road Trips & Weekend Getaways
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