quaran”TIN”y

Ever since the girls have joined scouts, our family has done a lot more camping. At least once a month, we’re in a tent beneath the stars.  And we love it.  Nothing creates a better bonding experience, or opportunity for making memories, than to unplug and get in to nature.

This summer, we had plans to attend five weeks of scout camps from Arkansas to New Mexico (where I’d be completing a 12-day backpacking trek with just the girls), to North Carolina.  Our summer was packed with camping and we were excited. Albeit a little nervous because me, backpacking for 12 days sans Charlie to provide any kind of moral, emotional, or physical support, had me shaking in my literal boots. 

While camping with scouts is very fun - it’s not quite the same experience as when we camp just as a family. When it’s just us: there are no distractions, which pending the demeanor of our teenagers - can be a soul sucking challenge, or exhilarating.  Thankfully, it’s usually more of the latter in spades.

A prime example includes our four-week camping trip three years ago, when we visited 12 national parks, forests and monuments. As a family unit, it our best singular memory. Catching fish in Yellowstone Lake; swimming in the meltwaters of the Athabasca glacier, white water rafting on the Salmon River in Idaho and seeing a mama Moose and her tiny calf in the river. The one memory that has been seared in to my memory forever, is kayaking in the middle of Bowman Lake at Glacier National Park. In the reflection of the awesome snow capped Rocky Mountains in the still turquoise waters, I told my children to never forget how they feel at this moment.  Regardless of what life may throw their way: always remember that they, too, come from this beautiful world.  In my book, the God that created this magnificence, created them also. 

Suffice to say, with coronavirus, all of our plans for Summer 2020 were canceled.  One day, while out for a walk, Charlie and I conjured that all of these cancellations presented us with an amazing opportunity unlike any other. With nearly 10 weeks before us in south Texas, with a society that is being encouraged to stay and work from home, and four teenagers who will be with us for just a few years longer (gasp!) ... this is a prime opportunity to go on an epic socially-distanced camping trip. 

Things came together pretty fast after that decision. We contemplated renting a camper, so we could remain quarantined - no public restrooms or need to stop at restaurants - but then couldn’t find something suitable or available.  Or, at a reasonable cost for the duration we’re considering.
We’ve always talked about buying one, and travel is the nucleus of our plans in retirement... so maybe we should just move those plans forward 10 years? 

We’ll never again have an opportunity with the four kids home - with zero commitments - to do something like this again. So after researching options, perusing website chat rooms, reading reviews and talking with friends and colleagues ... and listening to the wise words of my mother who kept calling to say “DO IT! If not now, when?!” we did it. 

Our new home away from home is a 2020 27-foot Airstream. It comfortably - and safely - sleeps all six of us - and Ollie. Although the shell of an Airstream is aluminum, we think “quaran-tin-y” has a nice ring to it. This post will hopefully be the first of many blogs I’ll write to chronicle our summer 2020 “plan B” adventures. It’s off to a sweet start! 

We’ve never camped like this before, so will be figuring a lot out over the next few weeks... including how to properly post images to the blog from my phone!