I told my husband that this year all I wanted for my birthday was a family camping trip, soon (I was born on May 31st). Now, even the Boy Scouts lay off their camping somewhat during the summer months in the south, because most people can’t take the heat, literally, but I’m not most people. I freeze in air conditioning and only start to feel warm around 86-87 degrees.

So, yes, we went camping this weekend, although our families thought we were nuts– it won’t surprise anyone familiar with June in the south that we were the only ones out there. We had planned to go to Edisto Beach State Park, which would have entailed cooling ocean breezes, but it was full every weekend available to us, so I get a dual present– this brief little jaunt inland to camp in the the Francis Marion National Forest, AND a long weekend at Edisto to camp in the fall! Yea!

It was in the low 90’s, which is comfortable for me; I didn’t even break a sweat until one of my late-afternoon outhouse visits, which I think was psychosomatic! There was no ventilation, it was relatively small, and I’ll leave my description of it there, except to say that all I could think was, “How in God’s name did women in hoop skirts manage the simplest necessities?” (actually, I had a lot more thoughts than that, most being of the “Dear God, get me out of here!” variety). But I digress…

me drawing from nature

As I was saying, during the day Saturday it was in the low 90’s, and my husband and son were really suffering– so we mostly just lazed around and did our nature study and played games (Pass the Pigs, Uno, and Worst-Case Scenario). Around 5:30 there was a quick little thunderstorm, which cooled things down enough that my menfolk got comfortable and I started to get cold. That was my cue to cozy up to the fire and start s’mores duty. Darn!

Richard shuffling the Uno cards

The Honey Hill Loop campgrounds in the Francis Marion National Forest includes about ten large sites, most with a concrete picnic table and a lantern stand, and all free. It has the one aforementioned outhouse at the front of the campground and a hand pump for well water centrally located in the middle of the loop. On the far side from where we set up lay wetlands– so wet that there’s even a small pond, but no one in their right mind would get into the water in our area, due to gators. (I looked for gator slides on the side we were on, but didn’t see any, which made sense because there was a bit of a drop-off down to the water, and gators aren’t built for climbing. However, I did hear what sounded like some kind of animal mimicking an old engine trying to turn over in the distance, which could have been an alligator. Anyway, down where we live, you know they’re there whether you see them or not.)

It was a real pleasure having the place to ourselves. With the exception of a Park Ranger driving through twice on his rounds and some undoubtedly drunken teenagers setting off some fireworks at the entrance and then peeling out for our entertainment on Saturday night, we didn’t see or hear another human being besides each other for almost twenty-four hours. Even my fourteen year old son remarked about how nice that was.

We didn’t see much wildlife, with the notable exception of a gorgeous wild turkey and a hummingbird. There were feral cats on the prowl, and they got the leftovers from our pork and veggie hobo packs (aluminum foil cooking), which cooked up beautifully in the coals, and our bacon and eggs the next morning (for which I did use our trusty Coleman stove, being as I knew neither of my menfolk would appreciate the extra heat from a fire).

R.'s camp gadget in use after breakfast

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We heard a lot, though, including two different types of woodpeckers, a screech owl, some mongo bullfrog on steroids, and squirrels calling constantly. We enjoyed lots of bird calls all day llong and into the night, too, and I’ve decided to educate myself with some recordings so I know what I’m hearing next time we camp as a family (when we camp with the scouts, they’re pretty much all you can hear!).

I tested a new product for you, Dear Reader, on this family tent-camping outing, called “The Bugpatch,” a transdermal dose of Thiamine (Vitamin B1), DEET-free, which claims to repel “mosquitos, no-see-ums, black flies, and yellow flies” up to 36 hours per patch. The patch must be applied two hours prior to needing its effects, and I gave it three hours after that. It is true that during that time I didn’t get one mosquito bite, nor was I bothered by gnats. However, the deer flies and horse flies landed right on it, not to mention the rest of me, and were not impressed. I did have to resort to the Off we had with us due to them and the ticks– which the patch makes no claims of repelling, anyway. I’ll try the patch again on the 27th, during the Great American Family Campout, which is the next time I expect to be both in a tent and easy mosquito bait. It should be just the ticket in my backyard, but I won’t rely upon it in the woods.

Nathaniel by the loaded car

Camping in the summer is a real treat for me, because there’s no A.C. to contend with, and I can luxuriate in the heat. It is a real act of love for my husband and son, who, like most people, depend upon air conditioning for comfort (I’m bundled up in my own home right now, writing this, as I always am in the A.C. in the summer). I thoroughly enjoyed having the undivided attention of my family for a day– no t.v., no friends running in and out, just us and a tent for shelter. It was a wonderful birthday present– and I still get the second installment of Edisto Beach in the fall!