Eleven months

Eleven months makes a huge difference. Give or take eleven months ago, I was camping on my own up in Copper Harbor, MI. The weather was fantastic- all except for that last day when it poured and I discovered that 20 year old tents cannot necessarily be successfully re-waterproofed anymore. Aside from when I was mountain biking, it never felt particularly hot and there was Lake Superior just a stones throw away to cool off in afterward.

Fast forward eleven months to my husband and I camping with two of our close friends outside of Austin, TX. Just take a minute to mull that concept over. Camping. In July. In Texas.

I'll start off by saying that the weekend was fantastic! I returned happier and calmer for having been outdoors so much (and not the kind of being outdoors that involves weeding, mowing, tree trimming, or any other form of house maintenance). But wow was it hot. It was the kind of hot where you purposefully take a cold shower and feel better for all of two minutes afterwards. I was entirely unprepared for this type of camping. My trusty sleeping bag, which has weathered November nights in the Blue Ridge Mountains without a sleeping pad was 100% useless in the Texas heat. My little tent, which is great for staying warm, suddenly felt like a sauna. Our friends were a lot more prepared.

I was, admittedly, baffled when it was suggested that we drive two cars. I looked at our pile of gear, taking up barely half of my car trunk, and wondered what on earth I was forgetting. My first ever camping trip (way back when I was maybe 8) was a backpacking trip and, while lots of my trips since then have been car-camping, I still tend to pack like I'm backpacking. Because why not? Texas summer is why not.

Our well prepared friends pulled out extension cords (the campsite had power), portable air conditioning units, and fans. I was torn between laughing hysterically and being incredibly jealous. Their much larger tent could fit an entire queen size air mattress and, when you're sleeping in 95 deg F heat, that has to be more comfortable than sleeping bags. This kind of camping was something I had trouble wrapping my head around and I bemoaned the fact that my husband will never ever want to go camping "my way" again. That said, that cup of freshly ground coffee before our early morning hike tasted delicious and we did not turn down the offer to borrow a fan for our tent. It's safe to say that I got a little spoiled too as I traded my usual camping food (oatmeal, GORP, PB&J, apples) for the containers of fresh cut fruit and vegetables that our friends were thoughtful enough to bring along and share.

Eleven months makes a big difference. I'm already looking forward to our next camping trip with our friends though and we brought back books of the Texas state parks to start our planning with. Maybe the next time it will even be cool, or, as cool as it seems to get in Texas.