I am a Self-Proclaimed Professional Cabin Camper. Growing up as a child, I would visit Maine every summer and spend my days swimming in the lakes, stealing Oreos from the cookie jar and hanging by the fireplace at night playing cards… Put me in a tent … And I don’t know what the hell I’m doing because I’ve never camped out in a tent before … EVER. I’m just not comfortable with tarp being my only protection against the outside elements and animals of the woods … Nope.
However, my roommate, Meg, managed to talk me into going camping with her last weekend and I came back a survivor … It’s actually not that bad. Despite the fact that it was raining on and off in the Catskills Mountains, I found the solitude of the tent we set up very peaceful and rejuvenating. We were very meticulous about cleaning up our campsite before heading to bed (take that Bernstein Bears). I had a moment where I woke up in the middle of the night having to go pizz but made myself go back to sleep because I was too scared to walk out to the common bathrooms in the pitch dark (I swear I heard raccoons outside our tent). I am definitely open to camping in a tent again … Sometime way in the future …
We stopped by the store to get some essentials for the cooler before hitting the road…
Crossing the Tappan zee Bridge …
Endless rain as we drove up the Catskills Mountains to Haine’s Falls…
Checking out the Falls in the downpour …
Poncho Power!
We located the campgrounds and set up our tent quickly before it started to rain again …
The set up of our site…
Our Dining Room.
We put tarp over the picnic table so we could stay dry when we ate …
My teddy, Choco, came camping too :)
Once we were settled in, we went out and explored the trails. Everything was soooo lush and green.
We kept on getting hit with patches fog that blew in and out of the mountains with the wind. After exploring the area, we came back, made dinner and hung out under our tarp as the rain came down. We were able to make a fire despite the rain (we put our firewood in the car to keep it dry) and made some yummy s’mores … Of course, the minute we started eating them, it started to rain AGAIN.
So we said “Screw It”, put all the containers in the car and hustled into the tent to settle in for the night. It was all simply simple.
Baby Frog
PB & J for lunch and breakfast.
Getting the gas grill together to start cooking dinner… We ended up asking our “manly”neighbors to help us turn it on. Men seem to thrive on being asked for help from women in the woods … Meg asked ONE (1) guy for help and his whole squad of testosterone came over to our camp area to strut their cock feathers … “Just turn the damn thing on please. Thanks!” Cue to rolll the eyes.
Building the Fire
Yummy S’mores :)
The sky as we headed back home the next day …
xo, Setarra
