Why you should go camping!

Okay, I know some people seriously hate camping and can't stand the idea of being out in nature, cooking over a fire/camp stove, with no electricity or shower or internet.* And, while I myself do love camping, I understand that. So I'm not saying that everyone needs to go camping all the time. I just think you should let yourself experience it once in your life, at least, before you decide you hate it. Even then, try it with some friends and see if it's different =]

Hem, Hem:**
Kat's Top 10 Reasons to go Camping at least once in your life.
1. You get some amazing pictures and memories.
Same as traveling, really. Except your pictures of nature are almost guaranteed to be beautiful and breathtaking and amazing. Breathtaking pictures of mountains, lakes, streams, rock formations, WILDLIFE. Seriously...I take so many pictures when I'm out camping. Also, camping tends to bring about even more hilarious memories and times you had with your family/friends/whoever you were camping with. Because if you are truly camping, the memories and pictures come along with it! =] Bears, bad cooking experiences, rain, rolling out of the tent while sleeping, etc, etc....

2. It's actually quite easy
Some people tend to think that camping is hard. But it's really not. You should have some basic cooking skills at home before you try cooking on a camp fire. You should have a tent, sleeping bag, flashlights, food, water, maybe a camp stove. A game or books so you don't get bored. Some cooking utensils.....As long as you don't choose anything too complicated or high-tech, camping will be a breeze because so much stuff is out there so that you don't have to work hard while camping, but can just relax.

3. It's relatively cheap!
Again, as long as you don't go buy all the high-tech, confusing stuff, and you don't try to rent an RV or something, camping is cheap! Many places a free to camp, or very very cheap if they aren't completely free. Much better than having to rent a cabin for who knows how much for a few days. And much better than a hotel room!

4. Food tastes better when you cook it while camping...
Usually. I mean, at home you'd never eat a "foil dinner" of rice and corn and potatoes, but when you're camping it seems like heaven =) Granted, if you have no cooking skills, it still won't taste great. But, also, if you've been hiking a lot,*** then pretty much any food tastes like heaven, no matter how badly it was cooked. Plus, there's that feeling of accomplishment that you actually cooked something on a camp stove/fire. Breakfast burritos! =]

5. You have some really fun times with your friends.
Obviously, this one goes along with the first one about the memories. But, this one is specifically for if you go camping with friends, not family. Whenever we go on our overnight at GS camp, we come back with the best of stories. Like how we accidentally pitched our tent on a hill, so in the morning I ended up at the bottom of the tent, near everyone's stuff, especially the riding boots. Uncomfortable! Or how it was raining, so the counselor was shoveling extra pudding into our bowls. Or how, on our "challenge" overnight as CIT/WITs, they didn't leave us the food so we couldn't prepare the cooking until the food was delivered. Not having a can opener, so banging the can of fruit open with a mallet used for setting up tents. See what I mean? FUN TIMES FTW!!!!

6. You can see the stars =]
Since most of us live in or near very big cities, we have never actually seen the stars. I remember when we went camping at the Monument Valley Navajo tribal park...I'd never REALLY seen the stars before, because even at GS camp some of the buildings have electricity, and it's not that far from Woodland Park. But the Navajo tribal park had no cities nearby, and no buildings with electricity. So we could see every star coming out, one by one. It was one of the most beautiful, wonderful experiences of my life. And I want more of those! Unfortunately, not many camping areas are even that secluded anymore. But, you can still see more stars out camping than you'd ever see at home in the city!

7. You get to visit some beautiful places
Seriously. So many places are beautiful, but they are secluded. So the only way you can truly see them is to go camping, since there's no other way to get there. And just being out in nature, being a part of nature, being at the mercy of nature, makes it beautiful. LIFE is beautiful when you're camping. Plus, by camping in these places, you help to ensure their beauty, their peace, and...just the places in general. Camping benefits the environment, as long as you do it the old-fashioned way with tents and "leave no trace." Camping is one of the most natural things you can do, as long as you do it properly. So get camping!!!

8. You have great story material.
Yes, THIS one again. But it's true! I don't feel like repeating everything I just said about memories and fun times. Anyway, you can share camping stories at that same party, if none of the other stories go over well! You're almost bound to get people laughing, choking on their drinks, etc. And you're bound to get some of the people asking you tips on camping, or reliving any funny camping stories they had when they were kids! I constantly repeat camp stories with my camp friends, and it NEVER gets old! These things don't fade away! They're always funny!

9. Seclusion! Relaxation! Time to think!
Especially if you choose to go camping by yourself. The wilderness is the perfect place to go to try to get someplace to relax and think about things and all that great stuff. The nature and the wilderness does some amazing stuff to your brain and your ability to make sense of things. So get out into that nature and spend some time in it!

10. You have something to blog about!
Always ends here. Because you can blog about just about any experience, and people will read it. I myself took advantage of blogging about camping earlier this month. Shameless self-promotion of earlier blog.... So, if nothing else can get you out camping, wait until you are out of anything to write on your blog, and then go camping so you have something to write about. WIN!!!!

Ugh. Stress. Personal Project, 2 math tests, English speech, US History Project, MYP Completion ceremony. Crazy, crazy last week of BEDA. My blogs will likely get progressively more incoherent and such. Especially tomorrow. Deal.****

But I love my frieds!!!!!!*****
Cheers! DFTBA!

*No internet. Yes. I've done it for 4 weeks. You can do it for a few days.
**A thousand useless points if you got that HP reference!
***Hiking often goes hand-in-hand with camping, though you are not required to hike if that makes you shy away...
****Really, I am sorry. But there's nothing I can do about it.
*****Thank you for giving me some things to laugh about. =D