Camping With Dad

Dad and our Puppy
My best camping moment was when my father took our new puppy and calmed him so that he would stop disturbing the other campers that were close by us. The puppy curled up and went to sleep in his arms. It reminded me of when my dad would pull us in close when we were little to calm us during our camping trips. Dads seem to have that effect!
Submitted By: Jean Vatalaro

I Caught a Fish!
My best camping trip was March 9 - 11, 2007. My dad took my mom, my sisters and me on my first camping trip. It was so much fun. We left the fly off the tent and saw the stars from our sleeping bags. We had a campfire and took walks. Best of all, my daddy took me fishing and I caught a fish!!
Submitted By: Andrew & Tracy (Mommy) McDonald

Camping Memories
I am now going on 60 years old and still love to go camping because of my childhood memories with my mom and dad...We were 5 girls and 2 boys in our family and dad didn't make a lot of money but he made sure we had family fun every summer... We would load up all our stuff on his homemade trailer and away we would go...Once we got to the campground, dad would hang a mirror just the height for us little girls and he would give us a quarter to buy ice cream or some kind of treat at the pavilion...He would make a campfire and we would sit around and just talk till the wee hours of the morning watching the moon and then the sun in the morning...When I got married, I got my husband to take our three kids camping ~ they all talk about those fun outdoorsy times ~ now one daughter is married and they bought a camper... my grandson who is 6 caught his first fish last Saturday and now he is hooked...There is nothing like sleeping under the big trees and smell the fresh air...
Submitted By: Judy Nelson

Fishing with Dad
My favorite camping was with my daddy when we went to Green Peter Lake to go boating and camping. I loved going in the boat and swimming with my dad! Fishing was one thing I loved watching him do! I like to help when he caught fish and finding worms for him to use.
Submitted By: Madison Steffen

Exploring the West
The best camping trip with my dad, the one and only we took to the great 4 corners of the West, is still fresh in my mind after 47 years. Dad was a master at building and fixing things. In 1960 he BUILT a camper as we could not afford to buy one. It was awesome! It had a 'pop-up' striped green and white canvas top with side panels replete with plastic windows that could be rolled up to enjoy fresh air thru the screens. It was a manual effort to place the lift poles and get the top up. Inside were 2 sets of wooden bunk beds and storage. We had all the essentials (depending on camping parks of course) for a 2-week trip out west. The family with 5 kids ranging in age from 7-14 set out on a 2 week adventure to explore the best the West had to offer with the camper at the back of our aging yellow Chevrolet Station Wagon. Traveling Route 66 how in the world we all got along in a small car and even smaller camper is beyond me. Dad died in 1962, but what a great memory.
Submitted By: Cheri Harrison-Strachan

Camping with Dad is Great
I am 7 years old and every camping moment I have with my dad is great. When I am with my dad it is always an adventure. We go camping a lot. He taught me how to set up the tent and to build a fire. We love to go hiking in the trails and look at all the animals, bugs, habitats, and I like to look for bears. My dad teaches me to respect nature and to always make sure I don't leave messes. We camp in Yosemite, Idyllwild, Big Bear, and any State Park along the way. Being with my dad is great especially when the sun goes to sleep and the moon wakes up and its time to make s’mores. Me and my father have a very special bond and camping together is always a special moment.
Submitted By: Alona Minchin & Audrey Fennel

Dad is the Best Teacher
This is my dad and I on one of our many camping trips. My dad is the best teacher. He makes me aware of the dangers of a hatchet, campfire, and makes me stay on the trails when we ride or hike. He even taught me to build a fire from a stick, string, and friction. I have the coolest dad.
Submitted By: Dustin Copsey

Camping in Alaska
When I was 5 or 6 years old my Dad took my sisters and I camping in Hope, Alaska. My father moved from Texas to Alaska for work. We went for a visit and ended up camping under a tarp. Not in a tent, just under a tarp he placed between two trees. He then sent the three of us Texas girls out for firewood so we could get a fire going. As we were gathering all the small sticks he circled around us as quietly as possible then came charging and growling at my sisters and I. Our first thought was BEAR!! So we threw down the sticks and ran towards camp. He slowly walked up laughing uncontrollably. After we all settled down we went fishing for Salmon. Something that we were scared to do as we had seen some Salmon earlier that day bigger than we were and we didn’t think our cane poles could hold a fish that big. He taught us a song that we sing when we go fishing to this day. “Fishy, Fishy in the brook come get on my little hook” No one caught anything and it wasn’t until many years later that he admitted to removing the worms before dropping our hooks into the water. That was the first and last time my Dad ever took us camping and it is one of the most cherished memories I have.
Submitted By: Hope Sherrod

Keeping Tradition
Every year when I was little, my Dads family would go to Garner State Park. There, my father taught me to climb the ropes and jump into the Rio Frio. He took me hiking into the cold cave and bike riding up and down the steepest hill! This has stayed with me and always will! This last year we all went to Garner, and it was for my wedding! My father walked me down the aisle and gave me away! Garner holds so much for my family and I. Especially for my father and me! Now my husband and I take our kids to Garner every year. It's a family tradition! Something my father's father started and I'll keep it going! It's another home for us!
Submitted By: Jessica Cisneros

Camping in the Catskill Mountains
We went camping at North Lake campgrounds in the Catskill Mountains every year my father and brothers would set up our green canvas WWII army tent that a friend of my father gave him; and my mother, my sisters and me would set up the rest of camp. the next day my father Took my brother and me hiking up to the site of the old Catskill Hotel I say site cause the hotel by 1963 was burn it down to the ground. All that remains of what was once America's most fashionable resort is the gateposts and the sweeping views from the cleared site. We found a wild blue berry bush right thereat the site & we pick a bunch of the blue berries and brought them back to camp. My mother washed them off and made blue berry muffins and blue berry pancakes for breakfast the next morning all on the camp fire. My father had just recently passed away and that is one of my dearest memories of him. He was the one who made camping fun and gave me such a love for it and for that area of the Catskills.
Submitted By: Barbara Sonin