Life in a Tent

Back in the day there was a Memorial Day camping tradition, the stories from which have grown into legends. Now many, many years and a week later, I found myself once again sleeping in a tent in the woods.

This time the cast of characters included we four Roths along with two neighbor families, totalling six adults and eight kids. The venue was Cunningham Falls State Park. On Friday night, we loaded our Outback to the brim, and made the short drive north on Route 15 to begin our adventure.

Despite nearly a decade in its bag, I was glad to discover my REI tent was complete and intact, as was my memory of how to set it up. It was not long before we were all settled around the campfire, roasting some dogs, and washing them down with some beer.

Saturday morning dawned with signs of ominous weather. I know this because I was awakened well before said dawn by my light sleeping son who was more anxious than I to begin the day. By the time the bacon was sizzling over the fire, it was clear the weather was not going to cooperate with our plans of outdoor fun and adventure.

We managed to wait out most of the storm in nearby Gettysburg, PA enjoying the adventure of Indiana Jones. It was then back to the campground where the last hour of the storm we spent in The Kingdom of the Crowded Tent - which was more than enough time.

Luckily, the weather broke, and we were able to hike up to the falls which were overflowing with water from the rains and rednecks from our campground. The kids enjoyed the hike, and the boy especially enjoyed the challenge of the river.





After this hike, one of the two families we were camping with, whose tent had not done so well at keeping the outside out, bugged out. The rest of us stuck around for another tasty meal cooked over the campfire. Then the other family also decided to call it a trip, leaving the Mighty Roths as the sole survivors of the expedition. We decided to stay the night, and so I was able to once again see the dawn, thanks to that same son I mentioned a couple paragraphs ago.

We struck camp, reloaded the Outback, and said goodbye to campsite 73. We stopped off at the lake to play for a bit, then headed back home. All in all, it was a good trip.