To Those Who Have Never Been Camping, You're Welcome.
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To Those Who Have Never Been Camping, You're Welcome.

Because everyone deserves to be aware of how amazing it is.

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To Those Who Have Never Been Camping, You're Welcome.
Jessica Morse

Driving to New Hampshire on a beautiful afternoon, driving to the Kancamagus Highway to be exact. The sun is out and it is a whopping 75 degrees. The windows in the truck are down all the way, my curly dirty-blonde hair is whipping around, sunglasses on, and my dad and I are jamming out to the song, “Summer of 69”. On our way up north, a 2.5 hour drive, we can slowly see the transition go from a disgusting and dirty city to a beautiful and peaceful town. Traffic lessens on the highways, the trees thicken and become greener, the grass is longer, the wildlife becomes clear, rivers and ponds are noticeable, drivers are less aggressive, and my most favorable part is when the tips of the White Mountains become visible in the far distance. Slowly but surely, becoming closer and closer.

As we reach the town of Tamworth, New Hampshire, we pull into one of our favorite spots, Chocorua Lake, to hangout and relax before we reach our final destination. This is my childhood place of memories. The lake is calm and people are out kayaking with their families and dogs. People are picnicking, tanning, swimming, and some are just enjoying the view of the water with the beautiful pine trees outlining the perimeter of the lake with Chocorua Mountain, aka one of the toughest mountains I have ever climbed so far, in the background. Over the years, ants have been eating away at this once beautiful tree that is now basically non existent. I snap a few pics like I always do and my dad and I are off once again to the Kancamagus.

About 30 minutes later, we have reached the beginning of our destination. This highway consists of some of the most beautiful sceneries, especially during the Fall. People from all around come here to sight-see and camp. This highway is not your average highway, it goes up a mountain and it consists of only two lanes. On the right side going up the mountain is the Swift River. Once in a while you can get a clearing of trees and see the river running powerful and strong. The rapids, rocks, and boulders make some parts of the river look incredibly terrifying and dangerous, which it really is. But don't let that scare you away from adventuring into the water, which is one of the best parts of camping.

We have now reached the campground, Blackberry Crossing. My absolute most favorite place in the entire world. The second we enter, we are greeted by our campground host friends. A very lovely older couple just living the dream retirement life. I hope to be them one day. As we drive around and hope that our favorite campsite is open, we pul in. Kids are ridding their bikes around, the smell of campfire is flooding into the car windows and into my lungs, this is what I live for. Sounds terrible, but its a beautiful smell. Families and friends are running around playing football and tag and dressed in their bathing suits, making me wish my dad and I had come even sooner.

My dad and I start unpacking the truck and begin to set up the tarp and the tents for when the rest of my family and friends show up later at night. Now that everything is set up, I can finally enjoy what I love most: exploring. As I walk pass other campers, they all greet me with huge smiles and loud “hellos”. I cross the Kancamagus highway to get to the Covered Bridge, where the Swift River flows incredibly fast underneath it. The bridge's frame is made up of name carvings and spray paint that makes everyone's trip here memorable. The roof of it is bright red and the view from standing in the middle of the bridge is breathtaking. I can look up and down the river in either direction to see the incredible green trees and mountains everywhere. It actually takes my breath away because it is just so beautiful. Tourists from all over the world come to this particular bridge because of how amazing it really is. I wish everyone could see this place. I soon walked down under the bridge where there is a huge flat boulder where I love to tan and nap on. Next to it is a small sandbar where my family and I usually take over for the whole day to tan and relax and swim.

My next favorite thing to do is to walk into the middle of the woods somewhere, literally anywhere, and just sit. I listen to the wind blowing through the tree tops. I hear all the different types of birds singing and chirping. I see the wildlife running through the leaves and up and down the trees. Once in a while a beautiful beetle lands somewhere on me or near me, its sounds weird to call a beetle beautiful, but it really is. It has shiny rainbow wings and sometimes they are one color only, like lime green, red, light blue, or dark purple. I really don't like bugs, but these kinds are so pretty. I could honestly just sit here and stare at a tree, the ground, or the sky all day long. I have never been at such ease than being in the middle of the woods in the middle of New Hampshire.

Once night falls, its time to light a camp fire. This is the most relaxing part of the day, when everyone just gets to sit around together, talk, sing, laugh, listen to music, and play card games. At night, the only things you hear is the roar of the river from across the street, the wolf pack howling in the far distance, and the crickets chirping that echoes throughout the entire woods. The smell of the fire stains your clothing and then the marshmallows are taken out. The gooey, fiery taste of chocolate and campfire smoked marshmallows just melt in your mouth. The gram crackers usually fall on the ground because our dog knocks them over. Sometimes I feel as if they are better without the gram crackers anyways.

The most incredible time during camping is if you are there while a full moon is present. When this happens, you can be anywhere in the woods without a flashlight. The moon is so big, beautiful, and bright that its basically day light. The stars are all out and believe me when I say that you have never seen as many stars in your life until you see them in the middle of the woods with a full moon out. I feel as if I am in outer space myself. You can also see shooting stars. This is when my family and I go into the campground parking lot and lay down in the middle, legs and arms spread out, all holding hands and just enjoying each others company. When I am here, I feel nothing but love, peace, joy, and happiness. I wish I could live here forever.

We usually don't go to bed until around 2am and its awesome. My nieces and nephew go to bed earlier but my dad, sister, brother in law, my friends, and I all stay up and sit around the fire without any music on and just enjoy life in the moment. We share stories and joke around. And of course in occasion, we play tricks on my nieces and nephew who are fast asleep in the tent and scare the actual crap out of them. Its horrible but its hilarious! We all have so much fun together. Once we all go to bed, we pass out pretty quickly. I blame the fresh air. Its knocks you right out into a deep, peaceful sleep. And until morning comes, it starts all over again for the next week.

For those who have never been camping before, you're welcome. Because this is what it is like. It is the most amazing hobby to have and incase you have never camped before, here is a taste of it. I hope one day everyone will experience the amazing effects that camping has on your mind and body, it really changes your perspective of nature and being at peace with yourself, your family and friends.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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