Ohiopyle Excursion = Camping Dry Run

This might not be the best timing to realize that, try as I might, I don't really enjoy camping. At least not camping of the tent variety. The Dunn family took a camping trip to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, this past weekend: the scenery was gorgeous, the weather perfect, the company above average, and the activities abundant. The only thing that my weekend was missing was a comfortable bed - and boy, did I miss it!




Lest you think I'm a complete homebody, I'll give you some context: Joe and I did quite a few camping trips the first few years of our marriage (when we were in our 20s). Ever since we moved to Ohio, we've talked about getting out the camping gear and going up to Cuyahoga National Park - it just hasn't happened. Camping in Ohio just doesn't have the same appeal as camping in the Pacific Northwest.

So, we've fallen out of practice with camping, which might explain why we forgot to bring padding other than our sleeping bags on which to sleep (a crucial mistake). We've also aged 5 years since our last camping trip, and I've gone through chemotherapy, radiation, and some bone deterioration in my hip. These factors formed the crucial trifecta for me to wake up at 3 am and be too uncomfortable to fall back asleep. I remember thinking during this time of near-hallucinogenic insomnia (I swear the trees were talking to each other) that either the forces of gravity had gotten much stronger over the past 5 years or the earth had gotten much harder. It took awhile before it dawned on me that my own physical and mental fallibility were to blame.

Accepting responsibility can be hard - especially responsibility for your own discomfort! But somehow, I think this was probably a good lesson to learn before going on the Alaska trip. The up side of all this, though, was that after my sleepless night in the tent, I got to snuggle up with my niece in the camper bed the second night. I can report that after testing out my future sleeping quarters, they are MUCH more comfortable than sleeping on gravel.