I love camping, but I am also very fond of being comfortable. When I was young, I could roll out a sleeping bag and sleep on a rocky mountain under the stars and wake up feeling great. Those days are long gone. I still love the big open sky, and the clean mountain air, but I require some comforts that a soft life has afforded me. There is a way to have both, it just requires some planning, and preparation.
Lodging- space and sleeping
A key to having a peaceful and relaxing camping trip is being able to get a good night’s sleep. My days of sleeping bags on their own have long since passed. I have upgraded to air mattresses. Not small 8” air mattresses, massive air mattresses. I bring my favorite pillows from home with me when I camp. I bring a clean set of sheets, some blankets, and sleeping bags (in case it gets really cold). I also don’t like feeling like I’m cramped for space. With 5 people in the family, we spread out impressively. I had a great tent with 3 rooms in it. This was perfect, because my eldest had his own room, the 2 little ones had their own room, and my husband and I had a room. For the kids I usually had queen sized blow-up pull-out couches to sleep on. In the day the tent was spacious and had couches to sit on, and they converted to beds in the evening, so everyone had their own sleeping space.
Cooking and cleaning
Cooking and cleaning? How does this add to a relaxing environment? Hear me out. I am physically incapable of feeling relaxed in a messy, cluttered area. Having an accessible garbage bin for the camp and an assigned cooking area is important. You don’t want cooking to be stressful, or overly complicated. If you are camping simply overnight, you may want to consider hotdogs over the campfire. If this is a longer camping trip, I recommend making a kitchen area with a 10X10 pop up, a camp stove, and a dishwashing station. Having all the cooking gear, and food in a designated area rather than crammed in your tent with you, makes things a little more bearable and homier.
Dining and relaxing
Regardless of your length of stay, some comfortable camp chairs are a must. I also really enjoy having a portable hammock. If you are camping for a long period of time, or with a lot of people you may want to consider bringing a second pop up tent, and a folding table and chairs to make a dining area.
Planning and Preparation
With some preparation and proper planning, you can enjoy the open outdoors environment and keep a comfortable environment. After a good night’s sleep, make some pancakes and coffee on your camp stove, and enjoy them at your camp table, before sitting by your fire pit and savoring your coffee.
Like with all camping experiences, you’re not going to create the perfect experience the first or even second time out. Take notes at the end of each trip to remind yourself what you should bring next time, what you can leave behind or how you might do things differently.