On camping

I have now spent several nights of my trip camping at various campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada.  And I'm learning a lot.  For example...

Taking the tent down takes almost as much time, maybe longer, than putting the tent up.  Oh, in an emergency, I could take it down in 5 minutes and toss it unfolded into the back seat of my car (like, if I had to take it down in a storm, which I sure hope I don't have to do).  But to get it cleaned and dried, like you're supposed to, and wrapped up in a way that the next set-up will go smoothly, takes quite a bit of time.

Generally, I've been sleeping pretty well in the tent.  I was worried at first that I'd be scared and I wouldn't be able to sleep.  Scared of animals or noises I couldn't identify or of bad people.  That hasn't been the case, although I came to dread the birds every morning in Iowa, because they were very squawky, starting at 4 am.  :(  Oh, and at my Quebec campground, some fellow campers told me to watch out for the bear(!) that was supposedly wandering around the grounds on my first morning there, but I didn't see the bear myself (too bad, really) and I stayed away from the edges just in case.

But the temperature inside the tent fluctuates a lot and it can be hard to keep warm (at night, when the temperature drops) or cool (any time the sun in on the tent, and it starts to act like a greenhouse).  Keeping the windows open while the sun is up helps, of course, but that makes things like changing clothes a pain in the butt.  I either have to roll up the windows, head to the bathroom, or just resign myself to changing my clothes with a (possible) audience.

I've also learned to cook with my single-burner propane stove, although I'm still a little afraid of it.  It needs to be started with a match, which makes me nervous, then it's tall so gives the appearance and maybe the actuality of being wobbly.  And it's a single burner with no surrounding "table" so anything cooked on it is balanced pretty precariously on top, and I imagine accidentally pouring boiling water on myself as I try to cook.  :(  No accidents so far, though, and my fear of the thing will make me be careful with it.

Overall camping is fun, and saves a lot of money.  But it takes a lot of time and brings a few discomforts with it.  One has to stop earlier and either wake earlier or leave later than if they were at a motel.  I'll keep doing it, though, when the weather cooperates and the local motels are too expensive.