Thoughts After Our First Camping Trip

Well, y’all, we officially have our first weekend in as a camper family under our belts. We had the extreme luxury and privilege of my parents’ experience with camping because they joined us on this trip down to Ponca, Arkansas. It was a weekend full of so many different feelings that I just really wanted to share with you guys.

A Little Background This Dream of Mine Coming True

Camping is something that I have strongly considered for a long time. I fell in love with a tiny Scamp Trailer a camper let me tour when my parents visited me in Asheville. When Matt and I met, we dreamed of big adventures in our little life, one of which included having a camper when we had kids. Little known fact, before Matt and I took our ’round the world trip in 2017-2018, we first looked at purchasing a camper to tour the US. Funny enough, my parents bought the one we fell in love with for themselves instead and Matt and I traveled the world for a year instead of going the camper route.

When Matt and I started settling down in 2019, I told Matt eventually I want my own version of Fern the Bus. That way I could still have my wild child soul fulfilled even though we now own a home, which tied us down a lot. While a renovated bus wasn’t the right option for us, we finally decided that we were ready to start thinking of something that would help us live a more adventurous life throughout the year.

Late last year, we were bouncing the idea around of potentially trying to save for a small cabin in Arkansas near the Buffalo River. It would be something that would take quite some time to get, but we’d always said if we had a second property, it would be somewhere close to make the most of it. Then, at the beginning of the year I had the itch again for a camper. It seemed like the right step for us. It’s the less expensive, more mobile option with with significantly less maintenance than a cabin. Honestly, Matt was a little skeptical at first. First of all, we had two Outbacks, neither of which would tow a camper substantial enough for our family of 4. Second of all, I think his spark for that kind of adventure had gone away a tiny bit… That is, until we had a date night to see UNDAMMED: A Buffalo River Adventure. When he was reminded of the beauty, the fun and the opportunity for adventures in our own backyard of Northwest Arkansas (which is less than 2 hours away), and suddenly he was on board! He looked at me in the car and said, “Okay, let’s do it; let’s buy a camper.” Suddenly that spark turned into a raging wild fire and he spent all of his free time over the next handful of weeks researching campers, buying a camper, researching tucks, selling his Outback and getting a truck! Suddenly, we were a camper family!

Finally Hitting the Road + Feeling Alive

This last Friday, was finally the day. After an admittedly stressful time loading, which was mostly self-induced on my part, because stressed is just how I roll until I’m actually on the move, we were off to Arkansas. This was just our very first time out, so I know we way overpacked, but all the beauty of the camper is that the extra little things made us feel even more at home.

We got to our campsite right at check-in and I was riding high! Matt got all the exterior parts of the camper set up while I organized the inside, which is my own personal version of heaven. Charleigh just played and Liam sat in his sit-me-up. Once set up, it was just us living this beautiful little life.

I shared a photo in our March Monthly Roundup of Matt and me standing in front of a piece of street art in Memphis that said Live a Great Story and that is something that I have found myself whispering to myself in moments where I know I have the choice to make a better, happier, healthier move. But damn, it was 100% the case all weekend long. We were truly living a great story!

The Overwhelming Emotionalism That Is Me

The first thing I felt when looking out over the stunning mountain viewpoint that our camper had, was just pure luck. I know there is so much privilege that got us to this point in our lives. We both have jobs, my mom helps once a week to watch my kids so I don’t have to pay childcare the day I work on-site. And we’ve been dealt other very fortunate cards like very little student loan debt and purchasing a house before the market boomed and interest rates spiked. All these things, and a million more, led us to living this dream.

I felt instantly grateful after that, and I truly have so much to be grateful for. I am so grateful for my husband. He has always listened to my insane ideas and then does what he could to make them happen for our family. He’s hardworking, adventurous and just fun! Another thing to be grateful for was the ability to have a special bonus adventure: ziplining and my dad even came with us too! Graciously, my mom watched the kiddos back at their camper. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for that as well. During that time, I got to be a big kid among the trees and laugh harder than I’ve laughed in forever.

Overjoyed is something I haven’t felt in a few months. I struggled with postpartum depression after Liam and I had a rough few months. Since getting help, though, I’ve been much better. However, this weekend was one of the first times that my cup has felt like it was overflowing in a very long time. Not that I hadn’t felt joy, because I have many, many times. But this was the kind of joy that leaves you smiling for no reason hours and even days later, and it felt like another step in a total turning point in my postpartum journey.

I felt empowered in a I am a strong woman who is capable of big things kind of way! I felt fearless which isn’t something I have been able to say in many, many years. I have been toying around with the idea of home/world/wild schooling our kiddos and trying to find a way that will keep all of us feeling inspired. All the while, I want to feel like like we’re all learning along the way, me included. This week I’ve started the process of researching and educating myself and it’s so exciting.

To say I felt “in love” seems like words that aren’t strong enough. I felt so in love with my beautiful family. So in love with the nature that surrounded us all weekend. In love with our life. In love with all the simple pleasures and big adventures going on simultaneously around us.

While it may seem impossible with all the other over emotions I’ve described, I also felt peace. Peace of mind, physical peace and spiritual peace. I had slow morning before anyone else was up to sip coffee, look out over the mountains and even snuggle Charleigh, who quickly kicked Matt to the kids’ bunk so she could “cuddle Mama” while she slept. What gift of peace to know I was exactly where I was supposed to be in each of those moments.

I can’t wait to bring a lot more posts to you guys with a bit more detailed travel plans, experiences and tips. But this week, I just really needed to express my thoughts and feelings. I’m so grateful for this space to do that and all the people along the way who are doing their thing too!