All good stories begin with, “Once upon a time…”

It seems like MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I have never gone on a camping trip without at least one moderately exciting adventure occurring.  We’re just lucky that way, I guess.  As we’re anticipating our first camping trip in almost 20 years, I thought I’d share with you our most hilarious (at least to me, hilarious) camping trip ever.

We need to back track to 1987 and our preparation for our first ever tent camping trip.

As a kid, we didn’t take very many vacations. I can remember one to Rockaway Beach in Arkansas, a few at Moon Cedar Resort somewhere in Missouri, another trip somewhere in Missouri where the pool was right outside our cabin door and a few day trips to driveable places in Iowa. We’d never gone camping.  I don’t think that was my parent’s cup of tea.  It’s definitely not for everybody but I happen to love it!

MFH and I had decided to tent camp in Rocky Mountain National Park for our 2nd Wedding Anniversary.

We started tent shopping.  Sleeping bag shopping. Camp stove shopping.  Cooler shopping…we had nothing and needed to purchase it all.

MFH and his family went camping at least once a year the entire time he grew up.  They almost always headed out west to the mountains.  Those trips developed in MFH a deep love for the mountains and the outdoors.  I was soon to develop the same love.

I can remember my MIL (Mother in Law) telling me stories of washing diapers in streams.  This was right before disposable diapers came along.  As a matter of fact, right after my BIL (Brother in Law) was born, Pampers had just become available and my MIL thought she had died and gone to heaven.  No more washing diapers while camping!  She bought a bunch of Pampers and had a great time!

We didn’t have any kids as of yet so that was pretty low on the list of the things I was worried about.  Still, it was a great story of how camping had been just a few years earlier.

We bought a cute, two person dome tent.  I loved that little tent!  It was easy to put up and comfy.  I couldn’t find any pics of the tent but I did find a pic of #1 Daughter as a elementary aged girl sitting in the doorway of that tent.

We bought thin pads to go under the sleeping bags to cushion the hard ground…we still use those pads!  We. Were. Ready.

With a lot of enthusiasm we headed out towards the mountains and to make a long story short, it poured our first night of camping and we found out we’d done a great job of waterproofing the tent.  It was like sleeping on a water bed and the tent almost floated away.  Then we got snowed on in the mountains and we about froze.  Because it was so cold, we ended up cutting that camping trip short a few days and found ourselves a hotel in which to warm up.

The kids came along and we took them with us and that little tent.  My in-laws had a little pop up camper.  We’d tow the camper and bring that tent.  MFH and I would sleep in the camper and the kids would share that little tent.  It was great!

Just one more pic…just because I love this pic of the two kids.  No tents or campers but what we loved to do while camping.  Hiking!  We saw such beautiful places!!!  I hope the kids have fun memories of those years.

Now, here’s the story I was going to tell you:

The kids were old enough, teens, that we could leave them alone while we did a back country hiking weekend together.  We STILL had that cute little dome tent!  Holy cow, the trips that tent had been on!

Like for our very first camping trip, we started shopping.  Not for a new tent this time but for backpacks, water purification things, instant coffee (if you think I’m going camping without my coffee you are sadly mistaken!) a light weight and tiny/collapsible stove, dehydrated food…that kind of stuff.

We were so excited for this trip!

MFH had obtained all the required permits.  We had assigned places to camp.  Friday came, work was over and our packs were ready.  MFH drove us to the parking spot and we strapped on our packs and started hiking to our camping spot for the night.

It started raining.

No big deal, right?

It started raining.  Hard.

We kept hiking until we reached our camping spot for the night.  It was almost dark.

Now, we had packed a little bit of lighting but not tons.  We had enough to see to put up the tent…in the rain.  Things were fine.

The tent was up.  We were soaked but in good spirits!

I went into that faithful little tent first.  I put my backpack on the floor of the tent.  MFH came in after me and leaned his pack up against the side of the tent.

That’s when it happened.

That poor tent.  It had been through soooo much!!!  It had held up during the flooding on our first ever night in the tent.  It had held up in an incredible wind storm in Rocky Mountain National Park~a windstorm that literally ripped apart other tents. It had held up during overnight camp outs in the yard. This backpack and rain?  It was just too much for our tired little tent.

RIIIIIIIPPP!!!

The entire wall of the tent gave up.  I mean, the seams let go and that entire side panel of the tent was laying on the ground!

By now it was pouring rain and dark.

MFH was sitting in the tent, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

I was laughing like crazy.

It was just too funny!!!

MFH somehow managed to rig up a tarp to keep the rain out and we tried to sleep.  We didn’t sleep well.  It was wet!

As soon as it was dawn, we packed up our packs, tried to take down that poor tent and trudged back to the car.  Our little weekend getaway was over a few days earlier than planned.

That Christmas, MFH surprised me with a new tent!  It was nice!!!

The thing about this tent we need to remember is it’s now an old tent.  MFH put it up yesterday to see what kind of shape it was in.  We discovered the waterproofing is shot and it’s showing signs of age.

Now, were contemplating on purchasing another new tent.  I guess we’ll see just how adventurous we want to be come August!

Stay tuned!!!

#IRun4Aiden