I just got back from camping.

Okay, that’s not true. I took a shower first because I could no longer stand to be in my own presence. But I got back earlier today.

This is where we were camping.

My family and I spent three days roughing it in the high altitudes of the Rocky Mountains. It was gorgeous.


In addition to appreciating the beauty of my surroundings, I accumulated the following layers of grossness on my body, in this exact order: sweat, dirt, smoke, smoke, dirt, sunscreen, lake water, sweat, dirt, bug spray, smoke, smoke, sunscreen, dirt, sweat.  Multiply this by four and you have some comprehension of what our tent smelled like by the time we packed up today. This actual conversation occurred as we were going to bed last night:

The Husband: What smells weird in here?

Me: Um, that would be us.

Now, we were only gone three days. It’s amazing how much grime can accumulate in nature in a short period of time. I’m reminded of Melman in the first “Madagascar”:

Nature! It’s all over me! Get it off!

Taking a shower after three days of camping feels wonderful. Showering after a week of camping makes you understand what Born Again must feel like. All my filth is washed away!

As you can probably tell, I’m more of a “city girl”. I go tent camping because it really is fun at least some of the time, there are some beautiful things I can only see when I’m separated from civilization, it makes me appreciate all the comfort and conveniences of our daily lives, and my husband loves it. He also acquired a big raft recently, so now we have another reason to go. It’s good for our boys to make memories, too.

I think all the good stuff about camping is what makes it okay to smell like rotten death when you return home. In fact, between friends it can become a challenge to see who smells worse.

I found this ecard on Pinterest.