Camping!

We went camping last Friday night at Tar Hallow State Park, about an hour south of us, out in the middle of no-where Ohio! Here are some pictures!

We never went camping as a family growing up, so the only camping I ever did in Ohio as a kid was diabetes camp and girls camp, most of which was done in cabins. I really caught the camping bug when I lived in Utah, and would occasionally go with my friends up one of the canyons near Provo. So, the majority of my tent-camping experiences have been in Utah. Ben does NOT like camping, but was so nice to go, just because I like it so much! Thanks Ben!

Fast forward to last weekend in Ohio, when we went camping with some friends of ours from our ward. We have our own tent, and lots of camping supplies, so we were all set in that sense. What I was not prepared for were the vast amount of flying insects that reside in Ohio! Oh my! The buzzing sound at night was horrifying (luckily I brought ear plugs), and the outhouse we used was covered in spiders and egg sacks and flies. Ew. Also, a member of our party got stung by a swarm of bees! Granted, he was trying to chop down the dead tree they happened to be living in with his axe so we could use it for firewood. And by a swarm, I mean there were about 6 chasing him, and he got stung 3 times. But his arm totally swelled up like a log.


Oh, how I missed the relative insect-free camping in Utah. There ARE bugs in Utah, but not like this. I'm positive it is because there is so much vegetation & water in Ohio. I'm grateful that it makes everything green and pretty, but it makes camping a lot more interesting.

But, despite all the insects, it really was lots of fun, and the park was beautiful! And, we had tasty tin foil dinners, s'mores & campfire eggs for breakfast! Mmmmmmm.

Next time, if there is a next time, I will come prepared with much more bug spray, and stick to using the bathroom in the woods and not in an outhouse where you are confined in a small space with all sorts of bugs to which you have to expose your bare bottom!