Descriptive Essay..Rough Draft

First Family Camping Trip

As my dad loaded the back of our old, red, Ford Explorer, my mom was shouting off essentials that we should have packed for our camping trip, but may have forgotten. When we were finally loaded in and the back was stacked so high that we couldn’t see to back out, with: tents, sleeping bags, and all the necessities needed for a successful camping trip, we were on our way. As we proceeded west down the highway we were getting closer and closer to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park.

When we arrived after a quick, two hour trip, we followed the winding road to pick out our perfect camp site. After a little evaluating of the flatness of the ground, the fire pit, and the accessibility of the bath house, we had found it: number thirty-two, our home for the next three days. We backed the car up and started to unload all of our things and equipment. It took a little while, but after we had fought with the tent and made a trek to the bathhouse, we all plopped down and enjoyed the great view of the lake right beside our campsite. The rest didn’t last long though, we had to gather wood, build a fire, and make dinner before it got too dark. Deciding what to eat is a struggle for my family if we are home or away from home, the decision was finally made on grilled hotdogs, baked beans, and chips. After we had all pitched in to help prepare the meal, it was time to eat. There was large, cement, picnic-style table where we ate our meals, the benches were pretty hard and uncomfortable, so we covered them with two quilts that ride around in the back of my mom’s SUV. That was a big mistake! Apparently, quilts that are made by your great grandmother should not be used as table covers, and are probably worth a lot of money; as we were informed by two elderly couples who were passing by in their RV. After we finished eating and put our “valuable, antique seat covers” back in the car, we decided to go on a walk around the lake. It was a small lake with a few ducks and birds that lived nearby. The campground wasn’t very crowded, but it was interesting to see what the other campers were doing and how they were living outside. When we got back, we all needed to go take showers and get ready to go to bed. We gathered everything together that we needed and walked to the bathhouse. It was pretty small and only had two showers, luckily there were not that many people camping at the same time as us, so we pretty much had it to ourselves. When I was finally in my tent and laying down, I realized it wasn’t that uncomfortable and I was pretty tired so I fell right asleep to the sound of a faint crackling fire and distant crickets.

The next morning, breakfast was kind of the same routine as what we had done to prepare dinner. The air smelled of coffee and fires that had smoldered all night. It wasn’t long until my sister and I had gathered more wood and started up another fire for breakfast. Our campsite looked pretty clean and organized; we kept things in the car that we weren’t using at the time and the rest in our tent. My mom tied a piece of string between two trees to hang our bath and dish towels on. I thought it was pretty ingenious, and it worked just like a clothesline.

The only surprise we had on the trip was a visit from a nearby raccoon. It slowly wondered up to our campsite and sniffed and pawed at the ground. It wasn’t extremely big or small in size, just a normal raccoon that was minding its own business. We were really in its habitat, so we took a few pictures and left it alone. It scampered away after a few minutes and our trip was near the end. It felt good to be going home and to be in a house again, but once in a while I think it is good for everybody to be a little closer to nature and the outside world.