Camping Solo

None of my friends my age enjoy camping; and while Peter, Amy and Sean enjoy it, they aren't close by.  As for Barbara, since we purchased our time share, she thinks Marriott is as close to camping as she will get.  But I just had to go camping before the end of the year.  So I went solo.

I enjoyed camping when I was younger; but I'm a realist.  I realize that I might get out there and experience cold, hungry, fear, boredom or any other number of manly feelings.  Therefore, I decided to choose between two different close by State Parks.  The first is a long 15 minutes from home.  The other is a long, long 45 minutes from home.  I felt I was brave enough and chose the Stake Park that was "long, long" from home:  General Butler Stake Park.

Since I was only going to be gone for 24 hours, I didn't want to spend a lot of time packing, driving, unpacking, repacking, driving and unpacking.  Therefore, I went with the bare essentials.  Starting early in the morning, I starting packing clothes, locating my camping gear, checking battery life for the flashlights and lantern, etc.  Because I didn't want to look the fool to my fellow campers, I did a practice set up of my tent in my basement (good thing I did).  Then I packed my food (dinner: peanut butter sandwich; breakfast: bagels).  At 2:00pm I was on the road.

I had two main wishes for my camping trip:  I wanted a camp fire and I wanted to see the stars at night (we are 30 minutes from Cincinnati so we don't see a lot of stars).  Before I left, I realized I wasn't going to enjoy my first wish:  due to a drought in our area, the Park's website said fires were prohibited.  Bummer.  But I was determined to enjoy my second wish: the stars.  So, at 3:00am, I awoke to look at outside.  I found that this State Park is 3 minutes from a small city.  There weren't any more stars than I see at my house.  So much for wishing on a star.

After setting up my tent (I was the only one in a tent; every other camper was in an RV - those wimps!), I drove to the other side of a hill to tour an 1850 mansion (one of the owners was a General Butler).  It was an hour tour and very interesting.  It made this whole trip worth it.

I then took a walk around the campground - it was around 5pm.  It was a warm day; we were all wearing shorts.  Saw lots of deer - and I mean a lot.  They must have known it was hunting season outside the Park.  I had my delicious dinner and started to read (by the light of my headlamp).  By 8:00pm I had every piece of clothing on me and was still so cold I had to go inside my tent.  Wow, did the temperature drop quickly.  By 9:00pm, I was tired of reading and listening to my MP3 player.  With nothing to do, I went to sleep!

The next morning the temperature was in the 30s.  I began a hike with all my heavy clothes on.  As I walked, it warmed up and I started shedding clothes.  About  a mile from my tent I came to the main trail head, but was a little confused:

I figured if I was going to hike the Fossil Trail, I might as well brag of having walked 5.4 miles.  I thought I had seen a lot of deer the night before, but I really saw a lot today - big, beautiful bucks included.  And, I caught a surprise on my camera!!!

From the top of one rise, you can see where the Kentucky River empties into the Ohio River.  It's hard to see though because buildings have been built around it.  It is near the center of the picture. 

The hike, 5.4 miles or 4.5 miles, you choose, was really very nice.

It was a great solo camping experience.  I think I might do it again ... in another 5 years.  And here is my parting video from this experience: