We caught a... skunk?

by Liz
(Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA)

My first camping trip was with my grandparents when I was five years old. They were determined that I should have the "ultimate camping experience."



So, we went swimming in a lake, tried (unsuccessfully) to catch our dinner, and then tried (successfully - unfortunately) to catch a "pet."

My Poppa propped a box up on a forked twig, tied a string to the twig and stuck a carrot underneath. Then we snuck back into the tent and waited for our rabbit to come. Finally we heard a noise! There was something in our box!

We pulled the string excitedly, proud that our plan had actually worked. And then we crept up on the box, gently raised the lid, and got sprayed by a skunk. After that moment, the only thing I remember is bathing in tomato juice and have my sisters tease me for smelling bad.

My grandparents were shocked that I begged them to go camping again, and even more shocked that my parents agreed after the fiasco on our first trip. But although it had a pretty stinky ending, my trip is definitely memorable.

Short Hike

by Casey
(Nanaimo BC)

Me and my brother were camping at olympic national park a few years back. Amazing park with so many things to see and do. We were both in good shape and decided to check out the trails. There were a few trails close by so we selected a mid length one thinking this would assure that we would be back before dark and allow us lots of time to enjoy the hike. It started out a fairly level path with really nice woodlands. This only lasted a short distance the trail became steeper and steeper. We followed these fairly steep switchbacks for what seemed like hours. Finally we stopped to catch our breath and talk. We were a little worried that we had got on the wrong path but there only seemed to be one direction. Because of this concern we decided that we would head back if we didn't get to the end of the trail. After an hour we turned back a little dissapointed that we had not reached the end of this short trail.

The next day at the vistor center we found out why the trail was so long the distance was actually elevation change and the short trail was from the bottem of the mountain to the top!

Camping - plan b

by Jesse
(Nevada)

It all started out on a beutifull sunny morning, packing up the car and ready to set out for a great adventerous day.

All I can say is that it was a trip to remember. After searching for camp reserves all around California, we made the biggest mistake any camper could do, NOT MAKE RESERVATIONS! After continous searching we finally gave up and ended up in a small motel room in Kings Beach California, but here's the catch, motel rooms are pretty expensive and my parents (probably like any other parents) as cheap as they are, only paid for a couple, so we had to sneak in me, my brother, 2 sisters, & even our dog, Shakira!

That was one crazy night, trying to stay quiet and not get any complaints (or caught). The next morning it was even trickier sneaking to the car and heading to the beach. From chasing our Shikira down the beach shore and finding a good camp site it was overall one of the best vacations.