Bringing Camp Life Home: The Art of Relaxation

Fire lit faces, your favorite music, your closest friends crowded around while the pines wave in the crisp evening mountain air; the dread of knowing that the moment cannot last and you must return back.  Those rare weeks away from the job and hustle of life crowd my thoughts for most of the year, always eager to return.  However, there would be years of life wasted if  the reality of a mere twelve days of vacation annually kept me from enjoying the finest parts of camp life. Bringing camp home is one of the best ideas I've ever had.

Everyone knows the heart of camp is the fire pit and I have spent many fine nights jabbing at coals in mine with close friends and neighbors. Backyard fire pits are best made in a wooded part of your property if available but don't let living in suburbia kill your motivation to setup camp in your backyard. Mine started with a couple of truckloads of rocks gathered from old ore outcroppings in our area.  This red ore made for a really rustic look.  Once the location was chosen to setup the ring, several full workdays were dedicated to clearing brush and undergrowth and creating a small trail from the house to the fire pit.  I salvaged some gravel for free and covered the woods floor surrounding the rock pit to catch stray embers.  Next came the picnic table. A neighbor was cleaning a newly purchased piece of property and discovered an old concrete highway rest stop style picnic table half buried.  When he offered it to me for free if I would come pick it up, I of course obliged.  The table must have weighed three hundred pounds and came in three pieces but a quick pressure washing made the concrete look like new.  It was the perfect add on to my wooded camp area. 

Next to the fire-pit,  camp cooking comes in a close second to making up the finer parts of camp life.  Cooking outside has a distinct feel of relaxation to it.  My mind tends to associate cookouts with camping trips, fall tail-gating, and the fourth of July, all of which stir up fond memories and place me on an immediate track toward relaxation. I try to cookout every chance I get and its not unusual to light the Coleman lantern and enjoy a weekday dinner outside to the sound of crickets instead of the noise of television blaring bad news in the backdrop of my dining room. I keep my grill covered and bags of charcoal at the ready.  Some work days require immediate escape to camp. 

For those bitter cold winter nights or those blistering hot August afternoons, a camp cabin experience can be more enjoyable than battling the elements outside.  To the degree that I can get by with,  I attempt to recreate a cabin vibe when it comes to my décor choices.  This encompasses my furniture choices, the pictures I hang, and the books left available to thumb through on the coffee table.  Adding a stove with a rock fire place to the living room has completely transformed the feel of room.  Many winter nights and mornings have been spent with feet propped in front of the fire, gripping hot coffee, and winding down with the best bunkhouse stories.  

Well you get the picture, life is too short to only enjoy your favorite parts of camp life once or twice a year.  Bring camp home and start enjoying those little things every day.  The art of relaxation is found in the ability to vacation at home.