on the road

The thing about September camping is the skinny-dipping. True, the parks are empty, the kids are back in school, the campgrounds don't need reservations, which is all good, but what really makes it is that the mountain lakes have been warming all summer and are largely abandoned. Hence the skinny-dipping. Nathaniel took to it immediately, running into the lake  and submerging himself before the more cautious adults could adjust to the water. As a child born into a family of river rafters, a group not known for strictly keeping clothed at all times, he embraced his heritage with gusto.

I'm writing this from Whistler, British Columbia, in our RV. It is an unbearably posh method of "camping." I became a convert our first night at Alice Lake (site of the first aforementioned skinny-dipping, see the photo in the link). The temperature dropped unexpectedly that night. I did not do what I have done on all previous camping trips when it became unexpectedly cold, namely, waking up cold, swearing profusely, struggling to find and pull on more sweatshirts, debating for twenty minutes whether I had to pee enough to risk the skin exposure, and then eventually burrowing back down in the sleeping bag. No, instead, I stumbled out of our bed and turned on our heater. A heater. It is absurd.

Nathaniel loves the RV. I think he'd be happy to move in full-time. It's kid-size, with a ladder for scrambling up to his bunk. He's asked us if this is our new home, so long as Red Wiggly can come? I am not ready to sell the house and start traipsing across the country in a land yacht, but you know, I can see the attraction now.

Comments

[Henny Penny]

Whistler is awesome. Have a ball!

[teahouseblossom]

Oooh, Whistler. I've always wanted to go there! I never knew it was a camping destination, just knew that it was a great ski resort. But it makes sense..during the summer when there's no snow, there should be camping of course! Have a great time.

[wil]

My first wife and the kids stayed there for a few days in the mid-70's and loved it.

Just in the process of getting my own land yacht and looking forward to it.