I have been camping for approximately forever, but many of my experiences certainly haven’t been exactly grueling. Most of my trips have been conducted carside, with all the provisions I could need only a few dozen feet away.
That being said, I wouldn’t classify any past trips as true glamping — or glamorous camping. After reading Glamping with Mary Jane cover to cover and receiving some very nice camping cookbooks, I have decided that it is high time to give this concept a shot.
I’m hoping to take my first trip soon, and here’s what I have planned so far.
Delicious Grub.
My general camping fare consists of a Clif Bar for breakfast, a peanut butter-smeared tortilla and an apple for lunch, dried apricots and GORP for snack, and ramen or heat-and-serve Indian food for dinner. If I think to pack marshmallows, I’ll roast those. And as tasty as all of that generally is to me, it’s hardly glamp-worthy!
A dear friend and camping cohort gave me The Great American Camping Cookbook, and I’m itching to try out some recipes. Campfire cornbread, panfried trout saussignac, and spit-roasted acorn squash sound infinitely better to me than the ubiquitous chicken-flavored ramen. And when you’re camping with a cooler (and maybe even a car fridge!), you can bring nearly anything.
Gorgeous Surroundings.
Here in East Texas, we’re pretty short on mountain ranges and glacial lakes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have beautiful campsites. In the end, camping should be a vacation, which means our temporary home should be as exciting as it is restorative.
I won’t have the resources to purchase and outfit the adorable vintage trailer of my dreams by this fall, but I can certainly create a tented wonderland.
There are far too many creepy crawlies in my region for me to feel comfortable sleeping en plein air, but I can definitely glamp up my sleeping quarters. I hope to purchase canvas and mosquito netting to make a more natural-looking and airier cover for my picnic table shelter. Then I will transform it into a tent with rugs, an air mattress, sheets and blankets, and maybe even a pretty chandelier to hang from the ceiling!
I want to hear about what inspires you in the comments. Have you been glamping? Tell me more!
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