Plenty of Warm Clothing
As we approached home last September after nearly three months on the road, we stopped on at Barkcamp State Park in Ohio for our final night of camping. The weather was mild and with the weekend approaching, the park was packed with RVs, tents, and vans ready for a weekend in the great outdoors.
Fortunately, we had a reservation and squeezed into a spot next to a large party which was rocking to some raucous beats. We had just made our peace with the loud music when the same group fired up the most massive generator I have ever seen (or heard). The ground shook.
The camp officer kindly allowed us to move to the last remaining space in the campground, the “Emergency Space” that was around the corner. The generator could still be heard but it was more subdued. You might pretend it was large truck passing on a nearby road.
All of which to say, that when we returned to Barkcamp earlier this second week of January, it was a very different place. It is now winter, of course, and the trees are bare. It was also 4 degrees Celsius and snowing lightly when we arrived, though the sky soon cleared. There was no attendant was at the open gate to collect our fee. We found an empty site (they were all empty) and set up camp.
We prepared a quick meal of hot soup and pasta at our picnic table and dined – alone. There was not a soul to be seen and the only sounds were the hooting owls which very grammatically called, “whom! whom!” We had the whole dang park to ourselves. Amazingly the water and lights were still turned on in the shower rooms, not always the case in the winter. The water was hot.
The temperature dropped further overnight and by morning there was a thin layer of ice on the inside of the van’s windshield. I had awoken several times during the night to find a luminous full moon directly overhead and the soft sounds of night critters. It was chilly during the few moments, I needed to spend outside but the van holds warmth nicely and the down comforter was nice to get back under. We retired at around 8:30 p.m. and slept more than 10 hours.
In the morning we skipped breakfast and just made coffee enjoying our freshly ground and brewed joe while packing up.
Heading back toward highway, we slowed at the park gate once more to try and pay for our night’s accommodations. The booth was still deserted. “Catch you on the way back,” I thought as we picked up speed.
More likely, it will be Spring before the fee collectors are back. In addition to the other benefits, winter camping is also often a bargain.
The nocturnal creatures figured it out long ago. Time your movements to when the rest of the word is hunkered down or asleep and you’ll have the world mostly to yourself. You don’t have to stray outside your comfort zone, only outside the comfort zone of 95% of humanity to find yourself enjoying the rarified air of solitude.
Make sure to bring plenty of warm clothing.