The other night, sitting around the campfire, staring up at the moon, surrounded by silence, except for the occasional bird chirp, I had a thought. That thought was: I would rather be uncomfortable and live my life than sitting at home, afraid to step outside my comfort zone. While this can apply to all aspects of life, at that moment I was referring to the act of camping and immersing in nature, without our safety nets (i.e. television, wifi, a bed). Now, I normally get anxiety, and I get physical anxiety, where I get a deep breathing tick. However, camping actually made that all go away. I'm not going to lie, once the sun started going down and the reality of sleeping on the ground was encroaching, I started to feel uncomfortable. But then I realized that I am safe, I am on an adventure, and nature therapy is so real. Once that campfire started, I instantly felt at peace. I swear, sometimes getting uncomfortable alloMukwonagows us to remember that we are alive! The only negative that we experienced, is that we purchased cots to put inside our tent, to sleep above the ground, however, our tent was too small for both cots to fit, so we just slept on our sleeping pads, with sleeping bags, and honestly, I'm surprised by the amount of sleep we got!
When I was younger, I went camping every summer, and then my husband and I have only ever gone camping once with another group of people. Never on our own. With that being said, we have a friend's group camping trip in August, but we wanted to adventure this summer and explore camping parks and nature locations within Wisconsin, before the August trip. We didn't know what to expect on our first camping trip solo, so we may have overpacked..and when I say may have, I mean we one hundred percent did! With that being said, I am going to write out a list of what we believe, for a weekend of camping, are the essentials. Keep in mind though, that we did not cook this time, however, I suggest either prepackaging food you can cook over a grill (i.e. foil packets containing sausage and potatoes, or even jambalaya), or even bringing burgers and hot dogs and just grilling them on the grill bars that are equipped at most locations, over the fire pit.
Essentials:
-Sleeping pad
-Sleeping bag
-Lantern
-Flashlight
-Tent (obviously, however, if you want to include and sleep on cots, then I suggest getting a 4-person tent, not 2 person tent like we did. However, I believe that you will be fine sleeping on just sleeping pads as we did).
-An extra blanket (if you are camping anywhere in the midwest or west)
-Ear plugs
-Eye sleep mask
-Lawn chairs
-Water
-If you have an electric site, which for your first few times, I highly recommend, bring a 50-foot extension cord, as well as a fan (you can shop the travel fan, as well as all the other products I use for camping, on my Like To Know It account: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/MandaBroskie_ )
-Lighter fluid
-Just for fun, but not necessary: a UV flashlight. There is a new show on Netflix, Welcome To Earth, and in one episode it showcases how in Wisconsin, at night, you can use a UV light and see a completely different world! The squirrels, as well as different sections of logs and trees, showcase different colors! It is very worth seeing.
Now, if you aren't in the midwest area, and more specifically Wisconsin, you can stop reading at this point, or save this for a future itinerary if you'd like to travel to the great area of the midwest.
Camping Locations in Wisconsin:
County Parks:
-Mukwanago Camping grounds
-Muskego County Park
-Jellystone Park
-Cliffside Park
-Dodge County Ledge Park
-Alana Springs Campground
-Anchor Inn
-Apostle Islands
-Bass Lake Campground
-Bay City Campground
-Big Falls County Park
-Menomonee Park
-Naga-Waukee Park
State Parks (for state parks in Wisconsin, I suggest making a reservation 11 months in advance):
-Big Foot Beach State Park
-Harrington Beach State Park
-Kohler-Andrae State Park
-Kettle Morain State Park- Pike Lake Unit and the Northern Unit -Kettle Moraine State Forest
-Richard Bong State Park
-High Cliff State Park
-Lakeshore State Park
-Ottawa Lake State Park
-Mirror Lake State Park
-Devil's Lake State Park (try and reserve this at the earliest date available!)
-Point Beach State Forest
-Governor Dodge State Park
-Yellowstone Lake State Park
-Peninsula State Park
-Governor Thompson State Park
-Beach at High Cliff State Park
-Mauthe Lake State Park
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