Now that I’ve camped a few times, I thought I had figured it all out–that I was an expert. HAHAHAHAHA. Not so. My first trip of 2017 taught me many things.
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Debbie Bosworth
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
Rebekah Teal
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
Cathi Belcher
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
Mary Murray
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
Alexandra Wilson
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Nicole Christensen
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
I felt as though I was right there with you guys. I am NOT a camping fan. I grew up back in West Virginia with “4 rooms and a path”, if you get my drift. I figure that after living a partial lifetime with NO COMFORTS, why on earth would I continue that lifestyle and call it “vacation and pleasure”?
Loved this post….I felt like I was there. I think I’ve experienced all the mis-steps of this camping trip, except the car trouble….hope I never have that one. My husband and I still camp with a tent. We bought a new, bigger and improved one to use on our last camping trip. Lesson 1: Always set it up at home first. We didn’t, so when we tried at the campground we noticed out neighbor campers watching us from their 30 foot home on wheels. They finally took pity on us and offered to help. Good thing, because we probably would have ended up sleeping in the truck. Lesson 2: Keep fire starters, kindling and some firewood in heavy duty totes from Home Depot. And we always find a campsite with electricity. Even with a tent, you still need coffee.
Gosh want a camping adventure! Definitely one for the camping tales campfire times.
Phew. Well done to you for your persistence and stoic ness, dint know if that’s a proper word, but works for me here.
I had been wondering how’d you go this time with the weather forecast you’d posted. Your camper and truck are really cool. Love your camp setup, with your pretty lights and rugs and things. Third time lucky?
All in all its a definitely a memory making trip and I’m so sure your hubby would’ve even more glad he’d not gone with you.
Love reading your adventures, always interesting and fun.
Keep smiling, life’s always better, oh and a smile only uses 18 facial muscles and makes us look younger too
These are the days
I think the word you’re looking for is stoicism! Had to think for a minute to remember it lol
Oh I loved this read. Brought back memories of camping with my 3 daughters. Almost always rained but there was always enough fun in between the rain to make it worth the trip. Always packed a small Rubbermaid tub with Uno, Yahtzee, and cards for playing war. Those kind of games that take a long time to play but do not drive you nuts. Word find books were usually the puzzle books we took and yes an umbrella and flashlights are always needed. Ditto on the power, coffee without waiting for water to heat over campfire sure starts the morning out easier! Good for you not giving up!
I grew up camping a lot. We went to the Chimney Tops in the Smokies. No words for all the memories. You will get it all together now after your first fun trip. And make remember when that will last a life time! Sounded so fun just reading this, love it❤️❤️❤️
Love your post! I can totally relate to your situation since it has happened to me a couple of times. With our worst camping rainstorm the whole family was in tents. Many of those tents flooded. Luckily our flooding was very minimal. But there is nothing better to put you to sleep then hearing some rain. One of my favorite parts about camping is waking up to the cool fresh air in the morning. I’m glad you decided to stick it out and not give up. This trip will be one of those trips you remember for years to come!
Love this!!! And so glad you journeyed anyway!! For the best fire starters, use a cardboard dozen egg carton, fill each egg slot with non-chemical hamster bedding (real shavings and has no epoxy) and pour melted wax in each. This travels well and you will need only two “eggs” for each fire. Great for both charcoal and wood fires!
Oh, I’ll try that! Sounds perfect!
Your writing is eloquent and engrossing–thank you for sharing this story. I long for such trips w my granddaughter!
I realized this year, we’ve never cooked anything on an open fire since we started camping with the grandkids. I do live in the Northwest. We do camp on the coast–rain, wind, hail, did I say wind! We had a fire last long enough that we did a round of smores. That’s it. We’re heading inland this year, wish us luck. I am dying to use my cast iron stuff on an open fire.
I truly felt your pain…..
Camping memories is what it is all about. I could share so many “rainy camp stories”…they’d include worms in our shoes and make do garbage bag porta potties! Oh for a map to the outhouses that night…as to fire starters, an old Girl Scout trick works every time, just cut old taper candles into one inch chunks and wrap them taffy style in wax paper. Light the wax paper ( a cinch even in the rain) and you’ll have a nice warm fire going in no time. The upside, no residue is left from the starter and you are “recycling” your worn out tapers.
Thanks for sharing your adventure, it got me remembering all my “good” times camping.
Love the story and absolutely LOVE camping! You have got to read “A Fine and Pleasant Misery” by Patrick McManus. We read it on just such a trip (trying to find campground in a deep fog on a winding, one-lane mountain road, dog vomited in the car, heavy rains), and nearly split our guts laughing. While we were camping in our back yard, which is where we ended up.
I love your stick to itness and your strength and will!!! Sounds to me like you made wonderful memories with your daughter, ones she will never forget. Im so happy that the sun did shine at times.
My hat is off to you! I never would have made it through that trip without a major meltdown. My idea of camping these days is renting a cabin!
Love the story! and that is why my idea of camping is a nice cabin or a nice motel, ok I know I will miss out on somethings but glad you get to CAMP and share your experience with us. God bless
Your story made me want to go camping again. I haven’t gone in a long time but you reminded me of all the good times I had. I laughed out loud several times reading your post. You and your daughter are an awesome pair of adventurers and so smart to spend the time together. And you’re right, crossword puzzles make people (me) feel stupid. 🙂
Been there, lived through it, the only advice is we learn as we go. My sweetie and I have been camping now for almost 30 yrs together and we started out the same way. ughhh. But now we only have 3 states left to camp in of the inter cont, US. We love camping and I am so glad yall didnt give in to the frustration. Although I am sure it didnt seem like it while it was all happening, you learned alot to be prepared for future trips. KEEP CAMPING.
Rejoice! It’ll be all the things that went wrong that you and especially your daughter will always remember…fondly. Like the bear outside your tent as a child!
What a perfect camping trip. Rain on a tin roof is one of the best sounds ever.
Beka, Glad we were unaware of all this.
Alias,
(Will Elliott)
Awesome story but sounds like you did have a wonderful memorable camping trip. I have never been on one that was perfect but they are the most fun I have had..trouble and all. Love your lights too. Very cool. Thanks for the tips about the food too. Have to check in to those.