Camp Fire is a large organization with a lot of program focuses – youth development, early childhood education, and outdoor education, to name a few. While Camp Fire operates a residential camp with organized activities – Camp El Tesoro – all of our programs encourage youth to foster their love of the outdoors. One way you can do that is through traditional, grab-a-tent-and-go kind of camping.

I know what you might be thinking:

Can’t I have the same experiences at a theme park or resort?

Do I really need to smell bacon cooking over a campfire?

Can’t you see every star in the sky getting brighter and brighter as you lick the marshmallow and chocolate off your fingers from the smore you just inhaled, from anywhere?

What is so special about being outdoors?

Over the past 30 years of camping and working at camps, I have discovered some answers to these questions: “NO?!,” “YES!!!,” “Only If you live at a camp.”, and “REALLY???”

Camping has been around since the beginning of time in one form or another. It has evolved from a way of life to a way to teach life. It can encompass a range of lessons in struggles and triumphs in one weekend trip. A few of my examples: managing the anticipation of the unknown, dealing with the anxiety of digging and using your first – ummm – outdoor “toilet”, realizing the mistake of telling your son there really is a Bigfoot, and the sense of accomplishment when you get all the parts of your tent packed back into that tiny bag. This is just scratching the surface of what can be experienced and shared on a camping trip.

I believe camping is an essential part of growing up. And listen – if you’ve already had a horrible first camping experience, then you probably didn’t do something right because its suppose to go perfect, without any problems.

Just kidding!!

If you’ve had a hard time camping in the past, then you’re right on track with the rest of the camping world. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has a not-so-great camping trip story, so don’t give up, these challenging times add to the richness of the experience.  Exposing yourself to the outdoors in a raw, unfiltered way can be difficult, but the memories and stories and grit that come from it are irreplaceable.

If you haven’t quite found your niche in the outdoors, there are several ways to get your feet wet without the full on primitive camping experience:

  • Picnics
  • Day hikes
  • Organized campouts (Like at Camp El Tesoro!)
  • Organized guided trips
  • Local outdoor water activities – kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding

The list goes on and on.

So no matter your experience level, I hope to see you out there, trying again, and again for that camping trip that goes off without a hitch . . . and without Bigfoot!

Burke Martin is Camp Fire Camp El Tesoro’s site manager. In his position, he enjoys being able to work behind the scenes to make Camp El Tesoro look effortless and magical for all its campers. Burke has more than 15 years of both camping and child care experience. He has worked with children in many capacities from being a counselor to managing facility care. Burke holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University and has received camp-specific training at YMCA’s Camp Carter and Texas Parks and Wildlife.