I am SO SO happy we finally went camping this summer! I have been begging Chris all summer to go camping with me, but his joking excuse was always “Why would we go camping if we have a nice, warm bed?” — Little did I know that this would foreshadow our question of survival later on…
So I finally made an official plan with our best friends, Jeff and Ali, and we got everything rounded up and packed on Friday night! Chris and I got our brand new tent that has been sitting under the bed for months and we happily put it in their car. One problem though.. Chris and I don’t have any sleeping bags or pads… We looked into quickly renting some for the night but it was $10 per sleeping bag PER NIGHT. So we decided to be cheap and we just grabbed some blankets from our house thinking it would make due…. Oh gosh, were we in for a treat…
We loaded up Jeff’s truck with our back packs, shelter, dutch oven, fire wood, food, cooler, and the rest of our junk. We then crammed into the front of his truck and made our way to Island Park! I had never been to Island Park so I was super excited to go! After an hour of driving, we made our way into the forest! We drove a little ways and found a perfect camping spot.
It was SO gorgeous when we first got there. There was a beautiful river right below us that was so pretty to look at (and it was so fun to listen to the soothing current of the river while falling asleep later).
Jeff set up a hammock, and Chris and I started setting up our tent. (PS– for engaged couples who are planning their registry: REGISTER FOR A TENT! We are now so in love with our 4 person tent and how roomy it is and we cannot wait to use it more).
Once we got shelter set up, Chris and Jeff started the fire, and Ali and I talked camera/ blog stuff. I am so excited to have her help model for my blog soon! She’s such a babe and I love her so much. (She is using a Canon and I am using a Nikon down below)
Chris and I then went off and explored the woods/ river. There was one moment we sat on a log together, with me in Chris’s lap and his arms around me from behind, and we just sat there admiring the view. The sky was pink, and the river current was so peaceful and beautiful. It was seriously so serene and romantic. I whispered into Chris’s ear “Never forget this moment.” It was seriously so amazing!!
We then roasted hot dogs and sat around the fire for a few hours. It was so fun to be off by ourselves and look up at the sky.
Around 10:30, we all felt so tired so we decided to get ready for bed. When looking at how little blankets we got and how cold it was getting, Chris and I started to get worried. We looked up the weather on our phones and realized the low was going to be 39 degrees that night… We would be sleeping in a tent, in the forest, outside in the freezing cold, with no sleeping bags or sleeping pads, while it was 39 degrees…. I don’t think anyone can fathom how cold sleeping OUTSIDE in 39 degree weather is with no sleeping bags.
Jeff and Ali were super worried about us as well, so they offered one of their blankets up and Chris and I tried to situate our blanket situation as best as we could. Chris got into sweat pants and a tee shirt, and I got into leggings, a long sleeve tee, and I put his thick Nike socks on my feet. We laid two blankets on the floor of the tent, so we could sleep with the three remaining blankets over us, all tucked in under our feet, and tucked under both sides of us. (We basically cocooned ourselves with the 3 blankets we had over us.)
We cuddled up super close so we could combine our body heat together (to keep us alive). We also had two pillows which was nice to keep our heads warm. It was so fun cuddling all night together!
But MAN was it uncomfortable. With 2 thicker blankets under us, we still could feel the hard ground below us. I seriously have bruises on my leg from sleeping on that ground! And then to top this all off… right before we went to sleep, I realized how thirsty I was.. It was the WORST possible time to feel this, as Chris and I had already spent 15 minutes situating ourselves and strategically cocooning ourselves into the blankets to be warm for the night. I decided to tough it out and just hope that it would pass. Finally we fell asleep.
After what felt like hours later, I woke up with my throat BEGGING me for water. I looked to the ceiling of our tent to see what color the sky was outside. It was still dark but I thought maybe it was close to morning and the sun would be coming up soon. I woke Chris up to check the time… It was only 2 AM!!!! I moaned and told him that I desperately needed water. I knew that if I walked outside though, all of the water would be locked away in Jeff’s truck, where he and Ali were sleeping. I got my Nikes on though and I walked around in hopes Jeff may have left at least a water bottle outside. Sure enough though, I was out of luck.
I tried the passenger’s door handle and it was locked. I bravely knocked on the back of Jeff’s truck, feeling SO bad that I would wake them up. Jeff opened the back opening of his truck telling me the drivers door was unlocked (I am so dumb for not checking).
I drank so much water in such a short amount of time, because I felt so bad about keeping Jeff and Ali awake and their car light would be on as long as their door was open. After getting so many swallows of water from the ginormous container we brought, I waddled back to our tent to cuddle up with Chris again. When I laid down, I realized I had consumed too much water and I started to feel like I was gonna throw up… Chris had gotten SO cold though, he needed me to basically lay on top of him to stop him from shivering and warm him up again. It was the most AWFUL and uncomfortable feeling in the world. There is no greater pain than feeling like you’re gonna throw up! But if I didn’t cuddle super close with Chris, he would freeze!
After we finally warmed up again, we fell back asleep. I woke up maybe an hour later though after having a terrible dream that a kid in the “mob” in New York City stabbed me with a knife! It sounds dumb now, but I was SO scared after I woke up. I cuddled up close to Chris again until I fell back asleep. I think I probably woke up another 3 more times during the night until it was morning. It was seriously the worst night’s sleep ever haha.
In the morning, we started another fire and had donuts, cheeto puffs, and hot chocolate for breakfast. Healthiest breakfast ever, right? It was seriously so good though! After we ate, we packed up our camp, chilled in the hammock, and we all went exploring/ on a mini hike above the river! It was so fun!
After an hour or so, we stopped at a yummy restaurant in Island Park for lunch and we made our way back home. Even though it was the most uncomfortable/ worst night’s sleep ever, it was SO FUN! It was such an adventure to go camping for the first time after being married, especially since Summer is coming to an end! I am so excited to go camping again (in the distant future;) and I am so excited to sleep in our comfortable, amazing, majestic bed for the rest of our lives:)
Thanks so much for reading! xo
Chris’s boots: Amazon