Our Extended "Off-Grid" Camping Trip

It's been a long time since I wrote on Steemit--over two weeks!

I've missed being here. My family and I were on a camping trip to Waupaca, WI. It was held at Spencer Lake for our church's youth camp, where my wife and I helped. They have a beautiful crystal clear lake and a lot of fun things for children to do--boating, swimming, sports, and interactive activities...

I decided to go off grid--at least as far as cellphone and emails go. As a full-time artist and teacher, I do a lot of stuff online everyday with tight deadlines. So when you decide to take a little vacation with family, sometimes you just want to unplug from it all!

Time was running out for us to find accommodations, so we bought a pop-up camper on Craigslist. We borrowed my father-in-law's truck to tow it. However, by the time we got there and were able to set up our camper, it was nearly nighttime.

I don't recommend setting up a pop-up camper that you just bought in the dark.

Nevertheless, we did it. My wife remarked: "We didn't swear or get into an argument with each other." That was a miracle. :)

Morning was much better after we got a little sleep.

My children had some time to get out a little energy and fly high!

My son, who has special needs, did well at some of his activities. In fact, he got a whole bunch of points during the game of "capture the flag." One of the assistants there said to the people on his team, "Do you realize that this boy got most of your points? Why don't you all give him a high five?"

I think my son really liked that.

Our site was about 1/2 a mile from all the facilities and so with walking back and forth from eating our meals from the events, we must have walked over 3 miles a day!

We somehow forgot matches, but were able to borrow some from our RV neighbors. I got a good fire going with pine needles, twigs, and logs. No gasoline...that's cheating!

We didn't back a bunch of campfire supplies, because we didn't know the youth camp directors would place us in an RV site. (Otherwise I would have packed matches, and all my camping gear.) I wanted to cook a burger over the fire, so I improvised...

A coat-hanger and a stick, and voila...a hamburger cooker!

In the evenings, we had interactive worship services, where the ministry team did skits, interactive Bible stories, songs and dancing. It would have been hard to fall asleep during the services, but still, a few kids managed to!

Finally, we packed up the camper, and prepared to go home. It was a wonderful time, but there's nothing like getting back to you usual routine. One thing I won't miss are the mosquitoes!

Now that I'm back, I hope to be on Steemit more often again. Missed you all. Have a blessed rest of your week!

If you like this post, please comment, upvote, follow me ( @mattphilleo ) and resteem. I post regularly on art, tips on painting and drawing, and encouraging thoughts. You are helping me to do art full-time and support a family. Thank you so much!--Matt

See more of my artwork at: MattPhilleo.com