Happy New Year!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while - it hasn't been camping season, as you know. I'd be interested to know, however, if any of you camped during hunting season or over the winter. I think I wouldn't mind camping during a winter weekend if I had an RV to sleep in and there wasn't snow on the ground. As long as the temperatures were in the 40's or 50's, I wouldn't mind a brisk hike and a campfire.

In Illinois, reservations for state campgrounds start via mail on January 4, so we will be sending in our reservations for either Memorial Day weekend or Labor Day weekend tomorrow. Compounding the decision as to which holiday weekend we will make reservations for is the fact that my son is in marching band at his school. They usually march in the Memorial Day parade but not in the Labor Day parade. However, the parade has been rained out the last few years. We used to camp on both weekends, but with the State of Illinois raising the cost to $30.00 a night for holiday weekends, we just can't afford to go both weekends anymore. That's $90.00 for a three night stay, not counting the extra expense to use the pool, food, and beverages. Yikes! So much for camping on the cheap!

I hope to go camping more often this year. I quit the choir at church because 2 out of the 4 Sundays, it was taking up more than three-quarters of the day through singing in services and rehearsals in the afternoon. My husband works in the bookstore at church on the other Sundays, so camping those Sundays are not an option. And if the results of my diagnostic mammogram on January 15 are not good (see more details on that here), I may need some camping trips to cheer me up.

I hope that you all have a Happy New Year and are looking forward to the camping season, like I am. Until next time -

Happy camping!

Diane