Pitching Nature

June 27, 2024

Last weekend was the annual Great American Campout day sponsored by the National Wildlife Foundation. My family did not participate, because we are camping-impaired. There were these two incidents when the kids were little: one on a cold, rainy, August night in the Adirondacks when the local wildlife (probably imagined) fortunately did not eat my children, and one in what would have been a perfectly civilized campground had it not been punctuated by the campground managers' calling the police to deal with our next-site neighbors. It soured the Rosses on trying again, in case the third time would be similarly un-charming.

But it's possible that my definition of success had been written by having internalized the messages transmitted directly to my amygdala by the Family Bliss Promotors that are the force behind social media and stock images. You know those photos: They showcase the cutest and cleanest of all families, perfectly stress-free, having the Bug- and Bear-Free Time of Their Lives in the Great Outdoors. I was discussing my camping insecurities with Katie Beltramo, KidsOutAndAbout's Director of Communications and All Active Outdoorsy Things, as she was publishing her new article, Camping with Kids: How to Get Started for the Camp-Phobic. That sent Katie on a quest to Camping-Promotion-Land, which, it turns out, is replete with images of legendary family camping experiences... legendary, in this case, meaning LOADED WITH LIES.

Katie being Katie, her investigation prompted her to write an entirely new article: What's Wrong With This Camping Picture? It's a hilarious exposé of thirteen camping stock photos and the myths they promote, skewing our expectations and setting us up for failure. Her commentary also embeds smart advice about what—contra to the images—realistically to expect when you're camping with kids.

If I could go back in time and read these two articles before launching into the woods with two kids, two tents, and two bags of marshmallows, I'd have... well, honestly, I'd likely have pitched the tent in the wilds of our living room and told the girls to pose for an entirely bug-free adorable photo. But you do you!

—Deb