Adventures in Camping - Part II

To make a long story short, there was a huge thunderstorm our second night camping, which for the offspring and I, was terrifying. The constant rain (I counted at least five hours worth) battered our tent, but Alhamdu lillah, it didn't fall over. We did, however, find small pools of water in the corners of our tent. You truly get what you pay for.

So, here are a couple of tips on camping with kids, if you plan to do that this summer:

1. Pack a sweater, a jacket and at least 1 warm blanket per person.
2. Keep your shoes inside the tent, even if you choose not to walk with them inside. We made the mistake of leaving them out on night #2, and woke up to discover they were drenched. Which is why it's important to..
3. pack an extra pair of shoes or flip flops. Closed shoes are better. Mosquitoes generally eat you alive so....
4. pack insect repellant
5. Pack a large water bottle for "lota" use. The small ones just don't cut it.
6. Before you go to sleep, pack any and all food into your car. Raccoons are in practically every park (as they were in ours) and in other places, bears will enjoy a feast on your leftovers as you lay terrified in your tent, praying they don't come near you.
7. Don't forget the first aid kit.
8. Hand sanitizer is a must.
9. Keep many large sized garbage bags. At our campsite, there were specific places we had to dump garbage so animals wouldn't get to it. These were not walking distance, so we collected our garbage, kept it in the car and dumped it when we drove by.
10. While it's important to plan a structured schedule for the trip, allow for at least some flexibility. Kids might be too tired to do more than one hike during a day, for instance, or an area you were planning to see may be closed due to inclement weather.

ISLAMIC COMPONENTS
1. Talk about the diversity of Allah's Creation, as expressed through the fauna and flora around you.
2. If you are going to be there on Friday and you have enough people, hold your own Juma prayers. We did and were treated to a great Khutba about the importance of being grateful to God, especially considering we were experiencing significant discomfort through our camping experience (no internet!).
3. If you hold a bonfire, one person should talk about a serious topic, but remember to make it age-appropriate and non-scary. The temptation to tell Jinn stories was great, but we resisted, knowing it would freak the kids out in the complete darkness and isolation.
4. Roast those Halal marshmallows. Most of us have grown up hearing about this staple camping experience. Now is your change to indulge.
5. Pray together outside. If that is too risky (yes, someone who only connects praying Muslims with dangerous stuff could cause you a problem), designate one tent as the prayer tent.

Camping is definitely one of those experiences you need to go through at least once in a lifetime, especially if you're an urbanite or suburbanite. It teaches not only basic survival skills, but brings you closer to God, in a place where the hum of the hummingbird replaces the one from your cell, and the flash of the lightning substitutes for the glow of a television screen.