Our  readers  sent  us  their  most  memorable  accounts  of  stepping  out  of  the  comforts  of  home  to  experience  the  big,  wide  world  outdoors.  The  Purple  Inc.  staff  joined  in  too.   Following  is  a  colorful  compilation  of  stories  that  reminds  us  why  we  go  camping.
Camping was a necessity in 1972 when my Canadian friend and I hitchhiked across Europe. We didn't have enough money to pay for hostels or even a tent, but we did have two sleeping bags. We spent our days walking with our thumbs out and speaking French because Canada had made all students learn French in order to accommodate its French-speaking citizens and Lynda, my companion, needed to practice her conversation skills. One night in Holland, the night had closed in on us so quickly that we couldn't read the sign on the fence as we climbed it in order to camp in the forest that we saw on the other side. We threw our two sleeping bags under a tree and went to sleep only to be awakened to what we thought were sounds from crazy people that made us huddle together in fear in the dark until the morning when we could pull out my Dutch-English dictionary and read the sign on the fence: Dierentium. It means “Zoo� in English. We had spent the night camping inside the zebra pen of a large Zoo. -Leonore P., Bemidji, MN
Camping  Stories