We decided to give camping a try since we found hotels to be an expensive, cost-prohibitive way to spend the night. My daughter had a tent, and I decided to borrow it one day. I set it up in the backyard, sent a picture to the wife showing that the tent is in good order, and got the go-ahead to book a campsite for us to try.
Restoule Provincial Park was the first campground we ever visited. The site was perfect. It had its own private beach (albeit very small), a great view, and some privacy. The weather was good. Everything came together, and we decided that camping is a legitimate way of sleeping.
We have discovered differences between camping and hotelling. Any dirt at a campsite is ignored. Any dirt in a hotel is just gross. Not having internet access at a campsite is a blessing. Not having internet in a hotel is a major inconvenience. Many of the sites we visit do not have electricity. A hotel without electricity (which has happened) is disastrous. Camping has more to do. Setting up the site, cooking our meal, watching the fire, listening to the bugs and frogs, seeing fireflies, gazing at the stars, and more. A hotel is nice that it has our own private bathroom, but it gets really boring really fast, especially when there is nothing on TV.
Camping has also been far from perfect. We have had to set up in the pouring rain a few times. It is hard to keep the inside dry when the rain guard is the last thing put on the tent. We have also set up in high winds, which is a challenge in itself. Some campgrounds have been so small that we had to find another site, and others have been too crowded. Then there are those campers who have no respect for the Quiet Hours and party all night long.
There is also wildlife that comes into play. Our First Night in Algonquin Park is about the demonic noise a horny fox makes that terrorised us through the night. We once woke up to a flying squirrel trapped between the rain guard and the tent. It climbed up the tent and got trapped. It has been the only time we have ever seen a flying squirrel. It freed itself after much panic. We have had mice and other small creatures walk around the edge of our tent. A raccoon that had no fear of me, even after I tried to scare it off. We had a deer beside our tent one night. That was concerning because I heard footsteps that sounded more human than deer. Even though we have camped over a hundred times now, we have never had anything larger than an ant get into the tent, and we have never had anything truly threatening while we sleep.
We have pitched a tent in bear country many times. There are some hard-and-fast rules when camping in these areas, mainly dealing with keeping a clean, food-free site. We have encountered bears in our travels, both black and grizzly, and all of these were in the safety of a car. Never have we encountered one while hiking or sleeping. But I have always had a concern that we might have a bear at our site.
As we have camped, it has become plain to me that bears are not the nuisance I have heard about on social media and in the news. We have camped more times than most and never had an issue. I have come to relax and get a good night’s sleep.
Until one night!
We had settled down to sleep in our cosy tent. All comfortable in our sleeping bag, secure from mosquitoes, we listened to the various night noises that are only available in the woods. Sleep took over, and it grabbed hold of me hard.
During the middle of the night, I heard a growl. It was a soft growl, but still very much a growl.
I was too tired to care, so I fell asleep.
Seconds later, I heard the growl again.
Sleep still gripped me, and I did not want to let go, but I managed to pry myself awake.
Another growl.
Oh God!
I was fully awake at this point.
Growl!
Coo.
Growl!
Coo.
Growl!
Coo.
I didn’t know what to do.
I was hearing a growl that must be a bear. We never had a bear at our site until now. Terror froze me in place.
But what was this cooing I kept hearing?
Growl!
Coo.
Growl!
Coo.
Growl!
Coo.
I started to notice a pattern. The unmistakable growl of a large bear menacing outside, followed by a peaceful dove perched on the top of the tent.
The growling and cooing continued.
What do I do?
Do I wake Charlene? Do we try to scare the bear off? Do remain still and not frighten the bear?
What do I do?
The pattern continued.
With the dim light filtering into the tent, I looked at my wife, who was sleeping peacefully. It was then that I noticed the pattern. Charlene was snoring. Her snore was the bear and the dove that I was hearing. As she inhaled, she growled. When she exhaled, she cooed.
Once I realised that there was no bear outside the tent, I fell asleep again.
A few moments of terror turned into something funny. Charlene does consider herself to be a mama bear, and that night in the woods, she proved it!
- Check out the Provincial and State Campgrounds Map. I prefer government-run sites and do all I can to plan a trip around one of these locations.
