Thoughts on Camping

I know this seems really out of the blue as far as topics go... but the weather is getting to have that feeling of family vacations, most of which have included camping for me.  Also, I just drove about two hours home in this lovely weather, and there was one point along the way when the air was full of the smell of campfire.
Mmmmmm campfire... you know, I am of the opinion that a campfire is quite possibly the most romantic setting ever.  It's just so sweet and comfortable, so open and free and yet so cozy.  It invites singing of rounds (at least in my family haha) and storytelling.  Plus that smoky smell is one of my favorite smells in the world.  When we get home from a trip, I wait to wash my hoodies for a few days because I want the smell of campfire to linger... is that gross?  hahaha I don't really care...  I know that I whine and complain about how horrible camping is (mostly due to the ungodly amount of bugbites I usually come home with), but when it comes right down to it, camping has come to be a part of who I am, and I have to admit that I love it. There's just nothing like opening your tent flap to the fresh morning air upon awaking, like cooking over the campfire, like snuggling into your sleeping bag when the night is chilly.  This is all assuming that you don't go south to camp.  Camping in the south = waking up with sweat trickling down your face.  No thank you.  Take me to the mountains, please!  The Rockies are my favorites.  Though I was just talking to my sister about one particularly beautiful campsite out in the plains somewhere... It was during our trip to Yellowstone (yep, we drove the whole way there in a weeks time, stopping to camp along the way) and the campsite was modeled like a ghost town with an old general store and abandoned main street and all of that.  But what we remember the most is the gorgeous hills of layered rock and sand in rich earth tones and plains with tall grasses and wildflowers, the most beautiful I have ever seen.  We left our tent flap open to just the screen that night so we could see the magnificence of the landscape as we fell asleep and in the first morning light.  Sigh... someday I hope to go back to the wild west...