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Airplane Camping, Family Style!
By: Neil Amonson
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Since I become a Dad three years ago, I’ve always wanted to take the entire family on an airplane camping adventure. This includes two dogs (Heidi and Bertu), the wife (Maureen), and now... two kids (Walter, age 3 and Gemma, age 1).
I’ve airplane camped with Walter and the dogs many times, but never with Maureen or Gemma. Taking a one year old camping may sound kind of crazy, but many people travel and adventure extensively while their kids are young, so I figured why not?
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There is some great BLM land outside of Salt Lake City that is suitable for landing an airplane and camping. I wanted to accomplish this mission early in the spring, when the day time temperatures aren’t very high, and before the bugs come out. I had a buddy join us on the adventure, so we were able to fly out earlier in the day to set-up camp for when I came back later with the family. It was really nice to have everything all ready.
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After getting the tent put up, sleeping pads filled with air, crib set up, sleeping bags laid out, and kitchen area prepped, it was time to pick up the family!
For this mission we used a 1959 Cessna 182B. It is a four-seat general aviation aircraft, popular with back country pilots for it’s ability to land and take-off short enough for most popular strips. Also, for it's ability to carry 4 adults, and enough room on the inside to fit pretty much anything you'd want to bring for a camping adventure.
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The flight to camp was uneventful, although Gemma did fuss most of the way. I have flown with her once before, and she slept the entire time, but still.... it is a relatively new experience for our little toddler.
Once we got the family out of the plane, it was time to make dinner! We feasted on burgers and bratwurst, and enjoyed the company of another pilot and his son, who joined us until sunset when they flew home.
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A new addition to this camping trip were our Tiki torches. I wanted something that provided some light after the sun went down, but didn’t require electricity. They worked great! Plus when you have an airplane with the room for them.... why not bring them!
It was nearly a full moon this night, and was so bright out that there was "moon shadow", as I like to call it.
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Gemma had some trouble falling asleep. There was a point in the early evening when I didn’t think she was going to be able to sleep in the tent, but after walking around with her twice until she fell asleep and putting her back in her crib, she slept like a log the rest of the night. We are lucky that both are kids have been awesome sleepers, perhaps partly due to the fact they never stop moving when they are awake.
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After a comfortable night sleep in our "Kodiak" canvas tent, with gigantic sleeping pads and sleeping bags, it was time for breakfast! While Walter is not much of a morning person, his sister Gemma starts each day with a smile. If you don’t see Walter in many of these photos, it’s because he brought a small shovel with him and spent most of the camping adventure digging in the sand, and walking around with Bertu, our Shiloh Shepherd.
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I didn’t grow up camping, and the only memories of sleeping in a tent growing up are from our backyard, with an extension cord and TV inside of it. So I definitely didn’t learn the art of camp cooking. It’s one of my goals this year.... to step up my camping food game, and this family trip was a good chance to practice it. Our morning meal was breakfast burritos with eggs, hash browns, peppers, onions, bacon, and cheese. They were delicious! I’m bringing a cooler and real food with me from now on during these trips. Props to @chefadamglick for the inspiration.
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I didn’t know so many special moments could be jam-packed into 12 hours. Seeing something as simple as a brother share a snack with his little sister just warms the heart. I also loved watching the kids play in the dirt, often with no shoes on, usually dirty, happy as can be. It gave me hope that we are raising our kids to be strong adults one day.
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The short flight back to my home airport included a flight along the south end of the Great Salt Lake. The red stuff you see in the water are brine shrimp, the only creature that can live in the lake due to how salty it is. Gemma did much better on the flight home. Walter and the dogs were rock stars, like normal.
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If you told me that after spending much of my youth traveling the world to do extreme sports... that I could get so much joy in just 12 hours in my own backyard, I probably wouldn't have believed you.
We had so much fun as a family on this little overnight trip! I can’t wait to "slumber party" with the family again. Most of our set-up worked perfectly, and the Cessna 182 was a great tool for the job. Next time we could do it all in one trip if we brought a smaller tent, or could bring the same tent again... but not the dogs. Maybe I need to get a cargo pod!
Or bigger plane. Kidding, kidding.
Another KAVU day for the books, and a fun adventure to show the kids pictures of when they are older, of our first family airplane camping adventure.
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