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For the Smith family, a vacation getaway is merely a matter of getting to the great outdoors.
Lynne and Linc Smith's sons, Aaron, left, and Andrew, have grown up camping. Here, they are shown on a hiking trip at the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.
Don’t expect 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and turndown service on a vacation with the Smiths. This adventurous Tulsa family prefers exploring the great outdoors, occasionally sleeping in hammocks and campfire cooking.
For the Smith family, Linc, Lynne, Andrew and Aaron, spending time in the outdoors is a way of life.
“A campfire is my favorite smell,” 17-year-old Andrew admits.
Parents Linc and Lynne have always shared their love of nature with their sons. Fourteen-year-old Aaron’s first camping trip was to Beavers Bend State Park in southern Oklahoma. As his mom hiked, little Aaron hitched a ride in her backpack. Today, Aaron is working to achieve the Eagle Scout rank just like his big brother, Andrew.
“The kids learn to leave things as they see them,” Linc says. “Leave no trace, don’t disturb things and stay on the trails.”
The lessons the Boy Scouts teach are reinforced at home and on Smith family vacations.
“For vacation, some of my friends say they went shopping in Dallas,” Andrew says. “I say, I went white water rafting and I jumped off cliffs.”
The more than 12 million visitors to Oklahoma state parks seem to agree. For many, camping means back to basics, back to simpler times and, most importantly, back to family.
“Families get distracted by technology and depend on it too much,” Linc says. ”In the mountains, you forget about it. It’s not a want anymore.”
Instead, the “wants” include activities such as hiking, fishing and just spending time together. It’s a different, slower-paced world, Linc explains, where schedules and agendas are rarely considered.
The appeal of camping in Green Country doesn’t surprise Chuck Mai, vice president of public affairs for AAA Oklahoma.
“We’re starting to rediscover our own back yard,” he says. “It allows us to have a great family-oriented vacation, reconnect and save money.”
Just $12 a night secures a campsite at more than 40 Oklahoma state parks. Picking a state park is just a mouse click away at www.travelok.com/State_Parks. The comprehensive site offers more than 7,000 places to stay, eat, visit and have fun. Visitors can also order from more than 100 free Oklahoma travel brochures, as well as view videos and photos and read what other travelers say about various Oklahoma attractions.
Lynne, who has backpacked in 48 of the 50 states, recommends Green Leaf State Park for first-time campers (see box for additional tips). Thanks to the Great Value Getaways page, travelers can focus on how they spent their vacation and not how much money they spent.
Another money-saving resource is MoneySavingQueen.com, a website that saves shoppers money on everything from camping equipment to grocery items.
“You can cut your cooking budget up to 80 percent, hike in boots you got on sale and get a sleeping bag for next to nothing if you follow my smart shopping strategies,” Coupon Queen Sarah Roe says.
Although an ice cooler is a camper’s refrigerator and campers may cook over an open fire rather than on a Jenn Air range, meals can be memorable. The Smiths serve up campfire fare such as pancakes, sausage, bacon, pork chops, cobblers and even bananas Foster.
Linc smiles as he says, “We’ve had some of our best nights as a family out camping. You have a million stars overhead; there’s nothing like it.”
Lynne agrees and points to Linc’s and her close relationship with their boys.
“You strip it down and spend time together,” she says.
Back to basics: family, fun and, of course, a campfire.
“It becomes part of you,” Andrew says.
Well said. Now, pass the bananas Foster.
A supply list for first-time campers:
- A sturdy tent, preferably water repellent, to provide shelter
- An ice chest or two for perishable food items
- Air mattresses or sleeping bags
- Large containers with lids to store non-perishable food
- A propane or charcoal grill for cooking with an adequate supply of propane and/or charcoal
- Cast-iron or other outdoor cooking utensils
- Trash bags
- Water for drinking
- Rain gear in the event of inclement weather
- A battery-operated weather radio
- Insect spray
- A Frisbee
- Bicycles
- Fishing gear
- Firewood
