For our wedding anniversary this year, my husband and I originally thought about going somewhere in the city, having a nice dinner together, and doing the usual anniversary getaway. But then we thought, why not go camping instead?

We recently bought a vintage 2000 hybrid pop-out camper, and this trip would be our first time really using it. After tent camping with the kids, we realized that as much as we love being outside and close to nature, we also really like having some basic comforts. With the camper, we could still wake up surrounded by trees and water, but we would have air conditioning, heat if we needed it, beds to sleep in, a little kitchen, a bathroom, and some protection from mosquitoes, flies, and everything else that comes with being outside. It seemed like a good middle ground for our family.

More than anything, buying the camper gave us another reason to get outside with our kids. There are so many places we want to explore, and one of the things we really value as a family is spending quality time together and creating memories with them while they are still little. Camping gives us an excuse to leave our normal routines behind for a few days, spend most of our time outside, and experience places we probably wouldn’t otherwise see.

For this trip, I really wanted to explore the Niobrara area, so our first stop was Lewis and Clark Lake State Recreation Area. We went right after Labor Day and arrived on a Monday, which ended up being perfect because hardly anyone was there. We found this beautiful campsite overlooking the water. It was probably one of the most scenic campsites I’ve ever stayed at. When we opened the pop-out bed, the huge window looked directly toward the water, with trees and hills in the distance. Across the water was South Dakota. It was such a beautiful place to wake up.

Of course, arriving with two little kids meant that while my husband was setting up the camper, I was mostly making sure nobody decided to throw themselves into the lake. My husband basically did all the actual work while I watched the kids and tried to keep everyone alive. Once we were settled, we made dinner, steak with a simple cucumber and tomato salad, and started getting comfortable in our new little home on wheels.

And that was also when we started discovering everything that was wrong with our camper.

It is, after all, more than twenty-five years old. Some of the plumbing wasn’t working properly. Water was leaking underneath the sink, so we had to keep an eye on the water pump because if we left it running, water would just keep coming out. One of the curtain rods kept falling down. Little pieces here and there were showing their age. Then there were our children, who spent most of the day barefoot and somehow brought half of the outdoors back inside with them. Our light-colored couch covers slowly became less and less light-colored. There was food everywhere. Dirt everywhere. Eventually, you just have to accept it.

I also had to get used to the idea of actually using a bathroom inside a camper. I don’t know why this was such a mental hurdle for me, but it was. I kept thinking about the fact that this little camper was somehow holding our human waste underneath us. I’m so used to using a regular toilet, flushing it, and never thinking about where anything goes again. Suddenly, I was very aware of where everything was going.

Water was another adjustment. We didn’t have a water hookup at the campsite, so whatever water we had in the tank was what we had. Once it was gone, we had to bring the camper back to the water station and fill it again. At one point we ran out because we weren’t even sure how much water was in the tank to begin with. There were so many little things like that. Things you don’t really think about until you’re actually living in a camper for several days.

Even simple tasks suddenly took forever. Cooking in a tiny space took longer. Washing dishes took longer. Making the beds took longer. Folding blankets, moving pillows, putting things away, finding something you needed when someone else was standing exactly where you needed to stand. Everything required an extra step.

At one point I told my husband, “Everything takes so long in here.”

He laughed and said, “Yeah. It’s slow living. Literally.”

And I thought, that is actually so true.

Camping forces you to slow down. At home, we have so much space and everything is convenient. You walk into the kitchen, turn on the faucet, wash the dishes, throw something in the dishwasher, walk into another room, and don’t think much about it. In a camper, you notice everything. How much water you’re using. Where you’re putting something. Who is standing in the way. Whether you really need to wash that dish right now. Everything takes time.

But we weren’t in a hurry anyway. That was the whole point.

Despite the learning curve, the leaking sink, the falling curtain rod, the dirty little feet, and constantly watching our children to make sure they weren’t getting themselves into trouble, I loved being there.

Still, after our first night, I didn’t feel completely settled at Lewis and Clark. Our campsite itself was gorgeous, but once we left that particular spot, there was construction happening in different areas of the campground. We also seemed to have a wasp nest somewhere near the tree beside our camper. We couldn’t sit outside with coffee or food without constantly watching wasps fly around us. And because I had originally wanted to see Niobrara State Park, we decided we might as well pack everything up and explore.

That decision turned our actual wedding anniversary into one of the most ridiculous travel days we’ve had in a while.

We drove to Niobrara State Park, about forty minutes away, and when we arrived, it just wasn’t what I had imagined. The RV camping area felt small, and the spot we looked at had what looked like a swamp behind it. The area was dry, the vegetation was overgrown, and there wasn’t much flowing water in the places we saw. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance, but in that moment I looked around and thought, we’re not staying here.

So we left.

Then we drove to Keller State Recreation Area because a friend had recommended it and told us how beautiful it was. That meant even more driving. We eventually realized there weren’t the hookups we wanted, and the area wasn’t going to work very well for what we wanted to do with two small children either.

By this point, we had spent close to five hours driving around Nebraska with a camper behind us, trying to find somewhere to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

My husband and I weren’t exactly arguing, but we were both defeated. We were tired and disappointed. It was our actual anniversary, and instead of enjoying it, we were driving from one campground to another saying, “Nope. Not this one.”

Every time we thought we had found somewhere, something wasn’t right.

Finally, around five o’clock, my husband said, “You know what? Let’s just go to Calamus.”

Calamus Reservoir was about another hour away.

At that point, why not?

So we drove another hour.

And when we finally arrived, for the first time during the entire trip, I felt settled.

There were hardly any people there. It was already getting close to sunset, and our campsite was surrounded by trees. Just behind it was a little hill, and once you walked over it, there was the beach.

The kids and I went straight to the water while my husband, once again, did all the work of getting the camper situated.

The beach was beautiful. It reminded me a little of Lake McConaughy, but smaller and cozier. There was real sand, clear water, and it was so easy for the kids to get to. Everything about it felt right for us. After spending almost the entire day searching, I remember having that feeling of, finally. This is where we’re supposed to stay.

So we stayed for two nights.

That first evening was simple. The kids had pasta, and my husband and I had some chorizo, salad, and wine. We stayed up late, slept in the next morning, and didn’t have anywhere we needed to be.

The next day we swam and took the kids fishing for the first time. Fishing with a four-year-old and a two-year-old is its own experience because, naturally, they don’t always listen and they want to do exactly what you don’t want them to do. It was challenging, but it was also so much fun watching them experience something new. Later, they went swimming again.

That night we made a fire and tried making s’mores. This is also when we discovered something important about ourselves as a family.

Apparently, none of us actually likes s’mores.

We tried the graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, but the chocolate didn’t melt the way we wanted it to and none of us was particularly impressed. What we did love were the toasted marshmallows by themselves. When they’re toasted perfectly, the outside gets caramelized and almost forms its own little shell while the inside becomes completely soft. So we abandoned the s’mores and sat around eating toasted marshmallows instead.

And honestly, that was better.

We stayed up late again and slept until almost nine the next morning. At one point, we seriously considered staying another two nights. We were finally comfortable, the kids loved the beach, and none of us really wanted to leave. But eventually we decided it was time to go home. We had other things waiting for us and responsibilities we needed to get back to.

Coming home after several days in that little camper was strangely invigorating.

I walked into our house and suddenly noticed all the things I normally don’t think about. The space. The bathroom. The kitchen. Running water. Being able to walk around without moving three pillows, stepping over someone’s shoes, or asking another person to move so I could open a cabinet.

There is something about camping that makes home feel luxurious again.

Our first camper trip was definitely not the smooth, peaceful anniversary getaway I might have imagined. We had a leaking sink, falling curtain rods, wasps, dirty feet, campground disappointment, and an anniversary spent driving around for nearly five hours looking for somewhere else to stay.

But then we found Calamus.

We swam. We fished. We ate dinner outside. We drank wine. We toasted marshmallows. We slept late. We watched our children discover new things. We learned how our old camper works, and also learned several ways it doesn’t work.

And somewhere in all of that inconvenience, we slowed down.

Maybe that is part of what I love about camping. It doesn’t necessarily make life easier. In many ways, it makes ordinary life harder. But it takes us out of our routines long enough to notice where we are, who we’re with, and how little we actually need to make a good memory.

Our camper is old and imperfect, and we’re still figuring it out. But after this trip, I think that’s part of the charm of it. It doesn’t need to be perfect to take us somewhere beautiful.

And I already know this won’t be our last trip.