Know Your Place Woman.

If anyone needs to get out of the city and get out quick then go to Harriman State Park. Harriman is 36 miles outside New York City and a small paradise. I had wanted to go camping and couldn't decide between Harriman State Park, The Catskills, or The Adirondacks. Harriman was the winner because of the distance. I was hesitant driving there because I found it hard to believe that door to door nature was only 45 minutes away. I was imagining a park full of city slickers and ghetto kids on field trips. A park where you have to lock up your lantern and quiet time being around 1am. A mini-Manhattan in the woods.

I was wrong.

We pulled up to the rangers station and asked if we could check out the campsites before we chose one. We proceeded to drive through a virtually empty campground. The sites were our oyster. We cautiously drove evaluating each site on a scale of 1-10. We found that Section A, B, and C lacked privacy, even though we were the only ones in the campground. But the E and W section was private and secluded. I am telling you all of this in case you would like to camp there one day. If you are anything like me and hate camping on top of other people then these sites will come in handy for reserving. E 20, W 21, W 23, and W 19 are the ones that scored highest.

The first night we set up our site, made steaks, and opened the wine. We sat around a very impressive fire. A fire my friend Shannon made from nothing. She meticulously placed different sized and shaped wood in very specific areas. I am always impressed with someone who can build a fire without any help. It's the one thing I just don't understand. Maybe it is how I was raised. I would try and try as a kid to build a fire and then be abruptly interrupted by my father.
"Get out of the way Holly and let me show you how a real man makes a fire!"

My dad would then continue to pour gasoline over the fire, finish his cigarette, and then throw it in. Poof! There was our fire. Just like that.

We then decided to have a fire ceremony. Correct me if I am wrong but I think it's almost mandatory as a lesbian to have a fire ceremony and listen to the Indigo Girls while camping. We had this ceremony where we had to say out loud the negative thoughts we wanted to dispose of. We then proceeded to burn something of significance while gulping wine out of tin cups, as the significant item burned we talked about the things we wanted to resolve. I generally make fun of things like this. Rituals in general sort of creep me out but for some reason this particular ceremony worked. I walked away from it feeling cleansed.

The next morning I awoke feeling rejuvenate and ready to start the day. I got up to what I thought was about 8 am. Started the fire and made coffee. I woke up Shannon to show her how great my fire was. She tried her best at showing enthusiasm before asking what time it was. I told her to get up because it was probably 8am and we should really start the day. She insisted to know the time before getting out of her warm sleeping bag and into the crisp morning air.

"fine, I'll look. (waiting for cell phone to turn on)...5:45 am...Oh."

After breakfast we drove through the mountains enjoying the sun, music and scenery. We hiked 5 miles in the Sterling Forest where I realized I have a deep rooted fear of mountain lions and poison ivy. I watched Shannon jump in the water and then I did. It was the coldest water I have ever felt. After all of that we headed to Wal-Mart because...well do I really need to say why. I mean it was Super Wal-Mart! We also began talking with a southern accent that is still existing in my voice. I don't know what it is about camping and the desire to obtain a southern drawl. Because not only do I have a southern accent while camping I also use phrases like "Mind me now" or "know your place woman".


All in all we had an amazing time and everyone who likes camping or hiking should check out Harriman State Park.