Tired of your never-swaying day to day life? Forgot what it's like to feel alive? Then throw a pup-tent and sleeping bag into the back of your car and bust through those city limits, because a camping vacation is just what you need.

Escape from the City

In our concrete jungles, we often go about our daily routines like programmed cyborgs set to fulfill some greater destiny to which we may never achieve. Oddly enough, under this regime, time seems to both pass us slowly and sometimes like a blur, depending on what kind of day it is. That is when someone must throw a wrench into the machine and shout, "Not anymore!"

Well, at least not for a brief period of time.

This is when packing the car full of outdoor commodities and glancing into the rear-view mirror to see the city lights disappear in their clustered cell of steel and stone revitalizes the mind and emits feelings of a true vacation.

Regaining Control of the Elements and One's Self

An escape means you're no longer a slave to your responsibilities and obligations. The only obligation you have now is to survive, and to enjoy it while you do. Nothing reaffirms one's place in the world like assembling a protective shelter with your own hands, building a fire from the ground up, and cooking a fat pack of bacon or boiling some coffee in a can stuffed in the outer ashes.

No longer do the social conventions of the city infringe upon you and those who camp with you. Away from civilization, you are free to be yourself, and the pleasure of each other's company comes with an added bonus of authenticity.

Find Joy in Simplicity Again

When we had once belonged to our gadgets, communicative devices, and household conveniences, while camping we belong to the natural world. Away from distractions, we now have time to sit back, breath, and take in what exactly surrounds us and view that which we often take for granted. Since trees tend to not give off free Wi-Fi, suddenly the urge to leap to the nearest computer to check your social status on the web has vanished.

While living and breathing in the great outdoors, we are alive again. So when you pack up your things at the end of your vacation, don't fret; while you may leave nature behind, it will always stand, waiting patiently for your return.