As an 8 year old, I remember many nights camping out back of my childhood best friend’s house, nothing but the glow of the moon above us for light and my dad’s old, goose down sleeping bag for warmth. Sure we were just sleeping in his parent’s backyard on their weekly-manicured lawn, but to us, it was camping.

We’d quietly tell jokes and laugh at each other, and get the occasional visit from his mom telling us to keep quiet, which would of course only make us laugh more.

We were in our own suburban wilderness, camping under the stars. We would stay awake as long as possible watching those stars, staring up at the bright sky hoping to see one fall. Then our young eyes would tire and we would peacefully fall asleep and awake the next day to a rising sun and dew-covered sleeping bags. A perfect night.

Since then, I have camped in tents, trailers, cabins, yurts, teepees (yes, really), and most recently, in the back of a 2014 Honda Odyssey minivan. I’ve had limited resources where I’ve done my business in nasty outhouses, dug stink holes (yes, really), used a communal poop bucket, and broke the “no No. 2s” rule amongst a group of campers, and gone in the toilet of a poorly ventilated Winnebago.

So where am I going with this? As I get older, I realize how much I love my comfortable bed and efficient indoor plumbing. That kid in me still loves the great outdoors, but the old guy in me – the one with the bad back and the small bladder – has redefined what constitutes “roughing it.”

So that brings the story back to my recent trip to Yosemite National Park and my sleeping accommodations in the back of a minivan.

Yosemite itself is beautiful. It has numerous, breathtaking sights that can easily fill a weekend’s activity list; it’s the perfect destination for a camper that doesn’t want to stray far from civilization.

The campsite had clean bathrooms, running water and we were even able to get decent cell phone reception. Top-of-the-line, tour-bus style trailers surrounded us. We did it a bit rougher than that, but can you even call it roughing it when there is a grocery market a mile away?

We spent the days taking in the park’s beauty. One of the most recognizable sights, the enormous rock formation called Half Dome, is a giant, granite, half-domed shaped mountain that attracts lines of hikers and rock climbers. Then there’s El Capitan, the largest pillar of granite in the world, also another rock climber favorite.

There are handfuls of impressive waterfalls, groves of giant sequoia trees, and photo-ready views pretty much anywhere you point the camera. It’s a great place to spend the whole day, and there are numerous campgrounds to spend the night.

We were traveling for the first time with our 8-month-old baby boy, Oliver, and decided the minivan would stay warmer at night than a tent. I laid a couple padded mats across the van’s ample cargo space and rolled a couple sleeping bags out on top of them. Our makeshift mini cabin was ready for us and ended up being about as comfortable night’s stay as I’d had outside a cabin on a camping trip.

The baby stayed warm and even slept throughout the night. There was no lumpy ground below, or a burrowing gopher trying to pop through the tent’s bottom, which happened to one of our fellow campers. When it was time to go, packing up was simple too. 

The point is to enjoy the great outdoors in whatever way you feel comfortable. Whether you prefer the Bear Grylls style of survivalist camping, or staying in the equivalent of a state-of-the-art house on wheels, so be it.

Nature can be awe-inspiring and unforgettable even when it’s not as picturesque as Yosemite. I’ll never forget those nights I spent as an 8 year old, just like I’ll never forget my son’s first time camping, even if it was in the back of a minivan.

We will be back out there many times before he comes of age – and I can hardly wait. Like Charlie Brown said: “In life, it’s not where you go – it’s who you travel with.”

Steven Senn can be reached at [email protected]