Sometimes the best part of a camping trip is coming home. That’s where you get to shower and wash off the dirt and grime accumulated over the trip.

The dirt gets under the fingernails and sticks to the sunscreen. A dip or two in the lake is nice to cool off, but it’s no hot shower.

There’s loads and loads of laundry to do. That’s why I usually wear old clothes. The dirt gets ground right in. At one point on our trip, a raccoon wandered onto our table cloth with its dirty feet. At least we are smart campers and never leave food out.

Driving a dusty logging road means our cars needed a good wash after as well. My car went from looking like a burnt marshmallow to a bridal dress after a good hose down. I must’ve also killed a small squadron of insects because my front bumper and grill were coated in bug guts.

It’s refreshing to get home and back to that clean feeling. All that’s left is to pack away our gear for our next trip.