It is pretty joyful, really.

I remember as a kid sitting around the campfire, telling scary stories and singing the old songs, toasting marshmallows and watching the lightning bugs and the sparks flying upwards...wait, that's what it was supposed to be like. In reality it was burnt hot dogs, marshmallow flambe, fire-baked potatoes you couldn't tell from the rocks, drawing in the inside of a canvas tent in the rain over your buddy's bed roll, mosquitoes the size of C-130s, the smell of the ineffective 6-12 mosquito repellent, pocket knife cuts, playing "stretch" with hatchets, peeing on the fire, tossing a handful of firecrackers into the campfire, tent pegs that pulled out in the rain, constant drizzle, the results of eating beans delivered inside a small tent, ant bites, poker games, stolen cigarettes, spraying flammable mosquito repellent through the flame of a match.

All in all, a REALLY good time. I wonder why adult camping trips aren't like those of my youth? I certainly hope I haven't grown up.