22 Nebraskaland • July 2023
he flames dance. The coals glow. The wood crackles and
pops. The combination of these elements is mesmerizing.
It is therapy.
Sit there alone and stare into a campfire's depths, and you
can't help but relax as the warmth melts your worries away.
Sit around a fire with friends or family, and you can rehash
old times, solve the world's problems and make future plans.
In Boy Scouts, it was the perfect setting for telling ghost
stories. Build a bigger one, invite more friends and you can call
it a bonfire.
The campfire functions the same in the dead of winter or the
heat of summer. The only difference is that during the former,
you stay closer to the flames, turning repeatedly, as if on a
rotisserie, always keeping one side warm. During the latter, a
fire can fight off the evening chill, or warm you up while you
drink your morning coffee. But not even the hottest summer
night can negate the need for a fire.
You don't have to go camping to enjoy a fire. And a campfire
isn't required when camping. But it should be. It is to many,
myself included, one of the absolute best parts.
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PREVIOUS PAGES: ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
TOP: Claire and Jeff Valder; Chris,
Annika, Stephanie and Daniel
Kuchar; Leslie and Travis Pillen and
Kyle Eley relax around a campfire
at Wagon Train Lake in Lancaster
County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
TOP RIGHT: Nothing goes better with
a campfire than marshmallows.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
BOTTOM RIGHT: Stars fill the sky
above a backcountry campsite at
Indian Cave State Park in Richardson
County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
