In what is a relatively new tradition for my family and I, we packed up and headed west to New Harmonie State Park for the holiday weekend to enjoy some camping with friends.

Despite the effort it takes to load up, hook up, and set up a camp site, the ability to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and enjoy the peace and quiet of the outdoors is something everyone needs from time to time.

What makes it even more enjoyable (although it does take some getting used to) is the fact there's little to no cell service, much less 4G connection, so you're literally off the grid for two to three days. No calls, no texts, no app notifications, nothing. And in a world where we've become so tethered to our phones with this constant feeling that we need to be available 24/7, it's refreshing to buck the trend and realize the world can and does continue on without us.

But I digress, here's a few photos I took over the course of our getaway I thought you might like to see.

Ryan O'Bryan's Camper
Home sweet home. (Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

This is our camper. A 2000 Coleman Utah I bought from a close friend of mine about three years ago. She's not the mobile home sized camper you see so many of around a campground, and that's OK. If I wanted to bring a small house camping with me, I'd just stay home.

Campground View
Our weekend 'hood. (Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

A quick shot from my chair around the campfire at the loop we were staying on. For those not in the camping know, holiday weekends like Memorial Day and Labor Day fill up quickly and need to be booked about six months in advance. We'll confer with friends to get an idea of where everyone is staying so we can try and get spots together.

Sky
(Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

This photo was taken just after the one of the loop. I leaned back in my reclining lawn chair, looked up and thought this would make a good picture. Nothing more, nothing less.

Propane Hose
(Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

A learned a valuable lesson this particular weekend. When setting up your Camp Chef outdoor stove, make sure the hose running to the propane tank isn't too close to one of the burners, or it will melt and the propane seeping from the holes in the hose will ignite. Fortunately I was able to shut off the source before a full propane tank exploded.

Live Cicada & Cicada Shells
(Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

Cicadas were EVERYWHERE this weekend. In the trees, on the ground, on our stuff, EVERYWHERE. On the left is a live cicada looking for some friends to hang with, while on the right the shells left behind after being shed.

Wabash River Sign with River in the Background
(Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

As nice as it is to sit around the fire and do nothing, when you have an 8 and 10 year old with you, they can only do nothing for so long before they go crazy, so we took the short drive from the campground to the banks of the Wabash River to stretch our legs and skip rocks across the water.

(Ryan O'Bryan)
(Ryan O'Bryan)
loading...

This is nothing more than me playing around with the Panoramic setting on my phone's camera. I don't pat myself on the back very often, but I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out.

Now that summer is (unofficially) underway, I look forward to more of these trips, and the ability to share a few photos from them with you.

More From WDKS-FM