"Alright baby have a good time with daddy this weekend!' April says as she finishes doing up Harriet's coat.

"Mama why can't you come too?" Harriet asks.

"I have to work this weekend bug, but you and daddy are going to have so much fun on your first camping trip!" April explains.

"Ready to go Hattie?" Jackson asks coming in from loading up the vehicle.

"Ready daddy!" Harriet says picking up her child size purple backpack and running towards the vehicle.

"Eat a s'more or two for me this weekend" April says giving Jackson a kiss.

"Will do! Next time we'll make it a husband and wife trip." Jackson promises with a wink as he turns to buckle Harriet in her car seat.

Awhile later Jackson and Harriet arrive at North Cascades National Park.

"Whoa dad look at all this nature!" Harriet exclaims as Jackson helps her out of her car seat.

"Pretty awesome eh" Jackson says with a laugh.

Harriet starts to look around the campsite while Jackson unloads the camping stuff.

"Daddy there's so much space! And a picnic table and a campfire pit! Can we please have a campfire?" Harriet finishes excitedly.

"Of course we're going to have a campfire, mama told me we have to have s'mores for her!" Jackson says with a laugh. "First we need to fill up some of this space with a tent so we have somewhere to sleep. Want to help me put it up?" Jackson asks.

"Yes!" Harriet shouts excitedly and walks over to where Jackson is starting to set up the tent.

Luckily Jackson brought along a pop up tent and not his normal camping tent for this trip as he knew most of the work would have to be done single handedly. Harriet helps him by holding the pegs while he puts them into place. Once the tent is setup Jackson gets the two blow up mattresses out and Harriet begins unfolding the sleeping bags on top of them before making sure her stuffed ladybug and Flopsy the stuffed bunny are set just right on her mattress.

"Looks great Hattie!" I think we're ready to go exploring, what do you say?"

"Yay! Let's go biking." Harriet suggests

Jackson grabs his bike with the attachment for Harriet on the back and helps her in. He also makes sure to pack some snacks and their swimming stuff for later.

"Off to explore we go." he says as he sets off on the trail down to the water.

When they reach the water, Jackson and Harriet change quickly in the bathrooms by the water and Harriet in her frilly pink bathing suit excitedly grabs Jackson's hands and leads him into the water.

"Whoa it's cold dad!" Harriet exclaims after dipping her toes in.

"That's what happens when you only have the sun as a heater. We're spoiled with the heated water in our pool at home aren't we. You just have to get used to it. Come on I'll help you." Jackson says scooping his daughter into his arms and wading out to where it's slightly deeper. Crouching down he dips Harriet into the water up to her waist before pulling her out and dipping her back in again, fits of giggles erupting from his daughter.

After Harriet gets used to the water they spend the rest of the day swimming and building with rocks on the beach. When the sun starts to move in the sky Jackson decides it's time to pack up and head back to their campsite with the promise to his daughter who has become a mermaid in the course of an afternoon that they'd come back some other time to continuing swimming.

Back at the campsite after both he and Harriet are dried off and cozy in their sweats Jackson gets out all the components for their dinner "We're going to make pita pizzas for dinner! I made these with mama when I took her camping for the first time and she loved them." Jackson tells Harriet. "First you have to help daddy put what you want on your pita, and then we're going to cook it over the fire!"

"Yay! Ok I want…" Harriet thinks looking at all of the toppings Jackson had laid out on the picnic table. "Sauce, pepperonis, green peppers, pineapple and so much cheese!" Harriet decides.

"You and your mama with pineapple on you pizzas." Jackson laughs as he hands Harriet the spoon to spread the sauce on her pita.

Once their pitas are made Jackson starts a fire and cooks the pitas over it while Harriet watches on intrigued.

"Daddy these are the bestest thing I've ever had!" Harriet squeals sauce all over her face and joy in her eyes.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it!" Jackson says helping Harriet to clean up. "Before the sun sets you should pick out our sticks for roasting marshmallows! There's a pile of stickers near the tent, why don't you go find us the two best ones while I clean up and get the fire ready?" Jackson suggests.

"Yay s'mores!" Harriet exclaims as she scampers off to find the best sticks she can.

A few minutes later Jackson has the dinner stuff cleaned up and is stoking the fire for s'mores when he hears Harriet call out his name followed by loud sobs of crying. Jackson stops what he's doing and heads off in the direction of Harriet's crying. He finds Harriet on the ground gripping her knee, two long sticks strewn close to her. When he reaches her Jackson sits down in front of her, sweeping the curls from her face with one hand and reaching for her knee with the other "What happened sweetheart?" he asks rolling up her pant leg.

"I found sticks and was running fast to get them back to the fire and tripped on a rock" Harriet says through hiccuping sobs.

"Aw bug that's not fun, you've cut your knee pretty good. I'm sure it hurts but it's nothing daddy can't fix up real quick." Jackson sympathizes placing a kiss on the top of Harriet's head. Giving Harriet the two sticks she found to take back to the fire he picks her up and takes her back to the main area setting her down on the picnic table. He quickly grabs the first aid kit from the vehicle and returns to patch up his daughter's knee. "Let's get this cleaned up so we can enjoy our s'mores! You have some dirt in there so I have to clean it out and then you'll be good as new." Jackson explains wiping the remaining tears from Harriet's face. "This will sting a little but I'll be quick I promise." Jackson says washing the cut with water before wiping it cut with some hydrogen peroxide. Harriet whimpers and Jackson quickly applied a patch of gauze under a band-aid before she instinctively pulls away. "All done sweetpea, you're ok!" I may have to charge you overtime though." Jackson chuckles kissing Harriet's forehead.

"Thanks daddy. Can we have s'mores now?" Harriet asks

"I think you've more than earned some s'mores" Jackson says as he gathers the chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows and brings them over to the fire pit, Harriet seated safety in proximity to the fire.

Jackson teaches Harriet the trick of putting your chocolate on the graham cracker and letting them sit on the rocks that from the fire pit so it gets warm as well as how to toast marshmallows to golden perfection. They sit around the campfire enjoying the s'mores, watching the sunset and Harriet tells Jackson about all the exciting things that go on in the life of a six year old. Eventually Harriet ends up snuggled into Jackson who is sitting on a camping chair enjoying the flickering fire and quiet time with his daughter. When the mosquitoes become too much to be outside Jackson carries Harriet to the tent and zips them both safely inside.

A few hours later Jackson is awoken by Harriet shaking him "Daddy, daddy, dadddy!"

"What's wrong Hattie?" Jackson asks groggily.

"There are so many spooky sounds and it's so dark. I'm scared. Can we go home?" Harriet whispers.

Jackson slowly wakes up and notices the nocturnal animals and wind together are making lots of noise around their tent.

"Sweetpea, you're ok I promise. This is the fun part of camping. The animals that sleep during the day are out making memories with their families just like you and I did today. They won't hurt us, they're just eating and exercising like we did. About the dark though...you're right it is pretty dark in here." Jackson agrees sitting up.

He reaches towards the roof of the tent and unzips a flap that reveals an opening in the top of the tent. It's covered in mesh to prevent bugs from getting in but does allow for the moonlight and stars to be seen from the tent. "It's a super clear night so we can see the stars and not worry about rain. Watching the stars is one of daddy's favourite parts of camping, and see it's not as dark now." Jackson says. "Want to see some cool shapes in the stars?" Jackson asks and Harriet nods excitedly, moving towards Jackson and laying her head on his chest.

Stroking a hand comfortingly through her curls Jackson starts to point out all the different constellations he can remember and he continues to excitedly talk about the stars until he hears rhythmic snoring coming from his daughter. With that Jackson places her back on her side of the tent, so grateful as he tucks her in to have had such an incredible time making memories with his daughter. Jackson can't help but be so thankful for his daughter and her incredible mother and the amazing journey they've all been on together. Even though he may have not had a traditional childhood he is so glad he can create one for his daughter and pass on to her life experiences and lessons he learned in less conventional ways. With feelings of gratefulness and contentedness Jackson happily closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.