There’s nothing that reminds me of summer more than that distinctive campfire smell. Every summer, my family and I would travel to the Oregon coast where we would pitch a tent and start unloading our camping chairs and camping grills. Everyone would sit around the warm fire while we cooked hamburgers and hotdogs over the fire. I’d had barbequed food from the backyard, but it always tasted so much better coming straight from the fire pit. They were just store bought, generic hotdogs, but I swear I’d never tasted anything so great in all my life.

As I grew up, I started to try and get out of these Washington camping trips. After all, I was a teenager. Who wants to be seen with their parents when they’re a teenager? But secretly I really missed those summer cookouts, and I made sure when I had children of my own to reinstate the tradition. Now that my children are starting to grow older, I hear them grumbling about having to spend time with the family in a boring tent. I don’t get mad. I only smile, because I remember saying the exact same thing when I was their age!

Adventurers who prefer to share camping with their pets can now do so in more places in Eastern Washington. More state park cabins and yurts will be made pet-friendly, according to the Eastern Washington Parks and Recreation Department. The department is already accepting reservations starting in January 2012.

In 2012 pet owners can reserve Eastern Washington cabins and yurts at 21 state parks, 10 percent of the system. Currently, only three percent of the system allows cats and dogs. There are some limitations; a $10 fee is applied per pet and you can have no more than two pets (cats and dogs only). Can’t get a reservation? You can still camp the traditional way with Eureka tents, a portable stove, and sturdy sleeping bags.