About the Camper
About the Camper
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A sweet-and-salty trail mix of passion for camping, the outdoors, and writing, blended with a tragedy-turned-redemption story, has led Christen (Chris) McKey to this path. Her journey began as a single mom of babies, new to Virginia and adamant about regularly taking them camping. Along the way, she remarried a fellow outdoor lover, set a goal to visit and camp every state park in Virginia, created a website, started writing a book about her hard story, and published a children’s book about camping.
After many years in communication at Noble Warriors, a non-profit Christian ministry that serves churches and equips men as they lead their families, she currently works part-time as a writer and copy editor for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. With her family, mountain dog, and little dog by her side, Christen's mission is to show how beneficial, fun, and easy it is to explore the outdoors, to spread the joy of our state parks, and to share stories of hope.
Learn about her camping journey.
Her children's book, The Joyful Camper, is available on Amazon.
Follow her on Instagram @wordycamper and Facebook @christen.mckey.
Read her writings on the Virginia State Parks blog, on Her View From Home, and in Richmond Family Magazine.
The views expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer or of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Old Rag in the Fall, Shenandoah National Park
Old Rag in the Summer, Shenandoah National Park
Appalachian Trail near Damascus
Breaks Interstate Park
Humpback Rocks
Breaks Interstate Park
Backbone Rock in Tennessee
Creeper Trail
If you feel led to support our research, every $5 donation will go towards camping at Virginia State Parks.
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