As I walked the loop of campsites that Kopachuck State Park offers, I ran into a woman who’s turned Memorial Day camping into a family tradition.

Jodi Mercer has gone camping every Memorial Day weekend for the past 20-plus years.

Her family and friends usually camp at Saltwater State Park in Des Moines, but decided to make the switch this year.

The first time she took her now 9-year-old son, Zachary, camping was when he was 3 months old.

Mercer and her mother, Beate Zoike of Tacoma, go camping every year to celebrate their birthdays, as evidenced today by the sliced cake at her picnic table.

“We’d really be crushed if they closed the park,” she said.

Read more about Kopachuck’s busy Friday before Memorial Day in tomorrow’s print edition.