INTRODUCTION
Our first year out we logged 30 nights with our longest trip being 10 nights. In 1996 we made it to 45 nights, with the longest trip being 15 nights. We have extended our season from May 1st weekend to Columbus day. Year 3 (1997) brought a new job with less vacation time but we still managed to be out for 34 nights including 2 "8 nighters". Being in southern Maine this means that we are dealing with some freezing cold nights. We have had many a morning where the spigot on the site was frozen. You learn to draw your morning hot beverage water the night before! Year 2000 will be our sixth season of camping as a family and we are looking forward to every outing like it was our first. As usual it will be a combination of camping on the road as we travel as well as some quick weekend getaways at nearby places we know and love.
If you have any ideas or comments please mail me I'd like to hear your ideas and comments. And while you're here don't forget to visit the rest of our site.
Why do we camp?
After we got married my wife talked about wanting to go camping. I said ya ya ya, thinking it would pass. After we had our 2 daughters and the oldest was almost 5 we decided to have a yard sale and clear out the baby paraphernalia. We earmarked the proceeds for camping gear. After a few shopping trips we were ready to dip our toes into camping.
What we discovered was a whole other world not far from home one that took me totally by surprise. After our third outing I was hooked in a big way. We have weekends out of the house, and for a modest cost. We travel for weeks at a time for a fraction of what motel lodging would cost us. But these aren't the most important things.
Our kid's have developed the confidence to come into a campground where they are strangers and soon have friends. That's a skill that is bound to serve them well as they go through life. They learn to experience the freedom and responsibility of having room to roam, much like we were able to do on the streets of our hometowns a generation ago. They face the challenge of the day along with us and together we make the best of it all. We get to spend quality time as a family and in the midst of it all we have room to breathe. Along the way we have met many wonderful interesting people.
We never know what treats Mother Nature will bestow upon us. It might be Fire Flies that congregate in my daughters hand, the Northern Lights as we sit by a peaceful fire or a flock of geese honking and flying south as we have breakfast below.
The first campground brochures that arrive early in January bring the same smiles that seed catalogs give gardeners in the dead of winter. A chance to daydream of warmer days and happy times only a season away.
In the name of Sanity
Another thing that can save some stress is to pre-flight as much gear as possible, Practice setting up the tent in the yard or park before heading out. Try cooking with the gas stove and learn to do things like install mantles in your lantern. The thing you do not want to do is show up on a campsite and find yourself unpacking gear you've never seen before.
Packing the Kitchen
We package lots of stuff special for camping. For instance; a large JIF peanut butter jar holds enough Bisquick for several pancake breakfasts. We mark the recipe on the jar with a permanent marker. We have some other dishes that require a mix of spices, we make the spices up ahead of time and have them in small jar or zip-lock bag ready for cooking.
Packing Clothes
In each bag we have a smaller duffel bag that is packed empty. We use these when heading to the shower. They are just big enough to take my shaving kit, a change of clothes, and towel and washcloth. This is real handy when the showers are at distance and you want to take your bike there. Also if we leave camp for the day we pack these same bags with a change of clothes in case someone's clothes get soiled, this saves the day often with kids!
My wife also carries a "makeup case" for those things the ladies just have to have. It's a small plastic toolbox! Its waterproof, roomy, plastic so it doesn't beat up the inside of the van and only cost about $6.00. She gets a lot of positive comments on this one. We have a red one just like it under the seat in the van. It's a well stocked first aid kit.
Don't forget that metered (coin operated) showers are fairly common. A Kodak 35mm film container makes a great little container for a stash of quarters in your shower time bag.
Ice and Coolers
After a few outings we realized it would pay us to run our freezer just to make ice. As it turns out we also started using it for conventional purposes as well and "free" ice was a bonus. For the beverage cooler I make blocks of ice using plastic shoeboxes, they work like jumbo ice cube trays. I fill them 2/3 full when we get home and nearly top them off latter in the week. I take 3 of these blocks on each trip. We free the ice with warm water and leave the "trays" at home. If things are going well I'll often have the next outings ice freezing before we leave. For the food cooler we use 1/2 gallon plastic milk jugs. I start by filling them to where they begin to taper and leave the cover cracked open a bit. Try to get jugs with screw type lids. After this freezes, top them off with some room left for expansion and leave to complete freezing solid. Be sure to close the cap when it's packing time! We lay 4 of these jugs in the bottom of the cooler with the meats in direct contact working our way upwards to produce near the top. The jugs last many trips. On long trips we'll cut the jugs for the remaining ice on the 3rd or 4th day and use it in the beverage cooler. We have collected many "special" bottles for condiments and other items that let us carry the right amount, we refill them when we're home.
Remember if you can get it get BLOCK ice, I've noticed availability varies from region to region. It's a lot easier to keep perishables from getting soaked with block ice. We often buy a block a day keeping the new one for the food and sending the remains to the drink cooler. There are bigger coolers out there but I don't know how you can move them if they are filled. For the sake of portability I'd set a 62 quart limit.
If you have an IGLOO cooler and need parts call IGLOO at 800-364-5566, they'll fix you right up!
Courtesy
My wife and I like hit the showers early. We go to bed with our duffel bags packed for the morning. When we get up we just steal away with our bags, never opening the van. When you want to enjoy the sounds of an early morning nothing shatters the moment like reveille being played with the doors of mini vans!
Here's a pet peeve! LOUD MUSIC.........
Inflatables
I'll never forget one night when we had just settled by the fire for the night. There were some late arrivals at a site near us. After thrashing with aluminum poles for 30 minutes the cabin tent was up. Then they started not just one but two air compressors to pump up their mattresses, needless to say the quiet evening was shattered for 45 minutes. Also, keep your eyes open, some campgrounds have a compressed air station (often near their maintenance building) that will let you inflate without any disturbance.
One other great thing about an inflator is that it can usually double as a defaltor, This will let you deflate and pack beach floats very compactly, saving valuable space.
Tent Topics
HOW MUCH SHOULD I SPEND ON A TENT, OR TENTS?
HOW WE CHOSE OUR TENTS:
PACKING YOUR TENT:
PEGS:
In Search of the Perfect Campsite
If possible visit the campground first. We have done this by taking a day trip to the next state or sometimes on our way home from a camping weekend. We will pull in and go to the office and tell them we are interested in staying with them in the future. They have always been very hospitable, if they do not offer a map of the campground ask for one. As we walk the grounds here are some of the things we check for out
One source you do not want to overlook is roadside rest areas. Most states operate rest / information stations where you can browse from a plethora of brochures. They generally have material on specific destinations as well as regional publications detailing things to do while visiting. These facilities are usually found in strategic locations such as near state borders.
Of course sometimes this won't be practical and you have to do your fact finding long distance. There will be times when you may be traveling to places that simply are not camping Mecca's. This calls for research. If you belong to AAA call or drop by and get the guide books for the states you are visiting. They also used to have separate camping books for each region. They may have been merging those into the regular travel guides. Either way make sure you get campground info from them. If you want, spring for one of the big camping books like Woodall's. Woodall's has an online directory you can use for free, it's not the same as thumbing through that big book but if you know what you're looking for you can save $20. and a tree! Another great way to get info is to contact the states tourism department, you can usually do this right on the web via state websites and e-mail. Make sure they know where you are heading and you need info on camping attractions.
This is also a nice time to have large format Maps so you can plan your itinerary. These maps also will give you clues to many non commercial destinations.
When you get all this material together lay it out on the kitchen table and start sorting. First decide what you want to do, then look for accommodations. I like to stop and smell the roses when I travel so I like to keep travel legs at 200 miles or less. Remember you will be breaking and making camp. Once you have a rough idea where your nights will be spent start sorting through the campground options based on your own criteria. Things you may find important include, fishing, open water swimming, swimming pool, hookups, handicapped accessibility, playgrounds, theme weeks or weekends, and so on.
Now you should have an itinerary and a number of options as to where to camp. Get on the phone and request brochures, rate cards and any other material that will help you make your decision. Don't be bashful about this, you are offering to put bread on their table and they are glad to hear about your interest. They like to know how you learned about them so have that fact handy. Also ask about any attractions that you may be considering. You may find that a place you were going to visit burned to the ground 3 weeks ago... back to the drawing board. The campground hosts can be fantastic help in planning local trip details.
Keep in mind that you are probably not going to be spending all your days in campgrounds, you'll have places to go and things to do. I try to home in on places where I can be comfortable for the evening and get a good night's sleep. As much as I like open water, a quick dip in the pool with the kids is often all we have time for on a trip like this. If this is your only vacation you may choose a more leisurely pace. Our feeling is that we have traveled a good distance and we want to invest out time seeing and experiencing new things.
This is a good time to mention the KOA chain of campgrounds. They are not the most interesting places you can find, that's for sure but they are clean, well run, and have some of the nicest washrooms you will find. The ones I've used (only 3) also had separate sections for tenting which I really liked. They have a discount card that you pay for initially, as I recall we broke even on night 3 or 4 then it was all savings. So if you can't find something you feel good about they are probably a safe bet.
Dining Shelter
Based on our own gut feelings and the experience of others we do take exception with the recommended method of erecting the shelter. We assemble everything flat on the ground as the instructions say. Then someone sneaks under the tent and raises the shelter while I scoot around an plug the pins into the poles. It's much easier than trying to raise the shelter by forcing an arched pole to lift it.
Last I saw they were selling for a little over $100.00. I've only seen one other in use and it was the Kelty. Every time we use it we get plenty of visitors though, so I expect them to catch on.
Tarping
To get a tarp in place you need 4 things:
I generally attach to the tree with either a noose around the trunk or a rope over a stout branch where it attaches to the trunk. I then lace through the tarps' grommets and back to a point on a tree where I can tie it off. Usually 2 of each type of attachment works well. Make 2 noose connections then you can hoist it up with 2 more that pass over limbs. It's all done from the ground and it's simple, safe and lets you leave the site unscathed.
A few final points:
If it rains Some of my most memorable times camping took place in rainy weather. One was a misty afternoon in New Hampshire, there was what sounded like a saxophone playing soothing jazz melodies for what seemed like hours, it was surreal. I couldn't be sure if it was someone playing at a nearby site or just a recording nor was I in a big hurry to take a walk and break the illusion. Another special weekend was in late September, thankfully it was a mild weekend here in Maine, none the less it was wet. We took a few extra minutes to set up a tarp ahead of (not over) the fireplace and we also set up the galley and dining shelter in addition to the 2 tents. It added about thirty minutes to our setup time but was well worth it. We had a virtual home in the outdoors, kitchen, dining, living, and 2 bedrooms! We still had a short walk to the toilets but hey we were roughing it, right? We had space to spend time together and to find solitude when we wanted it. The rain added a quiet background noise that just seemed to enhance the peaceful setting near the pond. Finally there is one more special thing about camping in the rain. There is probably nothing in this world that I find more romantic than being alone with my wife in our tent with the sound of rain blocking out the noise of the world. So you planned and traveled and there you are and it's raining when you get to camp. What are you going to do? This will happen, trust me. This is when some flexibility comes in handy. You have to get set up so you have a place to stay. Unless you have good reason to believe the weather will get better in the next few hours go ahead and get setup. Yes some stuff might get sprinkled a bit but it won't be the end of the world. This is where planning and teamwork are crucial. Getting a tent up and the fly over it before the inside gets soaked takes cooperation, but isn't that one of those family skills you are trying to build anyway? If you are putting up a tarp for a dining shelter or as a general shelter do it first. If your tent is a dome style (as I hope it is) you can set it up under the tarp and move it complete with a ground cloth out to its location. Just be fast with the tent stakes! When we camp we plan to prepare nearly all of our meals. We save the meals out for rainy days. These are also great times to do the laundry, visit museums or maybe even catch a movie. On one trip we traveled all day and arrived in a steady rain, we got setup, changed and went to town for dinner and a movie, it was a nice change after spending 4 prior nights at a very secluded campground. Finally look at it as a challenge and an opportunity. Do your best to get through it being safe and comfortable. There is a great sense of pride when you weather a storm with your gear safe and dry. Like they say, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".
I'm not going to go into great detail on how to weather the storms, my section Tent Topics covers most of the important stuff. The rest is commons sense, you just have to approach it with the right frame of mind. Finally use your head, your tent is no match for severe weather, if taking cover is advised do so. I'd rather see tomorrow as a safe conservative camper than as a dead macho one.
Wash Your Hands!
There are times when this is not appropriate however. If you are at a handpump you would be depositing soap and bacteria directly above the water supply where it could contaminate the source for you and others. I'd also refrain if your site is situated such that runoff will be likely to enter a body of water. Abbey wrote with the following suggestion: "If you're worried about the SoftSoap entering into water run-off or other natural water sources, you can buy soaps that aren't harmful to the natural environment."
Wheels
We started by having a nice utility trailer built. It's 5 x 8 feet with 12 inch tires. The shop that built it uses wishbone bracing on the tongue. I had him build it with a longer than standard tongue so that I could but a dock locker ahead of the trailer box on the tongue. This is an aluminum box about 24 X 56 and 30 inches deep. I made a wooden bin that runs across the box rear the top that is nifty for holding dozens of little gizmos and tools. The posts and rails of this trailer were made with pressure treated lumber. That made it easy to fabricate a secure cage area. I had to make a wall across the trailer and a hinged top that has a hasp and padlock. This was done with 6 inch pressure treated decking ripped to half width. Over the axle I mounted a wooden box that I had lying around since the beginning of the earth. This is my woodbox, it holds better than 1/20th of a cord, enough for 2-4 nights in all but the coldest weather. The box has a tarp attached to the back edge and pulls over the wood and bungees to the cage to keep the wood dry in bad weather. Finally behind that is another dock locker. It's about 6 inches smaller than the other in every dimension. It was a 2pc. set at SAM'S for only $199. I hadn't planned on this one but it turned into a fantastic pantry for long trips. The side boards beyond the caged area were built up to be as high as a mountain bike so we can stand the bikes in the trailer and bind them to the rails. My daughter's bikes get lashed to the tailgate.
The Big Forward Dock Locker Then in the top of this box the tray up top contains the following; a standard claw hammer, a tent stake puller, plastic jar of nails (sometimes you end up on a tent platform),grommet repair kit (for all those tarps), a set of those snap on instant grommets, a bundle of ready to use tiedown ropes (3/16 nylon with the ends melted solid to prevent fraying), several Bic lighters as a backup ignition source, 7/8 wrench for the propane distribution post, spray can of WD-40, silicone spray, leather work gloves, small bottle of fast orange hand cleaner, a handful of bungee cords, a propane torch for belligerent firewood, finishing rope ends and lighting stubborn citronella candles, a jar of lantern mantles, and a tube of Seam Grip seam sealer.
The Cage
The Rear Dock Locker
Out In The Open One use for the trailer became apparent at a few campgrounds. On the sites we had there just was no place to set-up a clothesline for the swimwear and towels, all those rails served the purpose nicely! When I find the time I'll detail some of the less than obvious items that we carry in the van.
Wheel Bearings
Here is the procedure (topics C&D) for repacking your bearings. If it's not a project you're up to be sure to visit your RV or auto service center. Another option is a product sometimes called a "Bearing Buddy" You replace your bearing cap with this device. It has a spring pressurized reservoir for grease and you fill it with a common grease gun. It will insure a constant grease supply to both your inner and outer bearings. Since it is pressurized it will also discourage the entry of water.
Facing the Cold First of all unless you've been working outdoors as the season has been changing don't be afraid to dress for the weather and then some. Things like long johns and good socks really do work. If you're tenting keep in mind that you'll be essentially outside for the duration of the outing. When bedtime comes a hooded sweatshirt is a must for me. It keeps my head and neck warm, I need it as the hair is awfull thin up there! For our first 2 years the sleeping bags were nothing special, what Coleman called a "COOL" or 40 degree rated bags. Since we did most of our camping in warm weather I couldn't see investing in real good bags right off. Without a doubt we survived nicely in temperatures down into the upper twenties. We did bring along an old comforter and throw it over the top. We also slept in long johns and sweats if needed. This past fall we dicided to add some zero degree bags to our gear. We're booked for May first in 1998 so we decided that our cool weather camping would justify the investment. They were nice to be sure though they were a bit too comfy on one unseasonably mild night. We'll still use the old bags through the summer months. This past season we tried some Therm-a-Rest pads and I wish I could say I really impressed. I didn't sleep as well for some reason, it was a bit of a issue staying on the pad and they are without a doubt the most difficult piece of gear to pack when breaking camp. My wife likes her's. I think I'll give a plain closed cell pad another try. We also brought hats, gloves and winter jackets, as did many other campers. A frosty morning is a frosty morning no matter how fresh the memories of summer may be. Be careful with you food. On our final trip in 96 we came home with all our ice, some frozen items we didn't use were still frozen solid and we had produce sustain frost damage. It just goes to show how different a situation we were dealing with. We'll probably lighten up on the ice next time. If you're at a campground and are someone who shaves with a razor I found that EDGE gel type shaving stuff works better than the foams when chilled. Before I found this out I had considered taking my shaving cream to bed with but I never got around to trying that one. Make it a point to have your morning fire materials ready when you retire. That way you can start or rekindle a banked fire as early as you want without being disruptive. I'll have newspaper, kindling and firewood covered but accessible to get the chill from the air. And remember that you'll probably have a morning and evening fire going, you'll need more wood than on a July weekend. We found that metal camping plates get cold and really chill your hot food. Now we use our fire grate over the campfire to warm the plates while we cook on the gas stove. It's surprising how nice it can be to hold a warm plate.
Facing the bugs So all I can hope to do here is share what works for us. First remember that these little bugs a kind of fussy. They don't like the heat of the day or the chill of the night. Often this means that if you can survive breakfast and dinner the rest is a piece of cake. We usually rely on tried and true DEET products like OFF Skintastic, Deep Wood OFF is the heavy-duty product. Spray it here and there and then rub it in and around to get full coverage, up into the sleeves and anyplace those critters might consider visiting. There are non-DEET products out there so if you're concerned seek them out, many people speak highly of them. One quirky product is Avon's SKIN-SO-SOFT, we've had real good luck using this stuff to keep the blackflies away. Other people find it useless, it all comes back to body chemistry and the bug du-jour. Consider different toiletries especially if you are using some perfumed products. Another tactic is to manage the environment. Pass up the secluded wooded site for a sunny open spot. Keep a fire burning, this works great but you have to plan on keeping someone there to mind the fire. Citronella candles help sometimes, they sure have a nice camp smell about them anyway. Exposed sweets seem to be like rolling out the welcome wagon so let that be a cue to keep a tight kitchen. Wear a hat of some sort, bugs head for the heat and the hair seem to be a favorite destination, just cover your head. When evening comes make sure the lantern is setup some distance from where you're hanging out, this can make a BIG difference in your evening comfort. Last but not least it comes down to mind over matter, If you don't mind then it won't matter. Besides what are you going to do, stay home all summer.... I don't think so.
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Building your fire
I also do a fair amount of woodworking and repair around the house. Any scrap wood that isn't painted or pressure treated gets cut to 6-8 inches in length, stacked and dried in the shop for use as kindling. When I have extra cardboard boxes I pack it up. Then I can throw a box on the trailer when packing and have some excellent kindling. It may not be the most rustic kindling material but it's a useful recycling tactic and starts a fire like gangbusters. There are 3 basic ingredients that go into my typical fire:
That's all fine and good if you have primo wood to work with. Unfortunately if you're are relying on buying your wood at the campground store you may very well end up with fairly green (wet, fresh cut) softwood. The softwood part is OK, you'll just go through more. But what do you do about the green part? Start by taking your camp axe and shaving a piece or two to get a mound of chips or shavings. Then split a piece or two into small sticks. You can substitute local twigs and sticks if they are around. Kid's love rounding up that stuff. Finally split a few pieces into a 1 inch size range. Now build your fire. Newspaper, Shavings, sticks, split pieces. The trick here is that almost anything will burn if it's cut small enough. Remember Mr. Wizard with the steel wool? Light it off and away you go. If it stalls fan it with a sheet of newspaper a little extra oxygen can also do wonders for a slow starting fire. Building the fire in a teepee shape is also helpful since fire loves to follow the grain and move upward. Now just add wood, working your way up in size. Before long you will be able to burn anything you have. At the end of this section I have a recipe for fire starter logs that would also be handy at times like this, I've never tried it but it sounds like fun. Then there are the desperate measures.... Like propane torches and lighter fluid. I've used them in the past, I still carry them with me though starting my fire is not the primary reason. I've also found that there are often folks selling firewood near campgrounds. Sometimes they have great dry wood all split and ready for a reasonable price, keep your eyes open when you're near your destination. Just fill the back seat floor and let the kid's put their feet up on the stuff. Here's a handy little make-at-home firestarter for all those camp fires:
Then there are the most important things, never leave your fire unattended and make sure it's out before leaving or retiring. Be sure to keep a bucket of water waiting nearby. Make it a rule that there be no horseplay around the fire, an accident only takes a second. Before you know it you will be mesmerized by the lazy glow of the red coals.
Caring for your pets While Away First the rabbit, for long weekends, up to 3 nights away we just strap an extra water bottle to the rabbit cage and make sure the cage is clean and the food hopper is full. The tandem water bottles carry him through the period with plenty of reserve. For longer trips we either hire a neighborhood youngster or bring the whole cage to my inlaws where they watch over him. When I do my local working vacation we bring the whole cage to the campground and let him vacation with us. As for the cats lets start with water. I bought a battery operated water timer made for lawn or garden watering. I connected it to a plastic tub with a hose. The timer turns on for 15 minutes every 6 hours refreshing the trough. One important thing is to have a flow restrictor spliced into the hose. Mine is solid with two 1/16 inch holes through it. When I used to just open the spigot a bit it tended to close it's self off either through swelling or expansion. An open spigot and an inline restrictor solves the problem. For the cat food I built a small shelter. There is a dish in the corner of the shelter. In the dish is a 3 foot length of 4 inch PVC pipe standing upright like a silo. The bottom is cut open on a side so that the food flows into the dish. The pipe passes through the roof and the whole thing is watertight. This holds our 2 cats (and the neighborhood strays) for a good 4 days. We have someone come over every 4 days to refill the silo if were going to be away that long.
Then there are the goldfish. For the last 3 years they have traveled with us. We have a wide mouth plastic jar that candy came in as I recall. That along with a can of food and a net is all they need. We close the jar most of the time while driving. They spend most of their time someplace shady on the campsite depending on the arrangement. At night they go in the van, on the floor where nothing will bother them.
Favorite Recipes
Let's start with a simple one.........
Or this one I'm looking forward to.........
Baked potatoes..........
SMORES......
"DOUGHBOYS".....
Bears, Raccoons and Other Friends
The first rule is NO FOOD IN THE TENTS.... PERIOD. The first thing this ensures is that if a bear wanders onto your site it will be much less interested in your tent, or it's contents. This means no storing of food and should also include not eating in the tent. Make this your standard rule and you also have a good way to keep messy candy out of your tent(s) without being the bad guy.
Next you have to determine your level of risk. If you're conservative it's simple, all the food goes into the vehicle at night. Generally your biggest risk will be raccoons. If your food is in totes make sure they are tied securely closed with a bungee cord. This method is not fool proof, trust me. It is a lot of fun to wake up in the middle of the night and watch the raccoon flailing at the bungee cord. When you fall asleep it will quietly open the tote and have a field day. Breads I have found are very popular. We did find that onion bagels were not a big hit, there may be a message there but I don't want to go into that here and now. We have resorted to putting the heavy drink cooler on top of the food tote. The drink cooler doesn't smell that appetizing to the raccoon and so far it has worked.
When you get ready to turn in make sure you don't forget any munchies you had out on the table or by the fire. If you do you may find yourself stumbling out of your tent to defend your Pringles, peanuts and marshmallows. Some of these campground varmints are quite comfortable around humans and may be perfectly happy to sit and wait you out while you try to scare him away without awakening all of your neighbors.
You may even be greeted by a raccoon if you take a midnight stroll to the restroom. I've found them near trashcans or watching from up in trees. They're not going to bother you, just move along.
If you are in bear country the campground will usually make it very clear to when you check in. All food should be in your vehicle at night. The alternative is hanging bear proof food canisters in the trees. This is beyond the scope of this page and from what I've read isn't a sure bet either. Remember no food in the tents.... this is serious stuff !
I'm sure that in different locales there will be different varmints but generally a tidy site will serve you well. It never hurts to ask the campground hosts what to expect.
Security
The good news is that in commercial campgrounds and on public campgrounds with onsite rangers this is rarely a problem. I'm sure it happens but I have yet to hear of an incident during a stay. Knock on wood! It is said that there is a "code of honor" among campers, while we are in no way bound together there does seem to be a mutual respect for other campers property.
Nonetheless some common sense should prevail. Electronics, cameras, money and credit cards, jewelry (some just have to bring it camping!) and other easily pilfered items should be kept secure in the vehicle when not in use. Keeping them discretely out of sight while you're there won't hurt either.
Campground security varies from an open driveway to gate systems requiring pass cards and some cases tended gates. Some establishments lock the gates for the night after quiet hour to keep traffic out. Non camping guests are always required to register at the office and usually pay a fee. There should be no traffic off of the highway wandering through the campground. All vehicles will have some sort of tag hanging in the windshield and the hosts will be on the lookout for unregistered visitors. They have a vested interest in keeping you secure so feel free to share any concerns.
The problems that I have heard of usually center around campers on remote back woods sites that happen to have proximity to a road. Locals learn that gear will be left for the day at a single site in the woods and raid it while the camper(s) are gone for a day hike. This should not be a problem in a campground setting. If your campground is near a highway and you happen to get a site near a boundary you might be a little extra cautious however.
So relax, use a little common sense and you should be OK. We regularly leave our site for the day when travelling and have no problems to date. By the same token if you happen to see something suspicious during your stay inform the hosts right away, you might save someone's vacation!
A favorite Photo Opportunity
It's a good reason to get out of the vehicle for a few minutes and it makes the travel time less of a chore. I will warn you that there is an age where they will grow tired of this one, so enjoy it while you can.
We Have Gas For year two we wanted to add a propane lantern and it was obvious that the gas bottle consumption was going to be expensive and wasteful. Since our gas grill was getting tired we essentially had a 20 lb. tank for free. We also bought the Coleman gas pipe that supports a lantern about 30 inches above the tank. It came with a hose that connects to the gas stove. We did 45 nights on one tank last summer and that included a lot of corn on the cob and dishwater heating! The pipe and hose set cost about $42. (Wal-Mart) and paid for it's self easily in one season. We still carry 3 small bottles in case we want to cook on a daytrip away from camp or we run out of gas. One neat trick is that you can shut the valve on the tank and let the lamp burn off the contents of the pipe. It will run about fifteen minutes, plenty of time to get settled into the tent. A word of caution is in order here. In the morning when you open the gas valve to cook breakfast the valve of your lantern will be open and gas will flow if you don't close it first. If you have a group with you on the site and other people are using the gas appliances I would avoid doing this. The gas lantern has a pretty significant hiss so it's unlikely the situation will get out of hand before you notice the sound and smell. If you don't have electronic ignition on your stove you might want to consider this.... We bought one of those propane stove lighters and before I knew it it was out of gas, what a waste of $3. Then I tried using the dead lighter simply as an ignition source: voila! Turn on the gas, point the tip at the burner and pull the trigger, bingo rain or shine. We used that spent lighter all last summer and it sure beat messing with matches. A few words of caution:
Newspaper
Maps Last summer when we traveled in New York and Pennsylvania we wished we had sprung for these atlases. After 4 days at a campground we stumbled on an incredible shortcut that didn't appear on any of the handout maps. We prefer to avoid the inter-states when time permits and like to wander the backroads seeing small towns. These maps give you the information to connect the towns and see the backroads of America. It's a small worthwhile investment when you consider the cost of a vacation.
Let me share a quote with you.....
A Busmans Holiday After talking about it for a few weeks we booked out favorite site for 8 nights. After having done it let me say it was the next best thing to a full fledged vacation. Waking early and getting ready quietly while the campground was asleep and having breakfast with the Chipmunks made for a great days start. Getting home for super, a swim in the pond with the kids, some fun time and an evening campfire set the scene for some great rest. The rest of the gang got to take their time and enjoy the week. They made some new friends, got involved with lots of activities and made some real gains in their swimming skills. My wife is already planning to do it again next year, in fact she didn't want to leave!
It may not be for everyone but if you have the right circumstances it can be a nice way to augment your precious vacation time. I did got into the week planning and expecting a full work week, I think that was key to maintaining the right frame of mind. Otherwise it would be too easy to become resentful.
Quick Getaways
On these trips camping has been more an inexpensive form of lodging while visiting places best done without youngsters. We even treat ourselves to most of our meals out. We do bring one cooler stocked with beverages. We bring a box of cereal for a breakfast with milk and juice from the cooler. Disposable dishes are always in the picnic basket under the seat. If it's not a nice enough morning we find a nice breakfast spot. One time we came across a D.A,V. all you can eat breakfast for $3.00 a head.
Beyond that its just what we will use. A tent with just enough pegs, sleeping pads and bags, pillows and our duffel bags. Last time I got smart and packed a campfire in a box, split logs, kindling, newspaper and matches. And 2 chairs to sit on by the fire.
The whole outing takes less than an hour to pack and load and even less time on returning home. We get out of the house, enjoy a peaceful evening alone and add another dimension to our camping experience. Done this way even a one nighter is a satisfying experience. It would work with the kids though the meal cost would be higher but for now it will be our little escape.
Gratitude
Here is a sampling of what the camping community has shared with me;
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Epilogue Fast forward 20 2018…………. I'm flabbergasted to see I last updated this epilogue 11 years ago. If you do the math the girls are now 27 & 30. They have blessed us with grandsons age 4 and 6. We have high hopes of sharing camping with them soon. We still have all the gear and did manage a backyard camping night with one of the boys. For us it's been a few years since our last night camping. Schedules and the nature of our travels just weren't tent appropriate. I look forward to being in campgrounds again, they really are an "other world" experience. Often on a summer evening I listen to the crickets and imagine myself on a favorite site. Some readers have written about the lack of recent additions to the page and I want everyone to know that the page is alive and well, as are we. I look forward to your messages and hope to hear how your family has coped with camping through the adolescent years of your children or selves. When I set out to create this page some years ago I wanted to share the joy that camping has brought to our family and help others take those first steps. That story has pretty much been told here and if you follow the rest of my site you will see that my website is a hobby about my many hobbies, activities and pastimes. To the young families out there I should share one lesson that I have learned. Your children will grow up quickly, more so than you can imagine and if you have a number of children spanning years there are very few "golden years" to share. I'm referring to the time when their time is yours to plan. Before you know it they begin to develop lives of their own and getting away just isn't as simple as it once was. I'm thankful that I threw myself (actually, my wife shoved me) into camping. If after reading this site you are still hemming and hawing I urge you to go for it, it's truly another world when you're camping. Happy Camping |