January 16th, 2008 by
TravelGuide
When my daughter goes to camp, she knows I’ll be asking her 100 questions when she comes home. This past summer she was gone for an entire month and I’m certain my questions numbered over 100.
Prior to digital cameras being so popular, I always would buy many disposable cameras so that she was able to capture photos of everything she did and everywhere she went. Even today, in the age of digital photography a disposable underwater camera is a wonderful investment.
We discovered the camp my daughter attended this past summer through her attending a one week program earlier in the year. When she attended the one week program the camp gave the kids their summer camp information. We saved those brochures for the beginning of her camp scrapbook.
As the months progressed, we began getting both postal mail and email from the camp about the summer ahead. We saved all of those communications so they could be copied onto acid free paper.
Each week my daughter was gone, the camp leader sent parents an email update of what the kids had done that week. There were also photos added to the camp website that parents could download. On my end, I was saving all of this for inclusion in the summer camp scrapbook.
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January 9th, 2008 by
TravelGuide
Start a camp fire in the rain? Read how this can possibly be achieved.
Fire needs 3 elements to survive: Fuel, Air, and Heat. This is known as the “Combustion Triangle”. Deprive a fire of any one of the elements and it dies. Water does two things; it deprives a fire of oxygen and it cools the temperature to below the combustion point of the fuel being used.
Our job is to create a campfire when everything in the environment appears to be wet. Notice that the operative word is “APPEARS”. Even after a rainstorm there is tinder and firewood that is dry. Knowing where to look and what to look for are the keys to success.
Let’s start with tinder. Look around your site for fir trees. The smaller lower branches that have died as a result of being denied sunlight by the larger upper branches are the first choice. The same branches that shielded these dead branches from sunlight have probably shielded them from the rain. These smaller branches are usually dry and will break off in your fingers. Collect a good amount of these. Take a little extra time to fray and shred these with your knife or fingers. Also look for dry grass under these trees. Look for birch trees as the bark is impregnated with oil and will not absorb moisture. Bird nests and wasp nests (unoccupied of course) are also good sources of tinder. The wasp nests look like brown golf balls and the unoccupied ones are usually found on the ground. The bird nests are a little trickier and you will have to look for them. Also you can use a piece of cloth from a shirt or other article of clothing if necessary. Do not overlook the contents of your wallet. All those useless business cards burn very nicely.
The next step is kindling. Look for trees known as “Dead Falls”. These are trees that have fallen and are now in various stages of decay. Locate one that has been down for a while. Strip off the outer bark and cut chunks out of the rotting trunk. This will burn fast, so gather as much as you can. The larger branches can also be stripped of bark and the wood below used. Do not forget to look under and around these “Dead Falls” for wood that has been protected from the moisture.
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December 1st, 2007 by
TravelGuide
The inflating camping tents are the new buzzword among the camping enthusiasts. It is very well known that after a long day out at a countryside location, one is hardly left with any energy to pull up the orthodox tent poles and erect a heavy camp. It is to avoid all such discomfort that inflating camp tents were introduced and now rank alongside the self-erecting versions.
Inflating camping tents are a few seconds affair and require least physical effort to set up as well as dismantle whenever needed. On those tiresome evenings, when you find yourself limping towards your camping destination with fatigue, you can set up your inflating camping tent within seconds, pack up your gear and unwind. Inflating camping tents bear no fragile parts that risk breakage and can be puckered up easily for comfortable storage. Their simplicity also makes them very economical and the most feasible option for all kinds of holidays, from backpacking to beach destinations.
The poles necessary to stable a camping tent are also inflatable in nature. All that you may need is an efficient air source that can fit into the built-in air valve of the inflating camping tent and thus blow it up. Such air source and the camping tent don’t occupy much space and can be easily packed into the cars dickey or into your RV. Different air sources available in the market are as follows:
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December 1st, 2007 by
TravelGuide
You have so many different options, where camping is concerned. You can go in for a family cabin, which is a part of a resort and has all the amenities you require, like a kitchen with all the modern appliances. If this is not your definition of camping, there are many campsites for you where you can even take your four-wheeled drive, right up to the camping area. Still not satisfied? You might think what is camping without wilderness? If you are such a brave soul who believes in discovering new things by going into the deepest recesses of nature, you need to carry all your food, camping gear and other basic necessities with you. And in order to carry all these, the best bet would be a good backpack. However, before going camping with backpacks, careful thought needs to go into selecting the backpacks.
There are many companies these days, which manufacture backpacks that are ideal for such camping. However you need to keep a few things in mind before selecting the right backpack for this sort of camping. The foremost thing is to buy a backpack, which has a hydration system built into it. When you have a parched throat after trekking for miles to the campsite, with such heavy load on your back, clean and cool water will be like refreshment for both your body and soul. There must also be separate sections in your backpack for emergency items. These include first-aid kits and mobile phones, if there is network in the camping area. Such measures are essential, not because camping with backpacks is not safe, but because one must take all the precautions beforehand. Since you have to carry this backpack on your shoulders, all throughout the trek, there must be a sturdy comfortable strap on the backpack, for your shoulders and back. And if the backpack has a waist strap in addition to these straps, that is an added advantage as a backstrap would ensure minimum movement of the backpack and thus would reduce chaffing.
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