Outdoor Life: Family Camping

A St. Charles, Missouri man has died as a result of a bite from a copperhead snake while camping.

Essential Tips for Family Camping

 You've reserved a campsite, organized your camping gear and made plans for some fun family activities to keep everyone busy. If this is your first foray into family camping, however, there are still a lot of little things to think about, like setting up the gear and planning meals.

 

Like the ice chest, for example.  To get the maximum performance out of your ice chest, pre-cool it with ice at least six hours before loading it with your food and drinks. When it's time to load the ice chest, use fresh block ice, which lasts longer than cubed ice. Also, only load the ice chest with refrigerated or frozen foods, so you do not waste precious ice cooling-down warm food and drinks.

 

It's much easier to locate clothing if everyone has their own duffel bag or backpack. A large garbage bag works great for dirty laundry. Remember, the bathroom and shower facility may be some distance from your campsite, so everyone needs shower shoes and towels.

The exterior of your tent has a waterproof coating that is susceptible to damage from abrasion and UV rays from the sun. Protect the floor of your tent with a large tarp, or a specialized piece of material from the tent manufacturer called a footprint. Keep the tent zipped-up during the day, in order to keep insects out.

Sleeping bags absorb moisture from your body during the night and that moisture reduces the efficiency of the insulation inside the bag. Unzip your sleeping bags, during the day, so they will air-out and dry.  Sleeping bags also come in different lengths.  I should have been just fine in a regular length sleeping bag, but I decided to buy the taller version which allowed me a bit of wiggle room for my feet and I didn't feel like it was too short.

 Try before you buy! I mean it too. Take the sample of the camping sleeping bags you are interested in and lie down in them on the store floor. Yes, you are supposed to do this.

 

Many love the great outdoors! And sitting around a campfire is one of the special times we all enjoy. During the summer, when humidity is low and wind is high, grass and debris can become tinder for a stray campfire ember.  Remember, keep your campfire small - A campfire is less likely to escape control if it is kept small. A large fire may cast hot embers long distances. Add firewood in small amounts as existing material is consumed.

 

If the idea of falling asleep under the stars and roasting marshmallows around a campfire appeals to you, but the reality of pitching a tent and sleeping on bumpy ground does not, glamping, the new term being used for upscale — or glamorous — camping, could be your ideal green vacation.

Glamping:

Going camping, but with glamour. A combination of the two words, glamour and camping. It's like regular camping , but with nicer things than usual, being warmer, and more comfortable - luxury camping. Glamping isn't done by usual outdoor types who climb mountains.  The comfort of a hotel into the great outdoors. Although the concept has been around for years, it has really started to take off with the launch of sites like Glamping.com and Glamping Hub, which help teach people about the joys of glamping and match potential glampers with the experience they're looking for.