We've all been there: You've taken your kids camping, and already hiked every kid-friendly trail... twice. You floated down the shallow portion of the river with your small nieces and nephews umpteen times. Your godchildren have realized that not everything presented as a game is actually fun, e.g. "Let's have a contest to see who can collect the most trash!" The kids … Continue reading Camptivities: Pumpkin Carving
Camping
Freeze Dried Sampler
This weekend will include a test of my new baby, bought in anticipation of an impending trip to Utah parks. For some reason (good judgment, maybe?) the Big 5 employees wouldn't let me cook a practice meal at the register, which is their loss because I totally would have shared. I bet REI would have let me. Hey! … Continue reading Freeze Dried Sampler
Get On the Map
As a child, I hungered for one of these: "An RV?" you ask. No. A sticker map. (Although I wanted the RV too. But I was a practical child - where would I put an RV, even a pop-up camper? The map was definitely going on my headboard.) The maps identify the states you've visited. If I'd … Continue reading Get On the Map
Let’s Go Camping!
This picture reminds me so strongly of an idyllic last-minute camping trip to Yosemite** I took a few years back with my friend Cindy, which reminds me that Cindy and I have an upcoming trip to a few Utah parks scheduled for September I mentioned here. That, plus the weather lately, and I suddenly have an overwhelming … Continue reading Let’s Go Camping!
Wednesday Words on the Wild: Influences
As the twig is bent the tree inclines. ~ Virgil Wait, no, sorry. Try again. As the twig is bent, so grows the tree. ~ Alexander Pope Whoops! Wrong again. Last try. So bends the twig, so grows the tree. ~ My Mother There. Done. Glad that's settled. Let's pause for a moment, catch our … Continue reading Wednesday Words on the Wild: Influences
Father’s Day (2017): The Foster Campground
A few years ago, after my own father passed away, I decided to honor a friend on Father's Day who'd recently become a father for the second time. In other words, without my own father physically present, I symbolically celebrated Father's Day, and selected someone whose own kids were too young to pay him tribute. These … Continue reading Father’s Day (2017): The Foster Campground
Scooter-Man
During a camping trip to Lake Nacimiento over Easter weekend two years ago, a solitary camper caught and held the attention of our entire crowd. We nicknamed him "Scooter-Man," and we all enjoyed witnessing his independence as he came in alone, set up his campsite (pulling everything out of what we imagined to be a clown-car sized storage … Continue reading Scooter-Man
Campfire Chronicles
One of the unique pleasures (some would say "torture") of camping - even less remarked upon than the phenomenon of how food tastes better outside - is the people-watching. A campground is like an apartment complex without walls, a workplace with all the cubicles removed. I believe the term is "fishbowl environment." About the only privacy a … Continue reading Campfire Chronicles
Book Review: Under the Stars
To follow up recent posts about camping and nemophilists, I now present the inaugural Campfire Tales book review, Dan White's Under the Stars. My brief description is, "A humorous overview of camping, delving into all aspects of America's relationship to the wilderness, through both the historical past and the personalized present." The book approaches the subject of camping through … Continue reading Book Review: Under the Stars
Wednesday Words on the Wild: Camping
For better and worse, camping shows you who you are. ~ Dan White, Under the Stars As evidenced in the photo above, taken during a camping trip to Twin Lakes in the eastern Sierras, the rainfly on my tent proved insufficient to keep out the rain, the trench dug to divert water flowing downhill around the tent was not … Continue reading Wednesday Words on the Wild: Camping
Campfire Tales 