Camping In Style

Rock Art: Draw a line or spiral with a long stick and collect rocks and pine cones - place on the line in a pattern. Show them a picture of “The spiral Jetty” by Robert Smithson.   Camp Kitchen: Collect cooking gear from the thrift store, see if you can find items on small scale, find a flat rock, log or camp bench and draw in chalk a stove top (two circles with an “X”) Fill a pitcher of water and tell them to go to town making mud pies and cooking them. (keep mud away from where people walk). Rock & Stick Art: Hunt for sticks and rocks then paint with washable tempera   Pine Cone Critters: Glue small rocks, sticks onto pine cones to make different figures. Tacky glue works best.   Hide & Seek an old stand by.   Bug Hunt with a bug jar.   Hopscotch: Use a long sticks to make squares in dirt & small rocks to throw.   Beading: $1 store good for this, I like using a tray or baking sheet to contain every...

Fall is a GREAT time to Wash sleeping bags and bedding. Store in plastic bags or bins with lids to keep dust free. Tidy up loose gear scattered in the garage or in the house from Summer.  Look for sales on replacement gear.  Put a jar aside to save money for next years gear purchase.  Make a wish list for a Holiday Gift.  Research locations for next years trips.

Just a friendly reminder that today is the day to begin booking your campsites for the month of Ju ne through Reserve America   The early bird catches the worm for premium sites SEE BEST CAMPSITES SEE CAMPING WITH DOGS SEE LOCATION LOCATION 

After the Summer guests have gone, the smoke has cleared from local fires and before it gets too cold, our daughter and I set up a tent-less room on our deck to stargaze and sleep in the cool evenings. Extra comfy using our indoor linens A sheet to cover during the day Every morning we take a big sheet to cover our bed during the hot day to protect it from leaves or even the dog should he sneak onto the deck and decide to take a nap. So far so good. Bravo sleeps with his ball   She sleeps with a doll GREAT bonding time Yesterday our daughter woke up at 6am, still dark and said "Mom hurry come out the stars are so pretty" I was awake in the house only to rush out, snuggle and star gaze with her. We saw a shooting star and it felt so awesome to share this moment with her. I highly recommend it! Eco Friendly Inexpensive Fun Easy Memorable Doesn't Require Scheduling  

I found this post on Aupairs Blog and though I love every bit of it, I would say my style is Glamping light. The rules I would want to change is...... Make 1 or 2 meals because I love to cook, let someone else do the dishes I love making a campfire  Lastly if I'm going outdoors then the kid has to come, Fiji 5 start that's another thing ______________________________ 10 Rules for Glamping Published August 6, 2012 | By admin   Camping isn’t for everyone, but if you love the outdoors and don’t like the idea of “roughing it,” then glamping might be for you.  Glamping is a way to enjoy camping without all of the work, bugs or dirt.  When glamping, no dirty hands are required. If you’re up for a glamorous camping adventure, be sure to follow these 10 rules. Do not make your own food.  When you go glamping you will be treated to gourmet food cooked by a chef.  Depending on the experience, the food could be cooked over an open fire o...

Facts about Black Bears The only species of bears in California are black bears. However, they do range in color from blonde to black, with cinnamon brown being the most common color. There are an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 black bears in California. Black bears will seek to avoid confrontation with humans. If encountered, always leave them an escape route. Males are much larger than females and can weigh over 500 pounds, although average weight is about 300 pounds. Black bears can sprint up to 35 mph and they are strong swimmers and great tree climbers. A typical wild bear diet consists of berries, plants, nuts, roots, honey, honeycomb, insects, larvae, carrion and small mammals. As winter approaches, bears will forage for food up to 20 hours a day, storing enough fat to sustain them through hibernation. Bears often hibernate in large hollow trees 40 to 60 feet off the ground. Bears that are accustomed to people can become too bold and lose their fear of humans. For...

Bear Country Precautions ●    Keep a close watch on children and teach them what to do if they encounter a bear. ●    While hiking, make noise to avoid a surprise encounter with a bear. ●    Never keep food, gum, wet wipes etc...  in your tent. ●    Store food and toiletries in bear-proof containers or in an airtight container in the trunk of your vehicle. ONLY IF there is no bear box. Bears WILL break into cars.  ●    Keep a clean camp by cleaning up and storing food and garbage immediately after meals. ●    Use bear-proof garbage cans whenever possible or store your garbage in a secure location with your food. ●    Don't bury or burn excess food; bears will still be attracted to the residual smell. ●    Garbage should be packed out of camp if no trash receptacles are available. ●    Never approach a bear or ...

Add caption California Department of Fish and Game News Release May 5, 2011 DFG Offers Tips on Staying Safe in Bear Country The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds campers, anglers and hikers enjoying the outdoors to take precautions to limit black bear encounters. A key element to safe camping and recreating in bear country is to limit food odors that attract bears. “Bears are constantly in search of easily obtainable food sources," said Marc Kenyon, DFG statewide bear program coordinator. "A bear’s fate is almost always sealed once it associates human activity with potential food. It’s always unfortunate when a bear has to be killed because people either haven’t learned how to appropriately store food and trash, or simply don’t care." California’s growing black bear population is now estimated at more than 40,000. Black bears are located in most of the state where suitable habitat exists and bear/human encounters are ...

Image from Fish and Game California California Department of Fish and Game News Release May 5, 2011 DFG Offers Tips on Staying Safe in Bear Country The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds campers, anglers and hikers enjoying the outdoors to take precautions to limit black bear encounters. A key element to safe camping and recreating in bear country is to limit food odors that attract bears. Image from Keep Me Wild “Bears are constantly in search of easily obtainable food sources," said Marc Kenyon, DFG statewide bear program coordinator. "A bear’s fate is almost always sealed once it associates human activity with potential food. It’s always unfortunate when a bear has to be killed because people either haven’t learned how to appropriately store food and trash, or simply don’t care." California’s growing black bear population is now estimated at more than 40,000. Black bears are located in most of the state where sui...

Taken last year in Lake Tahoe of our friends car and very cool trailer Does anyone really go camping on Memorial Day?  I stopped camping during Holidays when I hit my mid 30's. The crowds, traffic and hoo ha's drove me out of the Holiday Camping Crowd. Hey HCC camping! Are you HCC or NOT HCC

Glamp up your tent with a MILK CRATE SIDE TABLE: Pack what your going to use in your tent inside the crate Flash lights or lantern Reading books or magazines  Reading glasses Book light Box of tissue Empty small tissue box for trash Vintage cloth to cover Stainless steal water bottle Slipper Socks After you set up your tent turn the crate on it's side, cover with the cloth and use open side to store you belongings. Ready to go camping tip # 102543.   <div class="statcounter"><a title="blogspot visit counter" class="statcounter" href="http://www.statcounter.com/blogger/"><img class="statcounter" src="http://c.statcounter.com/5752864/0/d14a586b/1/" alt="blogspot visit counter" /></a></div...

I recently purchased an Iphone and it has been a love affair since. From listening to Pandora for music on the fly, a calculator or most often used as a camera not to forget a baby sitter too. I LOVE MY iPhone!!!! Here are a few apps I've tried and what I think about them. I will update as I can. FREE APP:  Coleman’s Cookout Cookbook and Meal Planner  I surprised myself by liking this one. The choices of meals are good to great and the app allows you to plan with shopping list and directions for cooking right at the campsite. Check it out for sure. FREE APP:  Bug Spray - Ultrasonic By Apptomic LLC OK the ratings are not high on this one. But just to be curios I'm trying it this Spring. It claims to have a high frequency tone that has an effect of repelling insects. RIGHT? Customer Reviews Hurts My Daughters Ears by Mommy's itunes account Be Careful! My 8 year-old daughter cried when we made this app active. Some children can hear th...

Don't forget January 2nd is the first day to book your campsites for the month of July. If your going to a popular campground or want the ONE special site then don't delay and get ready to call first thing Sunday, January 2nd 2011.  Here is a link to the website that books most campgrounds Reserve America in the USA. Here is the note they post online. California State Park On-sale Begins January 2   (Sunday 8AM PST) Arrivals for July will be On-sale (Jul 1st through 31st) Sign-in before 8:00AM PST for your best on-sale experience (10 minutes before is fine)  You can also call: Contact us by Phone NRRS Federal Campgrounds Toll Free 1-877-444-6777 International 518-885-3639 California State Campgrounds Reservations 1-800-444-7275 Customer Service 1-800-695-2269 Colorado State Park Campgrounds Reservations 1-800-678-2267 Local Number 1-303-470-1144 Connecticut State Campgrounds Reservations 1-877-668-2267 Customer Service 1-877-612-1100 East...

This is our dog Bravo who knows were camping but doesn't understand he can't go this time, very sad dog   Recently our school, an expeditionary learning school, went on a group camping trip to a local campground. The whole thing made me very nervous. Camping with 45 kids and parents most of which I didn't know.................... yet. The children were between 5 and 7 years old, the adults between 25 and 60 just to paint a clear picture. The objective is to build community and create bonding within' the group while learning by doing. This was a non stop extravaganza............ singing, dancing, 9 crafts stations, skits, individual crew routines, building a watershed at the lake, lunch, play time, hiking and then more of everything listed above. Ending the day around the campfire singing songs to a guitar and roasting smoores. Needless to say EVERYONE was exhausted by the end of the day. 9pm to be exact.  Just to give my next statement credentials:  I used to w...