Our first few years of family camping meant loading the van for a trip was like playing Jenga, and, while the process was kind of enjoyable on the front end of the trip, packing up the crumpled clothes, scattered toys, and half open cereal boxes at the end was near madness--sometimes taking 4-6 hours.  The trip home our van resembled the The Beverly Hillbillies:  and, yes, I had considered strapping the kids on the top like Granny.

So, I had this dream of getting a utility trailer to store all the camping equipment , so when we wanted to go camping, we could just hitch up, throw some underwear in a suitcase, stop by the store for weenies and ice, and be.on our way!

Well, I did find a utility trailer.  5X8 feet with 20 inch wood walls.  I built a wood topper that could be put on or taken off, and that would protect the cooler and such from critters at night.

So, after two summers with the trailer, I have to say my fairy tale of the instant getaway has not been realized.  We gave birth to our wonderful fourth child just last summer, and I don't think we could have even gone camping without the trailer.  So, what I found is that the trailer makes camping possible for a family of six, and, while packing the thing is work (still takes a couple of hours on either end),  it is no longer maddening.

For the gearheads:  A minivan really isn't designed to haul much.  In fact, we blew out an engine radiator since hauling the trailer, but we added a $200 transmission cooler and now our van handles the 300lb trailer with the 800 lbs or so of equipment like a charm.  Most vans are rated to pull 3,500 lbs, but you have to also take into account all the weight of the people inside the van as well.  So, 800 pounds of people IN the van reduces your towing capacity.

So, I went really light with the utility trailer, and I totally am glad I added a transcooler to help it cope with the added weight.

A minivan is NOT a suburban.  It has very limited hauling capabilities, especially when stuffed with people.

I also went with 13 inch wheels.  These wheels are slightly larger than the trailers made available at big stores:  Remember, the smaller the wheels, the more rotations they have to make to keep up with the van.  Go with larger, rather than smaller wheels, so that you don't overhead your bearings.



--  So, the trailer has not bippity-boppity-boo'ed all my packing woes away.  We still have to start packing about a week in advance, and the night before a trip still goes a bit late.  But, with a family of six camping is doable and the process is merely hard work rather than maddening.

NeoAir

So, we have a strict rule at our house:  We can only add one piece of major equipment to our camping horde per year. (My wife rolled her eyes when I said "strict"--but if she only knew ALL the stuff I DIDN'T buy because of this rule!)

So, this summer we decided to buy news beds for Sarah and me--the adults in the family.  We had been sleeping on a queen-sized blow up mattress, but the last mattress was stomped to death by my children and their cousins during  unauthorized bounce-house sleep over game.

I was fairly horrified at throwing all the vinyl from the mattress into a landfill, so I kept it to use as a paint throw, or something, and so for the sake of sustainable living and some reasons stated below, I decided NOT to buy another box-store big blow up air mattress. 

I really wanted to buy one of those self-inflating style of matresses that combine both air chambers and foam, thus adding BOTH warmth and buoyancy. I particularly liked the Thermarest line because it is made in the US and they have been around for a long time--lots of time to get out the kinks. I car camp with kids, so I could go larger and heavier equipment wize, so eventually I decided on the sizable XL Thermarest NeoAir Dream.

One issue I wanted to correct by switching from the boxy air mattress to the Neo Air, is creating warmth below me.  We camp in Wisconsin and Michigan, so nights can get down to the 50's and even 30's (early in the summer), and I found the typical box store air mattresses had such huge air masses below them that the air below would quickly match the air temperature, and eventually it felt like sleeping on a giant, flabby ice cube, inevitably keeping me from sleeping deeply.  One thing I like about the Neo Air (and other mattresses that combine both air and foam) is that it creates actual heat RETURN through combining cushioning and heat reflective material in the actual air chamber fabric. See below to get the idea:

The soft red top you see doesn't hurt either. The result is that the mattress actually cuddles you into a rather soothing warmth. I was able to sleep much more deeply, and I always awoke with my body and muscles feeling limber, and refreshed, rather than stiff and cold. The warmth isn't TOO extreme, I did have one particularly damp night in Michigan where despite having the Neo Air I was chilly, but the next night I actually zipped my sleeping bag up and was back to being comfy.  So, for temperatures and normal conditions down to 50 degrees or so, the neo and a good blanket perform nicely.

So, the Neo air is warm, plenty supportive (you will NEVER feel the ground even if you are a big person).  The only two downsides are that it is not self-inflating, and it now takes about 15 - 20 minutes to set up the mattresses. Looking back, I might have looked more closely at self-inflating mattresses that are just are as warm and the Dream. Also, it takes a bit of time to empty the air to roll it up correctly. Also, we have to store them OUT of the bag in a dry place so that the cushioning doesn't compress.  And, the Neo is pricey (about $180).  Again for ease of use, I might have actually gone for another Thermarest model that was easier to allow to fill and store.

Addendum:  I just spend the US holiday called Thanksgiving sick and in bed--but not my bed.  We were visiting our relatives and I brought one of the Neo Airs to sleep on.  I spent about 24 hours off and on sleeping on it, and I have to say it performed amazingly.  Too soft or too hard and I would have gotten a lower back ache--but the smaller air chambers do a great job creating complete support.  I was even able to put some couch-sized pillows underneath the end with my head so I could sleep on it like a hospital bed.  Glad to say I am feeling better, but again, pretty amazing that a packable air mattress could do so well for a day-and-a-half lay in.

Adding Cots: Adding cots was the smartest thing we have ever done camping wise. With our pads elevated we can easily store TONS of baggage underneath and since we camp with six kids--coincidentally, we have a butt load of stuff, and yet with the cots we could still take more.  You will note the picture above where we have a pac-n-play pen for the 1 year old; a blow up mattress for the 4 and 6 year old in the back and we roll out a mat for the 8 year old between us at night.  COTS ARE GREAT!  They totally make storage easy, and as you get older it is SO much easier to get out of bed, and you feel drier being off the ground. It's great to be able to walk down the middle aisle, dress in the aisle. We bought slumberjack tough cots, because of the lack of PCV's used in making them (so no vapors).  I did want to go with Roll a cot, because it is made in the US, but Roll-a-cot (at least at the time) actually uses PCV in its material.

The Most Important Piece of Equipment

GK Chesterton:  “An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.”

We no longer have a hammock!  The hammock we've had for 10 years technically still sort of worked, but it's one of the old school kind that are like spider webs--the strength of the entire piece rests in the collective power of all those strands:  One strand breaking could lead to 100 failing quickly in an epic rage of twanging strands, landing you flat on your back.

So, we had to retire the hammock.  Of course, I was jonesing to buy a new one, but we have a rule that we only buy ONE new type of equipment every summer, and we already spent our wad on new cots and air mattresses (Thermarest NeoAirs--and they work great--see product review in the blog).

So, no hammock--just chairs to sit in.  I was tempted to feel bad about it, and do the usual rubbernecking as I walked past site after site with their hammocks.  But, instead I decided to just be content with what we have....and it suddenly occurred to me, the most important piece of equipment I have is.....my attitude. So much of camping requires flexibility and positive thinking: If it rains, think about finding a museum or nature center; if you forgot chocolate, make peanut butter smores--all the important stuff of camping is still there: The kids, the silly fun, the fresh air, and so forth. I mean, that inconvenient rain or closed beach or lost shoe might be the start of a great family adventure.

One of my favorite spiritual writers once wrote to his spiritual son, "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

I really like that we have an enforce our one-thing a year only addition to our gear horde, because it teaches us to enjoy what we have--to be content, and to enjoy what really makes a camping trip successful: the outdoors, each other, making memories.  I even took a great nap in the chair my son is in below--even without a hammock!

Easy "Gourmet" Camping Dinner

THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL IMAGE. 

Ok, I love the idea of having steamy, hot, creamy linguine Alfredo after a day of fun family camping, so I came up with a camping "recipe" that is as easy as boiling water, but has a BIG payoff:

Start with good linguine.

Buy two jars of Alfredo sauce.

Buy one can of chicken breast meat.

Buy one jar of roasted red peppers.

Buy one jar of marinated artichoke hearts.

If you feel like being fancy, roast some pine-nuts.

Basically, cook the linguine, add the ingredients, let simmer for about five minutes so everything gets to know each other, and voila. 

Of course, this is a heavy-to-carry meal, so it's really for car camping.  And, please, recycle the jars and can. 

Our anniversary overnite camping trip is coming up, and I offered to cook steaks on the open fire for my wife and me, and she actually said she wanted this instead.

If only I could pretend it was actually hard to make!!!!

Tent Update

Update on the Titan Tent:

So, last year (2013) we purchased a Eureka Titan tent because we were moving up to a family of six and needed something bigger.  You can read my posts from last summer if you want the full review of the tent.  If you DID read those posts (which you haven't because no one reads my posts--if a blog posts in the forest by itself, does it really make a sound??? :>), you will note we love the size, layout, ease of putting it up, quality of materials, BUT, it did let in water during a big rainstorm.

My fault.

The tent came with seam sealant but I didn't seam seal it.  THIS summer I sealed the tent along the non-tapped seams that leaked before.  The result:

In Door Country we weathered about a two-inch rain night without any significant leakage.  The tent walls did get a bit clammy (maybe that happens with ALL tents in such circumstances.), but the rain fly and sealed areas were great. We shipped a little water where an air mattress was stuffed against the side of the tent.  My guess is that if the mattress had been off of the wall, we wouldn't have had the little trickle we got.

So, with seams sealed properly the text did great.  The Titan is a nice little cabin in the woods for a big family.

We also updated to two cots (one for me and my wife), and that freed up TONS of space because we now could put luggage below the cots. 

So, for a big, sturdy, easy to use, cabin like tent for car camping, I am pleased with this tent.

Good Eats

I was challenged by a fellow blogger who opined that after eating so many hot-dog and freeze dried meals, it was time to do better, so I have been searching the internet for some more challenging but doable meals for family camping.

My usual approach is to say, "OK, I will try ONE new meal per camping trip"--thus avoiding going OCD on the idea. 

First big hit:  We now have a new FIRST MORNING breakfast:

 CAMPFIRE BEER PANCAKES with a side of bacon.

Here's the link to the recipe from the fine folks at CHOW.COM (I think CHOW is what we in North America call Bisquick).  At any rate, it substitutes BEER for MILK basically, and the result is an incredibly tasty, fluffy pancake. I made them for mother's day. 

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10940-campfire-beer-pancakes#


I substituted bisquick for CHOW and used Budwieser.  I THINK you could use an N/A Busch beer if you are concerned about camps that don't allow alcohol. 

Don't skimp: The pinenuts and the currants I think are a MUST--they add a nice contrast in flavor and texture.

ONE TIP:  Cook the bacon first and then cook the pancakes in the pan after pouring out the fat but NOT deglazing the pan. 

I can't wait to find the next great meal improvement out there!

What It's All About

I was doing the dishes at our family campsite in beautiful Spring Mills campground in Southern Indiana  amongst mature pine trees, breathing fragrant air, every pore of my body glad to be able to exchange air with the outdoors.  Really, just giving the body a chance to be outdoors exchanging a fresh air almost like a leaf itself--reveling in the simple of fact of being outside--that really is what camping it all about:  The chance to be a leaf for three or four days, doing everything from cooking to sleeping outside!

Sometimes I get home from camping and I can't believe how much I put up with dank and dirty smells dwelling in the city:  the car exhaust, drippy smells from behind the washing machine, you name it.  To just stand in the treed cathedral of a forrest doing dishes is a real treat.

For many years family camping I have had the mindset, "If I can just get THIS done or THAT done, then I can get to what camping is all about--"  But, I now realize that this attitude will make me miserable since about 80% of camping is spent doing routine chores.  Tent family camping isn't really the chance to get away from it all; it's the chance to do it all (or most of it), outside in nature. I suppose that's what some folks hate about camping in the first place, but it's something I am learning to love and has me yearning for more. In some ways, camping makes chores harder:  I mean, you have to haul your water three or four times a day like Laura Ingels Wilder, but on the other hand, every day life is simpler.  there are no floors to sweep or counters to polish, and if an ant wants to take away the crumbs on the ground, more power to it--this is there home, too.  Standards are more relaxed and cleaning dishes just means cleaning them enough with simple elements: cold water, a little biodegradable soap, and a dishtowel--all in the company of a small yellow flower and a whistling catbird.

No, I am not waiting to get done with the dishes so I can get back to camping: Doing the dishes must become a part of camping if the whole experience is to be enjoyed.   After all,  how many people have a kitchen like this? Take time to enjoy the routines of life outdoors, and don't worry about getting it done so you can get back to camping.  Doing the routine outdoors is the joy of camping.