4 Things to Do During Camping ‘Downtime’

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Let’s face it: even on your most active day of camping – fishing, hiking, boating, building fires – there’s still going to be some downtime. After all, even the U.S. Marines enjoy a certain amount of free time every day. If your day has been active enough, you might only want to spend your downtime eating and resting, but if you have a little bit of reserve energy, you might just feel a little bored. Here’s how you can cure that boredom out on the campsite.

1. Constellation spotting – Constellation guide books are easy to buy. If you’ve never really done any serious stargazing, you should feel free to take a gander up at the stars and try to identify as many constellations as possible. If you’re exhausted from activities all day, you can even do this on your back. Just be careful that you don’t fall asleep outdoors! Stars are clearer out in the country, where there’s less light interference here on Earth to drown them out.
2. Roasting marshmallows – This is perhaps the hallmark camping activity. Roasting marshmallows doesn’t take a lot: a fire, a stick, a marshmallow, and of course some graham crackers and chocolate bars to go with it. You can even make S’mores for everyone else if they’re too tired to do anything, seeing if you can get your marshmallow at just the right temperature.
3. Talk – The campfire is one of the greatest places to have a conversation. Not in it, of course, but around it as everyone gathers. There is a certain psychiatrist’s-office effect in looking at the fire and not directly at anyone else: after all, it might be dark anyway. Talking around the campfire is usually done with friends, so the conversations tend to get a little deeper than smalltalk. Of course, there is nothing more engrossing than a good conversation, and you can do it while sitting in a chair under a blanket.
4. Play cards – A flat surface and some willing participants are all you need for this easy activity. Oh, and a deck of cards, of course. A quick game of poker can be great for just before bedtime, and nighttime means that it will be harder for others to see your cards.

The spirit of “downtime” usually means that people aren’t exactly willing to volunteer for a lot of exercise-heavy activities. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself while sitting down or even lying down.

Five (Less Traditional) Reasons to Enjoy Camping

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

We all know about the traditional reasons to take a camping trip – enjoying the fishing, getting away from the city – but what about the small reasons that seem to pop up only when you’re out under the stars? Sometimes, these are the types of things that we can only learn by experience, after we’ve already made the decision to head out to the woods. Even so, these can acts as inspirations to get out there again. Here are some less traditional reasons people enjoy camping.

#1: Stargazing.

This is especially true for city folk, whose participation in the metropolitan lifestyle comes with one downside: more light from the city means less stars in the sky. It can be frustrating for an aspiring stargazer, and when night rolls around at the campsite, it serves as a good reminder for just how many stars are in the sky. If you’ve always felt like an astronomer hidden in a city slicker’s body, camping might be for you.

#2: Buying gear.

Some camping enthusiasts believe that the more gear you buy, the less you’ll be in touch with nature. Others say that the gear is what makes the trip fun – and comfortable. Buying camping gear can be just as fun as the experience itself as you imagine all of the things you can do in your rental camper. This is especially nice for the less risk-averse among us.

#3: Eating simpler food.

Believe it or not, camping can be a refreshing break from the hour of nightly cooking you might do in order to prepare a dinner table. Going camping often means eating simpler food – hot dogs, burgers – and actually enjoying it as part of the experience. Need desert? S’mores just have three ingredients.

#4: Nightly campfire socials.

For some odd reason, human beings still find gathering around campfire to be a fascinating experience, as desensitized as we might be to the warmth of fire. Gathering around with friends and family around a campfire is a great excuse to gather around and talk the night away – and keeping the flames high gives you something to do.

#5: Seeing your inner survivalist come out.

There’s a certain satisfaction that comes when you escape from your tent in the morning and find out that it rained overnight. Dry and comfortable, you can’t help but feel that you “beat” nature, at least for one night.

Photo Credits: slworking2

Five Important Things to Remember When You’re Camping With Your Kids

Friday, August 14th, 2009

If you’re the parent of kids you might consider to be city-slickers, a jaunt into the woods for a good amount of time spent camping might exactly be what the doctor ordered. Not only does it help them realize the relative comforts of civilization, but you should be able to teach them some basic skills they can use all of their life. It’s also important to make sure that they stay safe and don’t take unnecessary risks. Here are five things to remember when you bring your kids on a camping trip.

1: Don’t try to drag them along.

Any input your children can give you into the camping trip itself should help them feel like they’re part of the caravan; try to avoid dragging along to somewhere only you want to go. Try to pick out three camping spots and ask them which one looks the most exciting to them, and get their input while purchasing some camping supplies. It could also help to put them in charge of on area of the camping trip, especially something small like s’mores.

2: Bring plenty of food, and avoid sugar.

If you have smaller children, it should probably go without saying that sugary foods come with an up-and-down effect: your children will be running wild and expending energy so much that they’ll practically collapse of exhaustion later. Feel free to bring a treat or two – if you must get something unhealthy, a salty snack might work better. If they need sugar, let them get that from fruit, which has a much more stable effect on mood.

3: Bring a first aid kit.

Kids are going to be more prone to bruises and scrapes around the camp, not to mention more serious things like burns. Be sure to be prepared with a first-aid kit in tow, and be ready to call in help if there’s an emergency. Clean out your kid’s scrapes and cuts to prevent infection, particularly if you’re on an extended camping trip.

4: Dole out fun duties to keep them occupied.

I don’t have to tell you that kids bore easily, so make sure that every kid who’s capable has a small task when it’s time to prepare a campfire dinner or get to bed. For example, if one child has been in charge of the s’mores, tell them to bring them out, and then help them find sticks for roasting marshmallows.

5: Have fun.

Remember that not everything has to be a mission when you’re having fun with your kids in the outdoors. Enjoy these times, particularly before your children grow up, because time will continue to fly by.

Photo Credits: gussifer | thecolorawesome.com