Archive for June, 2009

Dinner Cooks Itself!

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Yesterday as I was trolling the web for family tent camping-related goodies to share with you, Dear Reader, I came upon an article I generally disagreed with, whose point was basically that camping never lives up to its image in ads on TV. The author said something to the effect of, “Camping is never as good as it looks in those Canadian Tire ads where a happy family laughs together in front of the tent while dinner cooks itself on some super-duper new grill.”

Well! I wanted to shout, “But with the RotiSir, dinner DOES cook itself!!” Yes, I did it– all caps and two exclamation points, because I’m excited. Now you know from other posts that I’m a dutch oven enthusiast, so I’m not unwilling to tend to the food on a camping trip; but sometimes you do want to chill with the family and let food take care of itself. There’s simply no better way to accomplish that than with a rotisserie, and this one, of course, is both portable and also converts easily to a hibatchi grill. Add to that the fact that, until the first shipment hits the U.S., you can essentially buy them at cost– and add to THAT the fact that I’m not making a dime on these, but donating to KOA’s Care CAmps for childrem with cancer instead, and you’ve got something to be excited about, too. (See my original post about this here.)

Great American Backyard Campout Postponed for Us

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Why am I making blog posts, you ask, instead of spitting watermelon seeds or tracking pollinators? What happened to the compass course and the swimming? Well, my son, Nathaniel, and one of his cousins both woke up this morning with high fevers and hacking coughs, so there’ll be no camping in our backyard tonight. Whaaa! But I am not one for canceling plans– I just postpone them. We’ll do it all sometime soon, and I’ll have pictures to prove it!

I did, however, slap on a Bugpatch and, about two hours later (per the directions) go sit outside to be mosquito bait. I heard and saw battalions of them, but not one bit me, so I hereby vouch for the patch’s effectiveness against mosquitoes. Remember, though, they are not good against deer- or horseflies, in my experience.

So, what else did we do instead of our planned festivities? Well, after medicating the boy and forcing him to drink lots of water, we took off the couch cushions (eeeek!) and discovered my son’s cell phone, ipod, sudoku game, and two ancient candy bars– and I ATE one, and it was GOOD. I needed chocolate, even if it was of the “how the heck did that get there?/how long has that been there?” variety. (Yes, I forgot to lay in s’mores supplies for tonight– so it’s just as well that it’s a no-go for now.)

Oh, well.

Camping Math

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

And here is some camping math for your enjoyment.

“It Counts as Camping, Even If It Ends with Brunch”

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

I guffawed at this post– the part about the bird. Enjoy!

Jean B. in SC

Solar Powered Tents

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

How cool are these? They’re not in production yet; just in the design stage, but coming down the pike soon, which is good, as many families are more and more interested in being as green as possible while camping. Here is a photo of the tent collecting rays:

46148_1_468

Here is a photo of the same model lit up at night (which is accomplished by calling it from your cell phone– here’s hoping you have service!):

46148_2_468

And, finally, here is a drawing of a different model with an accessory screened-in patio:

40991_2_468

I want one! I looked all over for the designer’s name, by the way, and couldn’t find it. I suspect that info is in the absolutely illedgible print by the rose under “Star Gazer,” above; speaking of which, the tent does feature a clear panel you can star-gaze through.

Did I mention I want one?

The Rinrins: Camping

Friday, June 26th, 2009

I found a lovely little photo-essay on the perfect camping site that I know you’ll enjoy, here. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll fess up that in an email, the author of the post informed me that they weren’t tent camping, but I love it so I’ll include it today, anyway.

Go check it out!

Jean B. in SC

The New RotiSir & KOA’s Charity for Children with Cancer

Friday, June 26th, 2009

The RotiSir portable rotisserie and hibachi grill– perfect for camping trips!– is going to be marketed at $100.00 plus $15.00 S&H, but if you buy right now, before the first shipment of them hits the U.S., you’ll get it for only $59.95 plus $15.00 S&H.

That’s right– prepaid preorders amount to only $74.95 versus $115.00, a savings of $40.05! The manufacturer gave me plenty of leeway to mark these up so I could profit from them, but I’m not going to make a dime– my goal is to sell twenty, because at that point I’ll be given one for free which I’ll raffle off to benefit KOA’s Care Camps for children with cancer.

There’s a video and more information about these rotisseries in the Shopping section of this site. Firefox users, roll your mouse over “Shopping” and you’ll see the RotiSir page in the drop-down menu; I.E. users, for some reason the drop-down menu doesn’t work smoothly, so click on “Shopping” and wait for a second to get it. You’ll see the “RotiSir” option and can buy through PayPal on that page.

I’m really excited about this, Dear Reader! I’ve known since I started this website that I wanted to arrange some way to give to a camping-related charity, and this is it (hopefully the first campaign of many). You’ll wind up with the coolest new addition to your camping kitchen out there, and you’ll be participating in a great cause in the process.

I can already smell the roast I’m going to cook when I get mine… smell it? Isn’t that delicious? Yum…

The Best in Tent Camping: The Carolinas

Friday, June 26th, 2009

In my recent post about camping in the south, I invited my Northern friends to plan a trip down here to the beautiful South Carolina lowcountry in the winter, or what is for us, early spring, in February or March. (Late Feb.-early Mar. is beautiful here.) In the spirit of that invitation, I feel I must recommend the book, above, by Johnny Molloy, entitled The Best in Tent Camping: The Carolinas (A Guide for Car campers Who Hate RVs, Concete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos).

Molloy is thorough in describing each campground he recommends, rating them on six points: Beauty, Privacy, Spaciousness, Quiet, Security, and Cleanliness. He includes a detailed map of each, and even describes in detail each site in each campground. Finally, Molloy goes over all the activities to be enjoyed at each, including hiking, water sports, etc.

Click on the link above and search “Molloy” even if a trip south isn’t in your plans (though you’d never regret it!), because he’s done a number of these guides, and one or two may be of interest to you. He may even have explored your area, and, if I were you, I’d snatch that book up in a hurry. Like me, you’re bound to find campgrounds you hadn’t considered before.

“Slugs on the Refrigerator: I’m Going Camping and I’m Taking…”

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Here’s a list of what to bring camping, which I generally avoid because they’re so subjective, but that’s what I like about this one– it’s quirky, and it’s in a cool alphabetical format. I have to confess, I would’ve been interested in this post even if it hadn’t been interesting, though, because I have always wanted to go to Mull of Kintyre (well, ever since I heard the song of the same name by Sir Paul McCartney), and it’s on my “UK Family Tent Camping Trip” wish list (Bucket List, more like it). Here’s a picture of the magnificent sunsets to be seen there:

kintyre-1a

And here’s a picture of the terrain, wildly exotic for a lowcountry girl such as myself:

rathlin20island201

And now, to make things even better, here is a follow-up post on the trip Kat was planning for when she compiled her list. It was an eye-opener for me. No campfires allowed? A view of nothing but RVs’ rear ends? I will definately check into the “wild camping” Kat’s British friends mentioned to her– I can dig cat holes!

One last pic– Kat and her sweet child enjoying the beach:

3565327289_b9c8ed8731

Ah! “My desire/is always to be/on Mull of Kintyre…” (You have to imagine me singing that, because I am!)

The Ultimate Staycation

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Yes, Dear Reader, I’m at it again– but this will be my last plug for the Great American Backyard Campout that the National Wildlife Federation sponsors. It’s this Saturday, the 27th– it’ll be majorly HOT here in the beautiful lowcountry of South Carolina, but we’re going for it, anyway! This is also Watermelon Seed-Spitting Week (I kid you not), so we’ll have a contest, and the 3rd annual Pollinators’ Week, so we’ll be on the lookout for bees, butterflies, various birds, and, at night, moths and bats. We may even make a bat house if I can get my ducks in a row and get the materials together  in time.

Other than that, my son is going to put together a short compass course that will lead to the pool, where we’ll be spending most of the day, undoubtedly. We’re also going to run extension cords out to the tents and use our regular fans all night so there’s a chance we’ll get some sleep in the hot, mosquito-y mugginess. We were trying to get my sister- and brother-in-law to stay over, but they’re wussing out– loaning us their kids, though! Hopefully they’ll get excited enough about camping to talk their parents into trying it for once.

Oh, and yes, I haven’t forgotten that I’ll be testing The Bugpatch insect repellent transdermal patch again. I really do think they were good protection from mosquitoes when we camped last, but they did NOT impress the horseflies and deerflies. But, since mosquitoes and no-see-ems are all I’ll have to deal with in my backyard, this should be a good test for it’s effectiveness against them. What I do for my readers!

So, those are our plans for tent camping in the backyard this Saturday. Hopefully a lot of y’all will pitch your tents, too, and gather family and friends for the ultimate staycation!