Camping

[icelandic_iceskater]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939099' date='Aug 2 2009, 05:25 PM']Actually, what's a better idea than digging a trench is just being smart where you pitch your tent. As long as you don't put it in a ditch or a low spot that will fill with water, you shouldn't need a trench.[/quote]
lol maybe my fam just tends to get flooded a lot. We usually aim for higher sites/areas of the site... but somehow we always end up drying out our clothes & suitcases at least once. I never thought tents could get flooded until about three years ago. We literally had 6" if water in the bottom of the tent... and there was a ledge with a drop off 20 ft. from the tend. Fun times.

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939099' date='Aug 2 2009, 05:25 PM']No electricity is a must. And one time I slept outside my tent when it got down to 15 degrees. that was fun.[/quote]
o snap! Yea that sounds a little cold. I've only camped down to the upper 20's, and that's freezing!

Best. Campground. Ever. Is in MI's upper Peninsula on Lake Superior. It's called Bay View... it's kinda inbetween Sault Ste Marie & Whitefish point. Right on the lake. They have no electricity, and the sites are large enough to build a house on. Down the beach about 1/2 a mile, there's a 15 ft wide creek that flows into the lake... it's kinda a tradition with regular campers there to go down and redirect it. (ok so that's illegal... but it's also quite fun. and it's only the last 20 ft of it that's getting dammed up & redirected. The wind does this all the time.) It's pretty much heaven on earth there.

[picchick]

I LOVE the outdoors, anytime I can spend out there camping hiking etc. I will do it. I was up at a cabin last week and I absolutely loved it. So many things outside to do. I am hoping to do a couple of camping trips before the summer is out

[zunshynn]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1938964' date='Aug 2 2009, 11:27 AM']Is it crowded in lake Tahoe? My family goes to this lake in Texas every spring break. We bring our sailboat and some canoes, and just have fun in the water for a week. Mucho funno. [/quote]

I haven't been there myself in a couple of years, but I don't think it's too bad. We go to a campground called Fallen Leaf Lake, which is nice because the campsites have plenty of space, and the trees give it privacy. Plus it has it's own lake that is pretty nice. I would not recommend Camp Richardson for camping... it's very cramped. Nicer bathrooms, but personally I never thought it was worth it.

They have this new way of doing it though... makes it hard to schedule. You have to book a specific campsite like mos. beforehand. It used to be you just booked your days a few weeks ahead a time (and you could often just show up with out making reservations) and then picked your campground when you got there. I think they're going to start losing business this way.

[elizabeth09]

When my family goes to either a hotal or motal, we need two rooms. That will coast about two weeks of camping. I love camping, but I do not like coming home smelling like smoke every time.

[StColette]

I love camping too. Though, in the Summer I do need electricity to at least run a fan to circulate the air. 102F plus humidity is dangerous camping without some type of air circulation in the tent. lol

[txdinghysailor]

[quote name='StColette' post='1939819' date='Aug 3 2009, 04:59 PM']I love camping too. Though, in the Summer I do need electricity to at least run a fan to circulate the air. 102F plus humidity is dangerous camping without some type of air circulation in the tent. lol[/quote]

Dangerous?

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
i prefer to bunk at someone's house if i must leave my own home. failing that, a bed & breakfast. failing that, a hotel. failing that, i'm staying home.

[txdinghysailor]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1939953' date='Aug 3 2009, 06:40 PM']+J.M.J.+
i prefer to bunk at someone's house if i must leave my own home. failing that, a bed & breakfast. failing that, a hotel. failing that, i'm staying home.[/quote]

you sad, strange, little person.... Where's your sense of adventure?

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939955' date='Aug 3 2009, 04:41 PM']you sad, strange, little person....[/quote]

You might not want to insult a moderator.

Edited August 3, 2009 by Resurrexi

[Lil Red]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939955' date='Aug 3 2009, 03:41 PM']you sad, strange, little person.... Where's your sense of adventure?[/quote]
+J.M.J.+

the state i live in, just driving the next town over is an adventure. if i want wilderness, i can go 30 miles in any direction.

[txdinghysailor]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1939966' date='Aug 3 2009, 06:51 PM']+J.M.J.+

the state i live in, just driving the next town over is an adventure. if i want wilderness, i can go 30 miles in any direction.[/quote]

But a hotel instead of camping?

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1939959' date='Aug 3 2009, 06:49 PM']You might not want to insult a moderator.

[/quote]

I'm not afraid of anyone or anything.

[homeschoolmom]

To me, camping and hotel trips are two separate types of vacations. I really prefer to go to cities and stuff for vacations, so hotels are my preference. However, if I'm inclined to go camping, I would. I mean, I don't dislike camping. I just wouldn't call it a vacation....

On the other hand... We generally take a car trip somewhere every year as a family. I don't really like to call these vacations, because for me, they aren't. They are roadtrips. They're more work and I'm not really getting a break from what I do all the time. I like them-- they're fun, but they aren't really truly relaxing....

[CatherineM]

The one kind of camping I really don't like is the "camping out at the evacuation shelter during a hurricane" kind.

[Sojourner]

I think my affinity for camping and nature in general is mostly theoretical. I think nature is beautiful, like to walk in the woods and spend time by the ocean, like to see majestic mountains, unique landscapes, etc. But then I like a hot shower at the end of the day.

I can do a day or two of "roughing it" in the woods with a tent/sleeping bag/campfire, but smores get old fast. My husband likes to go miles from civilization (in Montana) with his dogs and ATVs and pitch a tent for a week or so. I will probably get dragged along on at least one trip like this at some point in my life. Maybe later this month. I will go, and I will make the best of it, and probably even have fun, but I will be happy to get home.

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1937971' date='Aug 1 2009, 01:04 PM']Although there are times I love a good motel too. Hubby took me to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel for our first anniversary. The room was two stories in this turret on the castle. We had high tea by the big fire place looking out over the snow covered Rockies.[/quote]
I long to go to Banff. I have a book about Great Lodges of the Canadian Rockies and I think Banff is fabulously gorgeous. Plus I read about it in some cheesy romance novel I read as a teenager so I have a completely romanticized ideal of how wonderful it would be. Silly me, I know, but I still think its gorgeous.

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1940084' date='Aug 3 2009, 08:50 PM']The one kind of camping I really don't like is the "camping out at the evacuation shelter during a hurricane" kind.[/quote]
This happened to my husband's family last year. Several siblings and their kids take a trip each summer and last year they ended up in WI the night a horrible storm hit and wrought all sorts of havoc. Tornadoes everywhere. They ended up in a shelter with 200 of their closest camper friends. Not my idea of a good time.

[elizabeth09]

Camping is a true adventure, because you will never know what you will miss.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='BG45' post='1938851' date='Aug 2 2009, 09:51 AM']Ditto. Do you dig the trench around your tent too? Nothing fancy, just a couple inches of earth to stop a mini-flood.[/quote]

Dig a trench? Just lay down plastic.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1940143' date='Aug 3 2009, 09:00 PM']I long to go to Banff. I have a book about Great Lodges of the Canadian Rockies and I think Banff is fabulously gorgeous. Plus I read about it in some cheesy romance novel I read as a teenager so I have a completely romanticized ideal of how wonderful it would be. Silly me, I know, but I still think its gorgeous.[/quote]
It is a truly beautiful place. I'd also highly recommend Lake Louise.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='KnightofChrist' post='1938847' date='Aug 2 2009, 09:37 AM']I love camping. But every time I go it rains, really I think it has been every single time.[/quote]

If it doesn't rain, you haven't really been camping

Besides, rain is a sign of God's mercy.

[quote name='zunshynn' post='1938936' date='Aug 2 2009, 01:58 PM']FYI, if you're afraid of bears, pour Pine Sol around the perimeter of your camp site before you go to bed.[/quote]

Where did you get this advice from? Anything scented should be in a bear bag hanging in the air the heck away from your campsite. No way I would pour Pine Sol all over the place. Why would bears run away at the scent of pine trees anyway?

Hate to sound harsh, but bears are a serious matter.

[quote name='icelandic_iceskater' post='1939095' date='Aug 2 2009, 05:21 PM']ooh, this is a good idea! *makes mental note*[/quote]

Not a fan of the digging a trench idea either... if it rains, seems it would get muddy around your tent. Plus, you're destroying the natural ground cover to protects the topsoil. "Leave no trace" is the way to be.

[quote name='icelandic_iceskater' post='1939095' date='Aug 2 2009, 05:21 PM']ditto. 5-6 months straight... I realllllly hope to do that someday.[/quote]

Yeah, I've had the same plan for some time... I'd love to hike different trails and Greyhound/Amtrak it between trails... could see the whole country in a few months.

Edited August 4, 2009 by LouisvilleFan

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='picchick' post='1939161' date='Aug 2 2009, 07:30 PM']I LOVE the outdoors, anytime I can spend out there camping hiking etc. I will do it. I was up at a cabin last week and I absolutely loved it. So many things outside to do. I am hoping to do a couple of camping trips before the summer is out [/quote]

How about Aug 29th? Get the group together

Edited August 4, 2009 by LouisvilleFan

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1940161' date='Aug 3 2009, 09:40 PM']Where did you get this advice from? Anything scented should be in a bear bag hanging in the air the heck away from your campsite. No way I would pour Pine Sol all over the place. Why would bears run away at the scent of pine trees anyway?

Hate to sound harsh, but bears are a serious matter.[/quote]
He's right about this. Anything with a scent should be sealed as airtight as you can make it.