What our family knows about tent camping right now could fill the front of an index card. We own a tent and 3 sleeping bags, and that is about it as far as camping supplies go. Our camping experience has been limited to a few Cub Scout outings and many backyard excursions. All of this is about to change. Since we moved to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains four months ago, all that my 10-year old son David and I have been able to think about is camping. He has always loved our very basic aforementioned camping experiences, but I was just along as the dutiful mom. I cannot give any logical explanation for my sudden, intense desire to camp. All I can figure is that it must be because of where we now live. Maybe the mountain view has finally gotten to me? My new obsession is definitely to my son’s delight. Is my husband Dennis delighted? Not so much, but thankfully he’s willing to go along for the ride.
I have to be honest and tell you that our family is spoiled by modern conveniences, and I guess that makes us somewhat citified. Because of this citification (Is that even a word?), we are daydreaming about trips to campgrounds with water and maybe even electricity rather than wilderness situations – at least while we are getting our feet wet.
In the weeks and months to come, I’ll use this blog to chronicle our family’s escapades….uh, I mean…. adventures in tent camping.
I hope you will enjoy reading about our experiences as much as I know I will enjoy writing about them. There is never a dull moment at our house! Those new to tent camping will no doubt appreciate learning along with me as I try to make tent camping as comfortable as possible. I have a feeling tent camping veterans will get a kick out of our experiences. What’s more fun than laughing with those who are learning the ropes?
As we wait for the overnight temperatures to warm up a bit, David and I have been assessing our equipment needs and doing some research. There have been two trips to our local Coleman Factory Outlet where we were practically drooling on the showroom floor. We checked out a great book from our public library. I highly recommend Simple Tent Campingby Zora and David Aiken. My best find yet has been the Woodall’s tent camping forum . Who better to learn from than those who have been there and done that?
Come join me, and by all means, feel free to offer suggestions. I’ll need them!
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Anonymous
You have to get your family out exploring the outdoors. Great post. You should definitely post how to pick a tent for the newcomers out there. I like these how-to's
http://www.coleman.com/tenttips/
http://www.opticsplanet.com/howto/how-to-choose-a-tent.html
Stella
First，I think your tent camping is very significative and interesting. I always expect to a wonderful family
tent camping like this.
camping tents enthusiast
I can understand why you want to stick the sites that have water and electricity. I have a wife the I have to keep the modern conveniences to for even down to air conditioning during the summer. You have to cater to all the members of the family because if one if unhappy more will follow. I’m trying to put some camp site description on my site from around the country and will soon be offering a prize for those that send quality descriptions. Hopefully at some point in the future people like yourself will be able to view them and have some idea how family friendly a site is. Make camping exciting for the kids and everyone will enjoy the great outdoors more.
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