Camping Treats

What is your favorite style of "camping". Primitive tent camping, staying at an established campground with electrical hookups and showers, or driving your motor home to an elite campground with hot showers, playgrounds, small groceries, etc.? Maybe the nearest motel is your preferred campground?

Wherever you stay, be sure to plan for fun activities and great food!

Outdoor activities depend on your campground location, but what do you do when you have to spend time in the tent? Pack some "indoor" pass time activities.

• Deck of cards
• Notebook – Pass it around and have each person add a sentence for an established time span. End the story and then read it out loud. If young children are participating - you will gain a new childlike perspective on imagination and include some silliness.
• Travel size games.

For outdoors:

• Ball gloves, a bat and balls for a quick game of ball
• Marshmallow roasting sticks - Grandpa's Fire Fork
• BUG SPRAY AND SUNSCREEN
• Bug jars or containers - little boys like to catch bugs - hours of entertainment.

Camping Food Treats

How about a popcorn popper for campfires? Popcorn makes a nice evening treat. Just pour the oil and pocorn in the base, cover with the mesh top and let the flame do the work. Remove from the fire when done, add butter and season with salt or your favorite seasoning. Wire mesh lid doubles as a serving bowl. Long handle is great when using on grill or campfire. Stands up to high heat barbecue grilling or cooking over the fire. 3-1/2 quart capacity.

Sweets – marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars are a must – Try making  s’mores with peanut butter cups. S'mores: Gourmet Treats for Every Occasion offers lots of new refreshing ideas for this classic campfire dessert.

The handiest campfire tool invented is Grandpa's Fire Fork. Made from a single stainless steel wire, this tool attaches firmly to practically any stick - no need to look for fresh branches. Use this fire fork to cook hot dogs, marshmallows or anything else you can come up with - just the gadget for camping trips, bonfire or a backyard bonfire. It's easy to take along - retracts into a safety cap for easy storage - slip it into your jean pockets and take with you everywhere. It will last for years of campfire cooking.

Camping Potatoes

Try these easy to prep potatoes for your campfire meal. It's sure to become a favorite side dish.

Cubed Potatoes

Cubed Green Peppers (green, red or yellow)

Sliced Onions

Wrap them in aluminum foil with butter or oil and place over campfire for 45 minutes to an hour – depending on temp of fire. While they are cooking, try a can of baked beans (remove label), open the can and set in the hot embers until bubbling hot. Use silicone tongs to remove hot can from embers.

Here is a fun idea for breakfast:

Camping Omelets

• Write name of each person on a Ziploc baggie who will have an omelet.

• Meanwhile, start large pot of water over campfire to boil. (Or on stove if you have a camper with a stove )

• Crack 2 eggs (large or extra large) into bag. No more than 2 eggs per baggie.

• Shake to combine eggs.

• Add ingredients to baggie that each person wants in their omelet: ham, cheese, onions, peppers, salsa, tomato, hash browns, etc.

• Zip and shake to combine. Let all air out of baggie and zip.

• Place baggie into rolling boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot.

• Open baggie and omelet will roll out easily.

• If cooking over open flame campfire, make sure you start your fire 45 minutes to 1 hour before you want to cook over it so the embers are hot and the flames are not too big.

Are you camping with a group? Have everybody bring a pan of bars or batch of cookies to share. Bring all you meat to cook over one campfire - saves work and wood. For lunches, prepare a pasta salad and/or fruit salad made up ahead and in the cooler. Also throw together an egg salad, chicken salad or cold meat to take along for sandwiches. When it’s 90 degrees you don’t want to mess with a campfire in the middle of the day. You can have a group potluck.

CAMPING Dos:

• Do plan to have lots of quality family time – catch bugs together, play games, talk around the campfire

• Do greet your camping neighbors and introduce yourselves. You’ll be amazed who you’ll meet and where they’re from.

• Do prepare for wet weather.

• Do ask about the terrain and location of the camping sites if you plan on tent camping. Don't arrive at a destination and find all the tent sites are on the side of hill or a steep hill away from bathrooms or other camping hookup sites..

• Do know the location of the restrooms – especially if camping in a tent and with smaller children who wait until the last minute to tell you they “have to go”.

• Do check out the recreation available around the campground – bike/hike trails, canoeing, paddleboating or swimming if they have a lake, playgrounds, mini golf, sand volleyball etc. can all add fun to the camping experience.

• Do go with a group on occasion – the more the merrier and the kids entertain each other so the adults can have some down time socializing as adults and not as parents.

• Do take a rug for inside the tent/camper door. Lots of grass etc can get drug in on shoes. And a small broom and dustpan for sweeping out before you pack up.

• Do look at the stars and constellations – on a clear summer night, at a campground away from the city you can see “zillions” of stars and it’s fun to try to find the constellations – Big Dipper is always easiest.

CAMPING Don’ts

• Don’t wear a watch. Who cares what time it is. Truly enjoy the experience with no phone calls. Remember you don’t have to be anywhere and your stomach or the kids will tell you when it’s time to eat.

• Don’t pack up your tent or other camping gear while it is wet. Dry it in the sun first, or lay it out as soon as you get home. It will get mildewy and smelly if it isn’t completely dry when packed up.

Even if you are a little apprehensive - try out the camping experience. Do a trial run in your own backyard. Pretend that you are going on an actual camping trip, then keep a log of every item that you go back into the house to retrieve because you "needed" it. The next morning when you're packing up things to go home (back into the house), keep another log of items that were "not" used. From these 2 logs - you will be better prepared for that first camping expedition. Who knows, this may be the vacation of a lifetime!