Rick Kratzke

I had the great opportunity to interview Rick on the phone. He’s a great guy who is way into deer hunting.

Rick’s Blog: Whitetail Woods. Rick writes something just about every day! You should really check out his blog.

Want to connect with Rick on campspace? Here is Rick’s Campspace site.

I asked Rick if he brings his phone or electronics out in the woods. He said he enjoys just watching the animals. First those chipmunks, then the squirrels. Too many times I see a facebook update of “in the stand now” but it seems like if you’re distracted my that you may miss your opportunity, and in the wild you seldom get a second chance.

Geocaching App

Overall I really like this app. It’s around $10.00 and lets the novice break into geocaching with out spending alot of money on an GPS device. I did say something earlier about saving something for offline mode. Offline mode is good for when your iPhone cannot get service. I recommend saving a cache to offline mode each time. You never know when your phone might loose service when you’re tracking down a cache that is deep into a leaf covered woods. Also if you do not have service the satellite view will not show up at least the version I have.

Another feature I like with this app is it’s tie in with the geocaching.com website. I can mark a cache as found on my phone and it will show up on the website. Great feature. Another reason why I didn’t mind spending $10 for the app. Now I’m just waiting for the ground to dry out so I can get back out there and finally find Lumppy’s Loot!

What do you think of the Geocaching app for the iPhone? If you do not have it yet and you’re interested in starting the geocaching hobby I definitely recommend this app.

Music used in this podcast is from a band called 77 South and the song is I Dig You.

GORE-TEX

Only One Week Left to Enter the GORE-TEX® Brand Experience More Challenge

The winner will receive $10,000 towards planning their dream adventure

Elkton, MD (January 6, 2010) – The GORE-TEX® brand Experience More Challenge ends on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. The online contest launched on December 3, 2009 in conjunction with the brand’s new online community, www.MyExperienceMore.com. In the first month, 750 members have registered for the community and more than 250 experiences have been shared.

“We are seeing that people who love the outdoors also love to connect with one another and share their experiences,” states Melissa Riggs, GORE-TEX® brand marketing. “Our goal is to continue to provide a community where they can do just that.”

The Experience More Challenge invites community members to share their outdoor experiences for a chance to win the experience of their dreams. Members can submit photos of themselves “experiencing more” outdoors, and community members are invited to rate these experiences. Entries receiving a certain average rating will then be considered for six finalist positions, chosen by a panel of Gore representatives. The six finalists will receive GORE-TEX® gear and will be reevaluated by the online community, who will vote for the winner of the Experience More Challenge. The Grand Prize Winner will receive up to $10,000 towards planning his/her own dream experience, including expenses and gear. Additionally, the GORE-TEX® brand will donate $5,000 to one of 10 participating outdoor non-profits, to be selected by the winner.

About W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

With more than $2.5 billion in annual sales and approximately 9,000 employees in 30 countries worldwide, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., provides diverse, high-performance solutions in consumer, industrial, electronic, medical, and surgical markets. As well-known for its unique corporate culture as for its products, Gore’s 50-year success story rests equally on product and organizational innovation. Perhaps best known as the inventors of expanded PTFE (ePTFE) and the makers of GORE-TEX® fabric, Gore is a leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products that comprise a breadth of capabilities.

Welcoming in 2010!

Song used (from Music Alley)
77 South – I Dig You

Gore logo

Thanks for stopping by! In this podcast I get to talk to Melissa Riggs who is a marketing associate with Gore’s fabric marketing division. Melissa and I talk about Gore’s new outdoor community called Gore Experience More. Some highlights:

• Free to register
• Free to upload pics
• Add your friends
• Enter for your chance to win $10,000 for your dream outdoor experience!
• Winner will also get to donate $5,000 to an outdoor charity

I figure the 4th point above will get you to register! Who couldn’t use $10k for their favorite outdoor experience! What’s your dream experience? Feel free to share it in the comments.

GORE-TEX

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you know about a new outdoors portal that you may be interested in checking out. Head over to My Experience More and enter for your chance to win $10,000 to make your dream outdoor experience come true! The winner will also get $5,000 donated to their favorite outdoor charity! Come be a part of this new outdoor portal. After you register you will be able to customize your profile and upload your favorite outdoor pictures. Here is my profile. Add me after you have registered. My Experience More is also on facebook you can become a fan here.

Add me when you register at the My Experience More outdoors website. Maybe one of the readers here at Great Wild Outdoors will win the $10k :]

Life has me living in a big city these days. The parks of the city are my best source for a chance to experience autumns natural glory. My area is full of so much diversity that just lately there have been a few unannounced firework shows celebrating different and exotic holidays. An old British tradition is one that I have fast fallen in love with, a game called Conkers! The conker nut grows all over England and this is when they drop. This game is played by putting a hole in the conker to thread on a bit of string, people compete to crash and break each others conkers. Soon there will be hot roasted chestnuts available, why not try finding some of your own to roast?

I grew up a farm girl and while I love city life I long for some of the joys of fall in the country. From hay rides to huge bonfires the country freedom made for some of the best outdoor fun. A great way for city folk to have a taste of that fun is with the pumpkin picking trips. If you don’t actually know how to make a pumpkin pie from a raw pumpkin and don’t have room for huge jack-o-lanterns small towns often have lively festivals and events to entice and delight. Living in the southern country side of the US as a kid the churches were a great source of outdoor community activities. The would organize the hay rides for kids, teens, and adults who are kids at heart. If you don’t fancy a church activity why not organize your own with your friends and family? My family had loads of yearly traditions, we had our annual pot-luck and our annual bonfire night where everyone was invited.

Fall does not need to be a cold, wet and miserable experience. You may have mini adventures instead of major ones, this means you can be spontaneous and discover your local autumn treasures. You may not venture far from your city or town but themed markets offering exotic foods or goods contribute to the holiday season that just begins in fall and lasts all the way to Christmas! If you don’t find local activities already set up, why not start your own! From ice skating to roasting chestnuts chances are you will inspire everyone around you to get into the spirit.

Justin’s note: Leaf piles are a favorite fall activity for many kids! It’s a great way to get the yard raked and the kids get a reward for their work: a leaf pile!

Boy and His Leaf Pile

Campfire tongs features:

• Quick setup
• Sturdy construction
• Long enough to keep your body out of the fire
• Used to either add new wood or move burning wood around
• Lightweight aluminum grips
• Solid wood handles

Here’s a quick movie I made.

Here is an official video of the Campfire Tongs.

Department of Goods

I have five invites to the new Department of Goods website. Never pay full price again for your outdoor needs!

Want an invite? Leave me a comment below. I’ll e-mail you an invite and reply to your comment when I have sent your invite. If you get an invite I ask that you share yours on your blog too.

A nice looking campfire

I recently went on a camping trip with my niece and nephew (6 and 8), their Nan and my husband. When the kids first got to the camp site their reaction was of utter misery! First comments were ‘there’s nothing to do!’. Nan was thinking we were going to have to drive them into town every day and find kids activity centers to keep them busy. A half hour later the kids were off with the daughter of the camp sites owner. There were forts others had built that got the kids imaginations. There was even an area where there were deer bones all over, the kids found several antlers. Mom and dad must have been so happy with those souvenirs!

In our plans for this camping trip we decided to get the kids emergency whistles. We sat the kids down and explained that if they wanted to go exploring the woods without a grownup they must bring their whistles. The whistles for if they got lost or turned around in the woods and needed someone to come find them. My niece actually did need to use the whistle once, she got a bit turned around and was not sure how to find her way back to camp, when my husband heard that whistle he was able to go find her within a few minutes. I am sure it gave her confidence knowing that she could blow that whistle if she got lost or even hurt and someone would be able to find her.

The other thing that the kids loved was the camp fire. We were a bit nervous at first letting such young kids anywhere near a fire! They did take our warnings to stay a safe distance from the fire when adding kindling and not to play near the fire. The fire became the chill out area, no messing about so no accidents. Even the younger one, my nephew took a serious attitude to the fire and kept himself safe, with only a little reminder here and there. Their reward for being safe near the fire? I taught them how to toast marshmallows and make s’mores! They tried to have that for breakfast more then once!

I really enjoyed the time I had with my niece and nephew. Watching them build their confidence in the woods and use their imagination while playing in an unstructured environment, unlike the structure and boundaries of school was amazing. The pair of them turned into little wood sprites! We all had a wonderful time and with the ratio of 3 adults to 2 kids meant that someone could always be having a break from the kids if need be. I wish all kids could have camping experiences like the one we had. I think they got to get back to basics with no tv and got to find their real selves.

Popup camper

If you are like many other outdoor enthusiasts out there today, the thoughts of going camping for a weekend or even the entire Summer may seem quite enticing. If you have ever gone camping with a tent, then you know how much of a pain it can be. Finding a comfortable spot is difficult to locate because most of the good spots are subject to inclement weather. Then if it rains, you end up getting wet because no matter how hard you try to waterproof the tent, you always get wet; especially if you roll over into one of the sides as the dew sets in for the night.

There is a way around having to deal with all of these issues and that is to go camper trailer camping. A camper trailer can easily be pulled behind almost any vehicle and because of it being elevated, you will not get wet if it rains. With the solid, hard roof found on most models, the rain and moisture will not get to you from the sky either.

Camper trailer camping is the best way to go about getting away for the weekend or even for the summer. You have no sticks, stakes or anchor ropes to deal with and you can even camp in the middle of a parking lot if you wish. Matter of fact; with a trailer you can go camping more often then you do now. If you feel like camping simply set up the camper in the back or front yard and do so.

They are compact, light-weight and excellent on fuel consumption. Due to their lighter weights, a camper trailer can be pulled by smaller vehicles, even regular sized cars. They are compact and tend to have low air resistance which leads to better fuel economy over larger options like RVs. On top of all of that, if you are using one for a summer vacation, you can bypass the need for paying for hotel rooms no matter where you go.

Today’s models mean that when you go camper trailer camping, you can have almost all or all of the amenities of home. This means a stove and fridge, a bathroom with a toilet and shower, a refrigerator and even electricity. Go anywhere you want to and enjoy all of the comforts of home without having to spend a lot of money in the process. Of course the more amenities, the higher the price and larger the trailer.

So the next you start contemplating a camping trip as a means of getting some much needed rest and relaxation then think about going camper trailer camping instead. It just makes sense no matter who you are because it allows you to camp anywhere that you can park the trailer for the night. And that opens up a whole world of possibilities.

For help making a decision on which trailer is for you, you can visit Camper Trailer Titan and read reviews on Folding Campers.

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