Girl Scout Thin Mint Smores

I still like my other S’mores recipe for camping. I’m all for combining ingredients if possible. What’s your favorite S’mores recipe? Leave a comment and share. Thanks!

Check out this cool video. Thank you Mom.

Happy Mothers Day!

The Down and Dirty Guide Camping With Kids

I’m hosting a give away! Want to win a copy of “The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids”? Simply leave a comment of your best camping experience with kids to be entered! The winner will be announced Saturday May 12, 2012.

I highly recommend this book to any family that is looking into camping for the first time or that is newer to camping. The book is 254 pages and features chapters on camp topics such as:

• Planning your camping trip
• How to choose the right camping gear, tents, sleeping bags, and more
• Camp grub. What’s for dinner? This book will help you plan your meals while out enjoying nature
• Camp boredom: Boredom is a preventable disease This book has some ideas on games for all ages
• Daily hygene
• Camp safety
• and more!!

The entire chapter devoted on what to cook and camp planning is great. You will know exactly what you’re having for your meals and what should go into backpacks on those hikes. There is also a section for brewing a cup of the perfect camp joe, for those coffee drinkers.

Another cool tip is for star gazing. Because most camp sites are miles away from the lights of the city this is the perfect time for gazing up at the stars on a clear night. Being a tech guy I noticed the mention of Google Sky Map. It’s a free app for Android phones that lets you hold your phone up to the sky and uses your GPS to show on the screen any constellations, planets, or stars that should be visible when you move your phone. I recommend this app for fellow amateur star gazers.

The book also has great tips. Tips such as “use fluorescent or brightly colored ribbon to tie bows on your tents guylines. This will keep the kids (because adults NEVER trip over those lines) safe around the tent”.

Here is my Q&A Helen Olsson, author of The Down & Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids

At what age did you first take your children camping, and how long of a trip was it?
When our oldest of three children was 11 months old, we took him on a backpacking trip on the flanks of Steamboat in Colorado. He was still in diapers and breastfeeding. I loved camping with my babies because they were so portable. We put our son in our Kelty baby backpack carrier (a critical piece of gear) and hiked to our campsite while he napped. It’s when kids can toddle around that things get a little more complicated. I clearly remember thinking how great headlamps are for camping with babies, as I dangled a slippery flashlight between my teeth at midnight, changing his diaper in a nest of sleeping bags.

What are your kids’ favorite campfire snack?
S’mores are so old school! We like to raid our pantry at home, bringing along candied ginger, dried cherries, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, and coconut, as well as fresh fruit like strawberries and blueberries. For dessert, we open up the s’mores bar. Which is to say, we dig holes in marshmallows and stuff in different combos of goodies. For example, a marshmallow stuffed with a cherry and some chocolate chips and roasted over the campfire is a chocolate cherry bomb. Mmmmm. The kids also love to make apple pie s’mores and bananas foster over the campfire. (Recipes are in my book and at my website, www.maddogmom.com.)

What is your family’s favorite thing to do when out camping?
We love to take a long leisurely hike with the kids. Hiking, of course, sounds like a simple endeavor, but most parents know that a hike with small kids can be fraught with grief. I have a beefy section in my book with tips for hiking with kids. For one, never ever use the word “hike.” It’s a four-letter word. Also, dangle the destination carrot. Tell kids you’re going on an adventure to see a haunted miner’s cabin or to throw rocks in a pond and look for frogs.

For first time campers what is the best way to prepare a child for sleeping outdoors overnight? Any tips to alleviate the child’s anxiety about that first night in the tent?
It’s important to make sure all the comfort devices from home are in place in a tent. If a child sleeps with a security blanket, a binky, a favorite stuffed animal, don’t forget to pack it. If your child sleeps with a nightlight at home, bring along a portable nightlight for the tent. You can also bring along glow sticks. Children can play with them before bedtime (light show!) and then you can tuck them into the pockets of the tent, where they’ll give off a comforting glow. And if you always read to your kids at bedtime, keep the routine by bringing along books. My kids never had anything but raw excitement for sleeping outdoors, but if kids are truly anxious, another tactic is to set up the tent in the backyard and have your first campout close to home.

The Down and Dirty Guide Camping With Kids

Fishing tip from the book: When fishing with kids pick a secluded spot away from other people. Kids when outside can get noisy and noises scare away the fish. That way everyone can have a good time.

Style/Design
Family camping tents are commonly designed as either dome tents, which look much like an upside down bowl, or cabin tents, which have more interior space and more vertical side walls. Dome tents have the advantage of being quick and easy to set up, making even the novice camper feel like a pro. Being “freestanding” in design, it is usually a matter of sliding the poles into place, and staking the tent to the ground, taking mere minutes to complete. This design is also typically very “weather-proof”, standing up well to rain and high winds. Cabin tents are typically larger tents, providing more living space and elbow room. For longer outings, this can be a “home away from home”, with enough space for furniture like cots, a table and chairs inside of the tent. Imagine sitting in your tent eating dinner even as a storm rages outside!

Backpacking tents are designed to be carried into the wilderness, and provide enough space for 1-3 people, and not much more! Believe it or not, that is a huge advantage, as this allows the weight on these tents to be incredibly light. Vestibules may be built into the rainfly to give the user storage space for boots and gear. These tents are often broken into categories based on “seasons”, with 3 season tents having more ventilation and lighter weight construction, and 4 season tents being capable of standing up to 60 mile per hour winds and heavy snow loads.

Outfitter tents or wall tents, are built for long term use season after season. They are typically built out of heavy duty cotton canvas, these tents feature plenty of space for sleeping, eating, and even cooking in them. They often are designed to be used with a stove or heater, keeping them warm in sub-freezing temperatures. A collapsible frame is sturdy enough to hold up to high winds and snow, while still providing enormous amounts of inside space.

Bivy sacks (or bivouac sacks) are built for one person use, primarily in emergency situations. They pack down small and are lightweight enough to be carried along even on trips where you don’t plan on spending the night out. Make no mistake about it, calling these sacks is correct, as they provide just enough space for a person and their sleeping bag. As an emergency shelter, however, they can be lifesaving.

Other shelters include screen houses, canopies and tarps. Screen houses can truly save an outing when the bugs are out, giving you a place to escape to while still allowing you to enjoy the views. They are often large enough to fit over a picnic table. Canopies come in a wide variety of styles. Some are designed to be quick and easy to set up, providing great sun protection for tailgating and picnicking. Those same shelters, however, are usually not great for use in wind and rain. For more “extreme” conditions, a canopy or tarp that is anchored to the ground using stakes and guy lines is much more appropriate.

Marmot 6 person tent

This article is a guest post by Jeremy Mutrux. Jerry is a Camping Buyer at Sportsman’s Warehouse. He is an avid camper, hiker, and fisherman.

Looking for something to do? Here is a list of Earth Day 2012 events. Need a sapling? Looks like Lowe’s is giving away one million trees!