Camping and Family – The FamilyCampman.com Camping Blog

posted by familycampman on Jul 30

I turn 33 years old this year. I’ve come to a point in my life where I’ve accepted a few facts about myself:

1. I’m bald. My hair won’t be coming back
2. I have a fairly odd sense of humor
3. I’m very cheap

The first two on that list have absolutely nothing to do with this post. #3 however is quite relevent. In my earlier posts, I mentioned how I bought a lot of my equipment online through Amazon.com. I actually purchased a lot of that in unique way. Over the years I had been collecting change in a glass bowl on my dresser. I was far too lazy to wrap it and too cheap to bring it to one of those Coinstar machines at the grocery store (They take 9 cents per dollar!!!!). However, one day I noticed that instead of cash, you can apply it to an gift card instead, without any fee. Needless to say I jumped on that in a minute.

I ended up having almost $200 which I purchased my camping gear with. Not only did I enjoy the entire shopping experience, I didn’t pay any shipping charges since most of my purchases were over $25. used to think that Amazon was just for books and cds, but they really have a great selection of outdoor gear. Their prices are also on the low end of the spectrum, especially when compared to other online outdoor retailers.

The point of this post is to let everyone know that I’ve become an Amazon.com affiliate (They call them Associates) and will start promoting their products. Hopefully I’ll be able to review all the ones that I promote, but I’ll also be choosing products that are generally well reviewed (another great Amazon feature) by other people who have purchased them previously. So when you feel the need to buy some outdoor gear, just click on the link in my sidebar and I’ll earn some cash.

Talk to you all later.

Eric

posted by familycampman on Jul 25

Hey there,

This is the first review I’ve conducted and since I haven’t been camping in a long time it may be a little naive, but overall I have to give Walker Island Campground high marks for a family-oriented campground.

The staff was very friendly and overall very inviting. They had a very fun boat race for free that the kids could participate in. My son had a great time and the families cheered as the boats went down the stream.

The camp was also nice and clean. They picked up the garbage from the sites very frequently.

I was tent camping (one of the few) so I’d say it’s more designed as a campground for RV’s (ewwww..) but the site I had was quite nice. I recommend the Fern Gully sites if you like seclusion (See Home Sweet Home post for view pics). They’re also on the river which was very cool. Site #68 is also very nice since it’s right close to the water. Kids are able to walk right down to the stream from their site.

Facilities- The one thing I could say based on my previous experience was that the shower facilities weren’t the greatest. The men’s bathroom had one shower which when it gets busy could be a problem.

Scenery- Walker Island is positioned between two small rivers/streams which were moving pretty quick. It’s very comfortable and most of the campground was well shaded, which was very nice. The weekend I went it was 90+ degrees with high humidity and you didn’t really feel it. The water level wasn’t very high so the fishing wasn’t that great though I’d expect it would have been better earlier in the season.

Overall, I’d recommend Walker Island as a good family campground for a weekend, but if you’re staying in a tent I’d reserve your site early since the number of quality campsite for tents is limited.

posted by familycampman on Jul 24

The Good…

Everyone knows that home is where the heart is. Of course my home is living in my house with my wife, my boys and my cats. That’s where I am today and I hope that is where I live for the rest of my life (To me, moving is the absolute worst). However, this past weekend’s trip represented a return home. It was a return to camping. A return to the outdoors. A home that I left years ago.

The Bad (well, I still had fun)

We arrived at 6:15. My wife and two sons were in her car while I was in mine. She was coming along to help set up and then leave with my 1 year old for the night. Being the macho man that I am (hah!), I thought that I truly didn’t need her help for the setup. Boy was I wrong! In approximately 1 minute of starting to setup the tent, the thunder roared and they skies opened up. Within minutes we were soaked to the bone. 45 minutes later we got the tent up. Holy crap were we wet. I have to give my wife big props on how well she did. This was a woman who wanted nothing to do with this trip, but having her setup that tent with me made it even more special.

Here’s the lessons learned. I should have set the tent up for the first time at my house. That way I would have been much more equipped to handle the unplanned thunderstorm. That will not happen again.

The Ugly

The storm put my fire building skills to the test. Firewood was wet. Everything was wet. I bought firewood from the camp store, but that was damp as well. I even tried u chopping the wood up with a hatchet I bought at the camp store. Let’s just say my testosterone level has way up. The plan was to use the smaller inner pieces as kindling since it would be drier. Yeah, that didn’t work either. Well, I failed that test but it was fun trying.

=

The better

Even as the rain poured down, I had to say I really like our campsite. Located right on a fairly fast moving stream and far enough away from the other campers, we were nice and secluded He enjoyed throwing rocks in the water and I just enjoyed the view.

The Best

Without a doubt the best part of the trip was the time I spent with my son. It was his first time camping and he had a great time. He didn’t seem upset about my failure with my campfire. Within two days, he accomplished a bunch of important firsts:

1. He slept in a tent
2. He had his first s’more
3. He pee’d behind a tree! (The bugs in the bathroom freaked him out)

The next trip, I’ll do several things better

1. If the tent is new, practice setting it up first. You never know if you’ll get stuck in the rain
2. Bring dry wood or at least shavings to help get the fire started
3. Convince the wife to come. This will be a big challenge, but that’s what life is all about

I can ramble on for hours, but I won’t bore you anymore.

Eric