Camping and Family – The FamilyCampman.com Camping Blog

posted by familycampman on Dec 30

I must admit something to you. At the fairly young age of 33, I’m becoming an old fuddy duddy.  I barely recognize any of the musicians on the radio and couldn’t recognize a song by the Jonas brothers if you paid me.  I listen to books on cd rather than listen to the radio and  I’ve never had an MP3 player.  At this rate I’ll be wearing yellow shorts, a green button down and black socks within a couple of years.

This Christmas I’ve had a realization while playing with my soon-to-be 7 year old. The truth fountain of youth is youth itself.  You can stay young by simply playing with your kids. We were playing with his transformers and new hot wheels and believe it or not I had a great time. It reminded me of how small things in life make children happy.  Yes, life is not as easy as it was then, but we should take the time and try to act like it is.

On my list of goals for 2009 is to play more with my kids. Not only will they love it,  it may actually make me younger. Also on my list is to get more transformers so the war that I’ll be concerned with (for a little bit anyway)  is going to be the Autobots versus the Decepticons.

posted by familycampman on Dec 21

In my last post, I wrote about Bear Grylls, the host of Man versus Wild. If you don’t know him, he’s an outdoor extremist and is best known for being stranded in the harshest conditions and forced to eat just about anything for sake of teaching people how to survive in the outdoors. If you have the guts (no pun intended), check out this video of him eating larva (It’s really gross. I’m warning you.).

I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on eating bugs any time soon or putting myself in the Arctic circle with just a backpack and a bag of beef jerky.  I do like watching his show, but what bothers me a bit is that I feel that this portrayal of the outdoors is a bit extreme and frightens folks from how enjoyable the outdoors truly can be. It is like you have to be able to hunt squirrels with a sharpened stick and then be able to turn the shin bone into a pencil box just to go for a hike.

There is no doubt that I’m not a true outdoorsman and I do not pretend to be. I work 9-5 in an office (often longer) for a Web site hosting company and I get outdoors for approximately 2 minutes daily during the walk from my car to my office building. I can’t tie fancy knots or start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. I’m in luck however that when it comes to family camping, you don’t have to an outdoorsman. That’s what makes it great. I know the basics. I can put up my tent, start a campfire and go fishing with my son. I also know how to cook s’mores and can operate a Coleman stove.

What I’m trying to say is that camping is not that complicated. You do need to learn some basics, but I strongly suggest to at least give it a try. I suggest googling for camping lists to give you an idea of what gear you need to bring (hint – prepare for rain). A quick trip to Walmart or Target can provide you just about everything you need for just a few hundred dollars. The photos alone are well worth the investment.

Thanks again for stopping by

Eric

ps.  Here’s a camping video I found on You Tube from the movie Wild Hogs.  This is how not to camp. (Warning – Minor language and you see some butts)

posted by familycampman on Dec 19

I’m sure you’re wondering – “What is WBGUI?”. That stands for “Would Bear Grylls use it” of course. This is the first post of what I hope will become a recurring theme about the famous “Man versus Wild” star and if he’d use a particular piece of outdoors gear.

Today’s item – GSI Outdoors Hard Anodized Extreme Wok Set

I can picture it now. Bear is deep in wilderness and in the  most extreme conditions. His stomach begins to growl.  What does he reach for?  Why, the GSI Outdoors Hard Anodized Extreme Wok Set of course. He’d love to whip up a nice rabbit stir fry.

If you couldn’t tell, this is a complete joke.  I am all for cooking great food when camping, but bringing a wok on a camping trip seems like a complete waste of time and space.  It certainly is not roughing it.  BTW, you can buy the GSI Outdoors Hard Anodized Extreme Wok Set at Amazon for under $30.

Before you do, please think.. Would Bear Grylls Use it?

Eric