Camping/Boondocking
One of the biggest decisions you will make for camping is what kind of tent you will want. Will you be walking in a need a ground tent or do you prefer to use the vehicle you came in? We often sleep in which ever vehicle we brought that time but because we are a large family we also have ground tents. Here are some examples of the types of tents we frequently use.
This very large 3 room tent fits our very large family and still leaves room for our luggage and space to walk as well. It is very easy to set up.
This is probably my favorite. It lines the entire bed and has a window that opens into the rear sliding window of the truck. It also has a pocket on each side and a net pocket above for a light or phones.
We take our mini van Odyss camping often and this set up allows us a bugless night while still enjoying the night air. The outer screened room makes for a nice changing area or even just a nice bug free hang out spot.
While we really do enjoy camping we don’t feel that we need to go with out all modern comforts. For us an air mattress is a must and a nice comfortable chair makes the camping trip that much more enjoyable. Hammocks are a huge hit with our family as well.
We usually always have at least one hammock with us and often the kids will choose to sleep in their hammocks rather than set up the tent. These hammocks with netting a great for keeping bugs out.
Nothing beats kicking back by the campfire at night in a comfy camping chair. Since we have such a large family we tend to go for chairs that condense and pack well.
Sleeping on the ground or in the bed of the truck doesn’t sound very fun (because it’s not) but it is much more enjoyable when there is a layer of air between you and that hard surface.
There are a variety of ways you can cook while camping but you should be aware of the rules and regulations of where you are camping and what the fire danger level is. Here in the Willamette National Forest most of our summer is spent under a high fire danger advisory. This means no campfires, briquet grills or open flames. However propane ran BBQs and propane cooking fires are okay because they are instant shut off.
Propane is our main source of heat and food preparation while camping to avoid the risk of not being able to have a fire.
This compact briquet grill is just the right size for a lake side BBQ or camping.
Over fire cooking is my favorite way to cook and this stand makes it easy to cook just about anything over an open flame and could also be used with a propane fire source.