Camping for Beginners
In these uncertain economic times, families all across the economic spectrum are constantly on the lookout for ways to cut expenses. Every day luxuries like name brand clothing and restaurant meals are being sacrificed in the name of reducing costs. One area that’s been particularly hard hit is the classic family vacation.
For more and more of us a family vacation no longer involves airplanes and hotel, but is something more like the family minivan and a campground. But just because these trips aren’t as luxurious as five night stay at Disneyland doesn’t mean they can’t be as much fun.
If you haven’t been camping in a long time, you might be a little overwhelmed by the amount of gear you’ll find at most outdoor shops. There’s a lot of new camping gear out there that wasn’t around twenty, or even ten year ago.
But if you cut down to what you really need for camping, you’ll find that most of that stuff is superfluous anyways. Most families will find that they really don’t need all that extra gear like a solar power charger, or elaborate freeze dried meals.
If you’re just going car camping with small children you won’t need much more than a comfortable tent, sleeping bags and pads, and some equipment for making and maintaining a fire. And if you’re really looking to cut costs, most of the gear you’ll need can be found used on websites like eBay and Craigslist.
Mealtime is one of the biggest challenges on any family vacation whether you’re staying in a hotel or a tent. When you’re camping, you can make meals about as simple or complex as you feel like doing. If you’re looking for the basics, stick to cold cereals, sandwiches and hot dogs around the fire. More elaborate meals will involve a lot more prep work, and clean up, and are best avoided.
After a few car camping trips, you may want to try some more challenging back country trips. This is when you’ll really start wanting to have some that more expensive specialty gear. It may be hard to justify something like a portable solar charger if you never leave the campground. But if you’re in the bush for an extended period, you may find such gadgets are more than justified.
Camping with the family is fun way to cut expenses and get your kids in touch with a simpler way of travelling.
