THE LUXURIES OF CAMPING
After 35 years of camping, I have given up on roughing it and prefer to keep things civilized on my camping trips. There are a lot of products on the market today that have helped me achieve that goal. If you, too, are reluctant to sacrifice the good life while camping, you might want to give some of these a try.
First, are collapsible buckets, which can be purchased at most camping our outdoor stores. Collapsed, they take up little to no space, so you can bring more than one without sacrificing precious storage space.
But, once expanded, you have a strong bucket to hold up to 3 gallons of water, and substantial handles to carry it safely. Most brands can withstand cold or hot water. I use them for everything, washing and rinsing camping kits, holding my catch of the day and lots more.
I never go camping without my stainless steel super cooler, which I store my food and dairy products in. It can keep ice frozen for up to five days, even in temperatures up to 90 degrees, so I don’t have to rely on canned goods and survival food on my camping trips. I take a smaller, more portable cooler for water and drinks, but with my super cooler for the food items I can eat well even while camping.
If you are like me and can’t wake up without your morning java, I suggest single serve coffee tea bags. The coffee grounds are secured inside the tea bag, so there are no messy coffee grounds to clean up. Don’t let the single serving bags throw you if you prefer a whole pot, just boil water and dump several of the bags in at the same time. Let them steep, transfer to a thermos, and you are ready to go! Beware, however, not all single serve coffee is equal. Some tastes downright bad, so choose your brand with care.
Camping is great, but its no fun to cart all that gear around. I use plastic milk crates to store and carry my supplies. They are sturdy and can hold heavy weight, and the handles on all sides make them easy to carry no matter what you have stuffed in them. Try to find the real deal that dairies use rather than those sold in home stores. They are sturdier and make great seats and stepladders as well. Many dairies will be happy to sell you a few, and may even give them to you if they have an overflow.
No one likes when it unexpectedly rains on a long anticipated trip, and so my final piece of advice is to always take something to do in case of bad weather. One think I like to do when the weather turns bad on a trip is to play the card game Apple to Apples. People of all ages enjoy it and since it is small it doesn’t take up space that you’d rather have for all your other camping gear.
So, as you can see, you don’t have to leave the best things in life home when you hit the trail for a camping trip. A few simple additions and you are ready to hit the road in comfort.
