Camping Trip May 22, 2009
The "Autoweenie" hot dog cooking system!
Who doesn't love hot dogs cooked over a campfire? One of the highlight of any camping trip! My brother-in-law configured this contraption so he wouldn't have to sit there holding the hot dog stick.
Our campsite
Here we are all setup for a perfect weekend. We had four tents, four hammocks and plenty of good times.
Boiling water
This is our cooking stove, it is extremely compact and lightweight and boils water in just minutes. Perfect for dehydrated meals, hot coffee and hot chocolate.
Girls helping collect firewood
Yep, everyone pitches in at the campsite, just like worker ants we all do things to improve the site and collecting firewood is very important, nobody likes to go searching for wood after dark.
New Thermo Mattress - Pacific Outdoor Research Ether Thermo6 - I love this thing!
Here is my new air mattress, I've used it a handful of times so far and have to admit, it is much more comfortable than the old one, I sleep completely through the night now where before I would toss and turn and my shoulders would hurt, this new mattress doesn't cause any problems and it does feel warmer too.
"Hockey Rocks"!
My son with some very interesting rocks he found. The hockey stick rock and puck rock, that was a really cool find!
Snake fossil
This is obviously a snake fossil, I had never seen one before, but this was an incredible find by my nephew!
My awesome kids and me
Here is a shot of my two awesome kids and me. Looks like everyone's having fun! The headlamps are another practically mandatory piece of gear. Flashlights are outdated, get a hands-free headlamp, you won't regret it! My daughter uses hers as a "waistlamp". Sure, you may not win any fashion contests, but out there in the woods who cares?
Northern Dusky Salamander
Mountain Dusky Salamander - Nice pose eh?
There is a lot of life out there in the woods and passing on a love of nature to the children is very important. I had printed some salamander papers before the trip just to see if we could find any, and yes indeed, my daughter found two! The Mountain Dusky is obviously more intelligent, he posed almost in unison with the printed picture :^)
Awesome transformation sequence, right above my tent!
Enlarge this picture, you can see where he did his thing in relation to my tent. My clothes were in the tree before he came along.
This was unbelievable. We got to witness nature at its finest this weekend! A dragonfly did its metamorphosis in a tree right above my tent! We set up camp, spent the first night and the next morning I noticed the "bug" in the tree, right next to my sweatshirt that was hanging there from the day before. This was very special to see a dragonfly transformation like this, and right above my tent no less!
Remember, Leave No Trace, Pack Out What You Pack In, Leave Only Footprints, Don't Tread On Me, FULLY Extinguish All Fires Before Departure, Don't Take Wooden Nickels, Don't Pee Into The Wind :^)
We make no guarantees, warranties, or imply endorsements to these products, these are simply what we have and what works for us, we are in no way affiliated with any of these brands in any manner. This list is by no means a shopping list to great pain-free adventure, but merely one man's opinion. Your mileage may vary. All images copyright 2009 William P. Mitchell.