Tent Camping For Beginners - Camping With Children

By Inez Calender

Tent camping can be a wonderful vacation for children. Most kids enjoy the outdoors and tent camping provides then with safe, supervised adventure. Tent camping often seems like playing for both children and adults while offering an educational and self-esteem building experience.

Children should be included in camp preparation. Shopping for a tent (or tents) is interesting, fun and allows children to feel part of the total experience. Children often have wonderful insights when shopping for a tent and may notice something that you may miss.
Before your first camping trip, set up the tent in your back yard. Allow children to assist in the set up. Older children may be able to set the tent up and relish the responsibility with pride.

Have a regular back yard camp out before the actual trip so that you understand how to use equipment such as lanterns and cook stoves. Sleep in the tents so that the children (and adults) feel secure and comfortable sleeping outside in a tent.
Prepare them for night sounds that you may hear when you camp in new, unfamiliar surroundings. The night calls of bullfrogs, owls, or loons may seem spooky to the new camper and frighten young children. But to an experienced camper, the night sounds are beautiful, the song of loons not ghostly, but more like a lullaby. You can listen to bird calls online and familiarize yourself and children with those night sounds.

Never allow food or beverages inside a tent. The smell of food can attract insects and wildlife.

Never smoke in or near a tent. Never pitch a tent near a campfire or stove.
Teach children the rules of camping beforehand on your practice camp and allow them to participate in rule setting. Don't let children run around close to tents where they may trip over stakes. Don't let them run around the campfire. Don't allow children to play with the fire. Teach them fire safety. Allow children to assist in setting up a fire to make them feel included.

Tent camping involves children in the natural world. Most children would rather play with sticks and stones than manufactured toys and will find creative entertainment everywhere.
Most children enjoy learning outdoor skills like hiking, bird identification, fishing, canoeing, and basic botany.

Camp food is usually child friendly and the rustic setting will offer them a connection with the past. The abundance of fresh air creates an appetite like nothing else so even your picky eater will eat anything.

The assistance children can provide on a camping trip fill them with a sense of accomplishment. They will become comfortable in an unfamiliar environment and gain an appreciation for nature. Family camping with adults and children creates a special bond and memories that last forever.

Camping calls for different foods and meals than you usually eat at home. For great ideas for food to take when you go camping, and meals to cook on a camping trip:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Tent-Camping---Food-and-Meals
If you go camping, make sure you take all the things that you need to make your trip comfortable:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Tent-Camping-Checklist

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Camping Recipes - 3 Tips on "Food Safety" to Use on Your Next Camping Trip

 By Rhonda Percell

It is extremely important to use good "Food Safety" when camping.  Use the following "Food Safety" so you and your fellow campers can have an enjoyable camping trip.

1. Plan Your Meals and Method of Cooking - Before you go on your camping trip plan the meals you would like to have and when. This will help you prepare the food for your trip. For instance, if you are planning on having steaks on your third night of camping, make sure the steaks are completely frozen before taking them in your cooler. You will also want to consider what method you will use to cook your meals. Remember, at time, the forest may be closed to campfires and charcoal grills so you will need to bring a propane stove or grill for cooking.
 
2. Keep Everything Clean - Remember to wash your hands before and after handling foods, especially raw meats. Also, make sure all cooking utensils and pans are clean prior to use. When packing your cooler, double wrap your raw meats to contain their juices and keeping your other foods safe.
 
3. Keep Hot Foods Hot, Cold Foods Cold - It is important to keep all your food that should be refrigerated cold. It is recommended to have two coolers, one for drinks and one for all your food. This will eliminate opening the food cooler too frequently and melting the ice more quickly. Also, keep your coolers in the shade and place an old blanket around them for further insulation. Remember to serve hot foods promptly, and store leftovers in an ice filled cooler.
 
So, as you can see, if you practice these "Food Safety" tips your next camping trip will be both SAFE and enjoyable.

And if you would like more camping tips and information please go to http://campingtipsandinfo.blogspot.com/
By: Rhonda Percell - Wife, Mother of 3 and a Happy Camper!

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Dutch Oven Recipes For Camping Trips

By Carolyn Whitley

Camping can be great fun, especially if it is combined with awesome food. Consider some of these winning Dutch oven recipes that you can cook for your family or friends during your camping trips.

Beef Meat Loaf
Ingredients:
4 pounds of pure ground beef
2 cups of bread crumbs or flour
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of salt
3 eggs, beaten well
Ketchup
1 cup milk
Half tablespoon of pepper

Procedure:
In a container, combine the beef, onion, salt, eggs and pepper and half the bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Roll into a log shape, and cover with remaining bread crumbs. Well grease the dutch oven and then put the meat mixture in. Put the lid on the oven and place in the coals of the fire and leave for about an hour and a half. Take the lid off and add the ketchup and brown sugar. Then place the lid back on and cook for a further 15 minutes. If the fire is too hot, the dinner will burn, so make sure you cook your meat loaf in the coals and not the fire.

Pineapple Delight Cake
1 pack cake mix, yellow
3 pieces of eggs, beaten
1 can pineapple slices
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar, brown or white
1 and ½ cup of pineapple juice
8 pieces cherries

Procedure:
Melt the butter in Dutch oven. Place the pineapple slices over the bottom of the dutch oven and place a cherry on top of each piece of pineapple. Follow the instructions for making up the cake mix and then pour the cake mix over the pineapple and cherries. Place the oven in the coals of the fire to cook for half an hour. Let it cool slightly inside the oven after baking and before serving. While cooking, keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. Enjoy.

Sausage Gravy
Ingredients:

Procedure:
Add the flour to the butter in your hot skillet until it becomes brown. Add water or milk to the flour to thin it, then add pepper and salt. Continue stirring the mixture until it regains its thick constancy. Add the sausage or processed meat product to the mixture.

Wild Turkey
Ingredients:
1 whole turkey
1 pound of pork sausage
6 cups of bread crumbs
Bacon
Onions
Poultry spices

Procedure:
Cover the turkey with seasoning and other poultry spices. Meanwhile, fry the onions and pork sausage in your oven. Then combine this mixture with the bread crumbs. Stuff the turkey with this and put in the dutch oven and bake for 3 and half hours.
These Dutch oven recipes are so easy to make and taste great, and you'll have the family asking for more. Camping is an excellent time to encourage the kids to do some of the cooking as well.

Although fires are fun, remember that children need to be supervised at all times.

My name is Carolyn and I've been on many camping trips. If you enjoy camping, then you should still have great tasting food. When using a dutch oven and some dutch oven recipes you will be sure to have food that tastes as good as you make at home.

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Outdoor Survival - Camping Tent and Hiking Tips

By Kristina Cramarossa  

Outdoor Survival:
When you are planning for your next camping tent or hiking trip, typically you find yourself going through a checklist. Making sure you have your camping tent, backpack, pocketknife, food and even more items depending on the type of trip you are going on. The one thing some people do not do before their trip is re-familiarizing themselves with simple survival tips. Most of these tips could be the difference between life and death.
Before going out on your hike to explore the nature around you, make sure you have scanned your surroundings. Be aware of any mountains, hills, or any other major landmarks around you and the camping tent site. When beginning your hike try to stay around a valley, river or mountainside if possible. Just by doing this it will help keep you going in the same direction. The next step seems simple enough, keep track of time. Make sure you are aware of the time when you leave your campsite. By doing this you will know what rate you are hiking at and then by the time you reach your destination you know exactly how far you are from the camp site. If you have a GPS make sure it is in good condition and you are very familiar with all its settings.

If by chance of you do get lost the first, do not panic! This will not solve the situation and will cause you to lose energy that could be used towards other things. Sit down regain your thoughts. Think back and try to retrace your steps. Ask yourself, what direction did I come from? Can I get back? How long have I been lost? Once you have come up with a game plan try to find a place high where you can see your surroundings, search for a river, familiar areas or even signs of civilization. You are probably asking yourself, should I stay or should I keep moving? In order to answer this question, you want to make sure that you have a shelter to protect yourself. Next if no one is aware of your camping tent trip then it may take awhile before they begin a search. Look around and see if a signal could be seen from your location. If most of these cannot be answered then it is probably in your best interest to keep moving.

A good rule of thumb is walk away from the mountains, because most likely they may lead you to a road or trail. As you are walking try to leave hints and signals along the way. This will give anyone who could be searching for you hints and signals. Leaving parts of clothing, make arrows out of sticks or rocks are great ways to let searches know what direction you are heading in. This will also help them know you are still alive.
If you know that there will be people searching for you, hurry and find a safe and obvious place where you could have the best chances of a rescue. Try to find a shining or flashy object that could be seen if held against the light. This could be seen for sure by an airplane or a helicopter. Move the mirror or object back and forth so that the reflection could be noticed easily. Another life saving technique is building a fire. There are two types of fire to build for different times of the day. During the daylight make a smoky type fire using wet, damp and green materials. At night make a bright blazing fire using all dry materials. Most people try to yell and scream but end up losing their voice. Instead of using our voice try banging pots and pans they will really echo, much louder than your voice. If you had a whistle that would be even better.

No matter how many precautions someone can take there is always the possibility of getting lost or turned around. Always make sure you are aware of the places you are going and someone knows the details of your trip. There are always more outdoor survival tips you can take on your journey and this article just names a few. Always make sure you are prepared for your camping tent or hiking adventures.

Kristina C. Camping is my life and a great way to spend quality time with my family.
[http://www.tentadventure.com]

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