Before setting out on your first tent camping trip, you need to know how to build a camping tent. By preparing yourself with the needed knowledge for building a camping tent before you leave for the campgrounds, you will be ready to enjoy your camping vacation and be able to avoid any time consuming mishaps. Learning how to build a camping tent also known as pitching a tent, involves only a few simple steps. Following are some camping tips that will help you successfully learn how to build a camping tent. Keeping these simple pointers in mind will have you well on your way to learning how to build a camping tent.

As your home away from home, it’s important to choose the tent for camping that will serve the needs of you and your family so that you remain safe, comfortable, and can enjoy your camping vacation. One of the most important things to consider when looking at a tent for camping is where you plan to use it.

• Find flat and high ground to build your camping tent on. High ground will help your tent and sleeping bags stay dry in case of rain, and level ground will make building your tent easier and allow you to get more comfortable rest during the night.

• Use a tarp or ground cloth. This piece of supplementary gear for your camping tent is cheap to purchase, as low as ten dollars, and will help keep your tent dry during wet weather. A tarp or ground cloth under your tent will also protect it from rocks and other ground materials that may tear or damage your camping tent.

• Your tent will most likely come with stacks, and it is a good idea to stack your tent to the ground. Simply hammer in the stacks with a heavy rock or hammer on each side to secure your tent. This will prevent the tent from being blown if you experience winds and will also keep it from moving while you are inside of the tent.

If you plan to do winter camping or even cold altitude camping in warmer climates, then you would want to look for a four season tent. If you are alone, then obviously you won’t need as much space as if you need to fit a family of six into your tent for camping. Or, if you prefer, you can still have some privacy for the people in your group while camping under one ‘roof’ by purchasing a tent that has flaps which act as dividers inside the tent in order to create 2 or more interior ‘rooms.

You should also invest in a good ground sheet to reinforce the tent for camping and protect it from rips, tears and wear, as well as to keep the groundwater away from you

Keeping these simple pointers in mind will have you well on your way to learning how to build a camping tent. Also, remember never to build your camping tent within twenty feet of your grill or campfire.
by Philippe De Tiege

Tags: building, camp fire, campground, Camping, comfortable, dividers, family, ground, hammer, pitching, plan, preparing, protect, season, sleeping bags, stacks, tarp, tent, vacation

Tags: animals, bins, budget, campground, Camping, camping stove, campsite, charcoal, comfort, cooking, gear, grill, ITEM, knife, lake, lighter, paper, pillow, shelter, sleeping bag, smell, spring, stakes, storage, tarp, tent, terrain, toolkit, towel, water, winter

Just because it might rain, that is not a good reason to cancel your trip or to refrain from camping. You can do it, and the kids will love it.

Here are some guidelines on how to have a great camping trip, with children, babies, toddlers, and children of all ages, in the RAIN! This article is about camping out with children, babies and other all-age children while you are experiencing bad weather, rain, storms etc.

First, the average reader would be thinking, why camp out in the rain? The answer to that is obvious. As humans, we camp out with children, throughout the season, and we have no control over weather. So, you might be out camping on a very beautiful day, and all of a sudden encounter an unknown, unpredicted rainstorm or other bad weather. Yes, you could have checked the weekly weather and known about storms or rain ahead of time, but the fact is that weather happens. And weather happens whenever it wants to happen, not just when the weatherman predicts it will happen.

So, you may or may not be caught in a storm, or rainy day during one of your longer camping trips. The way to make everything a great experience is to prepare ahead of time for that bad weather or storm. And, as an experienced camper, I share some ideas, thoughts and suggestions with you in the hopes that you might take what you need and leave what you do not need.

I write this article, not to frighten, but rather to prepare you for everything and anything, so that you will have a great camping experience in the rain and in the storms. Why do I really write this though? I mean, the obvious answer is to make your camping trip shorter and just go home when it begins to rain. Surely that would solve the problem of bad weather if you have already enjoyed most of your camping trip. But, what would you benefit of that if you had just started your trip and had not begun to enjoy anything yet? If you just pack up and go home, your camping trip might be considered a waste of time, since you came there to enjoy nature and to relax and enjoy the state park or private campgrounds. So, this article is for you, so that you will be prepared for any type of weather in your campgrounds.

Now, the preparation begins before you even make the reservation for camping. Yes, it begins that early. For example, if you are camping out and it begins to rain, or storm, you know that below your tent it will be very wet, and if you are camping out, your tent or tarp underneath will be very muddy. Yuck! Who wants a tent that is full of mud, even if it is the bottom of the tent floor? So, the way that you prevent that –before making your reservation– is by choosing your particular campsite, within the campgrounds, and also by carefully choosing your campgrounds. In New York State, you have many choices of very different natural states, state parks and private campgrounds. If you are choosing to camp with children, toddlers or babies, you might do well to choose private campgrounds or family campgrounds. At these places, usually, they have all the comforts of home. Many of them have indoor rooms, that are packed with games, video games, and other things specifically for children. Most of them have pools and some have sprinklers that the children can play under. Most of them have the stores that will sell you everything from charcoal to umbrellas to cereal and other daily items. And even some have an internet connection. Many of them have activities for children and some even have babysitting services. So, as a family or as adults camping with children, babies or toddlers, your first choice, the choice of a campgrounds might be your most important choice.

So, say you decide to rough it, at a state park instead of going to a family campgrounds, can you still be comfortable in a storm or bad weather? Yes, and again, you choose before you get there and that makes all the difference in the world. For example, at one state park in New York, Wild wood State Park in Long Island, NY, you have choices of where to camp out. And your first choice is location –which would be either right near the restrooms or near the office or further out into the civilized wilderness (I say civilized because there are no dangerous wild animals there, like bears). You will see some deer, awe, closeup with nature. So, you choose your location. If you are camping with children, perhaps camping not too far from the restrooms is in order. But your second choice, after you choose the location is choosing the kind of campsite that you want. This choice is most important in storms and in bad weather or just in case. If you are camping with older children, you might love the choice of having a campsite that has a platform, a wooden platform. Having this platform to set your tent up on is wonderful! You get past all the dirt, and the insects that normally would be climbing under your tent, and you basically have a clean platform, a natural wooden platform to set your temporary home on . Some campsites in other campgrounds might even have concrete platforms; those are usually for the dining areas. If you try setting your tent up on concrete you might realize you have more aching bones in your back the next day, so opt for the dirt instead of concrete.

Now, for the stormy part, you will have prepared ahead of time and packed some of these luxury items –when it comes to camping, these are not necessities but considered luxuries to campers that rough it. You can pack small portable televisions that run on batteries, and pack tv-radios, some child electronic games, some electronic books — all with plenty of batteries. And perhaps the best idea is the crank-type radios that need no batteries. The kids will have fun taking turns cranking it up. I hear you, you are sitting there saying, hey, I came here to enjoy nature and to camp out, not to do what we can do at home! But wait, when I cam saying bring these things, I am not saying bring them, keep them handy where the kids can see them, but I am saying stash them in a secret bag that no one knows you have brought along. Your stash bag contains those items plus coloring books, crayons and some battery-lights. You can even bring along small keyboards for music. Do not worry, your neighbors will not mind the music if they are just hearing the sounds of the storm. Your music might be music to their ears!

So, first, this is your emergency camping bag, for your emergencies during the storm. This is not your first aid bag , but a separate bag just for activities for children and babies.

And, the most important thing about using this bag is that it is kept for this mild-storm emergency, in other words, if there is a mild rain, not thunder and lightening, but just a mild rainstorm, you can use these things to pass the time. Here is what you do, you use the items to pass the time, and then spend some time traveling to a fast food restaurant, preferably one that has a playroom. So you and the children will be happy and you will have things to do and you will be out of the rainstorm.

In the event of thunder or lightning, plan an unexpected trip to the nearest mall, and you will be safe indoors and you can browse the bookstores, and have dinner or breakfast at the mall. Spending a few hours there and the storm will almost be done. By doing this, your camping trip is saved. You have a little diversion, the children are happy AND you still have your tent standing and ready for your camping experience with nature.

I have used the mall-method once, when we camped out. We had a few hours at the campgrounds, and it was near dinner time and we had not yet set up the bbq. It started to rain, and I turned on the radio to find out that this rain was turning into a storm. I knew the storm would not last long, but I knew also that we did not want to sit in a tent under the trees while the lightening passed us by. That would be too dangerous. So, we got in the car and went to the nearest mall –instead of packing up all our gear and heading home, we saved the camping trip by just spending some time at the mall until it was safe to go back to the state park. Once back at the park, we were back to nature and we had a very awesome camping experience. At night it began to rain again, even though the storm was over. We just hung out in the tent, with our little lights, reading books and talking. We did have a great time, and it did not matter that our camping trip happened to be during a very real, horrible rainstorm, with lightning and thunder. We got through it and we had a good life experience.

Okay, right about now, some still might be thinking, YUCKK! , but the true campers are saying, YES! one camping trip saved! All I am saying is not to be scared and not to run off out of the campgrounds with all your bags packing at the sight of rain or at the sound of possible storms. Yes, by all means stay safe. Never, ever stay under the trees or in the state park if there is lightning and thunder. Yes, the time to get out is before it all happens. And if you plan your trip right, before you even leave the house, you can manage any storm, and still be safe and still enjoy a good camping experience.

In summary, here is a list of possible things to pack when going on a camping trip –using tents, while planning for that just-in-case storm:

1. Plastic tarps; these always come in handy, rain ponchose, small umbrellas, ziploc bags, food storage bags.
2. Individual plastic radios, or walkmans, mp3 players, electronical entertainment, games, nintendo ds, etc. Keep these in the car, not in the tents, when it is not storming. Do not store valuables inside your tent especially when you are not there.
3. Lots of coloring books, blank paper, crayons, pencils and pens, markers, and creative crafting items.
4. Extra water bottles, juice bottles, formula for babies, lots of cloths, diapers, bibs, wipes, creams, and everything else baby needs.
5. Baby pop-up tents for areas that have lots of mosquitos, bug spray and insect repellent for older children and adults.
6. Sleeping bags. Bring sleeping bags even in warm weather. You would be surprised how quickly the weather can change in the state parks and forests.
7. Grippers or Gophers, when camping with children these are great -as a help and as a game. Save your back and use the Grippers.
8. Cable ties; Do you want to keep younger children from going in and out of the tent 2,000 times a day. Take what you need out and then cable tie the zipper of the tent. Let them enjoy the outdoors fully while camping.
9. Set up a child pop-up tent for the younger children, right alongside your family tent. They can use this to play, and that saves your larger tent. They can go inside and outside this smaller tent as much as they want and you do not have to tell them to make sure the door is shut. It is their tent – for the day. At night, you sleep in the larger family tent together.

I think that one of the best things you can do for children is to let them get WET! Yes, let go, and say it is okay to be out in the rain if it is a little sprinkle. They will not melt. We have all seen those light sprinkling rains where it feels like a mist, and it is just wonderfully refreshing, especially in the forest or state park. As long as you have enough clean, dry clothes for later, then walking in the rain can be a great camping activity, as long as there is no lightning and no thunder. Do what is safe, and remember to do what is fun also.

Those are some of the things that will make your camping experience easier and more organized. I would love to hear from you if you have any more great ideas about camping in storms or camping with children, babies and toddlers. I welcome all comments.

by Linda A. Perry

Tags: babies, books, camp, campgrounds, Camping, cereal, charcoal, children, concrete, crayons, daily, deer, everything, forest, games, great, home, important, kids, lightning, little, love, mall, melt, muddy, nature, parks, pencils, platform. insects. dirt, pools, prepare, prevent, rain, rain. storms, reservation, sleepingbags, sprinklers, state, tarp, tents, thunder, time, toddlers, trip, tv. radio, umbrellas, unknown, water, weather, wet, world

A wonderful way to invest in your families’ treasure trove of memories is by spending time in the great outdoors. Camping trips can be an excellent tradition that your family will look forward to and in time, look back upon with fond memories.

Whether you plan to camp at the same place every year or seek out new places doesn’t matter as camping is always filled with new adventures. Your family might have a favorite place you go to every year mixed with a new spot you select together for another weekend or extended holiday during the year. There are so many national parks to explore; your options really are quite limitless.

Camping doesn’t have to be an overly expensive expenditure. Again this all depends on how you’ll be camping. Camping in a tent carries a completely different dynamic than camping in a fully equipped camper. Camping in a tent is also relatively inexpensive. Perhaps the camper is something you’ll decide to invest in after a few years of tent camping, then again there are some who prefer to only go tent camping. There’s something to be said about the rustic quality of sleeping in a tent, you can hike to far off remote spots where you couldn’t get to with a camper in tow.

Regardless of how you’ll be camping you’ll want to have the proper camping gear and accessories. First off you want to have the best tent and sleeping bags you can possibly afford. As your tent will be your home away from home for your trip and your sleeping bag will keep you warm and covered for those long nights under the stars (there are tents available that have mesh roofs for star gazing, of coarse if it starts to rain, you can just cover it up with your tent fly), you’ll want to be sure that both these items keep you appropriately covered so to speak.

Next you’ll want to have proper camp accessories; a trustworthy camp stove, a lantern, flashlights, a first aid kit, tarp, cooking and eating utensils, a little axe (for chopping firewood, also doubles as a hammer for hammering in tent pegs), some rope (for clothes lines and securing tarp), and cooler. Along with your sleeping bag you’ll want to remember comfy pillows (unless your backpacking then you might want a convenient inflatable pillow) and very importantly a good sleep pad. An uncomfortable sleep experience on hard ground may steer you off tent camping altogether, so come prepared, a good sleeping pad is worth its weight in gold. A good idea to help you remember all these items is the camping check list.

It’s a good idea to store your camp gear in some plastic containers. This way it’s all in one place (with your camp list included), so when it’s time to pack up and go camping you can go through the containers making any necessary additions needed. It’s very important to check that all your equipment is properly maintained and cared for; there is nothing worse than getting to your destination and finding that your camp stove is not working. You’ll also want to be sure that your camp fuel supply is replenished and you have extra batteries (for flashlights, lanterns or radios).

One of the best things about the whole camping experience is the food. Now depending on where you’re camping and what time of year it is, if you’re lucky you’ll be able to do some of your cooking around the campfire. During dry seasons there may be fire restrictions due to forest fire concerns, if that’s the case you’ll do all your cooking atop your camping stove. Every meal always seems to taste a bit better when you’re camping, it might have something to do with all the fresh air, or maybe all the fun activity builds up you’re appetite, either way you’ll want to bring along some family favorites. For dinner maybe some grilling of the families select choices, accompanied by some corn on the cob and potatoes wrapped in tin foil cooked on the coals with a nice salad and later for dessert smores (marshmallow and a slice of chocolate sandwiched between two graham wafers), add to that some hot chocolate before bed and that’s a night of food to dream about.

The activities (or lack of activities) will also make your camping trip one to remember. Hiking, kayaking, cycling and sailing might be on your agenda. Most parks offer excellent groomed hiking trails. Research in advance the area you will be visiting to know what activities will be available, you may be able to rent a kayak and take a lesson at the same time. Many areas also offer great bike trails that the family can cycle on together. A late night walk is among favorite suggestions; you can check out the stars and just listen to the silence.

Bring along a book you’ve wanted to read or some magazines. Games are another excellent pastime, a deck of cards or a board game might be some fun. Of course you can always bring along some baseball gloves and a ball for a game of catch. Soccer balls, badminton rackets and a net or volleyball and net all make for a fun day at the park.

If your family has little one’s you’ll be presented with a whole new challenge. Depending on the ages of your babies or toddlers you’ll want to pack some extra conveniences. There are excellent baby back carriers available allowing you to hike all sorts of terrain with baby in tow while keeping your back feeling comfortable, as well there are a numerous variety of baby strollers to select from which are great for using on trails. For toddlers you may want to bring a playpen to keep baby safe. You can never bring too many toys; the more your child has to keep them entertained you can rest assure they will be more content.

Be prepared for weather changes by bringing along extra clothing. Most likely you will be camping in the warmer spring, summer and fall months. It’s wise to remember however that the evenings can often get quite cool. Bring along heavy sweaters or extra jackets for added warmth, it can never hurt to bring along a couple of extra blankets for comfort beside the fire (or for use at a day picnic). Rain wear is another excellent addition to your camping wardrobe. With good quality rain jackets, hats, rain pants and boots you can take advantage of the rainy weather and actually go out for a hike rather than staying inside the tent or worse yet ending your camp trip all together.

Camping certainly has its challenges. Knowing what to bring and having the proper equipment and accessories is the first hurtle. Once you arrive at your destination and set up you want to keep everyone as comfortable and happy as possible, whether it’s keeping the kids occupied without the use of video games or cooking a surefire dinner. Rest assured that after your first couple of trips when you find out what everyone enjoys doing and you realize all you like to include on your trip, you will certainly add camping to your families list of favorite excursions and traditions. The wonderful thing about camping is its always different, perhaps the site is different or the campground you selected is unique to the last you stayed at, whatever the difference is it always seems to be an adventure that the whole family can enjoy.

by Valerie Gilesfond,

Tags: accompanied, activities, activity, appetite, axe, babies, beside, best, blankets, book, boots, camper, campfire, Camping, cards, carries, challenges, check, chocolate, chopping, clothes, coals, cob, comfort, comfy, convenient, corn, deck, destination, different, dream, dynamic, ending, ENJOY, equipped, everyone, excellent, expenditure, expensive, experience, extra, families, favorite, food, forward, fully, fun, games, gear, great, grilling, groomed, hammer, happy, hats, Hiking, holiday, hurt, hurtle, importantly, invest, jackets, kayaking, kids, knowing, lanterns. radios, late, lines, list, marshmallow, memories, never, new, nice, night, often, outdoors, pad, pants, park, parks, PICNIC, pillows, plan, playpen, potatoes, proper, quality, quite, rain, rainy, rather, remote, replenished, rest, rope, rustic, sailing, salad, seek, select, sleeping, spending, stars, stove, strollers, supplies, sweaters, tarp, taste, terrain, time, toddlers, together, toys, tradition, trails, treasure, trips, trove, utensils, video, warmth, weather, whole, wonderful, worse, year

Before setting out on your first tent camping trip, you need to know how to build a camping tent. By preparing yourself with the needed knowledge for building a camping tent before you leave for the campgrounds, you will be ready to enjoy your camping vacation and be able to avoid any time consuming mishaps. Learning how to build a camping tent also known as pitching a tent, involves only a few simple steps. Following are some camping tips that will help you successfully learn how to build a camping tent. Keeping these simple pointers in mind will have you well on your way to learning how to build a camping tent.

As your home away from home, it’s important to choose the tent for camping that will serve the needs of you and your family so that you remain safe, comfortable, and can enjoy your camping vacation. One of the most important things to consider when looking at a tent for camping is where you plan to use it.

• Find flat and high ground to build your camping tent on. High ground will help your tent and sleeping bags stay dry in case of rain, and level ground will make building your tent easier and allow you to get more comfortable rest during the night.

• Use a tarp or ground cloth. This piece of supplementary gear for your camping tent is cheap to purchase, as low as ten dollars, and will help keep your tent dry during wet weather. A tarp or ground cloth under your tent will also protect it from rocks and other ground materials that may tear or damage your camping tent.

• Your tent will most likely come with stacks, and it is a good idea to stack your tent to the ground. Simply hammer in the stacks with a heavy rock or hammer on each side to secure your tent. This will prevent the tent from being blown if you experience winds and will also keep it from moving while you are inside of the tent.

If you plan to do winter camping or even cold altitude camping in warmer climates, then you would want to look for a four season tent. If you are alone, then obviously you won’t need as much space as if you need to fit a family of six into your tent for camping. Or, if you prefer, you can still have some privacy for the people in your group while camping under one ‘roof’ by purchasing a tent that has flaps which act as dividers inside the tent in order to create 2 or more interior ‘rooms.

You should also invest in a good ground sheet to reinforce the tent for camping and protect it from rips, tears and wear, as well as to keep the groundwater away from you

Keeping these simple pointers in mind will have you well on your way to learning how to build a camping tent. Also, remember never to build your camping tent within twenty feet of your grill or campfire.

by Philippe De Tiege

Tags: build, campground, Camping, family, gear, ground cloth, level ground, pitching, tarp, tent, vacation