Category: Entertaining Kids at Camp
What is Your Travel Planning Style?
January 16, 2012 by Melissa A. Trainer · Leave a Comment
Seward, Alaska, 2011 Do you have a method for planning your road trips or vacations? Do you dutifully sit down in January and target where and when you will go to specific destinations? Or, do you just “wing it” once the official camping season kicks off in the spring? I have to admit that I have waffled between both methods over the years. I am, in fact, still waffling! When we first started camping and our children were very young, I was pretty strict about planning in advance, pinpointing destinations, and then making reservations. I have vivid recollections of often doing this ten months in advance. Back then, it was a system that I needed to have in place. Packing food, kids, cars, and gear can be a monumental task. I knew I didn’t want to take the spontaneous route only to find out that the car was loaded and the campgrounds were too! Traveling and camping with young children can be challenging. I needed the certainty of knowing that we had a good campsite... [Read more...]
Grandpa’s FireFork Is A Nifty Stocking Stuffer
December 4, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · Leave a Comment
Are you looking for a nifty stocking stuff for the outdoor enthusiast on your list? If so, then maybe you should check out Grandpa’s FireFork made by Light My Fire. A compact nifty gadget, the FireFork is a simple solution for cooking marshmallows, hot dogs and even fresh fish over an open flame. Large skewers can be awkward and cumbersome to store and carry. On the other hand, the compact Fire Fork, which was inspired by an innovative grandpa, easily fits into a backpack or even a coat pocket. Once the protective plastic cover is removed from the fork’s prongs, the two wire springs expand. By pressing the two prongs towards each other, the rings align and a stick can be shoved through. Hot dogs and marshmallows are then easily put in place on the prongs and held over the campfire. Another advantage of the forks is that, unlike randomly scavenged sticks, the prongs can be cleaned between uses. Priced at about $10 for a pack of four of Amazon, the FireForks would... [Read more...]
Let There Be Light!
December 1, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 1 Comment
Head lamps. Flashlights. Lanterns. Campfires. What is your favorite way to light up a dark night when you are out in the great outdoors? Do you have a favorite flashlight that you depend on? We have used all of these items and our preference for them really depends on the situation. Sitting around a campfire on a summer’s night is great fun. When the kids start dashing around the campground or the park after dark, they definitely need a good flashlight in hand. For tent camping, a lantern is essential. And, head lamps are critically important in remote areas as well. When I was shopping with my teenage daughter last week, I stopped by REI to see what was new. I didn’t spend a lot of time there, but I did peruse the flashlight and head lamp section. I thought the Photon Micro Light II looked very good and well priced. This personal safety flashlight has an ultra bright LED light that is visible over one mile. And, the light is built to survive serious use! I think this... [Read more...]
THE LOST KEY (From the archives of the “Fiero Fiction Series”)
October 21, 2011 by Professor95 · 1 Comment
The Lost Key is one of twenty stories I wrote back in the late 90’s. Many of these stories were published as part of the Fiero Fiction Series. They appeared in both the Pontiac Fiero Connection magazine and the Fiero Owner, a magazine published quarterly by the Fiero Owner’s Association of America. My affection for the little 2-seat, mid engine, composite body car that was only built from 1984 to 1988 still continues – but I am now down to three cars (I once owned seven). I share this story to readers of my Woodall’s Family Camping blog simply because I consider it “Fun”. You see, camping and sitting around the campfire without stories is like forgetting the marshmallows. In this story, Jimmy Moore is typical of anyone opening the lost ark contained within the center console and floor hugging seats in any Fiero. What he finds, and what he does, could easily happen to any of us. Like other stories in the Fiero Fiction Series, this one is based on a true story –... [Read more...]
Unforgettable Trips — Franconia Notch, NH
September 28, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
Dateline October, 1979 One of our favorite destinations in New England is the Franconia Notch State Park area of New Hampshire; the White Mountains. There are lots everything we enjoy: mountains, deep dark woods, pure, ice cold streams racing over rock strewn, water-carved flumes and small New England villages. It was easy to visualize the ghosts of courageous 17th and 18th century fur trappers and Native American hunting parties prowling through the woods. My children and I would create stories about “The Last of the Mohicans.” We imagined the last chief of the mighty Mohicans, Chingachgook, along with his BFF, Natty Bumppo, called “Hawkeye” by his native friends, creeping silently along the forest game trails on moccasined feet, tracking a regal 15-point elk with flintlock and bow, while their renegade Huron arch-enemy, “The Wily Fox,” Magua, creeps up behind them, ready to add their scalps to his already hirsute belt… What? Yes, yes, I know that Fenimore’s... [Read more...]
Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: West Glacier, Montana’s KOA; it’s not Glacier Park, but it’s cool!
September 25, 2011 by Patti F. · 4 Comments
We northwestern Montanans are privileged to claim Glacier National Park as our personal backyard. Read more about Montana campgrounds and things to do in Montana. And the more boorish among us are pretty quick to let the entire world in on that…hence, this blog from your resident Woodall’s boor. A couple of weeks ago the Brazil Nut (a/k/a “my husband”) and I were heading up to Glacier and decided to swing through the KOA just outside the Park .Search for a national park. We stopped on a whim: I mean, how could a KOA compare with anything in Glacier Park? What could a KOA have to offer that the many lovely campsites at Glacier don’t already have? Turns out, plenty…especially if you like a resort atmosphere, enough going on for young and older kids to keep whining at bay, and a good restaurant if you (or your family) are burned out on making dinner after traipsing around all day. We couldn’t stay overnight, but I can share how beautiful and clean everything was, and what... [Read more...]
Consider The Lodge Cast Iron Biscuit Pan!
August 27, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 3 Comments
We have a vast collection of cast iron cookware. We find it priceless for campground cookery. We have multiple Dutch ovens, an array of skillets, basic griddles, and a biscuit pan. I have purchased many of these items at thrift stores and garage sales over the years. Last year, right before we left for our family camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, I found a Lodge cast iron biscuit pan at the thrift store. I think I paid about $3 for it. While we were camping at the Madison Campground in Yellowstone, I spontaneously decided to use the pan for some mini pizzas. I had some Pillsbury biscuit dough that I separated into layers and placed in the greased pan. I then added some tomato sauce and cheese and placed the pan on the grill rack over a moderate campfire. I don’t recall how long they cooked, but I do remember that they were fabulous–smokey with a nicely browned bottom. My children loved them and they were a wonderfully simple snack food to serve around the campfire... [Read more...]
Sally’s Revenge and the Bear that came to Dinner – Part 2
August 17, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
(Continued from “Sally’s Revenge and the Bear that came to Dinner,” Part 1) Well, that big pile of hair that Sally pulled out of the bag wasn’t a wig; which was my first guess. As both families stood around that first morning; deep in the forest in Matthew’s Arm Campground at beautiful Shenandoah National Park, I might have grumbled a bit. We had been waiting for forty-five minutes while Sally finished her morning preparations for taking a short hike on the Appalachian Trail. She primped, painted and brushed. But it was the amount of time and effort that she was taking with that huge mass of hair that she was pinning onto her head that finally got to me. “Is she ever going to be finished with that wig?” I whined (yes, I whined, but I was at my breaking point, okay?). It’s not a Wig; it’s a Fall!” my wife hissed, “And keep your voice down!” “Well,” I hissed back, “I’m going to go berserk if she decides that she needs a pedicure before we... [Read more...]
Clamming on The Oregon Coast with Kids
August 17, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · Leave a Comment
Have you taken your children clamming, fishing, or foraging lately? If not, seriously consider it on your next camping trip. It can be delightfully and deliciously rewarding. Ever since our children were little, we have taken them fishing, foraging, and exploring. They still love poking through tide pools at low tide. And, the thrill of catching a wild salmon never seems to subside. Last spring, my husband took our two sons down to the Oregon Coast for spring break. While staying with friends at a beachfront cottage, it occurred to the boys that clams might lurk on the beach below. Indeed, there were lots of clams. Hence, a spontaneous clamming adventure evolved that week. I reaped the rewards when my husband brought home some clam chowder, cooked clam meat, and a baggie full of empty clam shells. I was so excited by their adventure that I wrote an article about it for The Oregonian’s FOODday section. Published in May, it is a comprehensive article that gives links, tips,... [Read more...]
Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: Montana’s Whitefish RV Park: “Keep it secret! ”
July 16, 2011 by Patti F. · 8 Comments
Watch video of Whitefish RV Park “Keep it secret!” I had just told our awesome neighbors at the Whitefish RV Park I was writing a blog for Woodall’s about Whitefish RV…they begged me not to. And I confess that selfishly…I’m torn. Whitefish RV Park is one of those jewels that once discovered, everyone fears the next guy will discover it, too…and the next guy, and the next guy, until the mine is empty. Lucky for you, ethics prevailed over selfishness, so I now present to you, Whitefish RV Park, Whitefish, Montana. Ta dah! Not only is it idyllic, but it’s our very first home as we begin our full time RVing life, so we’re especially thrilled. Wow. What a place. Jeff and Susie Jensen, the owners, don’t do “adequate.” They do great. Being an an RV rookie (hence, the title of my blog), I don’t have many RV parks with which to compare, but I have read billions of RV park reviews and talked with as many experienced RVers. I’ve learned very few RV parks are like... [Read more...]
