Friday, July 5, 2013

A Glamping We Went!: The Finale

packed car with toddler www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com
We survived!

Our campsite was booked Friday through Sunday and we made it until 9pm Saturday. This is half a day longer than our trip last Summer so I'm going to clock it as a win. Kalynn cooperated a thousand times better, however the weather did not. We were rained out. But the 24 hours that our hot sun showed it's steaming head, we did some pretty good quality time.

I didn't mean that to sound like we were in jail. 

Anyway.
First thing first, we go snoop on everyone else's campsites to see if they have better stuff than we do. It gives us a good idea of all the things we need to buy for next time. In the process of doing this, it's a good time to grab the campground map and go check out the actual campsites. We circle and rate the best sites so that next time we visit, we have notes on which sites to book or not book. Depending on the amount of beer we've consumed, our notes and judgings keep us pretty entertained the next time we bust out the book. It's a very detailed 5-star rating. I keep all the maps in our camping notebook at home. Of course.
camping notebook to mark good campsites on campground map www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

To keep the little one busy, I staple her scavenger hunt list to a bag and she's on a mission in her own little world of outdoor adventures and treasure hunts. Binoculars get involved, butterfly nets are a must, and we don't even think about forgetting the magnifying glass.  Tiny things are important to see.

camping scavenger hunt list stapled to bag for kids www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Here's the jpg in case anyone wants to use our list:

camping scavenger hunt list www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

By now, we're hungry. So in addition to our bacon wrapped hot dogs, I make a side of camp veggies.

*5-6 cups cut up bite size pieces broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, onions, squash, green beans and red bell pepper.
*1/4-1/2 cup butter
*1 envelope dry onion soup mix
*4-6oz grated Kraft Parmesan cheese 

Add veggies and butter to dutch oven and place on top of 20(ish) coals for 10-15 minutes. You want veggies to be tender but not over cooked so check often. When veggies are ready, add packet of dry onion soup mix and stir. Remove desired excess liquid and then sprinkle on cheese and mix. The veggie water, onion soup mix, and cheese make a very tasty sauce
camping dutch oven veggies with onion soup and parmesan cheese www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

We tried to hit the lake but it was short lived and started pouring rain in about 10 minutes so we headed back to camp.
camping at the lake with a bulldog www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

When the storm blew over, we brought out the s'mores and I ended up setting every single marshmallow aflame but whatever.

camping outfit www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

The following day it rained almost all morning. While Kalynn napped, Jason and I sat under the rain tarp and ate everything in the cooler.


I don't think Guacamole left the front seat of the car more than 3 times the whole trip. Camping isn't her thing. Neither is energy or caring. Clearly.
sleeping bulldog www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com


I don't know if you've seen these mesh pop-up food tents, but you can find them at the Dollar Tree or Target or wherever and they really come in handy when you're trying to keep the flies away.

camping mesh food tent www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Our hand washing station:

smart camping handwashing station www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

Jason made a friend.

converse camping www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

I learned a couple of great tricks from a lady at work. 1: Buy cheap shower caps to put dirty camping shoes inside of when packing up. This way it keeps the rest of the things in my travel bag relatively clean.

shower cap for packing dirty shoes www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

2: Use an old CD stacker case for toilet paper storage. It makes a handy travel case and keeps it from getting wet and dirty from morning dew/ spilt beer/ dog slobber. Genius.

cd holder for toilet paper when camping www.thebrighterwriter.blogspot.com

So we'll try again in a couple weeks and until then there's more planning to be done! Does anyone have any great camping recipes for our dutch oven? Leave them in the comments!

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17 comments:

  1. Even "Grizzly Adams" knows squat when it comes to camping in comparison with the Fab Fuller Family. You guys rock!!!

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  2. I love camping, yet totally avoided it when I had kids until they were well out of the tantrum years. You sound like you did great! I am lazy and go for cold cereal, cold sandwiches, and maybe steak for dinner, so no dutch oven meals for my poor kids. They don't care, it's the only time I let them chow down on puffy cheese balls from Target. Good luck, and keep at it-camping gets easier as they get older!

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    Replies
    1. Oh no! Not the cheesy balls from Target! hahaha That's so funny

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  3. Love it all! Loved your sense of humor, great lists and every single tip is a winner! Would also love to go glamping with your family from the sounds of it! I pack my two kids (12 and 10) into my truck and we load it all up to go camping with my sister, her husband and their dog. This coming summer 2014 we even had to get an adjoining site to add my high school best friend, her husband and 4 kids (ages 18 - 6) to the party. Out here, even in summer it can get chilly cold at night so I also add to my list a big warm robe (mine is an older one from LL Bean). I call it my camp robe and it is just perfect for sitting by the campfire late at night and those early AM trips to the restrooms/showers. Just out here in the Pacific NW lovin' Pinterest, too! If you ever head to the Oregon Coast -- I highly recommend Barview Jetty Campground in Tillamook County near Garibaldi, OR -- I know your daughter would love it!

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    1. I would absolutely love to camp in Oregon! I hear it's a gorgeous place to visit. I'll let you know if we ever make it happen! Thanks for the comment!

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  4. LOVED all of your Glamping posts! We love to camp with our two little ones and you had some great ideas that I hadn't come across yet. I especially loved the Crown Royal bag doubling as a sleeping bag for your daughter's baby. Brilliant. :)

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    Replies
    1. Occasional camper by day, fantastic and friendly bartender by night so I have a TON of those Crown Royal bags laying around! I swear they made them to fit Cabbage Patch Kids on purpose! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Nice to meet you!

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  5. Nachos in the dutch oven--chips down first, beans/salsa/jalapenos/etc then cheese. 10-15 coals on top, few on the sides--none down below or the chips burn. 10 min---good to go and everyone is impressed!

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  6. Pizza is awesome in the Dutch oven. I buy the pills bury pizza dough and then just add toppings. Put over the coals, put on lid and add about 8-10 coals. Cook for about 15 minutes. Check the crust may need a little more time.

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  7. Love the shower cap idea for dirty shoes and your treasure hunt list/bag. Wish I had that for the youngens, when they were young:)

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  8. A vacation turned to be an adventure and good memory when you spending it with your family. Camping is not a new concept but the availability of new camping gadgets has made this fun activity more interesting.
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  9. Really this is a nice stuff. It will help us for next camping., Hopefully people will get a lot of help from this checklist.Thank you..
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  10. Great article Your daughter is so so beautiful and cute. I like Camping.

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