What Is Geocaching?

Geocaching is a form of outdoor activity where enthusiasts use a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit and/or a mobile unit on their phone as well as other navigational tools to hide and seek containers and prizes known as geocaches or caches. These can be hidden absolutely anywhere in the world and a decent part of the fun for the participants is the unique things they see while they are looking for the caches. It is similar to another outdoor activity, geotrekking. Essentially geocaching is a high-tech form of the old school game of hide and seek, and people are drawn to it because they find the idea of hunting for buried or lost treasure exciting and rewarding. This has become more popular because nearly anyone can participate in the event, and it appeals to many cultures and lifestyles. Caches – the prizes of geocaching Caches are usually small containers that have a logbook so that the finder can write down their name, as well as the date they found the prize and any other information they deem necessary. Sometimes larger containers have items that are of no particular value (toys, baseball cards, monopoly money, things of the like) but have extreme value to the finder who may have spent  hours attempting to retrieve it. The containers themselves vary in design from a simple food-storage container wrapped in a plastic garbage bag to the more sophisticated varieties which are made from ammunition cases (generally plastic or tin) and are also waterproof. These prizes need to be waterproof because sometimes the geocaching may not occur until several weeks after the prize has been planted, and sometimes the prize has even sat over winter in the field ready for the first geocaching team or individual to find it in the spring. These containers [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Ten Ways to Secure Your Vehicle While Traveling

When traveling on the road, your vehicle is your home away from home. Your vehicle is what offers you shelter and security on the road. Unfortunately, vehicles are an easy target for thieves and vandals. This article will cover ten ways to help ensure the security of you vehicle and its valuable contents which include your belongings along with you and your family. Keep it Locked This may seem like it is a no brainer, but this is the easiest way to keep your vehicle secure. It is also the easiest to forget as well. Make sure you are in the habit of always locking your vehicle. This is important because it is a first step at deterring theft. Many thieves are looking for easy targets and will move on when faced with a locked vehicle. Keep Valuables Out of Sight You may love all of your fancy camping gadgets and want to display them to the world, but unsavory characters may love them too much and decide they want them for themselves. Do not leave anything in plain sight that would tempt someone to break into your vehicle. This includes GPS devices, laptops, jewelry, guns, electronics, and other expensive camping gear. So make sure you tidy up and keep the curtains closed. It is also a good idea to avoid storing expensive items in the RV while you are away from it if you can. Install an Alarm System An alarm system is a great way to deter would-be thieves from breaking in to your vehicle. These can be set up to detect doors opening or when things make contact with the vehicle. Do Not Use External Storage Compartments Many Recreational Vehicles such as fifth wheels, motorhomes, and folding tent trailers have external storage compartments for storing gear. The [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Why I like Camping In The Autumn

Sure, something can be said for the spring time. The flowers bloom and new life seems to blossom from everywhere. I mean, who can resist the warmer weather after a long winter and the chance to be barefooted again after a few months. Well, I personally can usually resist it and rather easily, having always been a cool-weather fan. Which brings us more directly on target: my personal favorite time of the year for camping out, or honestly, doing about anything else, would be good old crispy and cool Autumn. Yeah, spring may have the flowers, but fall has the leaves, the bright splashes of orange and gold, and that slight promise of something almost magical in the air. I like camping in the Autumn. Camping in the Autumn paints a picture worth a thousand words Picture it, as I often do: carefully cleared ground, properly placed tent, a gathering of twigs, just cool enough for some comfortable old well-worn sweat shirt without being cold enough to actually be uncomfortable. And sweet autumn smells, maybe even almost melancholy memories of camping trips and other assorted adventures left far behind. I’m a primitive type of camper. The closer to nature I can be, the better I like it and the more I enjoy it. I usually camp alone, and my camping needs are few to begin with. Autumn camping, which is by this point clearly my favorite, does present a few challenges, absolutely, but it also offers a lot of advantages over warmer weather camping. Good footwear and appropriate clothing are, as in any camping venture, an absolute must, of course. And a little consideration should be given to extra warm clothing when camping after the leaves turn. I usually pack along an extra blanket in my pack in addition to [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Why I Enjoy Glamping

What is glamping you say? Well glamping is glamorous camping at its finest! This is the only way I go camping and of course I recommend this to anyone! Glamping includes the finest accommodations, amenities, food and activities. No longer are the days where you are required to sleep out under the stars in an old smelly dome tent, eating roasted wieners, and fighting off the bugs. My motto is why camp when you can glamp! The benefits of glamping While one is glamping it is important to think about the kind of accommodations you are seeking. You may want to stay in a log cabin complete with 800 count Egyptian cotton sheets on the bed, an air conditioner, and a Jacuzzi tub or you could choose a more adventurous type of glamping. This would include an all-inclusive trip, for example a river rafting trip. On these trips there are a group of people to set up your camp while you enjoy your adventure. The team arrives ahead of you to set up your tents, start the campfires, and begin preparing your gourmet meals from a menu you have chosen. At the end of your day of rafting, when you return, you will find the best tents available ready for you to bed down for the night. You will find that a cot along with sleeping bags have been set up and made. Your tent will include a tent air conditioner, if the weather permits. Lighting and even a rug will await you inside your tent. You will also find that your luggage has been placed inside your tent waiting for you to unpack. All that is required of you is to enjoy your time in the great outdoors. The next day all of these items will be packed up [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

How to Pick a Tent that is Best for You

When it comes to choosing a tent for camping, there are so many choices and styles that it can become quite overwhelming for the tent buyer. You want to make sure that you get a quality tent, but you do not want to overpay for features that you do not need or simply be paying for a brand name. This article will offer you a systematic approach to buying a tent that will cut through all the questions and buzz words. Price Range This will be the first parameter for most people. Regardless of what tent you want to get, you likely have a limit to how much you will spend on your tent, whether it is three thousand dollars or thirty. So think of how much you are willing to spend, how much you would like to spend, and how much is the minimum you will pay without feeling that you are wasting your money on a cheap tent. Once you have these numbers in mind, you can use them to help you guide your search. If you have a high budget, you can concentrate on the features and size that you want and not worry about price so much. If you are trying to save some money you should consider where you can get the best deal. Where to Buy Now that you know what you are willing to pay, it is time to go shopping. You should decide where you are going to shop for your tent. You should do some initial research on the web to get an idea of what you can get in your price range and which brands and models you should avoid. Once you have an idea of what is out there, you can expand your search to local stores, thrift shops, [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Some Thoughts On Camping

Camping is a great time! When I was little I never liked to go camping because of the bugs. Once I realized how much fun camping can be, I ended up buying my own tent and air mattress and now I go all the time. There is a lot of equipment you should have when you are camping. Items you definitely want to take with you when you go camping include: tent, air mattress, food, water, blankets, bug spray, a metal grill sheet (to cook food over the fire), a space heater, towels, radio, etc. Camping is a great way to spend quality time with friends and family. A lot of families use camping as a family reunion event. There are always a lot of fun things to do while you are camping such as: beach volleyball, tubing, canoeing, kayaking, camp fire, grilling, swimming, boating, etc. One thing to be careful about when you go camping is to know your campground rules. Campgrounds normally have pretty strict rules as to noise limits and excessive amounts of alcohol. Most of them also restrict anyone from setting off fireworks. I mention this because camping is a great activity during 4th of July and many do it. Campgrounds normally keep their eye out for fireworks because of how dangerous they can be around children and/or when people are under the influence. It is important to know and follow the guidelines that your campground sets to make sure you and the people you are with have a great time and no one gets hurt.

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

My Earliest Camping Memories

My father has always been rather old-fashioned. Growing up as a kid he was able to connect with nature to a greater extent than I was because he was less obligated to attend school on a regular basis. He was able to go out in the streets and work for a living, and on the days he was not required to work he would spend time on the family farm, thus he was more aware about nature than I was growing up. Growing up in the city, it was much more rare for me to experience nature on a personal level, unless we took a trip to the zoo. Even then, it never felt really authentic. It wasn’t until I was 11 years old when my father decided to take the family on their first family camping trip. These camping memories started that first trip. We left very early in the morning, hours before the sun had come up. We packed up a tent, however many sleeping bags we needed, and enough food to last us the weekend. Anything else we added depended on the capacity of our family van. For our very first camping trip, my father took us to a location where there were many areas to choose between in regards to us selecting a camping spot. We settled in a place that had an ample clearing, if my camping memories are accurate, a free, basic outdoor grill, and of course free public restrooms. I helped a little setting up our tent. My mother was busy with taking everything out of our van and making sure everything was in its proper place. My father took a walk around the area to see what sites there were to explore. By the time we had reached the location, it was [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Why I Prefer Camping to Hotels

I would always prefer to go camping rather than booking a room in a hotel because I love to be outside and experience nature. I find that the confines of a hotel room with its fluorescent lighting and blaring television aren’t rejuvenating in the least. The noises in a hotel, both from the inside and outside, don’t contribute to a good night’s sleep. Nothing is as relaxing or as calming to me as spending time camping with good friends. When properly prepared for, a camping trip can be as restful and healing to the mind, body, and spirit, as a stay in the best luxury resort hotel. Camping, more than a hotel stay, affords me the opportunity to get away from the daily grind, and do it my way. There is no worrying about tipping the staff or all the other entrapments that come along with staying in a hotel. I don’t have to think about whether or not my accommodations have been properly cleaned and maintained or when check out time is. These, and other reasons, are why I prefer camping to hotels. Not Being Confined in Any Way is Why I Prefer Camping My best friend and her husband own some land that is, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by tall pine trees that are hundreds of years old, is a picturesque clearing with breathtaking, panoramic views, approximately six acres in size. Every year we camp there several times, from early in the spring until late into the fall. At Almost Heaven, you define your own vacation and camping experience. Some people bring recreational vehicles, complete with all the comforts of home. Others of us prefer to rough it and bring tents. I have my own, three-person tent. It is the perfect size for me [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Is Camping With Your Loved One A Good Decision?

Before determining whether or not camping with your loved one is a good decision, your first consideration should be how your definition of “camping” compares to theirs. You may be surprised to find that you are worlds apart on this. There are many types of camping and what you grew up with and view as “camping” might be someone else’s idea of a weekend of torture. Do you want to “rough it” in a tent pitched on the ground and get back to nature, while their idea of camping consists of a luxury recreational vehicle with cable television and all the comforts of home? If your idea of camping is considerably different from theirs, another type of vacation might be a better idea. Other questions to ask yourself are whether or not you get along with this person in the first place. If you constantly bicker with your spouse at home, will spending time together in a camping situation make that bickering escalate or minimize it? Do you want to be stuck with this person in a less than ideal situation where one of you isn’t comfortable? There is often no truer test of compatibility than two individuals stuck with each other in a leaky tent or a family crowded around a folding table under the awning of an RV while it rains all weekend. Look carefully at your loved ones – your mother, your brother, your child, your best friend, your significant other. Ask yourself “Do I want to go camping with this person?”. Nothing brings out the good, the bad, and the ugly in people like the situations described above. Imagine an ordinary happy couple, Jane and John, are planning a camping trip. Jane prepares for her long anticipated wilderness weekend by packing a snake bite kit, matches, [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences

Some Camping Memories

Some of my earliest camping memories took place in the back of my grandparent’s yellow and white camper as we explored different areas of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. My grandmother is an excellent cook and she would make and prepare sandwiches for us to eat along the way as well as a breakfast that smelled so good it could bring the whole forest into our camp. I was pretty young at the time but I remember my grandpa whittling small figures for us out of wood with his massive hunting knife. Later on when I was older and went with friends to camp I’d look back on those memories fondly. The last time I went camping we chose to go in late September to climb Mt. Cardigan in New Hampshire. We picked an awesome weekend weather-wise – not a cloud in the sky the whole time. The only thing that was unbearable was the temperature. We hadn’t packed enough clothes and blankets to comfortably withstand the freezing cold nights and when the temperature dropped below zero on the first night I lay shivering and cursing in every scrap of clothing I brought with me. There were three girls in the tent I was sleeping in and by morning we had all snuggled up next to each other to conserve our warmth. That trip was amazing though – the guy who planned it really knew his stuff. After we had hiked out and back he prepared a vegetable stew with bacon that made our toes curl, followed by bananas wrapped in foil, cut length-wise and filled with chocolate, marshmallows and peanut butter then left to sit near the fire and bake into a gooey delicious mess. One night of that trip we left camp after dinner and we all forgot [...]

Camping Tips from Campnut - Camping ideas on how to enjoy your outdoor and camping experiences