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Is your family thinking about camping over a warm summer weekend? Green’s Canoe Rental can supply you with just about everything your family will need to enjoy your weekend. From the boat to the tent to the firewood… Green’s has it covered. It really will turn out to be a fantastic weekend. Before you leave, if you do some online research you will find the following tips very helpful with your children and will want to pass them along. Camping is a family activity. Camping is just about the only affordable vacation you can take as a family of four. It’s great fun but could also be a huge hassle. Try these 6 ideas to reduce the hassle and increase the fun.

1. Get the children’s input. What do they like to do? What do they want to see? What would they like to eat? Use this information in preparation for your family time outdoors.

2. Have an activity box for each child. Fill an old shoe box with things, such as:

* scrap paper crayons, water color paint, colored pencils
* round tipped scissors
* coloring book
* glue stick
* small game like a tic-tac-toe board
* a favorite doll or toy car
* some same craft project
* maybe a talking book or music CD (the library is a great source)

3. For exploring, have a knapsack for each child with:

* sunblock and lip protection
* a hat, wide-brim all the way around is best
* a whistle on a neck cord
* one or two favorite snacks
* water bottle
* plastic collection jar (great for bug collectors)
* notepad and pencil
* flashlight on a cord
* a small compass on a string
* kid-safe bug repellent

4. Involve the children in the planning or preparing of meals. Even the youngest children can make a batch of “gorp” by mixing a box of raisins with a bag of nuts, and maybe some chocolate candy like M&Ms tossed in.

5. Make the child’s sleeping mat a game board. Use a permanent marking pen to draw a checker board, tic-tac-toe grid, race track or whatever on the sleeping mat. Collect the, playing pieces from material around campground.

6. Take patience and gather memories, children grow very quickly. Don’t forget the smores!

Joe Camarda loves camping, fishing, boating, canoeing and rafting with his family.
His favorite spot is the Meramac River.
His favorite camping source: http://www.greenscanoerental.com

If you have an RV and are looking for a campground with beautiful views of an ocean bay and snow capped mountains, try Homer Alaska – Heritage RV Park, Oceanview RV Park and Desert Inn and RV Park are three campgrounds that should fit the bill, all having beautiful views of Kachemak Bay with the Kenai Mountains in the background.

The town of Homer is a scenic, small seaside community that has about 4,000 residents and another 8,000 beyond the city limits. In addition to the downtown area of Homer, a unique attraction is Homer Spit. The “Spit” is a long, narrow finger of land jutting 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay.

Heritage RV Park located along Homer Spit in Homer Alaska is a full-service waterfront RV park located right next to the famous salmon stocked “Fishing Hole” offering great salmon fishing during the summer. The “Spit” is a very popular tourist area. All of the camp sites at this RV park have beautiful views of the bay and/or the mountains and have 20/30/50 amp power and septic and water hookups. Telephone and satellite TV are also available. For beachcombers, hikers, bikers and fishing enthusiasts, Heritage RV Park has its own private 1/2 mile beach and is adjacent to the Homer Spit bike path and pedestrian walkway and is within walking distance of fishing charter offices, shops and restaurants.

If you’re looking for a less “touristy” area away from the “Spit”, try Oceanview RV Park located within walking distance of downtown Homer. The 85 RV sites in the park are terraced with spectacular views of the bay and mountains and offering similar amenities as Heritage RV Park including 20/30/50 amp power, cable television and Wi-Fi internet. This campground sponsors chartered fishing trips, specializing in Halibut fishing. Homer is considered by many to be the halibut fishing capital of the world.

For an even more quiet area, try Driftwood Inn and RV Park, also located in Homer close to the downtown area. This Park is smaller in comparison with only 22 RV sites. It’s located on Bishop’s Beach in a secluded area of downtown Homer. The front row of sites looks down onto Bishop Beach and across Cook Inlet to the mountains. Restaurants and the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center are within walking distance. All sites have 20/30/50 amp power and cable TV and Wi-Fi internet are available.

If you like birding, combine bird watching and camping. Bald Eagles are numerous on the Spit, and if you’re in Homer in early May, you’ll want to take part in the Annual Shorebird Festival which draws visitors and experts from around the world. Each year, hundreds of thousands of migrating shorebirds land on the mud flats of Kachemak Bay to rest and feed in preparation for their continued journey north. The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival is a 3-day event filled with birding workshops, observation stations, art fairs, keynote speakers and more. During the festival, you should be able to view up to 25 species of shorebirds, including Western Sandpipers, Surfbirds, Black Turnstones, Dunlins, Shortbilled Dowitchers, Whimbrels and many others.

In addition to Bald Eagles and shorebirds, you may also see moose grazing, a black bear crossing the road, puffins, seabirds, sea otters, porpoises, whales, porcupine, harbor seal and other wild life. Wild life is abundant in the area.

Camping with beautiful ocean and mountain views, abundant wild life, hiking, biking, boating and fishing, shops and restaurants, Homer, Alaska has it all.

Carl Zimmerman is owner and webmaster of Camping With A View, dedicated to finding campgrounds with beautiful views. Visit Alaska Campground Reviews – Alaska Campground Reviews for more information on these campgrounds.

I am an avid lover of camping under the stars. I guess it’s the outdoors that seem to make the problems and stresses of the world fade away into a distant memory. To enhance this even more, I continuously research, experiment and upgrade my camp fire cooking abilities every opportunity that I get.

One of my more favored unique camp fire meals is fajitas. The first step in a good fajita roast is finding good fajitas. You should explore your grocery store meat market in search of beef skirt steak and some chicken breasts.

The skirt steak can be a bit on the tough side if you fail to marinate the heck out of it. So, with that in mind, grab yourself a nice sized zip lock bag that will hold your skirt steak and the marinade. You may need to do this with a couple of zip lock bags.

My little home brew marinade is a can of any beer, some white vinegar, salt, pepper and I like to throw in some jalapenos to spice it up a bit. Let that sit in the refrigerator or cooler over night, two is better, so it is thoroughly saturated.

The chicken breasts really do not need any marinade. A simple rub will suffice in whatever flavor you would like. I prefer Cajun spice myself.

Now, the trick is getting that fire going just right. You will have to find my camp fire building article for more information on this. But, I will give you the brief break down. What you will need to do is get your coals or wood down to a nice hot layer of coals. This should be hot enough that it would prevent you from holding your hand within five to six inches of it for more than five seconds.

Now, you spread out your coals evenly. Then, place your camp grill over the fire. Let me give you a quick tip on cleaning your grill. There is nothing better than slicing an onion in half, poking a fork into it and then running it up and down your grill. This is even better when the fire is going. The fluids and acids in the onion will sure clean that grill off quickly and you do not have to worry about left over chemicals.

Once you get the grill in place over the fire, you should go ahead and place your chicken breasts onto the center of the grill; which is the hottest part. You chicken will go first because it will take the longest to cook.

Let the chicken roast for a bit, about ten minutes should do it, and then flip it over. Again, leave the chicken center grill for about another five minutes or so. At that point, you should move the chicken to the outside of the grill. By now, the inside of the chicken should be cooking in its own juices. The chicken will continue to cook, just not as rapidly.

The reason you moved the chicken to the outside of the grill is to make a spot for your beef skirt steaks. These will take up quite a bit of room. You will want to remove your skirt steak from the zip lock bags. Do not slice up the flank of skirt steak. You should just lay this right onto the grill. Now, this is a thin piece of meat, so it will cook rather quickly. It should not take more than five minutes on one side and flipping it over for another ten minutes on the other side.

The beef skirt steak will cause some flare up from your coals. I personally like my fajitas to be a bit charred. That is just me though, you may not. So, to control this, keep yourself a spray bottle full of water handy. Or you can rough it, and just splash some beer over the coals every now and then to control the flames.

The beef skirt steak will begin to shrink down slightly and curl a bit as it cooks. After fifteen minutes or so, it should be pretty much ready. If you like yours well done, cook it another five or ten minutes.

Remove the beef from the grill. Now, ensure that you slice against the grain of the beef when cutting your fajita strips. This will keep your beef tender.

Use a toothpick to poke a deep hole into the chicken breasts. The fluids should be clear, if not, let it cook another ten minutes or so. You can even cut into the breast and check for doneness. It does not hurt the meat to leave it on after cutting into it. You just do not want to do that too often.

Now, cut up all of your meat and place it in tin foil to keep it warm. Throw some tortillas onto the grill and allow the grates to brown them slightly. Remove these from the grill when browned to your preference and the stack of tortillas in foil to keep them warm.

All that’s left is to load your tortilla with beef, chicken, salsa, and guacamole and squeeze some lime onto it and you are ready to go. Enjoy.

William “Cole” Doggett is an expert in knives and owns a successful Internet based website, Knife & Supply Company, LLC at www.KnifeSupplyCompany.com. His website is devoted to all things tactical law enforcement, military, outdoors and of course, Knives.

Once you have decided which items you need for your outdoor adventures, reading camping gear reviews is a great way to compare different product features and prices. There are a number of excellent outdoor review sites on the Web and you can find out the details on almost any product with the click of a mouse.

Camping gear reviews are available for all the well known brands and even some more obscure ones. You can read up on a diverse range of products including tents and tarps, backpacks, clothes, sleeping bags, camping stoves, pocket knives, first aid supplies, lanterns, GPS systems, 2-way radios and other high-tech gadgets suitable for the outdoor enthusiast.

Camping gear reviews enable you to compare the features of several different products in different price ranges with very little fuss. This means that you can browse items in the comfort of your own home and take your time making up your mind about the items that best suit you. There is no danger of being pressurized in-store when you take the time to review each item before you leave your home.

Several web sites offer camping gear reviews written by consumers. This is a great way to explore the pros and cons of a product. There are also sites that offer independent reviews written by experts in the field. These are reviews that are not paid for by the manufacturer of the product.

This is a great way to uncover the truth about the advantages and disadvantages of a product. When consulting reviews for different products don not search based on price alone. There are often products that are only slightly more expensive but provide superior quality and features which enhance your camping experience. Do not be tempted to buy the cheapest items.

Even if you are working within a budget search items that are in a tier above what you think you are willing to pay. You may be surprised at how you can actually save money buying a better quality product. Use the camping gear reviews to find out what the positives and negatives of each product are and weigh them against each other to choose the one that best suits you.

Camping can be a great experience for the whole family. There is nothing quite like traveling into the wilderness and communing with the natural world. If you are a first time camper you will probably need around $600 for basic camping gear. Use camping gear reviews to determine how much of the budget should be allocated to each item.

Use online camping gear reviews to work out how much you should set aside for your tent, rainfly and tarp, bedding, kitchen utensils, stove, lantern etc. This makes buying your first camping equipment easier and much more cost effective. Try to avoid manufacturer reviews as these might not tell you the whole story. Rather choose independent and consumer reviews but bear in mind that these might also be subject to bias.

Visit us at http://www.pier55.com for more information concerning all aspects of camping and other sports and outdoor activities.

The ski camper’s water problem is much the same as that of the Ancient Mariner, which caused him to lament, “Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink…”

The need for water varies greatly. It averages about two quarts per day, but is more than doubled by excessive perspiration or by the extreme drying effect of air at high altitudes. Unless this physiological demand of the skier for water is fully satisfied, his efficiency and even his health may be impaired.

This does not mean that it is harmful to be thirsty. Since a gallon of water can be taken from the body without harm, a skier can travel a day without drinking, but at the end of the day the water should be replaced. Of course, if water can be obtained from normal sources during the day, it will save fuel required for melting snow, and, at supper time, will save space for more solid food. It should always be remembered that thirst is the best indication of need for water.

To this general rule there is one exception: when one is approaching exhaustion, thirst should not be satisfied. Under such circumstances a half cup of water each quarter hour should be the maximum allowed. Salt should be added freely if the skier has perspired excessively.

Snow may be eaten safely as a source of water, provided it is eaten slowly; otherwise the stomach will be chilled. It is best to allow the snow to melt in the mouth before swallowing. A fruit drop or piece of fruit candy adds both flavor and sugar and dissolving it in the mouth with snow while traveling is a popular habit among experienced ski tourers.

Full advantage should be taken of all open streams as a source of drinking water. If water is sipped slowly, a pint or even more may be drunk without ill effects except a temporary slowing of pace which continues until the stomach has had an opportunity to warm the water to body temperature. Since the ski mountaineer will consume about four million small calories of food a day, it will be seen that the very small number of calories required to warm the water may be disregarded. Hot tea, however, is naturally more pleasant.

Usually, open water holes are found in the center of deep pools and if the snow pack is thick, it is a long way down to the water. Water can, however, be easily secured by tying the cup or cook pot onto a ski or ski pole. Precautions should also be taken against slipping into the pool by breaking off an insecure snow lip. It is best for the “water boy” to stay on his skis and have the basket end of one of his ski poles held firmly by a companion. These simple precautions will decrease his chances of a cold bath.

The most convenient source of running water is a small waterfall, such as is found frequently on the side walls of canyons. The water runs free except in subzero weather, and even under such conditions a small free flow may be found under the ice glaze. The only way to find water is by paying attention so remain resourceful as you go.

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