Wow-Long time and no blog

   I fell off the blog train.  Life got in the way- you know, job, kids, driving them all over for after school events.  A lot has happened in our camping life since the last blog.  The biggest change is that we became what we  use to call- "Wimpy campers."

Yes, we bought a travel trailer.

It's following us!

   I miss the tent.  I miss feeling like "Nature Woman" sleeping with the critters just beyond the thin tent walls. (The wild animal critters roaming the woods-not my kids.)

   But- I do not miss sleeping on the ground or on a cot for a week at a time.  My back isn't as young as it used to be and a real bed with a real mattress is really nice.

   And when it rains, I don't have to worry about the tent floor flooding. And it always rains when we camp.  My son attributes last years drought in Texas to us not camping as much as we have in the past.

   There are people in trailers that never seem to come out.  We are only in at bedtime and in heavy rain.  We aren't total camp wimps.





   Last trip, I made a new breakfast dish that was a big hit.  It was the last morning and I was running out of breakfast foods.  I always plan the meals tight so I am not bringing home lots of left overs.  I had a little bacon and a little sausage, so I cooked that in my cast iron pot with some sliced onion.  I added some hash brown potatoes (Simply Potatoes brand) and let them brown up a bit.  Then I poured in the last of the Egg Beaters (taking real eggs has never worked well for us) and let them scramble into the potatoes and meats.  I finished it by tossing in a handful of leftover shredded cheese from taco night and let that melt.  My daughter, the pickiest eater of our crew, loved it but picked out the onion pieces because they were too big.

   I may sleep in a camper, but I will always be cooking over my campfire.

One Hot Mama

My husband is king of the grill at home.  When we are camping, I am Ultimate Supreme Ruler of the fire.  I let him help keep it going and he gets to cut and split all the wood, but the actual fire and cooking is my job.

The most important part of the campfire happens before you set flame to it.  It has to be built right-and with dry wood.  One time I watched a group try to start a fire with wet wood.  They had enough smoke to signal the entire text of War and Peace.  Always bring some wood with you.  They may sell bundles at the site, but you can't guarantee it is dry.  You can also always get wood at a nearby store.


I was taught the Tepee and Log Cabin building forms.  I tend to have fires built as a hybrid. A tepee shape in the center made of medium to small  sticks, kindling, and tinder with some decent size logs around the base. Tucked into the center of the tender is my family's secret fire starting method.  Well, not that secret, we taught it at every Girl Scout camp we attended and I've shared it with fellow campers.  And, it doesn't involve any of that smelly liquid stuff.

TaDaa!  Dryer lint in an egg carton covered in wax!

Everyone cleans out the dryer lint trap (or should!)  Lint is very flammable.  As I take it out, I pack it into a cardboard egg carton-the styrofoam ones do not work.  When it's full, close it up and pour melted wax over the top.  The carton and the wax slow down the burning a bit so that the wood catches.  My mom use to buy wax from the store and melt it in a double boiler.  I use melted candles and pour the wax over as the candle melts away.  If you use a scented candle, the scent sometimes can be smelt as it burns in the campfire.  Nice.

When the fire is built, light the cardboard carton and wait.  It will take a minute or 2 to catch the wood.  Don't rush it.  My daughter is learning the ins and outs of campfires.  I have to remind her that the fire is like a small animal.  You have to be gentle.  It needs air and food (fuel).  If you take away the air flow, the fire will put itself out.  Don't be tempted to shove newspaper in there to hurry it along.  I've actually stopped taking any paper with us because my husband suffocated too many fires with newspaper.