Some more S'mores

Okay-face it.  Easiest yummy over a fire is a s'more.  The pleasure of sitting by the fire after a long day getting that marshmallow a perfect brown.  Or, plunging it into the flames so that it gets done faster.  The funny squeal and dance everyone does trying to blow out the flames no matter the age, the experience, the "cool factor" they think they have.

The classic s'more is perfect.  Marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker.  Delicious.  But, when you feel like you are in a rut, there are options... consider these combinations.

• Sometimes those chocolate bars are not that convenient. In the summer (or spring, or fall, or some winter days here in Texas) they melt.  If you put them in the cooler and they get wet, they get soggy and watery tasting.  For ease or in a pinch, chocolate frosting works.  It doesn't have quite the same melt factor, but tastes the same.  This is also easier if you are making lots.   An adult not roasting marshmallows (you may have to assign someone this or take turns) can get a lot of "sets" ready to go.
• Feel the need to add a little protein to the dessert?  Add peanut butter.  We use to call this a "Robinson Crusoe."  I don't know why.  I don't remember that being cooked on the island.
• Girl Scout cookies instead of graham crackers and chocolate.  Our council has some they call "Caramel Delites."  In the old days when I sold them, they were called "S'mores."  Two of these cookies that come covered with caramel, chocolate and coconut smushed around a roasted marshmallow and you will order an extra case of cookies just for this reason.
• Instead of plain chocolate bars, try peanut butter cups, chocolate crispy bars, Andes mints.  Be adventurous.  Try your favorite.   If you are industrious, a sliced 3 Musketeer or Snickers is pretty good.
• After Easter, buy some of the Peeps on sale.  Even if you are not camping anytime soon.  They have a shelf life of forever and actually work better if they are a little stale.  The trick to these is patience.  If you burn them, the sugar burns and can be bitter.  If you toast them slowly, the sugar will caramelize a little.  It doesn't matter the shape or color-they all taste the same.
• Craving the treat at home with no campfire?  Use the microwave.  Put a graham cracker on a plate, top with chocolate bar and marshmallow and cook for a few seconds.  The marshmallow will expand and the chocolate will melt.  Take it out and press the other cracker on top.  The toasted flavor will be missing, but if you are craving a s'more it works.

I know there are other ideas out there and would love to hear them.

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

I mentioned before we can be ready to head to the woods in a couple of hours.  How in the world can that be done?  With kids?  Well, --I don't really ever unpack...

I have 2 plastic tubs- the big 5 gallon plastic things.  They are both the same color blue.  All of our camping necessities stay in those tubs.

Tub one contains all the cooking necessities:  spatula, can opener, fire/oven mitts, marshmallow roasters,  scissors paper bowls, paper plates, trash sacks, plastic cups, , plastic ware, plastic tablecloths,  a couple of dish towels, tongs, spoon, foil, napkins, mugs, cooking oil, skillet, and a small pot.  A note on top reminds me to toss in the lighter, salt and pepper, dish soap, and baby wipes/antibacterial wipes.  (Yes, I have a problem with keeping the table clean...)

Tub two contains other camping gear: bungees, , bird book, binoculars, rope, cards, clothes pins, plastic bags, plastic containers, a short water hose, and a sprinkler-I'll explain later.  The note on the top of it reminds me to toss in batteries, bug spray, sunscreen, flashlights, fire starter, and cast iron dutch oven.

Our sleeping bags are all together in a closet.  After airing them out I repack them with an extra sheet inside.  The camp chairs are in the garage near the truck.

The tent, canopy, and coffee pot (I must have my elixir of life-brewed not instant), cots, and small propane oven are all together in the attic.

Our first aid kit is always packed.  I use it instead of a cabinet in the bathroom.

So if we decide to head our for a quick trip, we grab both tubs.  I add the last minute items to it while my husband pulls out the gear from the attic and the sleeping bags.  He'll pack up his clothes and then start loading the car while I get the kids to pack clothes, a couple of toys, and grab a pillow.  The kids go out to help dad while I pack my bag.

We have a standard short trip menu/shopping list ready.  After we get to the site and unload, the kids and I set up camp and dad does the grocery shopping at a nearby store.

After we get home, I get all the gear cleaned up and repack the tubs.  If I  need to re-stock, I do so before putting the tubs back in the attic to await the next adventure.

Oh, the sprinkler...

One hot, humid weekend trip to Palmetto State Park we needed a way to cool down.  My husband ran to a store in town and brought back the sprinkler and hose.  We hooked it up to the spigot at camp and let the kids (and parents) play.  It wasn't long before all the kids in our little area were over playing.  We made some great friends that trip.  We were the "coolest" site around.

Something to do--geocaching

Treasures inside a geocache to trade

We got hooked onto geocaching through a school project.  I needed to learn all the in's and out's in order to teach it to my students.  My in-laws gave me a geoMate and off we went--I thought.

It wasn't as easy as turning on the gadget and going on our happy treasure hunting way.  Our first trip out was a disaster.  We got lots of exercise, but found absolutely nothing.  Well, nothing except construction sites and a dead coyote.  The kids thought that was cool.





After getting home I went into the geocaching website, goecaching.com and did some research.  I found out that if I made an account, I could see the nearby caches and read the log books to see if the caches were still there.  The one we had looked for had been reported gone a year ago.  We found a couple using the geoMate and the website for research before we went.  Nothing spontaneous.

The next big leap in our geocaching expertise came when I upgraded to (as my daughter calls it) a real phone with 4g LTE and droid apps.  And I thought phones were for calling people!  Silly me!

I could now look up a cache on the phone and read the log at the same time-from anywhere!  Our next camping trip was to Lake Texana.  We hit the app button and off we went.  The kids thought it was great because we got to go off of the marked trails to find treasures.  And did we find treasures!  We carried our bag of trade items- McD's toys, pencils, cool erasers, mini puzzle books, etc.  We traded for Hot Wheels cars, a whistle (which I washed thoroughly in hot water), and wooden toys.  The kids were in heaven.  And my hubby and I got to hike and bird watch while they followed the compass directions-quietly too, but I don't know why...


So, My current best tips for geocaching with you kids on a camping trip:
1.  Carry water,snack, small first aid kit,  and bug spray. (duh!)
2.  Carry a waterproof bag with a pen and some small things to trade.  If you are traveling a distance, something about your home area would be a great trade.
3.  Make sure you have a watch.  You will lose track of time.
4.  Battery back up for the geocaching device you are using.  Sometimes the program seems to eat up battery power.


Speaking of that-I just got a solar cell charger for my phone for camping trips.  I'm using it almost all the time now.  Great investment.

You gotta eat...

At first packing food was hard.  Food for adults, food for kids, what to cook on the fire, what to cook on the portable grill.  I really stressed about it.  Now, not so much.  We've got our favorite meals and we toss in a new recipe every now and then.

We have become camp food snobs in a way.  We do not make hamburgers for a meal.  Hot dogs are only served as an occasional lunch.  I've gotten really good with my dutch oven and cast iron skillet.  We eat stroganoff, chili, steaks with grilled asparagus, biscuits and gravy, and chicken wraps. The kids know not everyone eats like that camping.  At Huntsville State Park, Tommy was apparently holding a "My dinner is better than yours" session on the playground.  He brought some kids back to camp with him with recipe requests.

Best tip for camp cooking- aluminum foil--the good stuff--heavy duty.  I hate trying to scrub the black soot off of my pots when cooking over the fire.  Back in Girl Scouts we would rub soap on the outside of the pan before cooking to make it easier to clean.  That was okay, but wrapping it with foil is better.  After cooking, just pull the foil off, ball it up, and put it in a container for recycling later. No scrubbing the outside required.  And in a pinch, foil can be used to scrub off the inside of the pot to loosen food.

The first night meal for us is always the same-chick foil wraps.  Love, love, love, for so many reasons.  First, I make it at home and freeze it ahead of time.  No muss, no fuss at camp necessary.  Second, the whole meal is in a foil pouch.  Toss it on the fire while you finish setting up camp and begin relaxing.  After an hour or so, eat it right out of the foil and clean up is a snap.  S'mores, here we come.  Third, ans the best, is my picky eaters will eat things in this meal that they don't even want on their plate at home.

Recipe:

1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 3/4 cup water, divided
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove top chicken stuffing mix
4 small boneless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2 inch thick
4 thin slices smoked ham
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1.  Mix soup and 1/4 cup water, set aside.  Combine stuffing mix and remaining 1 1/2 cups water.  Let stand a minute or two.
2.  Spoon even amounts of stuffing onto 4 large sheets of HEAVY DUTY aluminum foil.  Top each with one chicken breast, put one piece of ham on top of each piece of chicken, put some mushrooms and peas on each. Pour some of the reserved soup mixture on top of each.
3.  Double fold top and both ends of foil around chicken leaving some room for air to circulate.
4.  You can cook them at home in your oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes in a baking dish.  On a campfire, place on a grill or grate over the fire just out of the direct flame.  I usually put the fold side down first.  Turn occasionally for about an hour.  Check for doneness and serve.

About that shower...

Okay-I'll admit it.  I'm a little bit of a neat freak and it does extend to camping.  I keep the tent organized and neat.  I cover the picnic table with a plastic cloth that I can scrub with antibacterial wipes. I take a broom to both sweep the tent and the concrete under the table.  I do not however scrub the showers at the park and at times wonder if anyone does.

One of our first long camping trips that my husband and I went on I was basically using a washcloth and soap and cold water from the spigot by camp to get a layer of sweat, dirt, bug spray, and sunscreen off.  It worked-kinda.  I just couldn't bring myself to use the showers at the park.

Then one night, my husband announced, "Well, I'm tired of smelling like a caveman," and took off for the showers.  I sat in camp imagining the mold and mildew and germs he was encountering.  After about 20 minutes he came back and looked so relaxed and comfortable.  And he smelled good!  He told me it wasn't that bad and that he kept his sandals on the whole time he was in there.  I decided to risk it.  Hot water and clean hair was too much of a temptation.

Typical park restroom-nothing fancy, just what you need

I packed up a bag of soap, shampoo, washcloth, change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, towels (one for my body, one for my hair) and my flip flops and headed to the shower.  I threw caution to the wind and stepped into the shower stall.  I tried to ignore anything that looked like it needed scrubbed and pulled closed the curtain.  Once the hot water came on, I didn't even think about the mold or mildew.  I just stood there and enjoyed it.

I got back to camp about 45 minutes later.  Clean and happy and comfortable.  And over my hang-up on what the shower looks like.  Don't get me wrong, I will try to wait until right after I see the cleaning crew leave and will walk out if it is really bad.  But, hot water and clean body is definitely a camp necessity.

I taught my kids that those showers are good.  Rachel actually looks forward to the shower before crawling into her sleeping bag at night.  She has learned the tricks to  using showers in a state park.

1.  Wear flip flops or water proof shoes the whole time.
2.  Carry shower needs (soap, shampoo, towels, deodorant, etc.) in a water proof tote bag. Some showers get really wet,
3.  Take shorts of short pants to change into after the shower.  They are easier to put on without getting them on the floor.
4.  Check out the showers when you get to the camp.  Some don't have curtains up over the changing area.  We pack a couple of the cheap shower liners and duct tape for those emergencies and make our own.

A "Tents" Situation

A four man tent was perfect for my husband, me and the dog.  A 4 man tent for a family of 4 is a different story.  Especially when the children are getting tall-my "little" girl is 5'8".  (Yes, she loves basketball.)

So we got an 8 man tent for 4 people.  Spacious, luxurious room for all-not.

A 8 man tent will fit 8 adults in sleeping bags side by side with no room left over.  But, with cots, air mattresses, gear, and room to move... an 8 man tent is good for 2 adults, 2 small kids and gear.  On a past trip we realized that we couldn't fit into one tent without literally stepping on each other to move around, so the kids got a 3 man tent for just them, sleeping bags, 2 air mattresses, and toys.  It worked for a while.  Then Rachel had another growth spurt and her head and feet touch both ends of the tent.  Looks like an upgrade is coming.  Maybe move them up to a 6 man tent.

Our 8 man tent with 2 cots.  Full.

In any case, we much prefer the "pop-up" style tents that have the fiberglass poles and shock cords over cabin style tents due to ease of use and set up.  They also seem to be sturdier in the wind and they are  usually smaller and lighter to pack and haul..  Make sure to get tents with at least 2 windows so that you can get some cross ventilation.  Don't be swayed by all the extra pockets for gear that they advertise.  They can't hold much weight without pulling down that part of the tent.  Look at floor area and height of the tent for one that will fit your needs.

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Will we switch to an RV?  No, it's tempting.  But, we are tent people.

The Inspiration

My son came running back to our campsite from the playground ready for lunch.  I couldn't even see skin; just dirt and mud.  I yelled down, "Wash first-with soap!"

He stopped at the water spigot at the front of our campsite, turned on the water, grabbed the soap, and in seconds was clean enough to eat-from the wrists to the fingers anyway.

Another mom was walking by and stopped to watch.  She asked about my "soap dispenser."  I never even thought of it as clever or unusual-just standard operating procedure.  I drop a bar of soap into an old nylon knee-high or pieces of pantyhose and tie it to the spigot.  It's always there, dries between sue, doesn't fall on the ground, and can't be carried away by animals-or kids.

About 2 hours later, I saw that same mom again.  She had made a trip into a nearby town for some knee highs and soap.  She asked if I had any other secrets to share... 

That made me think, maybe I do have some ideas that can be useful to other campers.

How it came to be

My family camped a lot--family vacations, Girl Scouts, for fun in the backyard.  I loved it.  I always said that Mr. Right had better be able to pitch a tent.  Luckily, he could.  We had many adventures camping in Oklahoma and then we had kids.  Camping got pushed aside with play dates and birthday parties.

When my daughter was 5 and my son was 3, we ventured into the woods again.  We were seriously over prepared--too much food, too much gear, too many clothes.  We watched in fear as my prissy little girl looked at our campsite, wrinkled up her nose and then squealed, "rolly polly heaven!".  She proceeded to collect those little bugs and make houses and mazes for them.  My son eargerly helped his big sister collect twigs, rocks, leaves.  They were happy.  We could relax.  Our kids were campers at heart.  It's in their DNA.

The years have past.  My 5 year old prissy girl is now 12 and a total tomboy in the woods.  My son turns into a wild thing.  Dirt, bug bites and scratches are part of his daily attire.  In 7 years, we have this camping thing down.  We can be ready for a weekend trip in a matter of a couple of hours and a week long trip in a couple of days.  The art of camping and love of spending time in the outdoors with my family drove me to this blog.