Camping Trip

     This past weekend I went on a camping trip.  I haven't done a proper camping trip in many years.  Those of you who know me well will understand that this is the sort of thing I really enjoy.  Being outdoors, experiencing the call of nature, breathing fresh air, not dealing with traffic, and all the other things associated with getting back to basics are very appealing to me.  

    This trip, I went to one of the state parks in PA.  It was peaceful considering how full the campsite was.  There was one group of people who insisted on being louder than they needed to be, but they were far enough away that it wasn't terribly distracting.  

     I purchased a new tent for this trip (my old one was...well, let's just say it's not in the best shape these days).  All I can really say about this tent is that I love it.  

• Standing upright in a tent is a wonderful thing.  Being able to walk around, upright, is even better.  
• Large windows allow a tremendous amount of airflow to pass through the tent.
• Setup of the tent was extremely easy considering the size.  Two adults, first time setup, took less than 30 minutes in a stiff breeze.  That was the worst part, without the wind it would have been 15 minutes.
• Storage for a variety of things, some pockets built into two flaps, allowing for phone, wallet, keys, etc to be kept safe and organized without fear of being lost.  
• There is an e-port to allow an extension cord to be run into the tent to power electronic devices, charge phones, or whatever.  We used a site without power, as that's part of the joy of being camping, is not depending on electricity for everything.  However, that is a nice feature for the back-yard-camp-outs, and other uses the tent would have.

We borrowed a Coleman camp stove for the trip, and as always, I enjoyed using the white-gas stove.  Very useful stove for burning without any toxic emissions.  White-gas is safe to use in a tent, or anywhere, without risk of CO poisoning.   The one we took had the electronic ignition, which was very convenient, but with having matches and a lighter, there would have been no issues if that was not working.  I am definitely going to purchase one of their dual fuel stoves for myself in the somewhat near future.  They have basically updated the white-gas stove to be able to burn either white-gas OR regular unleaded gasoline.  I will stick with the white-gas, unless I'm in a 'worst case scenario' and that fuel is not available.

Beyond those couple toys, we had the basic camping supplies (sleeping bags, pie irons, knives, etc), and it made for a very relaxing trip.  We rented a motor boat for a few hours and tooled around a portion of the lake (We did not have enough time to cover the entire lake, it's surprisingly large!), swam for a while, read, got engaged, made some s'mores, and other outdoorsy camping activities.

Now it's time to start planning the next trip!