I promised to share my trip camping and attending the Mother Earth News fair in my last post. Well, the trip went great and the weekend is behind me. I am having the worst time pulling all the details together into one simple post so I have decided to stretch it out over several posts. Since it was a three day weekend I decided to share It chronologically starting with day one.
We went up Friday a day BEFORE the fair to set up camp. By doing that we would be up early and ready to go as soon as the fair opened. We wanted to leave early in the morning but things came up at work and I wasn't able to get away until just before lunch. Even so the drive up went well. We stopped and grabbed a quick lunch then headed out on our trip. Its a two and a half hour drive but we talked as we went and it didn't seem to take long at all. We didn't have any problems finding the campground (a KOA) which is close to where the MEN fair was being held.
I went with a friend and we talked about what we would each bring for camping. I had the tent, heaters, my own sleeping bags, cookware, Dutch oven and charcoal, camp oven and camp stove. My friend brought extra propane cylinders, firewood, her own sleeping bag and personal items. Each of us brought various cooking utensils and the food needed to cook one breakfast and one supper. The plan was to eat breakfast at camp, lunch at the fair so we wouldn't have to leave and come back to camp for supper.
Even though we left late we still arrived with plenty of time to set up camp. The very first thing we did was set up the tent so it would be ready before dark. Most campers placed their tents with the opening towards the driveway but I chose to face ours towards the lake because we we had such a nice view. We put down a tarp on the ground to protect the tent from moisture and damage. This step is important. Always lay down a waterproof tarp as your footprint. Also, pick a flat spot but one that is higher then any dips or valleys which can flood or trap water if it rains. We unfolded the tent and spread it over the tarp. The tarp should be UNDER the tent not sticking out because rain will get on that tarp and run right under defeating the purpose of the tarp. Next we put the stakes in to secure the tent. Then we threaded the poles through the tent and erected the roof and topped it with the rainfly which comes with the tent. If there was a chance of rain I would have tarped the top of the tent as well but the weekend showed no chance of rain. Here's the tent and the view we enjoyed for the weekend.
We went up Friday a day BEFORE the fair to set up camp. By doing that we would be up early and ready to go as soon as the fair opened. We wanted to leave early in the morning but things came up at work and I wasn't able to get away until just before lunch. Even so the drive up went well. We stopped and grabbed a quick lunch then headed out on our trip. Its a two and a half hour drive but we talked as we went and it didn't seem to take long at all. We didn't have any problems finding the campground (a KOA) which is close to where the MEN fair was being held.
I went with a friend and we talked about what we would each bring for camping. I had the tent, heaters, my own sleeping bags, cookware, Dutch oven and charcoal, camp oven and camp stove. My friend brought extra propane cylinders, firewood, her own sleeping bag and personal items. Each of us brought various cooking utensils and the food needed to cook one breakfast and one supper. The plan was to eat breakfast at camp, lunch at the fair so we wouldn't have to leave and come back to camp for supper.
Even though we left late we still arrived with plenty of time to set up camp. The very first thing we did was set up the tent so it would be ready before dark. Most campers placed their tents with the opening towards the driveway but I chose to face ours towards the lake because we we had such a nice view. We put down a tarp on the ground to protect the tent from moisture and damage. This step is important. Always lay down a waterproof tarp as your footprint. Also, pick a flat spot but one that is higher then any dips or valleys which can flood or trap water if it rains. We unfolded the tent and spread it over the tarp. The tarp should be UNDER the tent not sticking out because rain will get on that tarp and run right under defeating the purpose of the tarp. Next we put the stakes in to secure the tent. Then we threaded the poles through the tent and erected the roof and topped it with the rainfly which comes with the tent. If there was a chance of rain I would have tarped the top of the tent as well but the weekend showed no chance of rain. Here's the tent and the view we enjoyed for the weekend.
After the tent was up, we built a campfire in the fire ring and unloaded the cooler, a couple of chairs and sleeping bags. It was getting near time for supper so we talked about who would cook. My friend was elected to cook that nights meal and it was agreed that I would cook both of Saturdays meals. She would cook breakfast Sunday morning before breaking camp. She brought all the ingredients to cook a Dutch Baby which is like a giant eggy pancake and country ham. She had never cooked one in a Dutch oven so I helped her a bit with the technique. For a first time it REALLY came out well and was delicious. I usually have to experiment when I try a different recipe dutch oven style but hers went very well. I am going to do posts with just the recipes and all the directions for the meals we had but this is a picture of what we ate Friday night. It was wonderful and everyone in camp stopped to ask what was for supper.
I lit the Coleman lantern when it started getting dark and we used the soda can alcohol stove to boil some water for dishes. I always bring small plastic tubs for washing dishes. Mix cold water and a bit of boiling water in the tub and the dishes are a snap. When everything was cleaned we packed it away and put it all back in the truck.
We were supposed to be close to the bathhouse but it was still quite a distance to walk. We took turns going to the bathrooms and showers to get ready to turn in for the night. When it got late we let the fire burn out and crawled in the tent. It got into the low 40s at night and it was a little chilly but we didn't really need the heaters which I brought. We had a Mr. Buddy propane heater and a vintage Coleman catalytic heater just in case but they stayed in the truck. We brought a radio to listen to at night before bed. We turned in at about 11:00 because we wanted to get an early start for the fair in the morning. All in all it was a good first day and we were looking forward to the rest of the weekend.
Southern Wood Elf
Southern Wood Elf