I thought you might be in Houston with your name like me but its been so nice here and actually cool today. We love to go camping around this time, unfortunate my lady is getting ready for surgery next week so we won't be camping till this next spring.
We go camping at Rainbow ranch. Where are you at?
TIMBER

Yes, it was cool today...last night I had the furnace running and today I had the air-conditioner running. That's just crazy! I am staying in Galveston right now on the beach but I go to Houston for work soon.

Good luck to your "lady" on her surgery!
What is "Rainbow Ranch"

Love to go fishing at Galveston.That pier at 61st street is a lot of fun. Rainbow ranch is a Gay and Lesbian campground that sits on Limestone lake http://www.rainbowranch.net/new/ is the link to it. How long are you going to be here. What type of work do you do?
TIMBER

You are a Femme after my own heart...who knows how to let her hair down. (and don't we look cute in our ponytails and lumberjack shirts) The Smoky mountains are so beautiful! I grew up taking trips down the Blue Ridge Parkway and then I moved to the PNW....the mountains there are so different, bigger, colder and not so cozy. Once you get the great Smoky Mountains in your blood, no other mountains will do! I would love to join you in Gatlinburg

Lordy, last weekend they had the "Lone Star Rally" in Galveston. There was something like 400,000 bikers. They were everywhere. It was sorta like the Monarch Butterfly migration...NOT! I am not against bikers but talk about noisy! Thanks for the info on Rainbow ranch, I will certainly look into it.

I am semi-retired, but I do some consulting work partime. Mostly, I just assess the situation and then give my opinion on how to fix it,and people pay me for my opinion. Imagine that? I would never have thought in all my working years that my opinion would be so valuable someday :cool:

Bumping this up too...

We're camping fans. We've got a cute-ass vintage travel trailer we stay in and are in the market for something a little bigger, so we can start boondocking.

We also bought 10 acres a little to the north of where we live. We are in the beginning stages of clearing that land, so we can build our forever home on it someday.

For now, we're keeping our trailers out there (I like to refurbish vintage ones); and I recently built a little deck outside of our Aloha....the one we camp in. I'm working on a firepit now, so we'll actually be able to "camp" on our land on weekends when we're clearing sagebrush.

Would love to revive this and steal tips from other campers!! I'm gonna go back now and read the thread from the beginning. :)

Happy camping!

Oooooo... I love lists. I make many. If anyone else has theirs handy, I'd love to see 'em!!

Medusa, I honestly never thought to put a screened room *around* the picnic table. Thanks!!

You're my dream camper!!! I'm going to have to start practicing making coffee withOUT electricity......you know....just in case. Coffee is a must.

Living the dream!!! Good for you!

Well thank goodness! I was wondering if there was a thread for camping!

Jackhammer and I have a little camping trip planned in a couple of weeks. We are going to float the Buffalo river and stay overnight at a rough campground for a couple of nights.

This will be "roughing it" type camping. No electricity or water at the site and we are going with a tent instead of a camper.

Needless to say, huge transition for us since getting rid of our camper 3 years ago to be going in a tent but I kinda love tent camping.

We always take a tent that is much larger than we need, a queen sized air mattress, a battery operated fan, and more supplies than you can shake a stick at.

Super excited!

my baby and I are going to be doing just a one nite camping in gettysburg, pa this week. It will be our first of many camping trips. We have one planned for the beach in july. I cant wait for that one either. I look for to all time I get to spend with her

No thanks! Unless there is a camper and a shower :-)

I went camping a lot with my family as a child, but not so much as an adult. One of my goals this year is purchase basic camp supplies for a weekend camping trip. So far, I've been able to borrow a lot of what I need from my parents, co-workers, and friends. I've been purchasing things slowly since I don't camp all that often--once or twice a year, so far. Next on my list are a small tent, sleeping pad, and a rain jacket to match the pants I already own.

I just got back from my first camping trip of the year yesterday. It was fun! Very rustic campground--no running water, plumbing or electricity, pack-in/pack-out type place. Looking forward to the next planned camping trip (early September). I love the smell of a campfire and love taking a time out in nature away from the stresses of life and electronics.

:hangloose:

I adore camping and have a trip planned in two weeks! At the beach!

There is nothing better than sitting around a campfire and sleeping under the stars...

Living in a camper up in the El Dorado Forest til the end of Semptember!

By far not roughing it, but still an adjustment!

It's been fun but also has had it's challenges!

Thank god I got hooked up to the camps propane tank Friday! Cold front went through and been raining all day! One weekend of roughing it without heat was enough!

It has been interesting coming up with a new routine based around what foods are easiest to store, up to know having a dorm size fridge, taking trash out whenever I go to sleep or leave camp. Washing dishes before bed or whenever I leave camp. If they are small I stash them in the fridge to wash later. Washing out of a sink most nights then when i'm in the area of the showers I"ll take one there!

I've really enjoyed my neighbors and the various people that work on this forest. Probably hung out in the info lodge for an hour today just hanging with some of the rangers!

My friends' daughter is 13 and a serious Scout and EcoQuester. She has the best gear and will rent it to me for $20/weekend (sweet deal for both of us.)

I don't have gear since I moved away a few years ago, but hers will do.

I like rough camping, and I plan on doing it a few times this summer, but I think I'll wait until tick season is over because I have nobody to help check me! :D

What is really interesting is a majority of the rangers/forest workers I have seen in the district I am living in are female.

I have no clue how many are of the LGBTQI....... community. I'm not even going to try to figure it out. I have no idea if any of them have figured me out either. Unfortunately I had to pay for the site myself before getting reimbursed so I had to use my legal name. So it is out there. Also when talking about my ex I get tired to the pronoun game so who knows what they think!

I have no clue what the other areas of the forest are like yet but the one i am in is pretty cool!

One of my oldest friends and her husband retired and sold everything they owned and bought a brand new dually diesel truck and trailer. They are still traveling the United States and spending up to a month at a time at their favorite spots.

With the advent of easy internet access and their DirecTV satellite being mobile, they are basically enjoying all the comforts of home (wherever they choose to park it!)

I must admit that I am super intrigued by this.

Elise tells me wonderful stories of finding amazing little micro-communities where "boondockers" have organized craft nights and pot lucks around their traveling home communities.


Needless to say, LOVE that.

A lot of the people up here working for American Leisure do that! I'm the only one in our work camp without sometype of satellite! However I do have internet access using my cell phone as a hotspot! I had to partially for work!

They don't make a lot of money yet at the same time they get their spot free and do make some!

No craft nights here though! Everyone is in their camper watching tv!

I don't camp. I spent six weeks in Costa Rician rainforest in college in primitive camping conditions. Roaches the size of my hand.
I might be persuaded by this:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_calxOT6kJQ...0/accom_25.jpg

Note to self: Next Reunion in the Arkansas mountains with Blush's tent filled with special treats!

I second that statement!

:)

Awesome! We're gonna need some of these:http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...53218612_n.jpg

And this:http://www.uktravelboutique.com/news...bell-tents.jpg

But not this:http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...OvybVjy9yCN9wz

We have just gone from a Coachman RV to a truck with travel trailer...omg, I NEVER want to go back!

The roominess of the trailer, and the bonus of having a vehicle to drive in once we arrive is worth the downside of not having a restroom to use as we drive along without pulling over.

Love, love, to camp and fish!

Living in the PNW now and there won't be enough weekends for the camping I'd like to do around here. If anyone wants to get together for a long weekend up in the Cascades give me a shout. I'd love to have company. All tent types welcome **chuckling**

Scoobs

P.S. Am a bit envious of Koop...

Packing for a 4-day camping trip this coming weekend and it looks like we're moving. :|

My Pops is staying at our house while we are gone and has promised to help us unload when we get back.

I might have to pay him. :|

I love camping! I try to bring some comforts of my default world home when I'm at Burning Man, but for the most part the things I bring out there are specifically for Burning Man or regional events.

When I go camping, that's not Burning Man or regionals, I still bring everything I need because I don't want to have to go to town to get food or supplies. It kind of defeats the purpose.

But do have the patio heater packed? Yes someone had one of those heaters that restaurants often have In their outside patio

My baby and I will be.camping next week up close.to state college, pa. I think we r going to enjoy it. I can't wait.to camp with her in the mountains

Hey I pack a wind machine for.the summer and a portable heater for cooler months

Packing Food And Creating Less Trash To Haul Out-Leave No Trace
 

I always pack more food than what I need when I go camping and go to Burning Man. My crock pot gets used a lot (if there's a generator available) and I make jambalaya, stew, and BBQ pulled pork/chicken. The key is to prepare as much of it as you can at home and vacuum seal it. If no generator is available, I just use my propane stove or grill.

While packing my food, I have a soft sided cooler for my dry food and 2 different sized coolers for chilled foods. Depending on how long I will be gone determines which size cooler I bring. When I get things like instant oatmeal, cereal bars, 100 calorie snack packs and crackers, I take it out of the box because it uses less space that way as well as less trash to haul out. Then I will put them in plastic bags so they get all over the place. Once there were several packages of instant oatmeal packages that somehow broke open and it was everywhere inside my bag. Not fun to clean up!

Peanut butter is almost a necessity for me to bring since it's a great source of protein, satisfies that sweet tooth and a great snack all around. Single serving applesauce is also always in my cooler.

I never bring fresh fruit or veggies to BM because they will rot within a matter of days (unless it's consumed the first day I'm out there). Bread doesn't keep out there either but I have found that the little sandwich rounds do last out there better.

As always, when you leave your camp site, make sure it's cleaner than when you first got there. Leave no trace!

Have you tried flour tortillas? I use them instead of bread.

I've gotten into a snickers bar rut for my protein fix but the trick is keeping them from melting!

If there is a lot of air in the packaged items once taken out of the box I transfer them to a ziploc bag.

I have tried flour tortillas and they last a little bit longer than regular bread, but not by much. While at Burning Man, I'm out there for 2 weeks on average so I had to experiment with what lasts longer. I bring both but try to consume the flour tortillas first before the sandwich rounds.

You can get around having a Snickers bar as your only source of protein by looking for protein bars that do not have chocolate in them. Nuts and beans have quite a bit of protein as well. While I do love my chocolate, I try not to bring any to BM or camping in general. I also bring protein shakes with me in case of an emergency. I will say that I have been known to pay a fellow Ranger for usage of the freezer in their RV for some ice cream bars for a well deserved frozen treat later in the week of the event. The payment, they can have some of the ice cream bars.

One of the perks of BM is that if you have leftovers that you want/need to get rid of, walk out to the street and offer your leftovers to passers by. Last year I made way too much chicken stir fry and my mentor and I scooped up the rest in some paper bowls and gave them away. There were probably about 6 or 7 bowls and 6 or 7 happy hippies that walked by and were grateful. :)

for some reason my body has reacted best to snickers bars .. i've tried protein bars and i usually feel icky afterwards and for some reasons snickers bars perk me up. I also am good at one a day on them for some reason where as other bars and sweets i tend to want more! I don't know why that is but it works for me

i'm lucky now that I got use to the neighbors fridge here and I try to give them extras every once in awhile too

Snickers really does satisfy then! I do believe there is a Snickers protein or energy type of bar.

Thank for the tip
 

Thank you Timber I am planing to visit Galveston soon. I will be in Port Aranses in October and plan to visit Galveston after.

Love camping just wish had someone to go with me

This past weekend, I went camping for the first time in yeeeaaars with a friend. It only took me 45 minutes, 50 cuss words, and 1 threat to throw the whole thing into the woods to get my tent up.

When I finally got to sleep, he came outside my tent, made bear noises, and then farted.

We were out last weekend in the new travel trailer...it is so much more work than the class C RV we had! Fortunately Kasey has pulled both trailers and boats in the past, so backing up is not an issue for her...unlike me:praying:

It's a trade off...we have much more room, and we have a vehicle to drive around while we're camping, but then we used to be able to just get in the class C and go...no hitching, and a bathroom built into the drive. We took my Mom on a lot of trips in that RV before she passed away....

Anyway...we love camping and go a couple of weekends every month if at all possible.:hangloose:

Fishing
 

I am sorry we live far from each other I like to fish and have the equipment needed to fish even an extra fishing pole. Good luck Amigo.