Family Camping Tips

One of the fondest childhood memories I have are camping with my dad. My dad and I would grab our tent, sleeping bags and fishing poles and head down to a local lake for a weekend. Camping can be a wonderful activity for the entire family. It can also become a huge calamity if you are not prepared or don’t know what to expect.

If you are not experienced at camping then it might be best to start with a commercial campground. These campgrounds are often listed in the yellow pages. The costs of these campgrounds is often nominal and they usually have showers, bathrooms, electrical hookups, running water nearby, fire pits and a camp store for any necessities that you may have forgotten. Established commercial campgrounds also often have activities for the entire family including swimming pools, hiking trails, paddle boats and fishing lakes. Although most of these campgrounds are set up for campers they almost at always have tent sites as well.

Once you have tried camping at an established campground you may decide to want to rough it out in the woods on your own. To find locations for tent camping you might try doing an internet search on camping.

Regardless of where you go camping it is important that you be prepared. The following is a list of items you should consider for ensuring you are prepared for an enjoyable camping trip.

Camping Inventory

1. Tent. You can find a wide selection of tents in various sizes from 2 person tents to family sizes. You might consider getting the children their own tent. They will enjoy having their own space.

2. Sleeping bags and an air mattress if desired.

3. Flash lights and extra batteries.

4. Matches

5. Cookware. Cooking on an open fire will probably not be good for your best cookware so you might want to bring older pots and pans or consider buying a camping cookware set. Think ahead about foods that will be easy to cook on a fire.

6. Firewood. If you are not camping at an established campground you may not have access to firewood.

7. First Aid kit. This should include band aids, peroxide, gauze, burn crème, tape, a tool for removing splinters, and anti bug spray.

8. Water for drinking

9. Trash bags. Whether you go camping at an established campground or in the woods somewhere it is imperative that you leave the area exactly as you found it. If the location does not have trash bins then pick up your trash and take it with you. Don’t ruin the experience for the next family.

If you carefully plan your camping trip and expect the unexpected by being prepared for anything you will have a great time camping.

Kiruna Sweden - Wilderness Travel Tips

Gas-Saving Trips for Vacation Season

Given the trending of gas prices toward ever-higher dollar amounts, many people are using more and more of their vacation budget on gas. While no one seems to be able to make gas cheap again, there are still some things you can do to help save on gas this vacation season. Here are some tips.

1. Slow Up, Speed Down
When you are on the road, going slowly up hills and more quickly downhill is said to save fuel. This is because your car has to work much harder going uphill (especially if you are using air conditioning and have luggage and multiple passengers), whereas gravity is your friend going downhill.

And speaking of speed, observing the speed limit and not speeding also saves gas. It's safer, too.

2. Know When to Turn Off the AC
While traveling in the heat without air conditioning can be downright dangerous, there are times when you can turn it off to save fuel. For example, turning off the AC when driving uphill can reduce the power pull on your engine by quite a bit, sources say. Of course, you can leave the fans going and the residual cooling effect lasts for a few minutes. When you're on the level or going downhill, turn the AC back on.

3. Tires
If your tires are worn, get them rotated before your trip or, if they are very worn, get them replaced. Proper air pressure is said to be very important, too - look at the inside of the driver's side door if you are unsure as to your tires' PSI (pounds per square inch). Adding too much or too little air can both be a problem, so if you are in doubt, have your mechanic do it.

4. A Vehicle Check-up
Before your vacation, get your car thoroughly looked over. Make sure everything is running as efficiently as possible. Efficiency in your engine means greater efficiency on fuel usage. Have the oil changed, get a "tune up" if needed, and have all the fluids checked in addition to any necessary work on the tires.

5. Travel Light
As mentioned above, a lot of excess cargo can really draw on the engine's power. It's said that every 100 pounds added to your car's weight will decrease the gas mileage by 1 percent. So try to be careful to use lightweight baggage carriers (such as duffle bags rather than heavy suitcases), and only pack necessities.

6. How You Drive
When you hit the accelerator pedal, that's when your car is using the most gas. So try to avoid the speed up, brake fast pattern that so many drivers fall into. Instead, try to coast at a continual speed. Keep the ride as smooth as possible to save on fuel.


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