Do we have any campers on the board yet? We're going to be making our first venture into the woods into a couple of weeks and quite frankly I'm a bit stumped about food and activities. With 12YO and 8YO I'm not exactly sure what to do for 2 or 3 days. I think we're going to stay at a KOA campground, so there will be a pool and some semblence of civilization, but I'm not sure what to do for that long. I'm sure I'm overthinking the activities part. Once they adjust to the no electronics lifestyle I'm sure everything will be fine. Campfire cooking for two days though has me stumped.

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks!

Tom

Def bring their bikes. That is my best activity suggestion...When my bro goes with his 9&6 yo that seems to help. The kids make friends at other sites and can get around the campgroud quickly.

As far as food, do simple sandwiches for luches like PB&J and then have steaks, burgers, hot dogs, bbq chicken, etc. for dinner. Do they have grills at the campsite? If not you can always get a little camp propane grill -this (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3657606)is a nice little one. Or if you dont want to spend that much just something like this (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8586945)will do over the campfire. And of course a good cooler and alot of ice. Baby carrots, and celery are good veggies that dont require cooking and fruit is always a good healthy option for on the go eating.

Where is HappyCamper.. I'm sure she'd chime in.

:wavey: Hi there, Yep, I LOVE to camp! Yes, my kids like to ride their bikes, it's good to have a frisbee, baseballs and mitts. Must have smores at night over the campfire :) Maybe some card games, board games, maybe a cd player, books to read. KOA's sometimes have pool tables that's fun! They usually have playgrounds too. The time passes by fast! Walk around, Relax and enjoy! :) We stopped camping for a few yrs and my oldest who is now 15 isn't enjoying it as much :( of course he's addicted to electronics :( so it's tough on him.

Razor scooters are really fun to take camping and they're a whole lot easier than hauling bikes. We were going to go camping this weekend but it has not stopped raining all day so I'm very glad we decided not to :)

We just bought a big tent and when we get an air mattress we are going to try the camping thing to. :clapping:

BD.

Razor scooters are really fun to take camping and they're a whole lot easier than hauling bikes. We were going to go camping this weekend but it has not stopped raining all day so I'm very glad we decided not to :)

Are you talking electric or non? In Florida alot of the campgrounds don't allow electric scooters :( we used to have them well we still have 1 got rid of 2 because they wouldn't allow us to ride them in state campgrounds and the kids weren't riding much around home. We need a new battery for the one but we might sell it.

Me and DH went to St. Augustine Florida (the oldest town in the U.S., old history site seeing neat town)with the scooters and that was a blast and made scooting around that town so easy cause parking is difficult there.

Glad to hear your not camping in the rain Laura, that wouldn't be much fun.

no battery kind, I didn't know they made them with batteries :o Oh and when we camp with some of my husbands family they have all kinds of fun stuff to do, they made these things ( which you can buy in the store I guess now) a corn filled bean bag toss thing I had to look up a link to the store bought kind http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6043621 they made their's for next to free ,( :o in their version you have to yell "Corn hole" when you score.. I know..:icon_confused:) and some other lawn games like horseshoes.

Yes, I know this is a late post but I wasn't here in September. Tent camping is great, did it with 5 kids. For activities we did horeshoes,fishing,hiking,rock finding,football,swimming in the lake, and hide and seek in the woods(close to campgrounds) For food we always had to have hot dogs,pork and beans and smores the first night. Hamburgers were the usual second night but during the summer the flies can be bad for grilling hamburgers. If we stayed somewhere for three or more days we always ate at a local restaurant just for fun. If we got rained out we always had deli sandwhiches as our back-up. I don't suffer when we camp the kids usually have breakfast burritoes one morning and pancakes the next. I cooked steak and baked potatoes one time, The whole camp wanted to visit us. Real coffee in a perk taste fantastic at 5:00a.m. and somehow you don't mind getting up to fix it. There is just something peaceful about camping that makes you not seem to mind any of the clean-up. I recommend a site with water and electricity hook-ups. We always took a heater or a fan. Even took the AC window unit one July.

We have never been to an official campground but we have camped out in our
backyard. ( We live on 12 acres)

We used to do this with our youth group at church. We did the bonfire, cooked over the campfire, sang the campfire songs, played tons of games in the dark with flashlights which kids love!

We had 4 campsites (identifying the different age groups) and we had a contest
on who had the "coolest" campsite. The older group made theirs look like the "survivor" campsite with bamboo reeds and the fire torches... it was really impressive.

The kids planned this camp out all year long and it was exciting.

We used to go camping a lot, but now that we don't fit in our camper, we didn't go at all this past year. The year before last, we could only go if we went with someone else that would allow at least one of our kids to sleep in their camper.

I know a lot of people will say to just sleep in a tent, but DH doesn't like air mattresses and I can't say I really "like" tent camping either. I grew up a city girl who had only gone camping in my yard and one a mission trip (which was a terrible experience since it rained all the time and I ended up sick and our tent ended up flooded!).

We usually planned our camping either around 4-wheeling or with family so we never had to worry about something to do!

We camp several times every year. We used to tent camp, but now it's too hard for me to sleep on the ground. My hubby bought an older motorhome and we take it up to a friend's private property. The kids sleep in a tent and we sleep in the motorhome.

The kids romp in the river, shoot BB guns, hunt, collect feathers and other nature objects, and fish.

I love the smell of coffee and bacon cooking over an open fire. We always bring steaks, and cook baked potatoes over the coals. Yum!

Just a couple weeks ago my husband took the kids up to camp and fish. Brrrrrrrrrr!

I look forward to being a camping family when the kids get older!! Won't be long now!!

I'm a natural born Montana gal, so camping is normal to me. In fact, I don't think I have ever been to a real campground, we usually hike a mile or two into the national forest. Hot dogs, hamburger, marshmallows, water, coffee, a skillet, a pot, bread, cards, tent, fishing poles, and let the kids make their own fun. I am really excited that we just bought some land in the woods and we will be movign into an old beat up 5th wheel this summer!

I'm a natural born Montana gal, so camping is normal to me. In fact, I don't think I have ever been to a real campground, we usually hike a mile or two into the national forest. Hot dogs, hamburger, marshmallows, water, coffee, a skillet, a pot, bread, cards, tent, fishing poles, and let the kids make their own fun. I am really excited that we just bought some land in the woods and we will be movign into an old beat up 5th wheel this summer!

That sounds so awesome. I love the woods. When Kenny and I were dateing it was hunting and camping/fishing. He said that is how he knew I was a keeper.:laugh:

DH bought a $300 camper last fall at a garage sale :eek:

But its actually in really good condition - technically its an RV I guess...We are thinking of putting it up at the lake on our friends land. We go fishing up there and it would be a nice get away. At least for now a place I can nurse and lay the baby down in the summer instead of just the car. Maybe even fix a lunch or two. I dont think I'm ready to officially camp overnight with a newborn and a two year old so we'll have to give that some time...:p

I got camping in my bones!

We have a $500 camper. No toilet, only cold water....basically we get to sleep off the ground;) I LOVE IT!!!!

I cannot wait for camping weather to return :D

We were thinking off camping this year but it all sadly depends on the weather ..

we dont camp in a tent, we have a two birth caravan that we use we started to tour last year and we love it. we have just bought a second hand swift it has its own bathroom with shower and kitchen has fridge and full cooker it is great and hot and cold water. this is because i have health and mobility problems so we got this so i could still go stay with OH while he goes fishing.
I cant wait for the season to start again we are going to make the most of it God willing.

We love to go camping but, with Rob being away that is not going to be possible this year.