Family camping is not just about remembering how to tie a half hitch knot or light a campfire. It’s about remembering how to tell a ghost story, or teaching your kids the forgotten art of hand shadows.
It’s remembering how great it is just to hang out together and stare at the blinking stars. If you've not gone camping before, try backyard-camping. Every year, at the end of June, the National Wildlife Federation organizes a nation-wide Backyard Camping event. This year, it's on June 28th. You can learn more about it at the official Great American Backyard Campout site.
Get outside and experience the joy of being outdoors.
Afraid you'll be bored to death sitting in a dark tent? Check out these camping activities:
I've been trained to bear-proof my campsite, but I've never read anything about bear-proofing the hammock. Then again, this bear just wants a little frolick. Play the video below, have you ever seen anything like that?
What would you do if you were confronted with this scene? How calm and collected this New Jersey camper must have been to quietly aim her video camcorder on this amazing sight.
Technorati tags: camp safety, bear attack, camping safety If you are camping in bear country - which includes many of our beautiful National Parks - you need to take some extra precautions. Bears have a tremendous sense of smell, and they are so strong they can rip out a car window or tear off a car door a lot easier than you might think. Read more
Technorati tags: camping , camping videos , family camping
If you gave yourself 1,001 excuses for not going camping this summer, watch this video to remind yourself what winter's like. The ending will surprise you so don't quit halfway, it's only 45 seconds long.
Packing for camp can be stressful if you don't have packing strategies and list. Then, driving to the campground for long distances can get stressful too - and not always because of the kids. Read what happened to this couple (Excerpt from Dave Barry's article "Honk, if you are married", Miami Herald, 7/31/94 ( www.miamiherald.com/283/ story/68145.html):
For an excellent example of a married couple coping with anger, we turn now to an incident that occurred several years ago involving my brother, Sam, and his wife, Pat, when they were on a long car trip. After many hours on the road, Read more
The "Dangerous Book for Boys" is my final resort to peel my son from the TV, XBox and other Zombie boxes and get him out of the house. Even if it means he's going to read about how to skin a rabbit.
The authors, Hal and Con Iggulden (brothers) researchedRead more
Those ingredients are easy to store at camp (not prone to spilling, spoiling, space-hogging).
Camping Food Menu Plan
1st Night: Lloyds BBQ Ribs, corn, coleslaw and potato salad
Wrap ribs in heavy-duty foil, heat, open a can of corn and serve with ready-made coleslaw and potato salad. First night is celebration night. You've put up the tent, you've build a campfire, Read more
A fellow family camper at his site Pete's Camping Site has a few more suggestions for anyone still in doubt on how to be a totally obnoxious camper. Read more
Gotta have wheels. Exploring the campground, biking to the camp store for last-minute supplies, racing hard against the wind, bicycling along the sweet-smelling creek, those are part of many happy camping memories.
If you are camping in bear country - which includes many of our beautiful 
For an excellent example of a married couple coping with anger, we turn now to an incident that occurred several years ago involving my brother, Sam, and his wife, Pat, when they were on a long car trip. After many hours on the road, 
A family camping menu should be: 
