Trials and tribualations of tent camping!

[Echo]

Oh the joys and experiences of tent camping!

Went to WalMart yesterday, bought a new camp stove, griddle, screen room, tarp and some groceries. Got back here yesterday eve and put the screen room up. Love the screen room as it gives us shade from the sun, add a tarp around the inside behind the legs and it not only gives us shade from the sides it also cuts the wind. So if it does rain tomorrow we will be able to still sit out here instead of being stuck in the tents. But we really need to stake the corners down, if we don't with the wind puffing the way it does it's gonna blow away. Today Kelly put up the other longer tarp. It didn't take long before she dropped it again as it got hot in here. It cut out what little bit of breeze there was. LOL

The camp stove!!!! Oh yeah! Got it out of the box and set it up on the table to fix breakfast. We finally ate "brunch" at about 1pm. With a different stove that I had to go get. I simply could not get the first one to work. A couple of times I did get gas to go thru the connection tube but when I hooked it back up to the stove? Nothing! I frogged around for an hour with the ^*%$#(^%$#@ thing. The Kelly took a turn at it. Still could not get it to work right. Back to WalMart I went. Turned it in and got a refund. Bought the next one up in price. Plus a few more groceries. Came back here and put it together. VOLIA!!! It worked. Damn wind! It had to kick up as I was cooking of course. The new griddle I bought was so freaking slick that I had one heck of time trying to fry the diced potatoes as all they did was slide around, had to use two spatulas to corral them up to flip. Then came the bacon, dang didn't have enough room had to grab the foil and scoop all the taters off the griddle to have room for the bacon, oh what a time I had trying to get a hold of the bacon with the tongs to flip it. YeeHaw had bacon spatter flying everywhere!!! Then the eggs cooked in bacon grease. Kelly's eggs turned out perfect. Mine? Did two, broke one so threw another one on the griddle. When I went to flip it it stuck fast where the bacon had fried and sizzled to get it the way Kelly likes it, 'crispy', I again broke my egg. Now I'm a woman who likes her egg yolk, I was not impressed with my cooking skills today at all. They sucked big time! My brand new shiny camp stove looks well and truly used and needs a really good cleaning. And so do I.

Breakfast/brunce did taste really good tho. But then we were really hungry too. So maybe it was only edible???? Maybe I'm lying to myself???????

[BirdbyBird]

Hungry helps....it is the learning curve that means the most. The ones that make it look so easy just got to practice before you ever came around. Wal*mart can be a dangerous place.....things just start jumping in the cart. Especially when you are starting out and there are things that you need, sorta need, kinda want.... I love how you can paint stories with words.

[Liz]

What fun reading about your experiences! Guess that's why I usually just have Cheerios for breakfast.

[Getupngo]

Luxury problems. LOL!

[sharon]

Poor Echo...but had to laugh! I remember when all of the kids were still at home and we only had a camper so of course I cooked everything outside. Had 3 stoves going at once. To this day I think that's why DH married me...he took me camping and I made biscuits and gravy and a cake on the camp stove. I married him 'cause he was such a good kisser! Plus, since he already had 3 boys still at home, my 2 just kind of slid right in almost un-noticed.

[Nasoosie]

After tent camping all my life, since I was about 3 years old and I got an Indian canvas teepee tent for Christmas from my grandmother, I finally broke down and got me a "tent on wheels"---my trailer!

I actually lived in a canvas army tent up here when I first moved here, and for several summers thereafter, for 6 months of the year. Getting set up is the hardest part, as, thereafter, it's just adapting to what you've got! My tent in the woods was just like a cabin after about 3 days of preparing it.

When the kids were small, I tented again down at the pond, until we all got too crowded in there and, as they swam all day and played in the sand and walked in the woods, the tent floor got wet, sandy, and muddy. Then came my leanto....easier to keep up all year, easier to keep clean, safer in thunderstorms, I think. But, in the meantime, I still camped in a tent at local campgrounds or even at the pond if I had company. And each year, newer and better tents were coming onto the market. One day my kids took a tally of the tents I had stashed in the cellar, and they counted 15 LARGE ones, not to mention a great number of backpacking ones! It was the consensus that I had become a 'tent addict' and that buying any more tents would have to CEASE! (I managed to sell about 4 of them a couple of summers ago at my friend's yard sale, and I have missed one of them ever since!) I will still keep my one new canvas/mix model, and a good dome type, and a multi-room one with a screen porch attached. Why? I have no clue why!

But then I became addicted to RVs....went to a show and bought my first one. Used it for one year and decided it was too big for just me and Molly. So back I went to the dealers, and I got a shorter model of the same one I had......about 10 feet shorter! I lost some money on the first one, but am so glad I traded down. This size is perfect for me! Now I am hoping I don't change my mind again and trade truck and trailer for a all-in-one RV, like a huge modified van, or something! I like the idea of being able to park one anywhere, unlike a trailer.

Sigh......it's always something! And never boring! I envy your tent camping, Eccho----I actually miss doing it. But, this morning, in this cold, I am very happy for my comfy trailer! Have a fun time!

[SeeyaGal]

Oh the days of tent camping! I remember the time going up to Ocean Shores in WA camping in the tent and DD was in one tent and DH and I in the other. I had a tarp under the tent and did not know that DH left a flap out on my side of the tent. It rained that night and that flap became a funnel to head water right under my side of the tent. I woke up feeling wet and just knew I did not wet the bed and then discovered what DH did! I woke him up and B*^##*D!! I was sleeping on a egg crate mattress so you know what that is....A GIANT SPONGE! I moved to a drier corner of the tent and put a towel between me and the sleeping back and went back to sleep.

Next morning we hung the tent up so it would dry out and I put the mattress and sleeping back in the back of our friends truck, figured the heat under the canopy would dry it out. This time I put the tarp OVER the tent to keep us drier. The guys had to make a beer run and Sue and I sat outside chit chatting. Suddenly it begins to rain again while the guys are gone, WA is known for lots of rain and this weekend it was true. Luckily we sat under our friends awning so at least we were not getting poured on!! The guys came back and it stopped raining.
I got into the back of Bob's truck to get out the mattress and sleeping bag and to my horror found it was more wet than when I put it in there!!!! The canopy leaked while they were driving down the road!!! Jeez Louise!!! So I spend the afternoon taking a number at the laundrymat to put my sleeping bag in the dryer!

After that trip I swore I would never sleep in a tent again!!! We bought the 18 ft trailer soon after....no more sleeping on the ground and if it rained I wanted to make sure I was dry!! I was mad then but we sure laugh about it now!!! Funny how we thought we were the smallest RV in the park compaired to the Motorhomes that year and now we are one of the biggest!! Have patience and write all this stuff down in a Journal so you can go back and read about your tent trials and laugh.

[Echo]

Oh don't get me wrong I'm well experienced at tent camping. I 'had' all the goodies for tenting but gave them to my David. The ez-up, the campstove and the tabletop grill. Even gave him my super heavy duty tie down stakes that I used on my tarp shelter that I would build. Now that was a shelter! Didn't do nothing to keep the bugs out but it sure would keep the sun, wind and rain out. Took electrical conduit with a couple of connectors and made one center piece that would to up over the table then used old heavy tent poles for the corners. At the corners I wouldn't use the corner grommet I would use the next one. So that there was a flap hanging down. Then would stake out the poles and the corners. It the weather got bad I would hang up tarps all around the inside of the thing. The tie down stakes were re-rod with a hook on one end and they were 12" long. ! The canvas bag I carried them in weighed a ton.

No plans today, Kelly says she's gonna do laundry but says she does not want to go anywhere. And to tell ya the truth I have no gumption to do much of anything. Altho I might make another run to WalMart and get some heavy duty tent stakes for the screen room? The stakes that came with it are the little bitty ones. They sure don't do much or work well in the sand. Yesterday eve after we hung the tarp up we put up a string of christmas lights, the c3 size not the big 7s. The lighting is just right in here now, so we really don't need to use the lanterns unless we need the bight light for some reason.

Went to Powell Lake yesterday. Kelly has been teasing to go. OMG!!! It was too funny!! She got a little over ankle deep and that was that! turned around and had that silent screem look on her face. Took right care of the idea of swimming in the lake! Said she would be more than happy to go back to the campground and jump in the pool. So that is what both of us did.

I guess I will brave the campstove, griddle and eggs!!! Wish me luck. Gonna do up the BBQ boneless chicken breasts tonight. Last night it was just hambergers! But they were yummy!

[Bethers]

Don't take me wrong - but why don't you see if you can get in to where you'll be going - and not buy things you won't need there? Screen rooms in that area (and lots of the west) are not a very good idea with the wind, etc. Kind of like rv awnings - out and in, and out and in, etc.

It took me time to realize not to purchase things that I wouldn't have use of enough when in a limited space. But one thing I'm really grateful for - is that when I lost my awning, I did NOT replace it - used the insurance money for other things - as it would rarely be used the way I've traveled.

Am sitting in a grocery store parking lot, using my battery power and cell phone to try to read the forum Battery isn't going to last long - its old and surly - kind of like me

[Echo]

Well as to the screen room we had to have something to sit under for shade. While they have trees here in the campground they are not very big and only provide a minimum of shade. Without it we would be constantly sitting in full sun. Had to have the stove to cook on. Tried briquettes but the wind causes them to burn up super fast. The tarps we bought we will end up using for the trailer as the one that is on the trailer now has a lot of holes in it from friction and wind. We will use the screen room at the lodge and the stove will be used off and on whenever needed.

As to going into where we will end up? Ellen said to come in May 5th. So we are camped in Page AZ. You have probably visited Page on your travels at some point. Where are you and Sparkle at and up to now? I think you two were trying to cover every NP in TX, NM and AZ!!!

[Echo]

Well I chickened out doing the eggs on the griddle! I had Kelly get out the egg pan and I fried them up that way.

Have since washed the dishes in the campground sink. Boy are people hogs!! That sink was so gross that I spent 15 minutes scrubbing it out BEFORE I would put my dirty dishes in it. Needless to say I left it 100% cleaner than it was. ? No, I left it even cleaner than that. sheesh

Doing the chicken up tonight. Hope it turns out good.

Janice, luxury will be when I finally get myself a Coleman Roadtrip Grill! WoooooHooooo Now that will be nice. Can use as grill or as stove and/or both at the same time. It's all in how ya look at it!

[Nasoosie]

Friends of mine who got a Coleman roadtrip grill said it wasn't worth a cent! Never got hot enough to use as either a grill or a burner. Two firends said the same thing. Might want to be happy with what you've got!

[soisew]

Tent camping, ah, remember it well. When I lived in Colorado an eon ago we would go rustic/tent camping in the high country 4wheeled into an area -- no people no services -- just out there, sheer heaven or hell, depends on how you look at it. We loved it -- I never wanted to go home! It's not for everyone. You have to go full bore into true rustic mode and learn to love it, get good at it or be miserable. I forgot where you were on your journey but if you'll be doing this all summer -- its going to get worse before it gets better if you don't go into "get used to it survival mode"! Wind -- be prepared for gale force winds, sudden thunder storms and whatever else mother nature has to toss at you. Here in our hills -- we had snow 2 days ago. Tie down everything with very long stakes and don't leave much out for it to get blown away. Rustic camping is a matter of -- deciding what you have -- camp stove, fire, lantern -- is far better than nothing so in time you'll learn to appreciate it as if they are luxuries! Sounds like fun to me! Try to enjoy it -- life is an adventure!

[Echo]

Yep, yep, yep!!

Been rustic tent camping lots. Some of the best memories are rustic camping. At least my rustic camping. 4x4 to get there, one lantern, frying pan, one kettle, an oven rack and a campfire. Brought food from the house of course but also was fishing. Nothing in the whole wide world like fresh caught, cleaned grilled fish. Oh heavens that's done it now!!! I want to throw out the chicken and get some fresh fish. My mouth is watering!

Have woke up soaking wet because of leaks. Hung sleeping bags and clothes out on the tree branches and laid stuff over the hoods of vehicles. By goodness one luxury I always made sure I had for myself was bug spray. Those freaking things love me! Mosquitoes and gnats bite the crap out of me and I swell like a over filled water balloon!!!

Fun times!!!

[avalen]

I sure am enjoying reading of your trials and tribulations Echo, I've done many a
tent camping in my life too, have the niftiest little campstove/oven/heater
that I ever came across and won't part with it for nothing. But I did loan my tent
out two years ago to my daughter for my grandsons, hmmmm, haven't got it back
yet, she better not have lost it!