Monday, April 30, 2012

A Few of My Favorite Things

Good Morning Campers!  I thought I'd share a few of the things that makes our camping adventures a bit more enjoyable - just some of the fun stuff.  I'm adding in the links for easy reference, but know that I'm not being compensated in anyway.  I'll keep this updated as we run across new 'gotta have its'.  Enjoy!







The 5J's brought this to our first camping trip and we fell in love with it!  On the lower leg setting, it's the perfect height to fit between the camping chairs and act as an end table or coffee table.  At the raised heights (counter height and table height) it's a perfect camp food prep table. It's very sturdy, too.  We love that it folds in half - and it fits right on top of the dinette when we break down the camper. 






Another life-saver.  I'd been drooling over this lantern long before we started camping.  It's a 360* light - which is great for setting on the table and having light in every direction, but each of the panels break off and become their own individual light. The panels also sit flat - which is helpful for late-night camp set up: we break the light into its four sections then set one at each corner of the camper, facing in.  I've put caribiners on two of the panels' handles - so we can clip them to our belt or to the top of the awning for hands-free over head light.








The up-front cost on these may seem high, but after years of sitting in the folding nylon chairs - one sit in this and you'll be sold!  We went for the upgraded version - larger seat width, wood arm rests, moveable pillow/back support, and cup holder.  Only flimsy part to the chair is the cup holder - everything else is very stable and holds you quiet comfortably.  I kid you not - if RDB or I got up from the chair to grab a drink or a snack, we'd come back to someone else sitting it them!  They're great.  (We store these in the back of the truck when traveling.)





Trio Toss Games

These are the *best*! we set them up, and the kids loved them as much as the adults.  They break down and store into a compact kit (and have a carry bag to protect everything in transit).  We pack them under the dinette (on top of the stove) in the camper when we're breaking down camp. Craftsmanship looks to be of good quality - so we're hoping they'll last for a number of seasons.  *Note - they don't look to be water-proof, so if it starts to rain, it would be wise to get them under a tarp or the bunk ends.









Yep, we have tacky lights.  they were priced less at the Wal*Mart than on the Coleman site, but of course YMMV.  They're the perfect length to string across our awning when we have it up - we use zipties to secure it to both ends.  Since they run off of 3 AAA batteries we don't have to worry about having the extension cord run to the awning - and there's no trip hazard, either.  For being such cute little battery lights, they put out a LOT of light.


Camping in Texas has it's downside: in the summer, it's hotter than Hell.  So, following in the footsteps of many a camper before me, I've ordered solar bunk end covers (reflective material that lays over the top of the bunk to reflect back the sun).  Installed these on the "Battle of San Mosquito" trip, and very quickly decided that they need to be easier to deploy (several other campers have Velcro-ed the tops to the inside of the roof - and I'll be doing the same before our next trip).  We could definitely tell a temperature difference.



Bought this on a suggestion from another camper out on the camping forums - and so far it's not bad.  RDB and I pack our clothes together, and this gives us the chance to still pack together, but separate (and keep things a lot more organized than the 'exploded suitcase' that happens when we get into camp.)  We set it on the opposite bunk since we don't have anyone sleeping there.  I'm thinking this may be a 'winner' simply because of the ease of packing it - btw, it lives in the laundry room at home between trips.

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