Prince Goes Camping

The pop star known as Prince again is going camping. Well not the kind of camping that you and I do. In fact, his tent is going to br bigger than my house, or maybe even 5 of my neighbors homes put together. He’s got 21 concerts planned in London this summer and has asked the promoters to erect a giant tent inside the 02 Arena, where his concerts are going to be held.

It really will be the most extravagant tent that has ever been built,” a source revealed to one British newspaper. “It will have luxury bathrooms, kitchens and huge living areas as well as living facilities for staff.

Mmmmkay! He’s not exactly roughing it now is he?

See the entire story here.

camping, Prince

Wisconsin To Ban Firewood

If you’re planning on doing any camping in the beautiful state of Wisconsin this summer, plan on not bringing in your own firewood. To control spreading diseases that wood can sometimes carry, you have to purchase your wood at the campsite, which is cut from trees grown no father than 50 miles from the camp ground. At least the Department of Natural Resources was kind enough to send postcards to the 110,000 families that camped in state parks a year ago, warning them of the new restriction.

Read entire story here.

firewood, wood diseases, campfires

Orlando Area Hiking

It’s odd how all you hear about is DisneyWorld when you hear about Orlando. I was curious to see if there was any hiking in the Orlando area, so I looked it up today and found a whole site with tons of hikes to do while you are in Orlando. With places like Blue Spring State Park, Daubenmire Trail, Econ Loop Trail, Geneva Wilderness Trails, and the Seminole State Forest, who needs a vacation home Orlando, when you can hike and camp in the great outdoors.

Orlando hiking trails, vacation home Orlando

Samantha Larson

If I ever hear Michael say he won’t be able to do his Everest climb that he’s dreaming about, I’m going to remind him of this story.

On May 17th, Samantha Larson, 18, climbed the Seven Summits at Everest making her the youngest non-Nepalese person to ever achieve this. In 2002 at age 13, Samantha became the youngest person to climb the highest peak in South America, 22,841-foot Mt. Aconcagua. A year earlier she climbed Africa’s highest, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

You can read about her entire adventure here on her blog, and see more pictures on Samantha Larson.com.

Good job Samantha! What an amazing feat you’ve accomplished.

Seven Summits, Everest, Samantha Larson

Are We Losing Lake Mead?

About 96 percent of the water in Lake Mead is from melted snow that fell in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. This is commonly referred to as the “Upper Basin” states. Each year an alloted amount of water is released to serve the needs of Nevada, California, Arizona, and Mexico. This all sounds just dandy now doesn’t it? Well it isn’t.

The amount of water needed for these places is exceeding the amount of water that Lake Mead has, and it’s not going down. In fact millions of homes and businesses are being built here, that demand more water. The need for water increases every year, but the Upper Basin isn’t supplying more. Do you see where I am going with this?

This picture clearly shows what is known as the Lake Mead Bathtub Ring. Yes, that is where the water level use to be, and where it is now.

The water levels at Lake Mead are currently at 1120 feet which puts us in the “Lower Basin” on a drought alert. The news is reporting that the lake is loosing a foot of water every week. That means Lake Mead will be dried up in 21 years, assuming no water ever flowed into it again. It’s time to wake up people, and take this drought seriously. Are your luscious green lawns really that important? Is your sparkling clean car absolutely necessary? Really. Think about it.

Photos courtesy of National Park Service.gov, and Nasa.

Sleeping Bags

I am going to need a new sleeping bag. The one I have is one that Michael bought before I met him. It’s a women’s sleeping bag, but it must be for a little tiny woman, because it is not long enough for me. I’m only 5′7″, but I have fairly long legs, and I like to stretch out when I sleep. After doing a little market research I think I need a men’s bag. It will be roomy enough, so I can sprawl out the way I want. In fact, after all I have read, I can’t even figure out what the difference is between men and women sleeping bags other than the size. Does anyone know?

sleeping bags, camping equipment

Renting Camping Equipment

I want to stress the fact, that it took us years to build up all the camping, hiking, backpacking, and climbing equipment that we own. We have a garage full of equipment, including our GPS unit. If you’ve ever been into an outdoors equipment store, you know how expensive all this type of equipment cost. Once you make the initial investment though, it’s a fairly cheap form of family fun and entertainment. You have all the camping equipment you need, you just need to fill the car up with gas, get some food, and go.

Now, let’s say you’re not sure if you will even like it. Maybe your kids, especially the teenagers, are balking at the idea of sleeping in the woods for two days. Yet, it’s something you really want to try out. There are companies like LowerGear.com that actually offer camping and GPS rentals, so you can enjoy the great outdoors without a big investment.

They have rentals for every thing you could ever want while camping.

• Backpacks
• Cookware
• Sleeping Bags
• Tents
• Trekking Poles
• Bear Canisters
• Lantern/Lights
• Stoves and Fuel
• Thermarest Pads
• Water Filters

Those items are high ticket products, especially the Thermarest Pads. We own them, and we wouldn’t ever go camping without them, but they were almost $100 a piece. Renting camping equipment for the first timer is a must. It will make your trip so much more enjoyable knowing you have everything you will need, without making a huge dent in your pocketbook.

camping equipment, renting camping equipment, camping rentals

Leave No Trace Camping Equipment

Leave no trace is a popular phrase when we get into the wilderness, and go camping. It’s a simple concept. Leave the land the way you found it. Pick up your trash, place rocks back where they were if you moved them, and put out your fire. Leave no trace that you were even there.

In comes the iPood to help you with this. It’s a compact camp trowel weighing it at only 3.5 ounces. I love the catchy name, just LOVE it!

iPood, leave no trace, camping equipment

Seven Random Facts List

I’ve been tagged by TipTail.com for this meme called Seven Random Facts List. I guess this means random things you don’t know about me.

• 1. I never really liked camping until I met my husband.
• 2. I want to learn how to kayak.
• 3. Michael bought climbing equipment, and it scares me.
• 4. He also wants to climb a big mountain like Everest. He’s starting to make plans, and that scares me.
• 5. I have no desire to join him, but I bet he will talk me into it when the time comes.
• 6. We want to buy some land in the mountains, and run a bed and breakfast, with a pub, and dining hall. We also want to brew our own signature beer.
• 7. When the kids are grown and out of the house, we will probably travel all over the US with backpacks, and tents.

Now I have to tag 7 people, but I can only come up with 4.

Texas RV Travel Blog
Two Dog Zoo Travel
Wired Kayaker
They Let Her Travel

meme, camping, camping equipment

Free Camping Photo Album from Shutterfly and Reserve America

ReserveAmerica has partnered with Shutterfly to bring you this exclusive offer. It’s a free 20-page 8.5×11 Classic Photo Book, to share your camping memories.

• 1. Just Visit Shutterfly
• 2. Type in the unique promotion code below, when prompted (RA01-A19D-203H-TXEATY)
• 3. Add your pictures to Shutterfly and start creating!

Offer expires on September 30, 2007. *Taxes, shipping and handling charges will apply to your order.

camping pictures, camping, camping memories