I just made reservations at a campground in Yellowstone. We'll be there July 7-11 and I'm excited for this little family vacation. Neither of us are big campers, but we'd like to get into it because it seems like an affordable sort of vacation and we do enjoy the outdoors (as long as there are toilets nearby). I'm excited to spend the week with my boys in a beautiful location. Now we just need to get a tent . . .
What else do we need? Any of my camping friends have things they always take camping and would just die without? Or any yummy camp food that I simply must make? (Jen, I am especially directing these questions to you).
15 comments:
What campground are you staying at?
You HAVE to roast hot dogs and make smores, obviously.
And then since cooking with a kid in close range of grazing bison made me nervous we made our dinners and froze them and then just defrosted them at dinner time, so we ate spaghetti and chicken tikka masala, since we knew Ethan The Picky Eater would eat that.
We will have to chat about Yellowstone, the kids had a lot of fun last year.
walmart has cheap camping chairs and the dollar store has metal skewers and sierratradingpost.com has lots of good camping clearance stuff. Oh, don't forget the checkered vinyl table cloth for the picnic table. Camping is cheap once you get all the gear. The first year it's a little more pricey...
Dude. That was me. I was making a blog for the laurels in my ward and I accidentally changed my screen name.
How fun! We enjoyed that neck of the woods when we lived in Bozeman. I think you would be wise to invest in an air mattress if you don't already have one. When we first got married I bought a tent and an air mattress, and Jeremy laughed about the air mattress and told me we didn't need one. So we went camping and slept on a bunch of blankets then realized that we weren't 15 years old anymore and that our bodies wouldn't readily forgive such abuses.
We love to eat foil dinners cooked in the fire, then we usually eat eggs and bacon on the camp stove. We've also dabbled in Dutch oven stuff as well, which is also fun. And I was recently reminded of the omelettes you make in ziploc bags (two eggs and whatever fixings you like in a quart size bag, then you drop the bags into boiling water and cook them and the slide the eggs out of the bag...very easy and easy to clean up).
We don't have a ton of camping gear... a tent, sleeping bags, air mattress, Dutch oven, camp stove, flashlight, battery-operated lantern, cooler... That's probably it. Enjoy the bison and the bears and the crowds who watch them!
Jen: Ha ha, the "Finer Things" club. Gee, I wonder where you got that title? Thanks for all the input. We're staying at Madison campground because one of the Yellowstone books I read said it had trees and and the river was nearby (I hope it wasn't lying). Also, I wanted a campground where I could make reservations and know that we'd have a place to sleep :) Where'd you guys stay?
Rachel: I love the idea of those omelettes. Yummy. I already have the air mattress--there's no way I'm sleeping on the ground.
I would also say Roast hot dogs and Marshmellows. Although dutch ovens to die for its also pricey getting started. When we went camping last summer fires weren't allowed so it was all about the PB&J. Make sure you know what the fire danger is and what fire limatations there are(if any)
We like anything that doesn't have to be refridgerated or cooked.
How exciting for you guys. I can't wait to see pictures and hear how it goes. A friend told me about this...A twist on the smores...banana smores. You split the banana (from end to end)Add choc pieces on one side and marshmellows on top...put back into the fire until your everything melts together. Let me know if you try it...my hubby doens't like bananas so I haven't tried it yet!
Bring lots of wet wipes and purell.
We went to Yellowstone last year with my in-laws, but we stayed in a cabin so I don't know much about camping there. BUT, I loved the park. It was so cool-I couldn't believe my parents never took me there! There is so much to see, and it's so spread out that you can never see it all in one vacation, but it's so beautiful. As for camping, you have to make tin foil dinners. That is a camping must.
I've never been much of a camper, but I remember bug spray and sunscreen coming in real handy! I've always been a fan of the foil dinners, but I really don't have any other great food ideas for you.
High five to you for striking out on an adventure! That will be SO fun! Yellowstone is awesome. Also, I wanted to tell you that I read Dr. Laura's Proper Care and Feeding right after I got married and I seriously LOVE that book. It taught me a lot!
Our family camped-out at Yellowstone one year (many moons ago now), and the only thing I remember was A. it was very beautiful and very cold. B. Make sure you bring lots of sealed containers, coolers, etc. for your food. There are signs up everywhere warning about bears! I guess Yogi really does like a good picnic basket lunch. Ah Jellystone...
I would totally go big and do something Dutch Oven. Even if it's just a dessert. There are some really simple, yummy ones. You can get a decent Dutch Oven for a fairly decent price. I also love the foil dinners. Yum yum. That sounds like tons of fun.
Also, Dooce? You really like it?
Well I just tried a new variation on the old smores trick, I bought a bag of grasshopper cookies and roasted the marshmallow and then put it between two cookies. It was very yummy! And it is a little bit easier. I also discovered last year that they have strawberry marshmallows, that might also be a fun twist on the ol' favorite camping snack.
You guys are going to have so much fun. I love camping. I bought a tent a couple of years ago, and I have a couple of dutch ovens. They are really nice to cook in. I have a couple of dutch oven cookbooks if you want to borrow any. Also, I believe that my parents still have a couple of dutch ovens if you just want to borrow from them.
Depending on your surroundings, we have enjoyed bringing our bikes with us. If only we still lived next to you then we could let you borrow the bike trailer (so you can pull Marcus around). By the way I am attempting to start blogging again.
Hey Katie! If you're looking for a good deal on camping gear, there are some surprising places nearby! Standard Restaurant Supply has dutch oven things that are pretty inexpensive, but make for some really great food items. Anyway, Ben and I have tons of food ideas and camping gear suggestions. I'll have to e-mail ya!
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