Camping: Tents or RV's, which is better?

There are two distinct worlds of camping: tents and RV's. Each is as different from the other as Democrat and Republican. Emotions run strong in both camps, and proponents of one often disdain supporters of the other. "That's not camping!" the tenters say to the lazy, pampered residents of recreational vehicles. "But when it rains it pours," responds the RV lovers.

I've done both, and I'll take a roof over my head every time.

Purists will tell you it isn't camping if you aren't roughing it. Their ideal comes straight from a Coors Lite commercial: pure mountain stream, isolation, Jeep Wrangler in a clearing with a breeze wafting through the towering pines, and fresh-caught trout frying on a white-gas grill. Just you, your sweetheart, a playful Golden Retriever, and a couple thousand dollars worth of fancy gear from Adirondack Outfitters immersed in the pristine beauty of Nature, capital N.

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copyright 2008 - all rights reserved

Adventure: A trail ride in Yosemite Valley

by Diane Quinn guest author

Is it fair to say that a "best experience" can be different for different people? Some automatically think that best means "most pleasant." When I thought about this title, I interpreted it to mean "most memorable." Keeping that in mind, this story remains a classic for my husband and me. We still talk about it with people, and the telling continues to elicit laughter.

We arrived at the corral for our sunrise trail ride as the first rays of sun began to lighten the mountains in the Yosemite Valley. Part of our paperwork included signing documents freeing the trail ride company from any litigation should there be an accident. Since no one can completely control a horse, this seemed a reasonable request.

Read the rest of Diane's story at Helium.com...

reprinted by permission: Diane Quinn - Helium author. Read Diane's profile at Helium.com

I'm addicted to coffee!

I'm addicted to coffee. There, I've admitted it right up front. Without my morning coffee, I would collapse to the floor, quivering and mumbling gibberish. Don't think for a minute that just one coffee would suffice, either. It's a two-drink minimum in my world, although the second coffee is always decaffeinated. Unfortunately, the details of my terrible addiction are even more sordid than you might imagine.

I work construction, and coffee drinkers hold the majority. While you might picture us as hearty beer drinkers, it's coffee that gets us going each day and keeps us revved up until the workday ends. We can't drink alcohol and use tools at the same time anyway. Beer is fine for after work, but I still prefer coffee. Some guys bring a thermos to work; not me! I did it for years and simply cannot tolerate the glassy, stale taste of thermos coffee. Yup, I'm a coffee snob.

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copyright 2008 - all rights reserved

Thoughts on a perfect camping morning

Sunday morning, middle of the holiday weekend, I found myself in a perfect camping morning-entirely by accident. Lots of people choose this weekend as their first camping outing of the summer. We couldn't go this year; there was too much else crowding the plate. But I managed to sneak in a wonderful, unexpected camping morning, anyway.

You see, I was awakened first at about 5:30 am, then second at about 6:00, by my sons' alarm clock-which was somehow set to go off as "music, then alarm" while the boys were away at their mother's house. Of course, I was angry initially, having been unintentionally cheated out of a couple hours sleep time. I was wide awake, though. Not much to do about it, but to stay up and make the best of it. It was far too fine a morning to waste in anger or frustration.

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copyright 2008 - all rights reserved

Garden plus one month: What a little sun will do

Just one month later, and the garden is growing like crazy. You can't even see our new stone path now.