Camping guides: Choosing a tent

by Kelly A. Mello guest author

[Editor's note - Kelly is a freelance writer and columnist for Sunday News Magazine]

Roasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories, spending time with friends and family, appreciating nature; these are all the wonderful things camping has to offer. In order to fully enjoy your trip, however, you have to choose the right tent. There is nothing to make your camping experience completely miserable than a leaky, inadequate tent.

The first two things you must know before purchasing your camping tent are -- how many people are joining you, and what will you be doing? For weather purposes, there are two categories:

Three-season and Four-season
THREE-SEASON

The three season tents are used for more general backpacking excursions. They are intended for Spring, Summer, and Fall use, as they will more than likely fail you if it snows heavily. However, it does hold up well in the rain. Most campers are accustomed to three-season camping, so there is a big selection to choose from. Keep in mind that the first section of three-season shelters mentioned are actually more for summer use.

$12-$549 Screen and Tarp Shelters

Under this category lies a couple of different versions. Both are very light in weight, but probably not what you are looking for in general camping circumstances. In fact, though they are classified as a tent, screen shelters are more of an area you would eat under and are not protected from the elements at all. In addition, tarps are usually very open to the outside.

$12-$300 Tents

A: Warm-Weather

This type of tent should be used mainly for warm and humid climates, though it does work as a three-seasonal. They are extremely light weight due to its mesh walls. I would not highly recommend this model, however, because if it does rain or snow, you will freeze your tush off.

B: Single-Wall

If you are into bare-essential camping, single-wall tents are for you. They are basically rainflies equipped with a few vents you can zip open during warmer conditions. For more general camping however, this could lead to that miserable scene I mentioned earlier.

C: Bivy sacks

These are minimalist shelters for one camper and not much else aside from a sleeping bag. In fact, it pretty much looks like a sleeping bag with a small tent covering your head. If saving weight is your chief priority, a bivy is worth considering. If you like room to move inside your shelter, look elsewhere. Though technically it is a three-season tent, I wouldn't try using it in the fall.

$99-$179 [continued]

Read the rest of this article on Helium.com

Reprinted by permission from Kelly A. Mello. Copyright 2008 - all rights reserved
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But, honey, campgrounds don't have room service

by Grace Alexander guest columnist

[Editor's note - Grace is a full-time freelance author and editor.
Her new column is exclusive to Just Camping Out]

I hate camping. I am the only person in my family who hates camping, so it is a lonely existence. I've been told that I am unreasonable, a poor sport and a wet blanket, so I have decided to state my case.

You don't have AC or heat, depending on the season. You have a hard lumpy bed no matter how many rocks you chunk away from the sleeping bag portion of the tent, and someone invariably forgets their pillow, or dunks it in the creek while attempting to see if it will function as a flotation device, or inadvertently sets it on fire while trying to warm it up on the charcoal pit. Therefore as the mom I have to sacrifice my pillow and prop my neck on a rock. Which I have to re-fetch from where I chunked it two hours before. Which I have to explain to my husband why I am bringing said rock back INTO the tent, and wrapping it in a towel.

Also, I am in charge of cooking, which blows. I don't personally feel that hot dogs and marshmallows and beer four times a day qualifies as a meal, but the limitations of a charcoal fire in a pit are kind of severe. Plus I don't think a cooler filled with water that used to be ice is going to keep food cold enough to ward off horrible food borne diseases, so perishables are out. Hubby and the kids eat hot dogs, roast marshmallows and drink beer all day (OK, OK, the kids drink ROOT beer) and I nibble on crackers and drink as little as possible so I don't have to brave the bushes to pee.

I chase kids all day, lugging a assortment of first aid accoutrements, and sweating. At sundown I am exhausted, but of course the kids are on a sugar high due to the nineteen and a half s'mores they consumed and insist on running about in the dark screeching. By the time they fall asleep, I am too tired to even mind the rock pillow. Of course, this is when hubby starts snoring, since the outdoors gives him allergies. It is too hot or too cold, depending, and there are NOISES all around. Plus even if it is dead winter a lone mosquito survivor will find me and bite me multiple times. No one else will have even one bite. Ants also apparently found the missing half of s'more glued to the underside of my sleeping bag.

On the drive home, kids are overtired and cranky, and hubby is unbearably jolly. "Wasn't that a blast?" he asks. "And such a cheap way to vacation!!" I don't answer. I am adding up the receipts for gas, first aid supplies, the tire that blew out and two cases of beer and realizing I could have had a whole weekend in a Holiday Inn and eaten out three times a day. I'm talking the one with the INDOOR pool.

Copyright 2008, all rights reserved - Grace Alexander for Just Camping Out

Read Grace's Profile on Helium.com
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I'm not sure I'd want to go camping with Grace and her family, but I do enjoy her writing immensely. I'm pleased and proud to host her new column here. Do you think there's any hope for her -- any chance we might win her over to the "I love camping" camp? ~Jim

Brilliant fall colors along the road, Upstate NY

We've had a spectacular fall here in Upstate NY -- brilliant sunny days, crispy star-lit nights, and a smattering of rain. Our colorful array of oaks, maples, poplars, walnuts and birches have responded with everything from pale yellows to bloody reds. The leaves are falling fast and furious now that we've had a couple light frosts, so we'll soon have bare branches.

These two paint-by-numbers scenes caught my eye along my regular route from Fairport to Victor, on Victor-Egypt Road. I'm sure a good arborist could explain why this particular stretch of highway boasts one of the most vibrant spectrums in the area. Natural beauty like this is all too fleeting to ignore. This road will serve up icy patches and snowdrifts very soon. For now, enjoy the view.

copyright 2008 - all rights reserved
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We'll get back to stories and reviews related to camping in the coming days. Please watch for a new feature debut later this week. That's all I can say for now. ~Jim

True Camping Stories: When Ostriches Attack!

by Conny Manero guest author

[Editor's note - Conny, animal lover and columnist for Agpress.net, will soon be releasing her book, "Kitten Diaries"]

Living in Belgium, my mom and dad had never seen an ostrich. They had seen such a bird on television, of course, but they had never seen a real live one.

So, when they came to visit me in South Africa, I suggested a visit to a game park. The game park was some distance away, so we decided to make it a little camping trip. "Can I come too?" my 6 year old son asked. Of course he could.

They were so excited and were so looking forward to their night out in the wild and seeing an ostrich up close and personal.

"Have you been there before?" my mom asked.

"Yes, I was there last year," I said.

"Are the ostriches scared of us?" she wanted to know. "Or do they come up to the people?"

"When I was there they didn't exactly come to the people," I said, "but they came nosing in the rubbish bins near the lunch tables."

"Oh good," my mom clasped her hands together, "so when we stop for lunch we might get to meet them."

"If they come close enough," I said. "You never know with these birds."

You never know indeed.

The night before our trip to the game park, while my dad packed the car, my mom and I prepared a cold lunch for the four of us. Everything went into pots, and early in the morning we set off for our trip.

We were hardly in the game park when my mom spotted an ostrich.

"Oh look," she said, "there's one. I wonder if I can go take a look at him."

"You stay right here," I told her. "Look, you do not have to go to him, he is coming to you." Nothing could have pleased her more.

Lazily the ostrich walked up to the car, daintily placing one long leg in front of the other, moving his head up and down and side to side. Having arrived at the car he gave three short pecks at the side window where my mom was sitting.

"Can I roll the window down?" she asked. Sure, why not.

The window was hardly lowered when the ostrich's head appeared in the car, along with about 15 inches of his neck. He looked at each of us individually and we looked at him. Oh, he was a magnificent animal! Big and tall, with lots of black, grey and white fluffy feathers, and with long lashes over warm, dark eyes.

At the allocated spot we set up the tent, made it comfortable, and by the time it was finished, it was time for lunch. We could have eaten at the tent, but mom was anxious to meet more ostriches, and so she suggested that we go and eat at the open air lunch patio. Her wish was my command.

At the lunch patio numerous families had already gathered around the tables and under the umbrellas. All of them were barbecuing. When we started unpacking our cooler and placing the food on the table, we were looked at and whispered about. As we placed the potato salad, lettuce and tomato mixture and chicken pieces on the table people were shaking their heads and barely managed to hide their laughter. How rude, I thought. If they want to barbecue that is their good right, just as it is my right to eat something cold.

We had no idea what the whispering and sniggering was all about, but we were about to find out. Six ostriches approached the patio.

"Do you think they'll come as close as the rubbish bins?" my mom asked expectantly. Before I could answer the ostriches marched past the rubbish bins and headed toward our table.

Before we knew what was happening, much less could do anything, the six surrounded our table and started pecking at our food. In a matter of seconds they had pecked the pots and plates clean. It was literally a case of peck, peck, peck, peck, peck and everything but everything was gone! Whether it was potato in mayonnaise, lettuce in olive oil dressing, or fried chicken, the ostriches devoured it ALL!

One even stole a rather large tomato out of the cooler and swallowed it whole. For a moment I thought he might choke on it, but we could see the tomato glide down his long throat.

My dad had been very brave and had grabbed a basket of bread off the table, holding it high over his head away from the six hungry beasts. Little did he know that a seventh ostrich had joined the party and was standing right behind him. Peck, peck, peck and the bread was gone too.

When all the food was gone, the ostriches walked away. Dazed, we looked at each other and the empty table. All around us people were holding their breath, waiting for our reaction. Would we get angry? Or, would we see the humor of it?

The couple at the nearest table told us that barbecuing was the only way to eat in the park. The fire was the only thing that kept the ostriches at bay. We, with our cold food, had just about sent them an engraved invitation.

We nodded, wordlessly. There we were, robbed and hungry, and the next moment howling with laughter.

Reprinted by permission from Conny Manero, all rights reserved 2008.

See this story as it appears on Helium.com

Read Conny's Profile on Helium.com See Conny's website here
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How about you? Do you have a True Camping Story you'd like to share? These will be a regular feature here as we move forward. If you'd like to submit your story for posting, you can reach me via Comments or by using the link at the top of this page.

Feisty fall foliage fills Fairport, NY along the Erie Canal

These colorful fall foliage pictures were taken in downtown Fairport, NY, twice voted Top 100 Best Places to Live in America (2005 and 2008). This quaint village, incorporated in 1867, straddles the Erie Canal and a major cross-country railroad line. The canal path seen in the pictures runs from Buffalo to Albany, with some interruptions.

You're looking to the west, toward Rochester (about 20 minutes away), along the Erie Canal on a brilliant October morning. Along the north edge of the canal is a fine little wooden dock, handy for tying up close enough to walk to the hotdog stand (just behind the orange tree in the middle).
There's the boat rental, open by appointment now that summer's over. In-season, most of the watercraft would be out on the canal, piloted by tourists and locals alike, chasing the ducks and racing the joggers and bicyclists on the path alongside.
This shot looks like an oil painting waiting to happen, doesn't it? Or a not-too-difficult jigsaw puzzle. Not one digital effect was used in the posting of this picture, I swear!
These shots are taken from the old metal lift-bridge. If you pass beneath it and your vessel won't clear, then the rest of us have to wait there on Main Street while the bridge operator raises the deck for you. (Use marine channel 13 to hail him.)
This is the view you would have from the fly-bridge of your cabin cruiser once you cleared the bridge. Motoring south and west on a winding course, you'd find Bushnell's Basin first and historic, scenic Pittsford after that. (There may be a lock or two between: at least one deep valley lies between Fairport and Pittsford.)
Who says you have to go to Lake George or Vermont to see beautiful fall colors? Dazzling deciduous displays await you right here in Fairport. Accommodations include everything from luxury Bed & Breakfasts to roadside motels. Closest camping is the Canandaigua KOA (about 17 miles).
Fairport also offers dining out choices ranging from McDonald's to diners to country club restaurants. Exit 45, Victor, from the NYS Thruway lies about 15 minutes to the southeast. Call ahead, and we'll have dinner waiting for you when you get here.

copyright 2008 - all rights reserved


Click here to see the rest of these pictures on Google Picasaweb.
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If you have an amazing, current, and original fall foliage pic you'd like to share, track me down. If you happen to visit Fairport, NY -- track me down! ~Jim