Camping Guide

Camping Guide - 2010

Canyon Vista We continue a Phillip's family tradition by camping at World's End State Park every Memorial Day weekend. The Phillips family began this tradition in 1970 (over 35 years). The Davis family began camping with the Phillips family in 1988.

This is a picture from Canyon Vista, overlooking the Loyalsock Creek at World's End State Park.

Our family camping experience extends back to the early 1960's when both Jeanne and Mark's families camped over the summer. In the late 1960's and early 1970's its very likely that Jeanne's family and Mark's family were at the same campground at the same time and didn't even know it, being teenagers at the time and unaware of each other's existence. Both families camped at Pine Haven campground near Sea Isle City, NJ usually the third week of July.

The boys also have quite a bit of Boy Scout camping training; Tying knots, splitting wood, knowing how to start a fire, cooking, and wet weather preparation have been key skills towards having a great time.

Our Camper

We purchased a new Coleman Camper in 1998. Its hard to believe that its over 10 years old already. We've really enjoyed it and would recommend a Coleman (made by Fleetwood) to anyone interested in Pop-ups.

Our pop-up can sleep 8, but we find that any number of people over 4 or 5 starts to get uncomfortable. The pop-up has a nice storage area on the tongue that you can see in the picture here. In addition to the inside refrigerator and stove, it has a handy outdoor stove.

This is a picture of Mark cooking dinner during our 2003 Memorial Day Campout at Promised Land State Park.

We have never used the indoor sink, and could never figure out exactly how to winterize it. After a couple of attempts that resulted in water all over the place after a number of the faucets froze and cracked we just took the faucet out all together. We cover the sink with a board to give us more counter space. We also don't have an internal potty nor a shower, and have never missed either of them. We have an internal stove that we've used whenever we have a baby for heating formula, but that's about it. We really are outdoor campers.

2010 - We started our search for a new Pop-up to replace our existing one. While the pop up is in very good shape, its twelve years older and some of that age is beginning to show. Additionally, if we get a new pop-up, one of my sons would love to buy our old one - giving us a good excuse. So far, we've been a little disappointed. We really need the front storage area, and the new pop-ups all seem to come with water heaters that take up valuable space. We haven't yet become comfortable with the space we will lose versus ordering a unit without the water heater. Right now we're still focused on the Coleman/Fleetwood brand - still our favorite.

Tents

Having the right tent can make all the difference between an enjoyable and a miserable campout. We've had experience with tents that didn't repel water, that would pool water on the tent roof, that had tent poles that would easily bend or tarps that didn't really cover the tent adequately. Our favorite brand is Eureka. There is a Eureka outlet store in Vestal, NY where they sell both first quality and second quality equipment. The second quality is darn good, and usually just has some discolored fabric, but at a lower price.

We just ordered a new Eureka tent to replace on of our Eureka tents that was 30 years old. We ordered from Amazon. This one is 9x9 feet and comfortably sleeps 2-3 people. They also have a 11x11 that would sleep more. I guess its possible to fit 4 people into a four person tent, but it wouldn't allow for much open floor space.

Camping Style

We've noticed that some campers are basically indoor folks, staying in their vehicle and rarely do you see them sitting around the campfire or cooking outdoors. The Davis Family are outdoor camping folks, and the only time you'll see us inside our camper is when we are sleeping. From the time we get up to the time we go to sleep we're outside cooking, eating, playing, joking around, and pretending we can sing - regardless of the weather.

In case of Rain

At some point on almost every camping trip we will have rain. We usually have a separate kitchen area that we cover with a standard 12ft by 12ft dining tarp with a center pole. For our eating area we usually put 2 or 3 picnic tables under a huge 30ft by 16ft plastic tarp. We tie a 40-50ft 1/2-inch diameter rope between two trees as a ridge-line so that the tarp won't bow as much.

Tarp over Fire

During our 2003 Memorial Day campout at Promised Land State Park, it rained hard the entire weekend. We learned a new trick - extending another large tarp high over the campfire. We've done this at every Memorial Day campout ever since.

We use an inexpensive 20'x15' poly tarp (5mil) that we get from Lowe's. The tarp takes a beating from sparks and smoke and won't last forever. The tarp will quickly pick up a very smokey smell, and cannot be used for any other purpose. Its very important to hang it high - at least 10 feet above the fire. We can usually get it as high as 20ft up by having the boys stand on each other's shoulders, ,or on top of the truck.

At right, shimmying up the trees to tie the dining tarp.

We use the same ridgeline technique as we do for our eating area. We extend a 1/2 inch diameter rope between two trees. When doing this its also important to tie another rope from the center grommet to the tree to keep the tarp from slipping towards the middle and to help with side-to-side movement. It makes a huge difference being able to cook and to continue to gather around the campfire without having to worry about the rain.

In 2007 we also added a separate dining tarp that we use for dutch-oven cooking without fear of rain. Since there is limited flame involved, this is a normal dining tarp.

In 2009, we tried a new technique. I guess this only works if you've got enough young men who are strong or who did power lifting in high school. They climbed on each others shoulders - and just stood up. It worked great!

Our plan for 2010 is to bring a collapsible extension ladder so we can tie the ropes up high without having people standing on each other's shoulders. I'm thinking I can the ladder to the top of my vehicle, or maybe even to the top of the popup. We'll let you know how this works out.

Cooking

Nothing tastes better than a hot dog slowly roasted over the campfire. Patience is the key, and some of our family members have turned it almost into an art form. We also do our burgers, sausage, bacon, and many other meals over the campfire.

We also use the dual-burner gas stoves for eggs, pancakes, meals requiring boiling water, and just about everything else. For the Memorial Day campout, where we're serving 35-40 people, we set up two gas stoves.

But our favorite cooking is with the dutch ovens. We have three of them and often borrow a fourth. We make eggplant parmagiana, swiss steak, chicken in wine sauce, chuck roast, and others. We cheat a little by using charcoal instead of digging hot coals out of the campfire. This also gives us better heat control.

In this picture we are browning cube steak as the first step in making dutch oven Swiss Steak. You can find some of our camping recipes here.

Campfires

Our campfires last all day long, with people reading, knitting, swapping stories or just relaxing. The fire never goes out. At night, it becomes more lively as everyone in the family pulls their chair around the fire (sometimes two deep) and we cook S'Mores, popcorn, baked apples, hotdogs, or mountain pie pizza's. The songs start, and maybe a game of Jack's Alive, or a story gets passed from person to person, or perhaps some of the kids will put on a skit.

This is a picture of some of us playing Concentration, where you need to recite your number and another persons number in time to snapping fingers.

The kids also enjoy finding hollow logs that can be made into "chimneys" with flames shooting out the top.

Personal Gear

Determining what personal gear to take camping can be scary for the first-time camper. To make this a bit easier, here is a PDF of an Individual Checklist that you can print and use when you are packing your gear. Now, camping is not the same thing as going to Disney World. There is at least some expectation that you extend the use of some of your clothing more than you might normally find comfortable, and changing outfits more than once a day will definitely make you the brunt of jokes - at least in our family.

For colder weather campouts, dressing in layers is preferred. Adding a sweatshirt over a sweatshirt allows you to more easily control your comfort level.

The Magic

I'm not sure what magic exists at World's End State Park, or is it just the magic of our family. Something about creates an incredible urge that grows through the year, a longing for the peace and fellowship of sitting around the campfire that never goes out. Whatever that magic is - I can't wait!