Camping Vacations Ideas

camping vacations are a cheap and easy way to get outdoors and relax. The places to go camping are endless. It all depends on how much luxury you need or rather how much luxury you are willing to go without.

But doing away with all the modern conveniences is half the fun. Sleeping out under the stars is a truly wonderful experience and it will do the whole family good to get away from the TV and the video games for a while.

An excellent vacation idea for camping is in one of our National Park system. You can enjoy the natural beauty of the land that has been preserved for us all.

When you set your camp, you need to be careful about the location. If you are out in the open, don’t camp near a lone tree. If a lightning storm comes up that tree will act like a lightning rod. You don’t want to be nearby.

When you set up camp on your camping vacations, never do it in a dry creek bed or similar low spot. Rainstorms can produce deadly flash flooding. Choose a spot on higher ground. Look for where the water will flow if a heavy rain comes up. Camp on the spot which looks like it will stay dry.

You don’t want to camp in the middle of the home of critters. Before you set up camp and pitch a tent search the area for signs of life. This means holes in the ground which can indicate rabbits, snakes, ants or other burrowing creatures. Ants will also make mounds which sometimes are quite large. Steer clear of ant mounds no matter how small they are. There are even some types of bees and wasps that live in the ground. So after you check the trees, look for holes in the ground.

Campfires require dry kindling to start. If you want to be prepared for wet weather or emergencies try bringing a plastic bag filled with dryer lint. This makes an excellent fuel for starting a fire when dry kindling is not available.

Other useful fire starters are candle stubs and waterproof matches. You can make your own waterproof matches by dipping ordinary matches in nail polish, shellac or melted paraffin.

Avoid all cotton clothing when outdoors in the winter. Cotton absorbs moisture thereby keeping it close to your body. This is not good in cold weather. What you need is man-made “poly” type fibers. These will wick moisture away from the body and provide needed insulation.

camping vacations are a great opportunity to participate in all the outdoors activities that we love. If you've never tried it before then now is the time this extremely popular vacation idea and find out what you are missing.