In the spring we went to French Creek State Park just the four of us. Other tips we've gone with friends, but this was the first time the four of us went alone. We always find the hardest part of camping is choosing your lot. We try to find a large one so we have space to spread out, but also we want to be close to the bath houses for the countless trips we make back and forth all day and night.
This trip we chose site B-11, as it was diagonally across the street from the bath house. It was in the RV section so there was plenty of parking space, but there was also a great flat area for the tent. And with the car blocking the entrance, we really had a lot of privacy here.
Our tent is an eight person tent, which is honestly perfect for our family. It's a Coleman Red Canyon and I highly recommend it if you're camping with a family. There are room dividers for each side, so the kids can have their own little rooms, and my husband and I can sleep in the main larger room. The kids like to sleep in sleeping bags, and both have Eureka! Youth 15 degree bags. These bags kept them warm when the weather dropped to about 45 degrees one night, so if you're looking for a sleeping bag for a child, this is excellent. My husband and I like a little more comfort when we camp, so we use this air mattress. But we didn't go out and spend a lot of money on it, it was less than $20!
We have several bins we pack for camping, and usually keep them stocked when we get back home so that it's easy to grab and go the next time. One bin has arts and crafts, which for my daughter is her favorite thing. She collects rocks to paint and sticks to wrap washi tape around the ends. Each of us gets an assigned "marshmallow roasting" stick, marked by specific colored tape on one end.
We also like to bring several sports activities - a football, frisbee, a soccer ball. Any type of ball that will keep our son busy. And it's a great way to move around while not really going too far out of our sight. Have y'all ever seen the Nerf Fire Vision Ignite football? What a great idea to insert a glowing light into a football, so you can continue to play as it gets dark outside. The ball glows when you throw it in the air! Then if you happen to drop it, it blinks off and on when it lands on the ground. My son received it as a gift for his birthday and we love it so much, it's become the gift we give to the other boys when he's invited to parties.
Food is another big consideration when we pack for camping, but it's my favorite thing to plan. For one night trips we usually make hotdogs and hot sausage or chicken sausage on the firepit. The kids love to use their sticks for their dogs, but we place the sausages on a piece of foil over the fire. Note - sausage on a stick is not a good idea. The high fat content lends itself to sliding off said stick and burning away in the flames. Not that we know this from experience or anything :)
Breakfast consists of fruit and bagels cooked over the fire also. Everything tastes better with a little smoke flavor.
We did a lot of hiking while we were at French Creek, but really just enjoyed escaping our everyday, crazy, hectic life. Thankfully the weather was beautiful and we had a fabulous time. I highly recommend camping if you haven't gone before. Such a great family trip where you'll make memories of a lifetime.
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