Get out and Camp!

Don’t have the money to get away?  YES YOU DO!  This past weekend we took a small trip on the cheap.  Here is how:

• take advantage of National Forests!  The primitive campsites (no toilets or water) are free to camp and you can collect your own fire wood on site.  It just has to be down wood, no lumberjacks please.
• pack your own food.  Bring a cooler and make sure to think about breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You don’t have to be fancy to be full.  Hot dogs on a stick are some of our favorites.  Must have morning campfire coffee.
• don’t forget things!  Buying things at small out in the middle of nowhere shops is always expensive!  David did the packing this time around… so we did not have a lighter!  $2.50 + tax for my new super sassy pink scale lighter from roadside store.
• hike during the day.  In some areas you have to pay a day use fee but in the national forests you can usually find plenty of areas with no charge!  Free fun.

Whenever David and I have the same days off, we HIT the road!  This past weekend we headed to the Lincoln National Forest, Smokey Bear District just outside of Ruidoso, New Mexico.  We met a friend there and camped for two nights.  What blows my mind every time we travel to the New Mexico mountains is the temperature change from the mountains to the desert.  When we were heading back home from Cloudcroft there is a stretch of downhill road about 16 miles long in which the temperature changed from 66 to 85 degrees F in about 20 minutes!  Insane.

So next weekend when you are considering staying home again, get out and explore!  I envision many of my friends being scared to camp because of bears, bugs, etc.  Here are a few things to know about camping via me:

• wildlife is more scared of you then you are of them.  Black bears will come into camps (rarely) looking for food, not people.  Raccoons and skunks are more likely guests but they don’t eat people either.
• You do NOT need a tent.  Have a truck?  set up a comfy bed of blankets in the back!  If you must, sports stores (Academy) have $30 cots that are pretty cozy to sleep on.
• Comfiest sleeping for me:  $30 cot, $25 pad and some sleeping bags.  ahhh.
• keep a clean site.  Trash attracts animals.
• respect thy neighbors!  NO LOUD MUSIC!  – really, don’t have neighbors is my choice.
• Bugs?  Start a campfire – best bug deterrent.
• Bring lotion – I always forget it and dry skin always drives me crazy!

So take a look at the pics from this past weekend and start making your own plans to get out!  Or even better, don’t make plans.  I found our campsite on the drive up there!

Oh and check out who is the next big time slack line star!  Not sure what I’m talking about… it’s in the pics.   Along with David climbing a huge 75ft cliff and D-Ray rappelling it!

CAMP!