Archive for June, 2010

I haven’t been able to get back to the trailer due to appointments and the fact I have no wheels – but last night on June 26th, C. and I headed to Hamilton, ON to take in some great music at “The Absinthe.” There is a great local band in Hamilton called “Live How You Live.” “Great” is an understatement! These guys are terrific and very entertaining. Their music is classic rock – I really enjoy the lead singer but all of the members of the band are amazing musicians. Their drummer is like a human machine.

Prior to “Live How You Live,” there was a young but awesome band from the Ottawa area playing called “Wise, Young & King.” Edgy, amazing talent, hard rockin’ and original. They played a 45 minute set, and had some songs that have really grown on me. The “Black Rider” is a great song – based on the true story of some Dutch guy named Hans Gruyter.  The song “Federales” is close to my heart as well from my own political libertarian leanings.

If you are interested, visit their website here or listen to a few tunes at their myspace page.

I’m sitting at “home,” and right now, the campfire is blazing. It’s about 1AM, and the wee fellow, my son, who will be 8 fairly soon is sleeping. I’m by the fire, enjoying my solitude so much that I thought I’d tell you all about it while I can.  In the morning, the wee fella wants to go swimming, ride his bike, eat lots of bacon for breakfast, and generally enjoy Father’s Day with me out in what is forecast to be a perfect sunny day, about 23C or the mid 70′s F.

On Friday, C. came up and we drove out to the trailer. I was expecting a mess of green stuff that would need cut down after all the rain, but it wasn’t bad at all. I’ll do the “mowing” tomorrow. We picked up some groceries and some adult beverages – I managed to get a couple of wonderful rib steaks for the barbeque, and we were set.  Did I tell you the kind of barbie I have? Ah, remind me to give it a review soon! I love it!

We had our own lovely campfire together after steak and baked potatoes for dinner. Went through another 7.50 bag of wood – I am very much needing to speak to one of the local firewood agents in the next town to see if I can get a full chord of wood deliered here. Camping for a living in the summer might almost be as expensive in firewood as heating a small home in the winter with a wood stove!

Today (Saturday), we drove to where my “wee fellow” lives and picked him up. Brought him back to the trailer. C. had to leave so it’s just been D. and  I all evening. Roasted hotdogs and marshmallows time along with some awesome father and son time.  I decided that because it was Father’s Day, that didn’t mean I should be expecting the gift.  I bought the wee man something I hope and believe, he will treasure and take care of.  I presented it to him this evening. It’s a small single blade Buck Knife. I think he is old enough and wise enough to have his own small knife, and tomorrow we’ll go over some knife safety basics. He’s not to ever take it out of his pocket just to show his friends, or anything except when I’m around.  He knows and understands that.

C. was very happy to see that I really did order a flag of Nova Scotia along with my Ulster Red Hand. Now we’re trying to figure out the best place to put down a flag pole. Probably we’ll need two flag poles – but that’s fine.  There are enough Newfoundland flags here that Ulster and Nova Scotia definitely need to be represented!

Speaking of Newfoundland however, D. met one of the neighbours, and he has become fast best friends with Kerry. D.’s mother took him out for a ten day trip to Newfoundland, and Kerry was quite happy and surprised to find out they had visited Rocky Harbour, where Kerry had grown up.  But I had a little “argument” with Kerry the Newfoundlander.  He thought I had been playing music a couple of weeks ago that was “Newfie music.”  Not a chance! It was Irish music!

Ah, but I do love and enjoy Newfoundlanders.  They are practically cousins.

Another log on the fire, and I’ll be hitting the sack.

I wrote previously that I wanted to get a couple of flags – a Red Hand of Ulster (Northern Ireland) for me, and the flag of Nova Scotia for my girlfriend so we could fly them at the trailer. There are plenty of Newfoundland flags flying there throughout the park, and we think we need to have some good representation for the good lands of Ulster and Nova Scotia.

If you’re looking for a flag, may I suggest The Flag Shop.  I couldn’t believe how fast they were at getting the two flags I ordered out to me.  Two days after I ordered online, the flags were in my mailbox! I wasn’t even sure if they would have a Red Hand Of Ulster flag in stock, but they did which is terrific. We couldn’t have the Nova Scotia flag flying before my Red Hand!

Speaking of flying, I still don’t yet have a flagpole. However, one of my neighbors advised that he could likely get one for me.  When I get that pole, and I raise the Northern Ireland flag, I shall play the unofficial anthem, “Oh Danny Boy.” And those present will have a glass of Bushmills Blackbush to toast the flag.  For those that don’t know, Blackbush is a fine Irish Whiskey that is superior to any of that muddy tasting Scotch that costs three times as much. Bushmills also happens to be the oldest licensed distillery in the world. As they say, God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world!

Blackbush is also a fine liquid to have a wee sip of on those chilly nights around the campfire.

I’m off to the trailer this evening and I can’t wait!

I have camped for years. Since I was about 9 years old. Camped with my Cub group, and then Boy Scouts.  Camped with family and friends.  Been backpacking and hiking throughout Ontario and the Adirondacks in New York State.

There is one name that seldom lets me down: Coleman.

I’ve had my Coleman lantern for over two decades. Other than the odd mantle replacement (which is inexpensive, expected, and easy to replace – always have a spare mantle with you), the lantern has given me incredible service.

The Coleman NorthStar Dual Fuel Lantern is a really good product. Not only will it run on Coleman’s “white gas,” you can also substitute the same gasoline you buy at the pump for your vehicle in it.  That’s economical!  The slightly higher price of this lantern will more than pay for itself over the long term with it’s ability to be fueled by less expensive unleaded gas.

I’m not the only one impressed judging by the reviews others have given it.  In the Bass Pro Shops review section:

Penfold from Buffalo, NY:

“Well, the power went out the other day and I had a chance to test it out. It is very simple to set-up and use and the built in lighter is awesome.

It is very bright and exactly what I expected.”

Jim Rickner from Yale , Oklahoma:

“With the metal globe protector and matchless ignition this is the best and brightest latern from Coleman yet !

What did the good folk at trails.com say?

“Coleman’s NorthStar Dual Fuel Lantern rates as the leading gas-run camping lantern”

~Maria Fernanda Cartaya

If you’re looking for a good lantern for camping or even home emergency use, it would be hard to beat the
The Coleman NorthStar Dual Fuel Lantern

For the past week or so, I’ve had to “babysit” the office and haven’t been home to my trailer. I think I will be able to get there tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it!

The weather forecast looks good too – lots of sunshine and warmth is predicted with a wee bit of rain perhaps on Saturday.

I’ll have some tasks I need to get to almost as soon as I’m back.  I’m sure the grass will need to be cut.  We’ve had quite a bit of rain in the past week, and most people have had to mow their lawns twice in the past 10 days or so.

I want to find a supplier of firewood. I’m thinking I could easily go through a bush cord of wood over the summer and autumn with campfires, and  I hope I can buy it by the bush cord and have it delivered instead of buying the bags of wood.  They are over $7.00 per bag, and I can go through almost two of them in a long relaxing evening.

Then I need to research why there seems to be no power to the lights at the front of the trailer. Fuses and breaker switches all look good, and fresh bulbs are in the sockets, but no light.  Not sure if it is a wiring issue or something else I need to do, but it sure would be nice to have a bit more light in there.

Can’t wait to get home!

Way way back in the day, about 20 or more years ago, I had a career in law enforcement. Part of our training involved how to properly use a fire extinguisher. Up until that time, I didn’t really know there was a proper way to use a fire extinguisher and fight a fire. For those of us that have camp trailers, we probably know we should have a fire extinguisher in the trailer – actually, we should have a couple of fire extinguishers in our homes too.

But if you had to use it, would you know how? Would you be comfortable getting that fire extinguisher from off the wall and fighting a small kitchen fire with it? Do you check it regularly to see if it still has its charge? A fire extinguisher will be of little use to you if it has lost its charge, or in an emergency you are unsure what to do with it.

In our training, we learned the acronym “PASS.” Let me explain.

First of course, you’ve got the fire extinguisher in your hands.  Now what?

P: Pull the Pin! There is a safety pin located in the handle, usually secured with a plastic ring. The easiest way to break the plastic ring is to give the pin a twist, and then pull it out. The pin prevents the trigger that when pulled or pressed, releases the fire extinguishing agent from being released accidentally.

A: Aim! Aim the fire extinguisher at the BASE of the fire. Don’t aim it at the flames that might be reaching up to the cupboards – that will do nothing to extinguish the fire. If the base of the fire is in a frying pan, that is where you aim the extinguisher. At it’s base, where the fuel source is.

S: Squeeze! Squeeze the trigger of the fire extinguisher which will cause it to begin releasing the extinguishing or fire suppression agent.

S: Sweep: Sweep the extinguisher from side to side to better cover the entire area of the base of the fire.

It’s too bad that fire extinguishers can be expensive as it would be handy for people to be able to practice using one before they actually ever need to use one. Using a fire extinguisher is not difficult, and if you follow the instructions above, you’ll be using it properly. But often people panic, and in such cases, it’s easier to rely on something you’ve done several times instead of doing it the first time when you are unsure.

Do you know what the very first thing is that you should do when you discover a fire? Before or as you are reaching for the fire extinguisher?

Call For Help! Don’t take a chance with fire, even small ones. You may need help to fully extinguish it.  Call 9-1-1, and get the fire department out there.

If your children are old enough to hold a fire extinguisher, you might even want to demonstrate to them how to use it.

Now, go make sure all the fire extinguishers you own are fully charged.  It’s a good idea to take one along even on camping trips and have it handy.

Years ago, I used to go camping quite often and we’d set up camp right beside my father-in-law’s site. He made the best camp breakfasts! He had it all organized and knew exactly what he needed to cook, when to start the sausages, bacon, pancakes and eggs so everything would be ready at the right time.

For cooking pancakes, he had a nice flat cast iron griddle (I highly recommend these and have one myself) that was well seasoned. Here’s the simple but scrumptious recipe for his buttermilk pancakes. Naturally, you’ll have to remember to pick up some buttermilk. If you don’t have it, you can substitute whole or 2% milk – but buttermilk does give a better taste in my opinion.  But then I’m an Irishman – and I drink buttermilk like some folk drink water.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups Buttermilk

1/2 cup whole or 2% milk

1/4 cup salted butter, melted

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method:

You need two bowls. In one, combine they dry ingredients. In the other, whisk the milk, buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter together.

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and sugar).

Mix it all together so it’s blended well.

Heat the griddle on medium high. The skillet should be hot enough so that if you sprinkle drops of water on it, they dance or bounce on the surface.

Pour the pancake batter onto the skillet to make small pancakes. When bubbles appear on the top sides, flip them over and cook until golden brown.

Eat them with REAL maple syrup and more butter melted on top. Do yourself a favour and splurge on the real maple syrup.

I think I’ll go heat up my skillet! I’m getting hungry as I write this.

I enjoy my solitude at times. I love the sounds of silence – at least the silence of humans while listening to the sounds of fires crackling, coyotes yipping, wolves howling and birds that go “Whoo” in the night.

But I also love my little boy  and my girlfriend, and enjoy having them with me at the trailer in the campground.  Thankfully I don’t have to think up too many activities for my girlfriend while camping! But I do want to make camping fun for the wee guy.  Actually, I have 4 sons ranging in age from 20′s to 8. The older 3 have been camping with me quite often as they grew up.  And my wee-est one enjoys camping very much too – so I am sure I’ve done some things right as far as camping with kids. I haven’t done everything right – but I’ve learned some things along the way.

There are some things you can do to make sure your kids enjoy camping and plan some activities for them.

First, kids usually love to participate in the daily chores that need to be done when camping. They love to gather up kindling for the fire. They love to crumple up paper that might be used to start the campfire.  I could get any of my kids to collect kindling and crumple paper and there’s a good half hour more of their time where they feel they are contributing (and they are!), and are having fun in anticipation of the evening around the fire pit.

Get them involved in the daily chores in a fun way! Let them help out with the cooking and washing or drying of the dishes. Don’t worry if things aren’t done perfectly.

Teach the kids how to set up the tent. Yes, the first time you have a child helping you set up the tent, it will probably take longer than if you were to do it yourself, but the benefits in the future are wonderful! Often the kids will remember the process better than you and will be able to help you the next time. And if they are old enough, they will look forward to setting up the tent all on their own, leaving you time to do other things to prepare your camp.

Go on a “garbage hike.” Sometimes, the thought of just going for a walk might seem boring, but if you give the walk some purpose that will be fun for kids, they will enjoy and look forward to it. Before the hike, give each one of the kids a garbage bag, and tell them that we’re going to pick up other people’s trash that they have left behind. The kids will love to know that they are taking part in making something better.

Teach the kids how to use some of the camping equipment. You might not want them lighting the lantern, but they can help prime it if you’re using a Coleman white gas type of lantern. Who cares if it takes a bit longer than if you did it yourself? You’re camping, and this should be enjoyable for everyone.

If the child is old enough, present them with their very own pen knife, and teach them how to use it safely. If you don’t have knife skills yourself, learn them so you can teach them. Let the child carve a point in a stick so he or she can make their own hotdog and marshmallow roasting stick. You could also use the time of camping to teach the kids how to sharpen a knife, too.

Take along a book on the constellations. At night, see what you can identify in the night sky. Usually camping is done in areas far from the bright city lights, and kids are amazed at the stars the can see at night. Helping them learn to identify constellations will make it even more meaningful for them.

Is there fishing available where you are camping? Take out the rods and enjoy a few hours drowning some worms. Make it into a picnic where you pack some sandwiches and snacks – kids generally love picnics and even want to carry the food!

There is so much you can do with kids when camping, as long as you remember that it might take a wee bit longer than if you are doing it yourself, but if you let them participate and learn, they will want to and the future benefits of allowing them to learn and figure things out far outweigh the the little bit of inconvenience of a task taking an extra five or ten minutes.

Camping with young children can either be a fantastic experience for everyone, or a total disaster. Most children love to sleep in tents and camp trailers, enjoy sitting around the campfire and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and the experience of the outdoors.

If you nurture this love, camping with them will be fun and they will have lasting warm memories of their days spent at the campsite. On the other hand, if you don’t give kids the little extra special attention they need, it could be a miserable time for both you and the children.

Some tips to keep in mind:

1. Make them feel part of the planning.

If children feel apart of the planning process, they will feel responsibility for making the trip enjoyable. Get them involved in deciding where you will camp. Plan the meals with them and take them shopping with you when you head out to buy the groceries for the camping trip.

2. Let the kids help!

Children have a natural desire to learn and do new things. Don’t suffocate this desire. Have some patience and let them help you set up the tent or trailer, even if it takes a bit longer than you doing it yourself. When children are helping with the chores that need to be done, their own excitement grows and they will take pride and ownership in the enjoyment of the experience.

3. Have boundaries but don’t create fear.

Sometimes it is too easy to put fear into our children when we give them rules. We tell them all the bad things that could happen to them if they don’t follow the rules or stay within the boundaries. Instead of fear, make them feel responsible for you too. When my son was younger, we had a rule that neither of us would stray where we could not see the other. In other words, the boundaries weren’t set just for my son but for me as well.

4. Take along board and card games.

We always hope that the weather will cooperate and each camping experience will be nothing but glorious sunshine and warm temperatures. Unfortunately Mother Nature is not always so kind and camping trips can have days of rain and inclement weather. Plan ahead for such days and take along some indoor games the kids enjoy for those days when hiking, fishing and the campfire just isn’t going to happen.

5. Don’t forget the children’s needs.

It may be silly to you that your child wants to bring along “Teddy” or a special toy, but don’t deny them this because you think camping should be like “roughing” it. Bring along Teddy or another toy for the child will give them an opportunity to have something comforting and familiar.

Finally, have fun! Don’t holler at your kids – not only will they not appreciate it, the other campers in the campground won’t either. Spend time teaching them. Don’t forget the camera as taking photos and having them to look at later will reinforce the great experiences the kids had and they’ll look forward to the next trip.

So you’ve remembered the hot dogs. The marshmallows are all ready for campfire roasting. Waterproof matches – check. All the food is packed in the cooler. So what are you forgetting? There’s always something!

Perhaps one of the most common things people forget to take along when they go camping is a good first aid kit. Containing the essentials, a home made or commercially available first aid kit is cheap insurance against those unplanned and unwanted events that just might happen. Those marshmallows you packed that the kids will be roasting tonight? What happens if one of those marshmallows lights on fire and is too vigorously shaken – possibly causing a burn to someone?

What are you going to do if someone scrapes a knee badly? How about the unfortunate incident of one of the kids coming down with a wicked headache at night? A decent first aid, which won’t take up much room, can be of enormous  help should something unexpected occur.

Here’s a list of essentials you’ll want. It’s not comprehensive and you might want to add more to it depending on your own situation:

1. Flashlight and batteries.  Don’t store the batteries in the flashlight though – keep them separate and make sure you have fresh ones.
2. Whistles. You should have enough whistles for everyone in your party. Perhaps the whistles shouldn’t even be in the First Aid Kit, but on the person at all times. There are good reasons for having a whistle handy. If one of the kids gets lost, they can use the whistle to help someone locate them. Whistles are also handy in bear country.
3. Bandaids. Remember the old advertisement back in the 1970′s with the catchy song that included the lyrics, “I am stuck on bandaid, cuz bandaid’s stuck on me.” When that song was popular, we nicknamed the nurse at our youth camp, “Bandaid” and sing the song to her after lunch time. But I digress. You’ll want to have good quality bandages that actually stick, like Bandaids. I’ve seen some cheap first aid kits that have bandages that just don’t stick to the skin for longer than a minute.  Make sure you have various sizes of bandaids too.
4. Gauze of various sizes. For some wounds, guaze is a much better covering than a bandaid.
5. Bandage tape will help secure the gauze if it is needed.
6. Scissors will be helpful to cut the gauze if needed, as well as the bandage tape.
7. Antiseptic creams/ointments.
8. Hydrogen peroxide.  Inexpensive and excellent for washing out wounds to reduce infection.
9. Cotton swabs for cleaning wounds.
10. Tweezers.  Indispensable for removing slivers – and if you have the unfortunate event of coming into contact with them, ticks.
11. Thermometer – if someone is sick and running a fever, you’ll be able to monitor their temperature and make some decisions about whether you might need to cut the trip short and seek medical help.
12. Matches and/or lighter. Even though you likely have these already, it’s a good idea to keep some in your first aid kit.
13. Imodium. Diarrhea is no fun on a camping trip. Make sure you have this or some other anti-diarrhea medicine.
14. Adult Tylenol.
15. Children’s Tylenol
16. Children’s Benadryl
17. First Aid Book – it can be helpful for those emergencies when you don’t know what to do. Consider also taking a First Aid course.
18. Snakebite Kit – if appropriate for where you are camping.
19. A candle.

Of course, there may be other items you want in your First Aid Kit – but the above is a good guide to the basic essentials.

Go camping! Be safe!