Camping is a fun family activity and a good way to mix up a mundane summer.  There is something majestic about sleeping under the stars wondering where we all came from and what our purpose here on earth truly is.  Waking up to the sound of nature, not the call of nature, but birds singing with soft breezes whistling through the trees, and breathing in fresh air all night long is very rejuvenating. There is no doubt camping is a great experience.  Camping is a great outdoor adventure for the family because it involves getting away from home and spending time with each other. Tell your kids to leave the electronic devices at home so they can use that thing called an imagination.  There are lots of camping sites out there, including your own backyard, but choosing the right campsite can be difficult especially when camping with little ones. 

Many people like to camp in motor homes while others just want to stay in a regular good old fashioned tent.  Once you decide where to go camping, it is time to discuss the summer vacation with the family. Explain the rules to your children that may exist at your campsite and the general area.  Set ground rules beyond the campsite rules to make your trip fun and safe, creating lasting memories.  When camping with your family, it is often a good idea to make reservations before you go if possible.  One last thing, but very important item, to consider when you go camping is first aid.   If you are going to be camping far from any hospitals make sure you have the proper first aid kit to care for anyone who may get injured playing around camp.  You can find first aid kits at almost any major retailer like Wal-mart or Walgreens.

Other items you may want to bring for your trip include:

Rope, Flashlights, Axe, Firewood, Matches, Marshmallow Sticks, Marshmallows to put on those sticks, Outdoor Games, Water, Paper Cups, and Paper Plates.

Make the trip memorable and have fun.

A couple of nights ago I got a NASTY mosquito bite on my right forearm.  It feels like a bruise when I touch it and is about the size of a silver dollar.  Worst part is that it itches like crazy, but yet it hurts to scratch because of the bruise type feeling. 

This made me think about the few hiking / camping trips I've been on when mosquito's were just horrible and I decided I would set out to find some ways to stop the mosquito bite itch sensation.  Here are a few natural ways that I found that worked for me.  Try some for yourself and let me know how it goes:

1. Heat or hot water.  This is one that can be used in the backcountry if you get one of these nasty mosquito bites.  Apply heat to the bite, as hot as you can stand.
2. Ice or cold water.  Interesting how my first suggestion is heat and second is ice.  For some reason, luke warm just doesn't cut it when it comes to mosquito bite relief.
3. Rub the bite with a dry bar of soap. Yeah I know weird...
4. Tea Tree Oil (aka Melaleuca oil.  If you need access to this stuff, let us know and we can hook you up)
5. Banana Peel that is open.  Rub the opened banana peel over the bit.
6. A pocket knife.  Bite on a stick and just cut the bite out.  (No, don't really do this.)

Some of these might not work for you and may not work for different mosquito species bites.  Different species cause different reactions.

I think my favorite "whoops" quote of all-time is from Al Gore, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Sure I've heard the claims that he wasn't saying he invented the Internet and I've even read Snopes.com's input on it, but he still said what he said and it makes me laugh. I'm not here to pick on slip ups of politicians though - we'd be here for years on that one - I'm here to discuss the great outdoors.

Coleman has a new campaign running with the slogan, "The Coleman Campsite. The original Social Networking Site." You can check it out here. The ad claims that they pretty much invented camping, and pretty much invented social networking because they've been helping people get together and socialize for years. I do have to admit that long before I ever used Facebook or MySpace, I was eating pancakes, bacon, and eggs at Canyon Campground in Yellowstone National Park.

Even though people camped LONG before Coleman was ever around, I do have to say this is a really fun campaign and it's worth watching the videos on it just to enjoy the ugly...I mean the old clothes and hairstyles.

1. Visit http://www.backcountrysecrets.com/ to find AND share a great place to camp.
2. Make sure your tent is still waterproof. It is always a good idea to check your gear after storing for long periods of time. You never know what kind of animal may have found your gear during the winter. A garden hose is great for testing if a tent is still waterproof and your children may enjoy an excuse to hose down the tent.
3. If possible, design a mud room for your tent. Some tents have mud rooms sewn right onto them, but if you are not fortunate enough to have one of these you may want to use a tarp or other plastic covering to create one. Use this room for putting on and taking off shoes and boots to avoid tracking mud into sleeping quarters.
4. Make sure your pack, duffel bag, or backpack is away from areas that may get wet during a rainstorm. Nothing is worse than having all of your clothing soaked. I have even seen some people use 5 gallon buckets with lids for packing clothes during wet weather to waterproof their gear.
5. Use a ground cloth underneath your tent, but make sure the tent covers the entire ground cloth. Otherwise the ground cloth will work as a funnel and collect a puddle under your tent.
6. Bring games that can be played inside of a tent. This will make the time pass while it’s raining outside and can be a lot of fun.
7. Do not pitch your tent in a gully. Survey the land of your campsite and determine where water is going to build up. These spots are where you do not want to pitch.
8. Pack meals that do not need to be cooked on a camp stove. This will allow you to stay out of the rain while you eat and prepare meals. If you must cook, bring some kind of dining fly to cook under.

For more tips on camping check out this eBook. Beginner's Guide to Camping

Have you ever camped on a freezing cold night in a tent and thought, "There has to be a better way to do this"? Well there is! Snow caves, tipi's, and igloos.

If snow caves make you claustrophobic and you're not fortunate enough to have the luxury of a tipi (or cannot haul it into the back country), then you need to look into igloos.

In my opinion, igloos are another inspired dwelling from above. Honestly, who thinks of piling snow in a circle to build shelter from the cold? No, I don't even think the Eskimo on the potato chip commercial who wouldn't share was smart enough to think up the igloo on his own. These dwellings are amazing. They are quiet, easy to build, and have an amazing amount of light on the inside.

Ok, so by now you are probably thinking, but "HOW DO I MAKE ONE?" It's easier than I thought! All you need to do is visit Grand Shelters Icebox at http://www.grandshelters.com/ and have a look at their igloo building tool.

You fill this tool with snow, start going in circles and before you know it you'll have an igloo! My only piece of advice is, once you start building one, don't stop. If you let it sit for too long unfinished, gravity will pull your walls down.

You'll be the hit of the neighborhood if you build one of these! Do us a favor and paint www.BackcountrySecrets.com on the side to let your friends know about us. Or you could paint it yellow and say you saw a really big polar bear roaming the streets.

Dutch oven cooking can be one of the most enjoyable experiences of winter camping, or any camping for that matter. There is nothing better than a hot meal that tastes like heaven on a cold winter night. Then to follow that meal up with a fresh baked Dutch oven cobbler is like reaching the highest level of heaven. When you are done basking in the joy of your meal, you are brought back to real life when you realize you have to clean the Dutch oven. Here are a few tips to help you, when cleaning your Dutch oven:

1. NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER use dish soap or detergent when cleaning a Dutch oven. The soap or detergent will soak into the small pores in the metal and the next meal you eat will have a NASTY soapy taste to it.
2. The first real step in cleaning your Dutch oven is to remove as much of the food as you can. This may mean letting the boy scouts finish off the meal, or letting your friendly dog lend a helping tongue.
3. Once most of the food is removed from the Dutch oven you may find you still have harder to remove chunks of food. DO NOT use a metal scraper or pad. The abrasiveness of metal pads may remove the seasoning on your oven. Place some warm water in the oven and heat it up until it is almost boiling. Then use a plastic scraper to scrape the stuck on food off.
4. Drain off the rinse water and rinse down the Dutch oven with some warm water.
5. Dry the Dutch oven as best as you can.
6. Now use a paper towel to rub a thin layer of vegetable oil over the inside and outside of the Dutch oven. I like to pour a little bit of salt into the oil as I rub the inside of the oven because it helps to remove any additional food that step 3 may not have completely removed and adds flavor to the season of the oven.
7. If you have any excess oil, be sure to wipe the excess oil off.
8. Now fold up a dry paper towel and place it on the brim of the oven.
9. Place the lid on top so that the dry paper towel is both on the inside and outside of the oven. (The dry paper towel will help to remove excess moisture/oil from the oven and helps air flow within the oven during storage.)
10. Store your oven in a clean, dry space and start planning your next Dutch oven meal.

Day two of our annual Yellowstone Trip took us to the lower loop of Yellowstone. We made sure to stop and get the Firehole River Swimming Area point to add to Backcountry Secrets. It was too cold for us to swim at this time of year, but this is an enjoyable summer dip.

After Firehole River Swimming Area we headed south to the Classic Old Faithful. There are plenty of trails at Old Faithful to walk around on and enjoy hot pots and geysers. Life flight landed and took off while we were at Old Faithful (Just a reminder that the backcountry and wild animals can be dangerous).

After Old Faithful we drove around to Lake. We checked out Fishing Bridge Campground (talk about bumper to bumper trailers), then continued on to Mary's Bay. Just past Mary's Bay there is a beautiful lookout point on top of a mountain that you can drive to. In the distance you can see the Tetons and overlook Yellowstone Lake.

We finished day two off with a nice large campfire (with freshly cut wood) after discovering our neighbors on night two had gathered up the firewood we cut that morning. They must have thought they hit the jackpot.