National Park Week April 17 - 25, 2010

Entrance to all 392 national parks is free

during National Park Week!

To make it easier to experience America's Great Outdoors, the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees, so visitors can enjoy all 392 national parks for free April 17-25. In addition, many national park concessioners are offering special promotions that are certain to add to your fun.

Find a park near you.

Storms Rolling Through!

Well I am headed to bed soon and the first storms of the year will be rolling through soon.  I don't mind storms but I mind when they interrupt my sleep.  I will be sleeping with the NOAA radio on tonight since we are under a Tornado Watch.

NOAA Radio

Now is a good time to prepare and equip your camper with one of the radios.  Ours has others features like a flashlight, radio, and clock.  These are compact in size but will warn you of hazardous conditions.  While we do have a tv in our camper, we often can't pick up local channels when at some more remote campgrounds.  A NOAA radio will help keep you and your family safe.  Here is a link to the ones our local tv station has a special discount on - http://retail.petra.com/index.php/

Lake Rudolph Campground & R.V. Resort

We have visited this RV park on several occasions.  It is located in Santa Claus, Indiana right next to Holiday World.  Santa Claus is an awesome little town in Southern Indiana.  This town may be small but there is a large amount of fun to be had with state and federal parks located nearby and of course, Holiday World and Splashin' Safari.  

 

Lake Rudolph Campground is a large campground.  You don't even have to own a RV to enjoy the camping experience with several family rental RV's and cabins to choose from.  Last summer when we visited this campground we decided it would be cheaper to leave our camper at home and my parents and my family rented a RV.  The unit was large enough to comfortably sleep everyone and was very clean.

This campground offers over a variety of sites including some that are wooded, have concrete pads, or patios.  Two pools, golf car rentals, volleyball court, fishing lake, nature trails, game room, plus many more amenities.  

There is also a store located on the property and Holiday World tickets can be purchased right there at the campground.  We forgot our sunscreen last year and needed to purchase some at the store.  It was so reasonable at the campground store that we purchased it there!

Check out the website for this great campground.  They also have on-line reservation requests! 

Outdoor Cooking Table

A few months ago I was shopping at one of area local antique malls and found a neat retro ceramic table. 

It has no legs but that will be an easy fix. 

This table will be a perfect outdoor cooking table!  When we go camping my husband does all of the cooking and unless it is raining he is cooking outside.  The two table we have now are not very sturdy and he has burnt one of my tables.   

Made of ceramic this table will be very durable and should be able to handle what ever he puts it through.  I will post pics when I get it done.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways Camping

Well there is snow on the ground again and it is really COLD again! Might as well dream about the upcoming spring and summer season that will soon be here. For those who like to canoe or float you should consider a trip to Eminence Missouri and the Jacks Fork River. This part of Missouri is like a little piece of heaven. The Jacks Fork River is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

Eminence Canoes, Cottages, Camp is a campground located on the Jacks Fork River and offers many lodging options from cottages, tent camping, or full hookups for those with a trailer.  They have a WiFi hotspot and offers convenient rentals on plastic canoes, aluminum canoes, sit-in kayaks, sit-on-top kayaks, tandem sit-on-top kayaks, and tubes.  Guests are welcome to also bring their own canoes.  They provide a shuttle to start you out on your float trip.

They have a great website telling more about the area with pictures of the campground.  Check out their rates and make reservations from the website.

Here we go

I have been trying to start this blog for quite some time. What has been stopping me? Time and nerves! My family and I love to camp. We bought our first camper in 1998. It was a small Shasta motorhome. VERY SMALL! We had a lot of fun in that motorhome and have gradually moved up to a Terry Fifth Wheel. Yes we travel with a potty, fridge, tv, and microwave. My kids joke that we keep all the good stuff in the camper.

Even though there is 6" of snow on the ground outside our family is beginning to prepare for the upcoming camping season. This blog will highlight some of the fun we have and also bring you recipes, destination spots, and helpful hints for your camping experience.