Family Camping Vacation

We just returned from a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We camped at June Lake and Grover Hot Springs and spent some time at a funky "Scandanavian-style" hotel at Lake Tahoe. It was a great getaway. We crammed our camping gear into our car and headed out for some fun.

The weather was classic summer in the unpredictable Sierras - thunder clouds and warm rain one minute and hot and sunny the next. We fished and hiked, worked up our appetites and cooked easy outdoorsy food and of course we toasted marshmallows around the campfire. At June Lake we stayed at the Oh Ridge campground and were surrounded by spicy smelling sage and pine trees. At Grover Hot Springs and Tahoe woke up to the vanilla and pineapple scent of Jeffrey pines. The best part was that we talked and shared time together. Not always an easy task with a teenager. Camping is my highly recommended family vacation on a shoestring.

If you are looking for inexpensive camping gear check out eBay. Larry tested our camp stove before we left and nearly singed off his eyebrows. Plan B . . . We borrowed my parents old Winchester brand camp stove. It was great and got us to thinking. We checked it out and found some great deals on camping gear on eBay. Camping has been a shoestring activity for us. My sweet brother gave us our camping tent (it was too big for his backpacking trips). We also have a HUGE tent that we bought from one of my co-workers for $5o. Passersby have called it the "Harry Potter" tent. With three rooms and a 12x18 footprint, we could hold a convention in there. It has been a great hangout spot for kids when we camp with other families. So, be on the lookout for used camping gear. There is some great stuff out there.

If you are looking for a campsite ~ you can locate them and reserve them at www.reserveamerica.com. Some need to be booked six months ahead of time, so get ready and start planning for a great vacation. Send me an email and let me know how it goes!