I grew up in a family that loved to spend time outdoors. We grew up on a dairy farm, so many of our chores were done outside. My main job was helping with the large vegetable garden and mowing the lawn. My parent’s yard was beautiful. After working hard all day we loved to spend time sitting in the yard and enjoying the beauty around us.
When I went to college I missed the time that I was able to spend outside. I was quite a distance from home so I was not able to spend very much time on the farm. My roommate was from a family that did a great deal of camping. She invited me to come on a camping trip at a state park near the campus. This was my first time camping and I knew before the end of the weekend that I had found a new passion. I loved setting up the camp, building a fire and cooking outdoors. My love of camping still exists. My husband and I along with our children have spent many weekends in numerous state parks and campgrounds. We have developed a routine in setting up camp which is very efficient. One of the biggest challenges while camping is keeping things dry. We have tried many water proof cases through the years and have finally found some that truly do keep the water out.
When looking for water proof cases it is important to check how the case closes. It is usually at the closure that they tend to leak. The best water proof cases we have found have a separate lid that completely fits over the top of the lower half of the case. This prevents leakage that is often present with the hinged containers we have tried. Through the years we have learned that rain showers can happen at anytime so we now pack our sleeping bags into the water proof cases whenever we leave the campsite. Other wet items can be dealt with as long as you have a dry sleeping bag to crawl into at night. The routine is to bring your sleeping bag out of the tent when you get up in the morning and hang it on the clothes line to air out. Right before we head out on a hike, swim or canoe trip we pack the bags into the water proof cases. We always make sure that there is an extra book of matches in the bottom of the case also so that we have dry matches to start a fire with. These two things help to make a more comfortable camping trip.
