First Official Camp Out with Wanderlust
Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 1:30 pmWell, all in all it was a real experience. I haven't been camping by myself in almost 30 years. I had real mixed emotions, but ended up enjoying it.
I went to Swartswood State Park here in New Jersey, it's only about 35 minutes from my house, and it's a beautiful campground that I've been to many times with my two sons.
Here's my setup less than 10 minutes after parking.
I was one of two campsites occupied in the whole campground. The other was a 24' or so with a slide out side... hardly camping at all! We had very high winds yesterday, gusts up to 50 mph, and the trees were waving like crazy, creaking, and dropping dead branches everywhere.
Did I mention everywhere.. one landed on the hood of my car.
This sign was very comforting.. there is one screwed to every picnic table in the campground.
I've actually woken up there and found bear pawprints on the window of my car!
I got to use my new to me cooler too. I found this on craigslist for 30 dollars. It is steel, but has the plastic handles. It does have the metal latch though. It was in very nice condition, and is reminiscent of the one my parents had when I was a kid.
Here's a shot of the empty campsites next to me, the sites are very large at Swartswood, and the park is kept meticulously clean.
I packed rather hastily, and only forgot two things.
I forgot a coffee mug, and something to carry water in. I have three 5 gal, food grade jugs I bought for camping and winemaking, but going all the way back home was a waste, so I bought a one gallon drink dispenser to use for this trip. I'll fill it with iced tea in the future. I used a regular drinking cup for my coffee.
The tear actually held some heat in, which was only my body heat and breath. I had the roof vent cracked ever so slightly. I noticed the difference when I got up at 3am to get rid of the Pepsi I had consumed, and opened the door.
I need to install some shelves on the inside, as when I went to sleep, I had a tough time deciding whether to bring my shoes inside or not, as it turned out, I banged the dirt off them, and put them at the end of my bed. I was afraid a bear might find them tasty if I left them outside.
Right now, my bedding consists of one large comforter, folded in half side to side. I slept inbetween the folds. I was comfortable and warm, however my movement was limited. I'm going to change this setup so I have more freedom of movement.
I screwed a hook into one of my roof spars to hang my LED lantern from, but chose a bad spot, as I knocked it down three times while adjusting the roof vent.
I went to Swartswood State Park here in New Jersey, it's only about 35 minutes from my house, and it's a beautiful campground that I've been to many times with my two sons.
Here's my setup less than 10 minutes after parking.
I was one of two campsites occupied in the whole campground. The other was a 24' or so with a slide out side... hardly camping at all! We had very high winds yesterday, gusts up to 50 mph, and the trees were waving like crazy, creaking, and dropping dead branches everywhere.
Did I mention everywhere.. one landed on the hood of my car.
This sign was very comforting.. there is one screwed to every picnic table in the campground.
I've actually woken up there and found bear pawprints on the window of my car!
I got to use my new to me cooler too. I found this on craigslist for 30 dollars. It is steel, but has the plastic handles. It does have the metal latch though. It was in very nice condition, and is reminiscent of the one my parents had when I was a kid.
Here's a shot of the empty campsites next to me, the sites are very large at Swartswood, and the park is kept meticulously clean.
I packed rather hastily, and only forgot two things.
I forgot a coffee mug, and something to carry water in. I have three 5 gal, food grade jugs I bought for camping and winemaking, but going all the way back home was a waste, so I bought a one gallon drink dispenser to use for this trip. I'll fill it with iced tea in the future. I used a regular drinking cup for my coffee.
The tear actually held some heat in, which was only my body heat and breath. I had the roof vent cracked ever so slightly. I noticed the difference when I got up at 3am to get rid of the Pepsi I had consumed, and opened the door.
I need to install some shelves on the inside, as when I went to sleep, I had a tough time deciding whether to bring my shoes inside or not, as it turned out, I banged the dirt off them, and put them at the end of my bed. I was afraid a bear might find them tasty if I left them outside.
Right now, my bedding consists of one large comforter, folded in half side to side. I slept inbetween the folds. I was comfortable and warm, however my movement was limited. I'm going to change this setup so I have more freedom of movement.
I screwed a hook into one of my roof spars to hang my LED lantern from, but chose a bad spot, as I knocked it down three times while adjusting the roof vent.
