Our Gear

This post is all about what we take with us to be comfortable in the woods.  I spent the day before Easter cleaning gear in the driveway and thought some of you out there may be curious about what we take with us.  For those that have not seen my car, I drive a Toyota Matrix.  It is the size of a Corolla with a hatchback.  I have a roof rack on top that holds about 70 pounds.  We can fit the four of us plus stuff in my car for a three day trip.  What we take depends very much on weather and where we are going.  We have 2 very large shelves (unused closet doors on brackets actually) in the garage that we store our stuff.  We keep everything packed and ready so all I have to do to get ready is pack food/cooler, clothes, and linens.  Shawn keeps his backpacking stuff inside to protect it from the heat.  His stuff is more expensive and harder to replace because it is specifically made for backpacking.  Most of our gear was purchased at Target, Walmart, or Academy. 

Let's start with sleeping.  We have 2 family tents.  Our older tent is an Eddie Bauer 4 person tent from Target.  When a tent says how many people it sleeps, it means adults in a sleeping bag side by side without a mattress.  Our newer tent sleeps 6 and is a Coleman from Walmart.  We have heavy duty, regular, and sand stakes depending on where we are camping.  We also have 2 tarps, 1 for under the tent and the other to make a windbreak when we beach camp and a hammer comes on every trip for tent stakes.  We have 2 backpacking mummy style sleeping bags, Shawn's is very warm and mine is fairly warm.  The kids have sleeping bags from Target.  When they get bigger, we will upgrade theirs to nicer bags.  They don't cold weather camp much yet, so they don't need it.  We have a queen size Aerobed for us and the kids each have a twin sized air mattress.  Not sure why we bothered with Patrick since he prefers the crack between the mattress and the side of the tent. 

Moving on to eating.  We have a large grey bin that holds all the food stuff.  Paper towels, garbage and ziploc bags, reusable bowls and plates, plastic silverware, coffee cups, 2 non-stick skillets, 1 saucepan with lid, small dish soap, sponge, and plastic tub for washing dishes.  Another small container holds the sugar, salt, pepper, matches, can opener, and coffee.  We also bring small propane containers to fuel the lantern (which we don't always use) and the stove.  We have a two burner camping stove that runs on small propane.  This is useful for cooking, especially in a burn ban, and home cooking during hurricanes in FL.  We have a couple of sizes of coolers.  We try to bring the smallest one possible to conserve space.  We have a silver insulated drink dispenser (igloo cooler) and fill that with ice and water for drinking when we arrive.  This keeps garbage low and saves space in the cooler by eliminating bottled water.  The kids have hydration packs for long hikes.  We didn't get camel packs, just the $9 packs from Academy.  We also have 4 marshmallow sticks.

We have a military duffel bag that holds pillows and towels.  In warm weather, we skip the sleeping bags and just bring sheets.  We have 4 folding camp chairs and various colors. 

We bring water shoes and hiking or tennis shoes.  Lots of comfy clothes that can get filthy.  The kids always bring buckets and shovels.  We have a portable charcoal grill for beach camping and an inflatable boat with oars for river camping.  Miscellaneous things include drawing paper with colored pencils, walking sticks, fishing equipment, large nets for catching minnows and frogs, flashlights, a french press for making coffee, and card games.  And beer....always cold beer.

We usually buy firewood and ice when we get there to save on space.   Below are some pictures of our stuff and the small space we fit everything into. 

Mother Neff State Park

This weekend we went on a 1 night trip to Mother Neff State Park.  Mother Neff is located between Gatesville and Temple off 36, about an hour drive from home.  This small park was packed with history and great hiking.  The kids participated in the Junior Ranger program by answering questions about the parks history and nature.  They turned in their answers, pledged to conserve and protect nature, and received a certificate and Junior Ranger badge.  They were very proud of their hard work and even learned a few things.  Mother Neff was the first state park in Texas.  The land was donated by Isabella "Mother" Neff by her son Patrick, who was Governor of Texas in the 1920's.  The land was along a pioneer road leading west and still has 2 of the original mile stones placed to guide west going settlers.  Follow the hiking trail from the pay station at the front and you will cross a grassy pond habitat and continue through a forest thick with pecan and oak trees.  We saw a lot of really great birds, including a vermilion flycatcher.  Continue up to the higher areas away from the ponds and creek and you will find the Indian Cave.  This limestone bluff was home to the Tonkawa Indians and served as shelter and burial ground.  Continue on the trail to the wash pond, a spring fed pond that settlers used for bathing and washing clothes.  There are several nice pavilions built by the CCC and a bell in the main grassy area along with plaques with historical information.  On our hike we found our first state park geocache.  We hope to find the cache at each park we go to and collect cache tags as souvenirs of our finds.
The park had a very damaging flood and is still in the recovery process.  Tent sites are by the Leon river, although river access is difficult due to steep banks and thick grasses with unknown animals residing there.  The reservoir is not far down the road if you are looking for fishing or tubing.  The tent sites were open grassy area with a few trees.  We were in site 11.  The bathrooms and showers were a bit of a long walk, but very nice and as Natalie said, "buggy free".  Not much privacy, but still fairly quiet as there are only 7 water only sites.  Good 3 season park, but bring your bug spray and check for ticks after your hike.

Day Tripping to Inks Lake

Inks Lake is one of our favorite parks. It is beautiful, only an hour from home and has great amenities. There is lake swimming, hiking, canoeing, and lots of wildlife. We have camped here twice and come at least twice for the day. This was one of our day trips. St. Patrick's Day 2011 spent rock climbing and playing in the lake with Grandma. We also went canoeing although the wind was blowing pretty good, making the lake a bit choppy.

Day Tripping to Washington on the Brazos

Spring break last year we piled into Kristen's car and headed to Brenham. In addition to the Blue Bell Creamery, we also visited Washington on the Brazos State Park. This is a day use park with a nice playground and picnic area, the Independence Hall where the Texas declaration of independence was signed, and a living history farm. The kids had a great time at the farm playing with hoops in the grass, checking out the livestock, and performing chores. There is no river access here due to steep banks covered in poison ivy, but they didn't seem to mind.

Dinosaur Valley State Park and Fossil Rim

Loved loved loved this park and can't wait to camp here! This park is in Glen Rose, which is southwest of Ft. Worth. We went up for a day trip and used a free LaQuinta night because it was February and had just iced/snowed the weekend before, so a little too cold for camping with kids in Target sleeping bags. We explored all of the dinosaur footprint sites and played next to the river for a long time. We skipped stones, played in the sand next to the river, hunted for special rocks, and dared each other to walk across the river barefoot. There was still patches of light snow and ice by the rivers edge in shaded spots! We went on a hike through the grassland area. Such a fun day!
The next day was Fossil Rim wildlife park. This is a drive through zoo that allows you to feed the animals from your car window. Loved all the antelope, even though their antlers scratched the side of the Accord. We all rolled up the windows and hid from the scary ostriches. We were so excited to feed the giraffe's and the zebras just wouldn't take no for an answer. The Barbery Sheep even formed a road block to get food. Just a super fun trip that we would love to take again.

McKinney Falls State Park

This is my least favorite park we have been to. Let me start by saying I fully understand our timing was terrible. Not only was it the first weekend of spring break, but it was opening weekend for the rodeo and SXSW. McKinney Falls is located 13 miles from downtown Austin. So camping here was like camping in Zilker Park. There is no separate tent loop in this park. So we shared a loop with RV's that had put up bounce houses on their tent pads. The people next to us had a shrimp boil till 1am. We only stayed 1 night, but it was a long one. We went down to the river, but it was kinda mucky from the dry weather although the falls were still flowing. It was crowded.
I have decided that perhaps in the fall this park deserves another chance. Maybe on a quiet weekend when swimming season is over. I'll know to expect that there will be lots of airplane noise since the airport is 15 minutes away. I won't be looking for a beautiful night sky since it is all drowned out by city lights. Maybe we will try a screened shelter to escape the generators and the bounce house crowd. Maybe.

Guadalupe River State Park

This trip was Easter weekend last year. We had a few unexpected incidences, but overall a good trip. We drove down on Friday afternoon. After being kept up most of the night by a rooting armadillo next to the tent, Natalie sat up and vomited all over her sleeping bag and the floor of the tent. We were motionless with confusion as to what to do and why it never occurred to us that they would yak in the tent. Have a vomit plan!! We stuffed everything into a garbage bag and threw it into the car. The next morning we washed the throw up off and went to town to get a blanket. The second thing that we didn't really think through was the intelligence of the raccoons in this park. Saturday night we were robbed by a band of raccoons. They broke into the cooler and stole everything not in a bottle. They left the ketchup, beer, and cocktail sauce. They stole one of the most precious items for Sunday breakfast, the bacon. The crazy part was they closed the lid after they took everything. So I didn't notice anything was wrong till I opened the lid and found dirty ice water and no food. Left as a calling card was one large perfect muddy paw print on the lid. So do not underestimate the wildlife at the park.
The park was very pretty. We stayed in the cedar sage tent loop in site 6. It was a bit of a walk to the bath house, but we had a nice patch of woods separating us from the next site. When we were there it had been pretty dry, so the bugs were flocking to the showers for water. The stick bugs were cool, the scorpions were not. The river was great for swimming. We went to the main swimming area in the morning and after lunch went further up stream to a section that was perfect for fishing and tubing. We tested out our inflatable raft here. It worked ok, but I think a set of retractable oars would be good. We needed longer ones, but couldn't fit anything any bigger in the car. This section was a challenge to get to, as you had to go down a very steep slope from the primitive camping area. Not easy with a 4 year old and a large raft. But the kids and Shawn had a great time catching lots of little sun fish. Natalie and I climbed through the rocks to go swimming. It had some light "rapids" that are probably very fun in a tube. Saturday night the San Antonio Astronomy Society hosted a star party that Shawn and the kids went to while I nursed a nasty headache. They got to look through some very nice telescopes and ask questions. Fun trip that is still doable in the summer if you spend lots of time in the river that has hopefully recovered from the drought.

Padre Island National Seashore

This is a great trip for experienced campers. We made a trip here in August 2010 and stayed in the parking area for RV's. This trip, taken in June 2011, we decided to try beach camping for 2 nights. We drove the 4 hours to get there and made our 13 trips from the car to the tent. Padre has beach camping for tents that have shade structures right on the sand. We still made a wind break with a tarp to help keep our supplies on the picnic table. You can bring a portable grill like we did or make a fire right there in the sand. There is a bath house with showers up the boardwalk and the park headquarters is 1/2 mile up the beach. There is a store that sells ice and other forgotten items and CVS is 10 miles away closer to the bridge. There is also a gift shop and interpretive area with information about sea turtle conservation, hurricane damage and erosion, and the ecology of the area. This is a nice air conditioned space when it is 102 degrees to hang out for a little bit. There is no driving allowed on this beach, so especially near the camping area it is quiet and safe to let the kids run about. We did not have any issues with jellyfish, but there were quite a few Portuguese man of war that washed up on the beach. Also if you have a fear of crabs stay far away from this beach. They are everywhere, especially at night. They tend to scurry out of the way, but wear shoes to be on the safe side. The second night we toasted smores over charcoal and gave the kids glow sticks to run around with in the dark. The stars here are beautiful despite being so close to Corpus. There is a $20 fee per car for a 7 day pass, but beach camping is free. Just make sure you park in a space not connected to an RV site in the parking lot. We didn't put on the rain fly the first night and that was a very sandy mistake. Shrimp tastes especially delicious on the beach, as this was when Natalie's love of shrimp began.

Meridian State Park

Meridian State Park was ok. Not bad, not great. Just ok. We went on a nice hike and the screened shelter was a nice change from tent camping. We did a little fishing at the lake, but due to the drought the lake was smaller and not open for swimming or boating. We did find some really good fossils down by the edge of the lake. And the kids got some super cool walking sticks from the park store. There was no ice or supplies at the store, but you can get a few things from the small towns on the way up there. We stayed in shelter 5 at the end of the shelter loop. It was a very short walk to the lake and close to the bath house. Shawn caught a bass, so it was a pretty good fishing day. This is a good park for one night, after that it gets a little boring.