Camping

[xzochye]

Thought this would be a fun topic for us. Any great camping recipes? Hilarious disaster stories? Favorite locations?

[liessemsed]

I love camping, but sadly, we haven't gone in 2 years. I have LOTS of favorite locations for camping, but none in Texas. All of my favorites involve campsites that are waterfront, like San Onofre in CA (it's on Camp Pendleton, I think. We had to have a military ID to get in) or JW Wells in the U.P. of Michigan.

And the only good camping recipes I know of involve alcohol. :)

[xzochye]

I love camping, but sadly, we haven't gone in 2 years. I have LOTS of favorite locations for camping, but none in Texas. All of my favorites involve campsites that are waterfront, like San Onofre in CA (it's on Camp Pendleton, I think. We had to have a military ID to get in) or JW Wells in the U.P. of Michigan.

And the only good camping recipes I know of involve alcohol. :)

Hmmmm, alcohol? Let's see...I am going camping this weekend with 5 adults (including me) and 10 kids the week after school starts. Please share those recipes!

A weekend full of :drinkingand :dancingsounds great!

[olderthandirt]

Campfire Cobbler in a Dutch Oven (and let me know if you'd like to borrow one or two -- I have several)
1 box yellow cake mix, 1 large can peaches in heavy syrup, 1/4 stick butter (in slices), cinnamon

I line my Dutch oven with foil to make it easier to clean. Pour the peaches and syrup at the bottom of the oven. Add the cake mix (don't mix it with anything). Checkerboard the top with slices of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon (I use LOTS!). Cover and place in campfire or over hot coals. Put an extra ring of coals on the top lid. This should bring the cooking temp to 350º. Bake about 40 minutes, rotating it 180º about half way thru the cooking cycle to make sure it bakes evenly. Ooh, it's so good!!!

We also make campfire stew in a foil pouch using stew meat, carrots, onion, chopped potatoes, and seasoning -- on an oven grate over hot coals cooked for about an hour. Yummiliciousness!

[Ludwig]

Shoot a Crow (bird, not native American). Pluck and gut it. Place it in the center of a mud ball. Throw the ball into the campfire and leave it there for about 45 minutes. Open the ball and enjoy. You can substitute Meadow Lark, Robin, White Wing Dove (if in season), or Pigeon for the Crow since Crow takes a modicum of hunting acumen. :)

[xzochye]

Shoot a Crow (bird, not native American). Pluck and gut it. Place it in the center of a mud ball. Throw the ball into the campfire and leave it there for about 45 minutes. Open the ball and enjoy. You can substitute Meadow Lark, Robin, White Wing Dove (if in season), or Pigeon for the Crow since Crow takes a modicum of hunting acumen. :)

I think I will have to pass on this one. None of us lady folk will pluck and gut a bird. The only guys there will be my 15 year old son and his friend and I don't think I trust them with guts...lol

[xzochye]

Campfire Cobbler in a Dutch Oven (and let me know if you'd like to borrow one or two -- I have several)
1 box yellow cake mix, 1 large can peaches in heavy syrup, 1/4 stick butter (in slices), cinnamon

I line my Dutch oven with foil to make it easier to clean. Pour the peaches and syrup at the bottom of the oven. Add the cake mix (don't mix it with anything). Checkerboard the top with slices of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon (I use LOTS!). Cover and place in campfire or over hot coals. Put an extra ring of coals on the top lid. This should bring the cooking temp to 350º. Bake about 40 minutes, rotating it 180º about half way thru the cooking cycle to make sure it bakes evenly. Ooh, it's so good!!!

We also make campfire stew in a foil pouch using stew meat, carrots, onion, chopped potatoes, and seasoning -- on an oven grate over hot coals cooked for about an hour. Yummiliciousness!

How many people does the cobbler feed? Maybe I can double the recipe?

[sojourner truth]

Mrs. Truth and I just bought a new trailer and have tried most of the local parks. Dana Peak is our favorite because it's really only a few minutes drive from the house. We go to Papas for breakfast, and then eat the othe 2 meals of the day at the campsite. Usually burgers on the grill and myspecial baked skin on french fries. I put about 2 or 3 potatos sliced like fries in some foil, toss in a generous slab of butter, and let sit on a corner of the grill for about an hour. I turn them a few times so they don't burn. Open 'em up, salt and pepper, and voila.

Out of all the parks we have tried, Dana Peak is our favorite, but there is no shade trees. Union Grove is OK, and has a bit more shade, but has a lot of mosquitos. Westcliff is nice if you have a trailer because all the sites are drive through, but they have theives that come in after dark and steal anything that's left out. Usually beer or other adult beverages.

All these parks have swimming areas and tent camp sites with electrical outlets. Most have water. All have bathrooms with showers available. They are usually $20 a night, unless you have a senior discount card, and then it is half price. We go at least 2 times a month for a day or 2.

[curmudgeon]

I've got a funny recipe for y'all. I lived in western Montana for 8 years and did a ton of floating/camping on the rivers in western and central Montana. One year, my friends and I got a permit to float the Smith River ( a wild and scenic river in central Montana with extremely limited access....hence the permit requirement).

It was a 110 mile 5 day float. After about day 2 all of the beer was gone. Days 3 and 4 alternated between snow (an end of June trip) and 90 degree weather. We were having lunch on day 4 after scraping ice off our tents that morning and fighting the cold all night and were in general misery. It was this background that created the "Smith River Bloody Mary"...an otherwise repugnant cocktail that at the time tasted like a million dollars.

No ice
several shots of vodka
a ketchup packet
salt, pepper and a bunch of hot sauce

The point here reinforces the old expression "necessity is the mother of invention"!

[xzochye]

Mrs. Truth and I just bought a new trailer and have tried most of the local parks. Dana Peak is our favorite because it's really only a few minutes drive from the house. We go to Papas for breakfast, and then eat the othe 2 meals of the day at the campsite. Usually burgers on the grill and myspecial baked skin on french fries. I put about 2 or 3 potatos sliced like fries in some foil, toss in a generous slab of butter, and let sit on a corner of the grill for about an hour. I turn them a few times so they don't burn. Open 'em up, salt and pepper, and voila.

Out of all the parks we have tried, Dana Peak is our favorite, but there is no shade trees. Union Grove is OK, and has a bit more shade, but has a lot of mosquitos. Westcliff is nice if you have a trailer because all the sites are drive through, but they have theives that come in after dark and steal anything that's left out. Usually beer or other adult beverages.

All these parks have swimming areas and tent camp sites with electrical outlets. Most have water. All have bathrooms with showers available. They are usually $20 a night, unless you have a senior discount card, and then it is half price. We go at least 2 times a month for a day or 2.

I think I will try those potatoes! We are heading to Garner State park this weekend. I love it. Lot's of activities to keep the kids (all ages) busy. Toobing, kayaking, paddle boats and street dances at night.

Have you tried anything in the Ardmore Ok area? I think it is so beautiful right there. Every year when I go through there heading to Kansas I think about camping there sometime.

[xzochye]

I've got a funny recipe for y'all. I lived in western Montana for 8 years and did a ton of floating/camping on the rivers in western and central Montana. One year, my friends and I got a permit to float the Smith River ( a wild and scenic river in central Montana with extremely limited access....hence the permit requirement).

It was a 110 mile 5 day float. After about day 2 all of the beer was gone. Days 3 and 4 alternated between snow (an end of June trip) and 90 degree weather. We were having lunch on day 4 after scraping ice off our tents that morning and fighting the cold all night and were in general misery. It was this background that created the "Smith River Bloody Mary"...an otherwise repugnant cocktail that at the time tasted like a million dollars.

No ice
several shots of vodka
a ketchup packet
salt, pepper and a bunch of hot sauce

The point here reinforces the old expression "necessity is the mother of invention"!

A 5 day float would rock! But I just don't see how you can run out of beer. How could someone allow something like that to happen on a toobing trip!?!?

[curmudgeon]

A 5 day float would rock! But I just don't see how you can run out of beer. How could someone allow something like that to happen on a toobing trip!?!?

Rafting trip! No access to vehicles after the put-in. And too many people that knew what the trip was going to be like and didn't adequately prepare! I agree it is sketchy at best and puts my camping background in serious question!

On another note, I have driven through Ardmore a bunch of times as well and think it would be a beautiful area to camp. I have camped in northwestern Oklahoma in the Ouachita mountains several times and they are isolated and excellent! I also enjoy camping in the piney woods in the winter and early spring!

[olderthandirt]

How many people does the cobbler feed? Maybe I can double the recipe?

If you're going to double the recipe, use two ovens. Otherwise it doesn't cook evenly. We like our desserts in my family, so this feeds only the 5 of us with nice sized helpings. You can do one with peach and another with blueberry (my personal favorite!) or any other kind of pie filling.

[sojourner truth]

I think I will try those potatoes! We are heading to Garner State park this weekend. I love it. Lot's of activities to keep the kids (all ages) busy. Toobing, kayaking, paddle boats and street dances at night.

Have you tried anything in the Ardmore Ok area? I think it is so beautiful right there. Every year when I go through there heading to Kansas I think about camping there sometime.

Been to Ardmore but it was over 20 years ago. Mrs. Truth and I have planned a trip to go camp at the Gettysburg Battlefield campground, and then we are going to go south to Panama Beach to some place called "Racoon River" lodge and visit our daughter. I even bought a silent generator for "cold" camping. Our trailer has a toilet and a shower and a microwave (yep, really roughing it here).

I have wanted to see the gettysburg battlefield forever. I have relatives who fought for the union that died there.

If you really want to see some beautiful scenery, anything in Oklahoma is pretty neat, but right around the Ft. Sill area they have Lake Elmer Thomas park which is beautiful also. It's where I proposed to Mrs. Truth.

Right now, she's just figured out she is retired and doesnt have to do any lesson plans, seating charts, or go to in service any more. Every time we drive by a school, she starts kackling like the wicked witch of the west and waving. I wish she'd use all of her fingers though.

[curmudgeon]

Every time we drive by a school, she starts kackling like the wicked witch of the west and waving. I wish she'd use all of her fingers though.

I know the feeling. I felt the same way when my alarm clock rang this morning (as well as when the 1st tardy bell rang).

[FieryPrincess]

We did a lot of tenting on the way from Texas to Alaska. Our favorite place was in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We stayed at the Horse Thief Campground. A fun drive, a beautiful view and lots of neat stuff within a half-hour.

We did a lot of the summer sausage/cheese/crackers thing, but we also had hobo burgers when had campfires. ground meat (we used buffalo), cut up potato bits, and carrot slices. Throw some season in there as desired (salt, cajun, whatever), warp in foil and toss on the fire. Dinner in a half hour or so.

[sojourner truth]

Yum...That sounds pretty good. Everything made outdoors is better. Mrs. Truth loves my campfire pancakes with sausage. But you have to have a good hot fire and a long handled skillet.

The "buffalo" thing reminded me of being stationed at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. There is a place called "Mears" in the boondocks that makes a buffalo burger about 5 pounds. One whole plate just for the fries.

When we were out on the reservation shooting the howitzers, we used to sleep out on the ground at night. I got woke up one morning with something big and furry licking my forehead while zipped up in my sleeping bag. It was a damn huge buffalo. Have you ever seen a huge gray worm squirming for it's life? That was me. Couldn't get the damn zipper down.

We woke up one morning after a night of setting up in the pitch black to find out we had settled down for the night and set our sleeping bags down on top of an old Indian graveyard. Now that will give you the willies. I wondered why it felt I was sleeping on top of a mound or something.

[xzochye]

Yum...That sounds pretty good. Everything made outdoors is better. Mrs. Truth loves my campfire pancakes with sausage. But you have to have a good hot fire and a long handled skillet.

The "buffalo" thing reminded me of being stationed at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. There is a place called "Mears" in the boondocks that makes a buffalo burger about 5 pounds. One whole plate just for the fries.

When we were out on the reservation shooting the howitzers, we used to sleep out on the ground at night. I got woke up one morning with something big and furry licking my forehead while zipped up in my sleeping bag. It was a damn huge buffalo. Have you ever seen a huge gray worm squirming for it's life? That was me. Couldn't get the damn zipper down.

We woke up one morning after a night of setting up in the pitch black to find out we had settled down for the night and set our sleeping bags down on top of an old Indian graveyard. Now that will give you the willies. I wondered why it felt I was sleeping on top of a mound or something.

That is freaking hilarious!

[olderthandirt]

So, how was your camping trip? Inquiring minds want to know!

[Scarlett]

"Shoot a crow (bird not Native American)..."

OMG...did that make anyone but me giggle!?!?!?

[xzochye]

So, how was your camping trip? Inquiring minds want to know!

We had a great time! Spent the days playing in the Frio River and the nights at the dances. Weather was great, mornings were actually a bit chilly which was great. Garner State Park is probably the best place to camp in Texas.

[Texas Immigrant]

Do they stop the family activities once the summer is gone? I'm thinking of maybe going down early October; thanks to your rave reviews!:)

[xzochye]

Last night was the last dance. They mentioned the possibility of having another dance for Columbus Day. As for the miniature golf I am not sure. You can like them on Facebook and they will answer your questions. If you do go try to reserve a spot in the Old Garner sites. This was the first time we were in the new Garner sites and we had to drive to the river, pavilion and everything else. You have to book early for holidays if you want to stay in the older section. We made our reservations in June and it was already full.