Hunka hunka burning wood

The warm weather we had over the weekend here really made me wish for camping.  Mother Nature is such a tease, though - she brought the cold weather back for an encore.

We all know it's not a camping trip without a campfire. Sitting around a campfire toasting marshmallows and hot dogs, maybe drinking a couple of beers and swapping stories - well, there's just not much better fun to be had.  Bundled firewood, however, can cost, well, a bundle.

The gas stations and grocery stores in the area of our favorite campground sell firewood for about $3.00 a bundle.  We use 2 bundles of firewood a day; that's about $18.00 alone for firewood for a 3 day camping trip.  Your mileage may vary.  Here's how to save some money on firewood for your next camping trip.

Bring firewood from home.  Check the rules and regulations of your local campground to see if this is permitted.  There are signs around the campground that we frequent telling us to burn firewood where we buy it (at the campground, of course, not at the gas station) and not to bring the firewood home because of the State of Illinois' efforts to stop the spread of the emerald ash borer (an insect).

There are many ways to get free firewood.  If one of your neighbors is having a tree cut down, ask the tree trimming company what they're planning on doing with the wood.  If they tell you that they'll be putting the wood in a chipper, tell them that they'll take it and ask whether they could cut it in pieces for you.  It will save you a lot of elbow grease - cutting wood is hard work.  If the tree trimming company is leaving the wood for the homeowner (and if you're brave), ask the homeowner if you could have the wood.  The homeowner may be relieves that he won't have to find a way to dispose of the wood.  And of course, if you're having a tree cut down on your property, you can tell the tree trimming company that you want to keep the wood and that they need to cut the branches and trunk to an easy-to-carry size.

You can also check on craigslist.org and on freecycle.org for people who are giving away firewood.  It may be well worth a bit of a drive to pick up free firewood.

Once you get the wood back to your house, however, you can't burn it right away - it's still green.  You need to season (dry out) the firewood in order for the firewood to burn a long time when you make your campfire.  The easiest way to season the firewood is to just stack it up in your garden shed or your garage for a few months.  So you don't have a garage or garden shed?  Stack the firewood up outside and cover it with a tarp.  Secure the tarp around the wood so that water or snow doesn't get to the firewood.  Fall is a great time to obtain wood and store it up for spring camping trips.

Look around the campground.  While you're taking a hike through the forest or just walking around the campground, pick up branches and limbs to use for the campfire.  You may even find a log or two.  This is, of course, to supplement either store bought firewood or firewood you've brought from home.  You're also doing the campground a favor by picking up branches and limbs to keep the campground clean.

Other sources for firewood.  The convenience store at the campground we frequent also sells wood.  They have a fenced enclosure with firewood in it - you pay $3.00 at the store and they give you a tote to use.  You can take as much wood as you can fit in the tote, put the firewood in your vehicle and then return the tote to the store.  We usually do this on the first night of our camping trip since we don't have time to go to town to purchase firewood. 

If you bring wood from home to the campground, you might want to consider purchasing a large plastic tote so put the wood in so that the tree bark doesn't get all over your vehicle.  It will be easier for you to cart the firewood over to the fire pit in the tote. Just don't leave the tote too close to the fire or the tote will melt!

Are there other places that you obtain firewood from?  Comment below and let me know!

On another note, in order to make a reservation at any Illinois state park campgrounds, you have to use the recreation.gov website.  This means you have to pay for your entire reservation in advance, plus a $5.00 handling fee.  Ugh.  It was nice when you only had to pay $5.00 plus the first night's camping fee in advance. We will finally have the money soon to reserve a campsite for Memorial Day weekend. I only hope they have some good spots left.

Do you have plans for camping soon?  Comment below and let me know! 

See you all soon! 

Diane

Food preparation

A big hello to my followers! Thanks for reading!

Unless you're planning on going to fast food restaurants during your camping trip (not very cheap and not very good for you), someone is going to have to cook. That is, unless you weren't going to eat, which is not likely since the fresh air and all the outdoor activity will increase appetites. In this post, I will discuss how to cook in the great outdoors.

Camp sites without electrical hookups (primitive campsites):

This will be a little more challenging than cooking at a campsite with an electrical hookup, but it can be done. There are several ways to cook at a campsite without electricity.

You can cook over a campfire. Most state campgrounds will have fire pits with a grill over them at each campsite. If you plan to cook on this, I would put aluminum foil over the grill (before cooking, please) if you are going to cook meat on these grills - these grills don't get cleaned very often. If you're heating up something in a pot, you can put that on the grill. If you don't have a fire pit with a grill, you can purchase a foldable grill that you can put over the fire. You can cook on the grill with pots and pans. There are also special holders that let you cook grilled cheese sandwiches over the fire.

Another option is a barbecue grill, either a charcoal grill or a gas grill. You can also buy grills that run on a propane canister. Barbecue grills are usually used to cook meat.

You can also cook on a camp stove. These are usually fueled by a propane canister. They come in different varieties. If you're comfortable cooking over an open flame, you can get a one or two burner stove. You would use the stove just like you would a stove at home. There are also camp stove with grills that can be used to cook meat, or you can use a pot or pan on them.

There are a few other ways of cooking without electricity, which you can find here. A couple of these are things I learned in Girl Scouts many moons ago. They cook food slower than my husband and son would like, however.

Camp sites with electrical hookups:

This is as easy as cooking at home. You can use the techniques above, or you can purchase a two burner electric stove. Be careful after you turn off the burners - they'll still be hot for a while. Don't forget the extension cords! We camp at a campsite that has an electrical hook up. I plug in a heavy duty orange three prong extension cord, plug an surge protection strip into the extension cord, and plug the stove into that. I also use an electric skillet to make pancakes and eggs.

One of the coolers I mentioned in earlier posts should be used for keeping food cold. We put meat in gallon size freezer bags and put them in the ice. Anything in a cardboard box that is to be put in the cooler (such as precooked sausage or bacon) should be taken out of the box and put in a freezer bag. The melting ice will make the cardboard soggy.

Next time, we'll talk about menu planning. Until then -

Happy camping!

Diane

Camping equipment list - Food Preparation

Tonight's post is on the supplies you will need for food preparation. You were going to eat, weren't you?

The method of cooking will vary by the type of campsite you have. For example, if you have a campsite with an electric hookup (a box with electrical outlets), you can bring an electric skillet and a two burner electric stove to cook on. If you have a campsite without an electric hookup, you will either be cooking over a campfire or will need a camp stove or a barbecue grill. I will split the list into two parts - items needed for cooking with electricity and items needed for cooking without electricity. At the end of the first two lists will be a list of items that are applicable to both types of cooking.

Food Preparation - Electrical

Extension cords - heavy duty with grounded plug (3 prong)
Electric skillet
Two burner electric stove
Surge protector strip

Plug the extension cord into the electrical box. Plug the surge protector strip into the outlet at the end of the extension cord. You can plug the electric skillet and the two burner electric stove into the surge protector. You can then cook like you would at home.

Food Preparation - Non-electrical

Camp stove or Coleman stove (powered by a propane cylinder)
Grill to go over campfire
Barbecue grill

You can use the barbecue grill to cook meat, just like at home. You can put pots and pans on a camp stove. If you don't have the barbecue grill or the camp stove, you can buy a grate that goes over the campfire and cook on it.

Food Preparation - Miscellaneous Items

Skillet(s)
Dutch oven
Pots and pans
Mixing and serving bowls
Cooking utensils - mixing spoons, spatulas, meat forks, tongs
Serving platter
Measuring cup set
Colander
Paper plates, napkins and plastic silverware
Paper towels
Trash bags
Freezer bags
Dishwashing detergent
Dishtowels
Plastic tubs for dishwashing
Plastic tablecloth (with flannel backing)

Most of this stuff is pretty self-explanatory. I use the freezer bags to store food in in the cooler. I use the Dutch oven to heat water to do dishes. (What, did you think they were going to wash themselves?) One plastic tub is for washing, the other is for rinsing. Put the clean dishes on the dishtowels to dry.

The next post will be a list of miscellaneous items needed for a successful camping trip. Until next time -

Happy camping!

Diane