camping gear, camping outdoorsAs time goes by, our family is going to do more and more camping, thanks to this huge tent that we bought ourselves for Christmas. In the past we alternately took road trips on weekends or we went camping, but we decided that outside of the occasional hotel stay from now on, we really prefer the peace and quiet of the great outdoors to the hectic atmosphere in many hotels. Camping outdoors is the most relaxing thing in the world for us, and each of us makes their own contribution to having a successful camping trip.

I do all the cooking and menu planning, my husband keeps the camping gear totally organized and the kids set the tables and do the dishes. We decided we'd buy a bigger tent so we can spread our camping gear out and have it inside instead of staying in the back of the van. We  have a separate tent for the kids, so my husband and I will be using the new tent and putting the camping gear inside it as we make camp.

This tent has 130 square feet which is nearly as big as our bedroom at home so I know it's more than adequate for us. Our bedrolls and cots don't take up much room, so it'll be nice to have so much space when we're camping outdoors. In fact, if it's rainy, I'll set up our camping kitchen inside here and cook our meals in this tent, the Eureka N!ergy 1310 Tent. It comes with great ventilation so a buildup of carbon monoxide will not be an issue when we're camping outdoors.

In the past, we ate peanut butter sandwiches if it was raining out, but this tent has a 7' high ceiling, so I can stand up and boil up a pot of delicious soup or make a stew, even if it's pouring rain. I've also learned how to make pizza using our grill, and we could have that, as well. I found this tent at KE Active Lifestyle located at http://kayserenterprises.ispeedway.com, a site I visit from time to time to see what's a great bargain to add to our camping gear.

My husband and I met by total accident on a hiking trail. I was hiking with a group of women who were slower hikers than I was, and while I was sitting on a rock reading my book, he passed by with his dog in tow. It was a breed I happen to really like so I took a couple of pictures of his dog and him, and thought he would like to have the pictures, so we ended up exchanging email addresses. That lead to instant messaging, and then we started hiking together on popular trails around my home.  As they say, the rest is history. We're now a happy camping family looking forward to using this tent, a fine addition to our camping gear.