The Purple Passport

Seasoned advice for British Travellers

camping

6 Reasons You Should Go Camping This Summer

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Beach holidays are great for relaxing and escaping from your daily routine. Cultural city breaks give you the chance to visit historical sites and learn about something new. While both are amazing vacation experiences, going camping is a great alternative that offers much more than you think. Here are six reasons you should go camping this summer.

1. Reconnect

Camping gives you the chance to reconnect with loved ones. With poor signal and a lack of WiFi, you can encourage your children to look up from their phones and switch off for the weekend. Sharing a tent together also gives you the chance to develop the emotional bonds that might have faded due to city life. The tent in this Alpha Cabin Tent review is perfect for families to camp together, but still have enough personal space to keep to their own.

2. Scenery

Rivers, trees, mountains, and lakes are just some of the scenery options you are treated to when you go camping. The natural beauty surrounding many camping locations offers a much welcome alternative to the city. Who wouldn’t want to swap their commute to the office with a commute to a water spring?

3. Stargazing

Did you know that by living in the city, you can only see a small number of stars? Camping gives the chance to gaze upon a whole host of new constellations in the untamed hinterland. There are breath-taking meteor showers to be seen by stargazing while you are camping, as well as the chance to learn a bit about astronomy.

4. Food

The food on a camping trip always tastes sweeter. Cooking your food out in the open gives it a unique taste, most likely due to the further distance between your ingredients and the toxic fumes of the city. Your taste buds are also more receptive when you’re camping, since you have less time to snack and take part in more physical activities and adventures. When you finally get a chance to sit down and eat, you will find that you enjoy your food a whole lot more.

5. Confidence

Going camping can greatly boost your confidence. Whether it’s taking on the challenge of gathering firewood and starting the campfire, taking charge of the family hike around the local mountain area, or even finding materials to construct a handmade bow and arrow, camping gives you the opportunity to learn a new skill and boost your confidence as you do it.

 

6. Affordability

Vacations can be expensive, especially in the summer holidays. Heading into the woods can be a great cheaper alternative. More importantly, once you have already invested in the right camping gear, you won’t need to buy anything new the next time you want to go. Another way to save money is by avoiding private campsites and heading instead into publicly-owned national forest lands. You can also explore other options around the area you are staying. There are a ton of things to do in Manitou Springs, if you choose to stay around there. Most of them also don’t need to cost anything, like the Manitou incline or various hikes around the area.

Swap the beach and the city for a more natural location and take your family back to their roots this summer holiday.

Camping Hacks: 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Camping Experience

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young friends have good time on camping trip, relaxing vacation with fun

Looking for some new camping hacks to make your trip a success? Camping is all about good planning. If you don’t pack the right gear, you can’t just whiz home to fix the mistake.

So, listen to the experts. Below you’ll find 5 hacks to make your campout epic. When you’re ready to discover what you shouldn’t forget, read on.

1. Dinner Camping Hacks

Everything takes longer when you’re camping. Yep, that includes washing, preparing for bed, and even cooking. To make your trip successful, do what work you can while you’re still at home.

For the rest, do your best to simplify.

For food, make a simple dish in a single pot. A Dutch oven is the easiest method. It’s a type of all-in-one, multi-cooker pot.

Simply pick one of your favorite Dutch oven camping recipes. Then, perform all the preparation work at home. When you find your camping spot, heat, and serve.

2. Dessert Camping Tricks

Tired of smores? No problem. Instead, pick 3 of your favorite fruits, berries, or nuts.

Now throw them in a waffle cone along with some chocolate chips and marshmallows. Wrap the whole thing up in foil and store it upright in a spot they won’t get damaged.

After you finish your camping cookout, add the desert wrap to the banked coals. Be sure you leave the foil on. Remove your dessert wrap from the fire when it’s good and melted.

Then eat up!

3. Water Bottle Camping Tips

Sure, staying hydrated is important, but what about staying warm? You can use your water bottle as a portable heater.

We recommend a 32-ounce indestructible bottle, like a Nalgene. They’re small enough to curl up with and they won’t crack under the heat.

Simply pour hot water into your bottle and wrap it with a spare shirt or another piece of clothing. That’s to ensure the bottle doesn’t burn you. Then slip into the bottom of the bag to keep your feet warm during the cold night.

4. Lighting Tips for Camping

Headlamps are a must for most campers. They’re portable, hands-free, and last for hours. Unfortunately, they may be too bright.

Have you ever tried to hold a conversation with someone who’s shining their headlamp in your eyes? It’s like staring into the sun. The effect grows worse when the sun goes down.

Instead, pull your headlamp over a 1-gallon jug of water. Point the lamp inward, toward the water. It’ll diffuse the light and brighten a much larger area while keeping it out of your eyes.

5. Mosquito Tips While Camping

Mosquitos are ubiquitous. If you don’t have a plan to repel them, then you’d better have a plan for treating mosquito bites. You’re going to get them.

But with a little proactive thinking, you can discourage the brunt of those little pests. Bug repellant is a tried and true method. But what if you have small children or you’re allergic to the foul-smelling stuff?

You can always try candles that include bug repellant. Citronella candles are one alternative. You can also try burning sage in your campfire.

It’s a naturally repels bugs. You can even pick wild sage if you want to add it to your camping experience.

What’s Next?

Now you have 5 of the best camping hacks to ensure your success. Remember to plan and pack early. That’s the key to guarantee your campout is epic.

If you liked these tips, skip on over to our enormous library full of articles about travel. So long and good luck!

Best Remote Camping Spots In Southern California

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Overlanding is a great way to see more of the country than you could possibly imagine from a vantage point along a major highway, as well as a means to accessing a lot of other outdoor adventure activities like kayaking, rafting, and off-road biking. Whether you’re planning on taking your Jeep out for a relaxing trail ride over a few days or you’re hunkering down near your favorite spots for other outdoor activities, you need to know where to go when it’s time to shelter for the night. Here are a few great ideas for your next Southern California adventure.

Arroyo Seco in Los Padres National Forest

This small campground in the national forest is accessible to a few trails in the area, making it an easy choice for those who want to see more of the area’s attractions before moving on. Unlike many smaller national forest camping spots, it has access to showers, making it a must-stop camping spot if you are in between more rustic locations. Despite that small amenity, it’s still fairly isolated, but its shady sites and accessible picnic amenities make it a good spot to park and put up a tent on top of Jeep for the night.

Laguna Campground, Cleveland National Forest

This camping spot has rustic choices for your tent and a great view from practically every campsite, but it also has full restroom and shower amenities on hand. That makes it perfect for people who have a limit on their ability to appreciate the rustic. If you’re seeing the Cleveland National Forest, keep it in mind for a quiet night or two in the woods with just the right level of creature comfort to let you sleep easy.

Los Prietos Campground, Santa Barbara

With a 2.5 mile hiking trail that starts right at the campground and access to the nearby Santa Ynez River close at hand, this is another good spot for people who want to be close to a lot of activities while still enjoying a quiet, out of the way camping experience. The best part is the location is friendly to vehicles, so you won’t be testing your tire rims on the way to camp. You can save that for when you’re on the trail after you’ve gotten some rest.

Paso Picacho Campground

Located within Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, this well-maintained and road-accessible campground makes it easy to enjoy all the amenities at the park. Since it is well-maintained and accessible compared to more rustic choices, it is an ideal testing ground for new truck overlanding gear before you head out into the unknown. See the sights, enjoy a few days of wonderful trail and water activities, and make sure your gear is ready to be put to the test before you count on it to keep you going as you off-road your way through new wilderness.

Adventuring Beyond Campgrounds

Eventually, you may want to really test your mettle as an overlanding enthusiast. When that time comes, you might want to invest in the dispersed camping permits that let you make your own site locations within the U.S.’s national forests. Annual subscription permits are accessibly priced by to make it easy for you to support the country’s national resources while enjoying them whenever you have time for an adventure, and you won’t have to worry about finding an official campground when you’re ready to pop your roof-top tent for the night.

Your Zion National Park Questions, Answered!

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The Zion National Park in Southwest Utah is one of the most visited national parks in the United States for a number of reasons. It has gorgeous scenery and plenty of hiking trails to explore, making it the perfect destination for those who love adventures. It is also home to diverse wildlife, from the mule deer to the bighorn sheep.

A trip to Zion National Park is one that you will remember for years to come. To make the trip more fruitful and enjoyable, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the national park, answered.

How Do I Get There?

You can reach the Zion National Park in a number of ways. Those visiting the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley can continue their journey by car; the Zion National Park is about four hours away from the Grand Canyon. The same can be said for those who are visiting Zion from different parts of Utah. The closest national park is the Bryce National Park, which is about an hour away from Zion National Park.

The most convenient way to reach the park, however, is by flying to Las Vegas. From McCarran International Airport, the Zion National Park is around two to three hours away by car. You can easily rent a car from Las Vegas, plus you get the bonus of being able to sample this glamorous city upon arriving or before ending your trip.

What about Accommodation?

Being the popular destination that it is, Zion National Park has a number of accommodation options to choose from. The Bumbleberry Inn, the best Zion hotel in the area, offers homey accommodation for any kind of traveler. It has its own theater and you can use the shuttle rides to get to various points in the national park.

There are several camping grounds too, so you can go all out with your adventure to the national park and spend some time in the wild. The Lava Point Campground and the South Campground are the more popular ones, but you have other options to choose from. There are even RV resorts for those traveling in their RVs.

Is it Safe to Drive to Zion National Park?

Driving to Zion National Park is not only safe but highly recommended. The Zion Scenic Drive is actually one of the area’s best attractions. The route takes you across the national park and straight to the forest area.

The drive itself is special. You will be driving along a twisty road with gorgeous scenery to enjoy from start to finish. There are some areas with sharp hairpins and challenging turns – not all of them have guardrails – but as long as you are focused, you will have a lot of fun taking this route.

Don’t forget to have your camera ready too. You will be rewarded with breathtaking views of the landscape; chances are you’ll be making several stops while driving this route.

Once you get to Zion National Park, you will have even more things to do. Now that you have these questions answered, you can plan for the trip better and have the best time exploring the national park.

Avoiding the Most Common Sources of Money Waste in Camping and Hunting

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Traveling a lot can quickly bog you down with some serious expenses, and before you can even realize it, you’re spending thousands of dollars on new gear for every trip. Things can get even worse if you’re also an avid hunter, as the typical prices for equipment on that market can be quite steep for the average pocket. However, things don’t have to be so expensive in the long run if you actually prepare yourself a little bit. Knowing how to invest in the right camping and hunting gear, and how to take care of it, can go a long way towards minimizing your expenses with each next trip.

Waterproof Does Not Mean Water Is Irrelevant

A common mistake that some campers make which can cost a lot, in the long run, is to misunderstand the meaning of “waterproof” when it comes to some of their equipment. While it’s true that some gear is designed to operate properly when wet or even completely submerged in water, this doesn’t mean that it’s the optimal operating environment for the product. Usually, water resistance simply buys you some extra time to pull your expensive gear out of the water before it’s ruined, it doesn’t mean that you should leave things out in the rain. Water damage is probably one of the major causes of expense for inexperienced campers, and that’s unfortunate considering how easily it can be prevented.

Disassemble and Store Fishing and Hunting Gear Appropriately

Another point that gets ignored until it’s too late by many inexperienced campers is that proper maintenance of their gear can make a huge difference. This is especially true for something like an expensive hunting rifle – what’s the point of spending the time to compare receivers on maxblagg.net, carefully scouting out the best prices and even getting a custom paint job, if you leave the gun leaning against the first tree you can find every time you want to take a break? It might be annoying and it takes some extra time, but it’s the main thing that will prevent your equipment from breaking down too early.

Track Your Habits and Avoid Waste in the Future

Last but not least, consider how much food you’re throwing out after each trip. This is a source of waste that can be avoided very easily with just a little advance planning and it makes no sense to keep spending all that money on food you’re never going to eat in the first place. Even if you’re not aware of your eating habits – and those of your regular camping buddies – you can easily start a spreadsheet to track them and get an idea of what the situation is like.

Camping and hunting are commonly seen as expensive by less experienced people who don’t know how to plan ahead properly. It doesn’t have to be this way though, and as long as you know what your group is going to require on its next trip, you can easily save yourself a huge amount of money, especially if you consider how your savings will stack up in the long run.