Nice to Meet You!

by Sandra Essary | More from this Blogger

04 Feb 2007 05:00 PM

When two people meet for the first time, it is only polite to introduce yourself. You and I are just meeting, as this is my first blog for Families.com, so please allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Sandra Essary and I was raised in Roswell, New Mexico (no, I never saw any aliens there) and Midland, Texas, the oil mecca of the southwest. We then moved to California when I was in high school. I did well in high school, but you couldn't pay me to be a teenager again.

College meant freedom to me. I studied hard, but I also played hard. I spent my junior year studying in France and traveling all over Europe. That's something that changes your perspective and life forever.

I camped out with my friends, but somewhere along the line it dawned on me that I wanted to go camping more than they did. Well, I thought, if that's the case I refuse to be tied to home just because no one else wants to go. So at the age of 20 I camped (actually backpacked) by myself, staying in a non-campground area. Many, many years later I had camped in Death Valley, Sequoia, Yosemite, on the beach, in the woods, by rivers, in the high desert, in barely accessible wilderness and in other isolated spots. If you put all my camping-out days back to back, I estimate that they would total about two and a half years.

That's a lot of learning. A lot of trial and error. And a whole lot of fun! Even now, with all my experience, I am still learning. My hope is not only to share the love of the outdoors with you, but also give you tips to avoid the "error" part.

I have also canoed, rafted (a number of times and places), scuba dived, snorkeled, hot air ballooned, rode horses, skied, and things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Enough about me. What I really want to know is what YOU want to hear about. Stories about swimming with sharks, my day with dolphins, meeting bears in the woods, camping tips and how-tos, survival, family fun camping activities, kids' camping safety, nature awareness, tent & equipment reviews - what would you like to hear about?

This is YOUR forum, not just mine. Together we can make it an informative, entertaining, and inspiring blog.

Here are some interesting links for you to peruse: Make your reservations for National Parks now! Top Ten North American Campsites

Learn more about Sandra Essary

From an early age, Sandra has been passionate about the outdoors, camping, and travel.

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Linda Hansen (1796) 04 Feb 2007 06:28 PM

Welcome Sandra, nice to meet you. My husband and I camped a lot with the bioson, he's grown, married and has a family of his own now. We are older and are going on another round of raising kids. We took them camping last summer, the problem is, we are older, sleeping in a tent and walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night wasn't nearly as much fun as it used to be, even with a double air matt4ress. any suggestions? Artcraft

Sandra Essary (135) 04 Feb 2007 08:50 PM

I can relate. I am a little older myself. I bought myself a tent I don't have to bend down to get in. Back problems forced me to do that. Then I had some dense foam cut to sleeping bag size, which cost about $60 - but it is THE best mattress you can have. (The biggest drawback is the bulkiness.) I just throw it on the ground and sleep like a baby.

The other possibility is to purchase a tent trailer. You still get the benefits of the fresh air, but it gives you some of the comforts of home. You can pick tent trailers up used for not much money.

I have also purchased an oversized cot. I'm used to a queen size bed, so although I am not oversized myself, the bigger cot is more comfortable for me. Haven't had a chance to use it yet - will let you know. But it felt great in the store.

As to midnight potty runs... you might want to purchase a small porti-potty for that. It does not really need its own private tent, because no one can see you at night, even if they were up!

Always carry biodegradable toilet tissue. Either that, or put it in a zip-loc bag for disposal later.

Myself, I don't trudge all the way to the campground bathrooms at night. After all, if you were camped in the wilderness, what would you have to do? That's basically what I do at night.

Linda Hansen (1796) 05 Feb 2007 04:16 AM

good ideas, thanks.

Sandra Essary (135) 05 Feb 2007 02:05 PM

Let me know what you do and how it works out. :) Forgot to say how thick the foam is -- 3 inches. It's also a great insulator and keeps you well off the ground in case of rivers of rain flowing under your tent.