Month: June 2013

Tips for Camping in the Cold

I got this question from a camper friend of mine and thought I’d share it with all of you:

I am going camping this weekend for the first time with my three year old and it looks like it will be a chilly night.  How to you keep your little ones warm at night? Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated! 

Here are my thoughts, plus some suggestions from another experienced camper mom too:

1. Air mattresses alone get too cold, so make sure you have a foam pad or blanket under you if you use one. I usually put my kids on a Camp Bed like this one from REI.

2. Dress warm, obviously. I put my tots in their warmest winter pjs before bed and nice warm socks.  But my secret weapon? A warm winter hat. 

Since most heat escapes your head a warm winter stocking cap is a must. I also like winter hats because I can pull it down over my eyes and it blocks the early morning sun so I can sleep in a little more. If it’s really cold I’ll bring mittens or put socks on the tots hands too.


3. Get the kids a real sleeping bag. When I went camping as a youngster my parents just packed a stack of blankets from home and I froze all night. That taught me that camping was cold and for years I didn’t enjoy it.  Now, my tots each have their own sleeping bags, again from REI. 

4.Use a small fleece blanket in the sleeping bag to help keep your tots warmer. A fleece pillowcase to add some warmth on the face and head, is also a good idea.   
5. Little hand warmers in jacket pockets are great for keeping fingers warm, and having them close to the chest/stomach keeps vital organs warm too. 

6. Keeping tots (and parents) warm on cold nights is not always easy, but the old adage to dress your kids like you would dress is true here too.  

Camping in the mountains can be cold, even in the middle of summer. So make sure you follow these tips and stay warm out there!

PS – I received no compensation from REI for mentioning their products in this post. They just happen to be what I actually use.

Carpinteria State Beach, California

Playing at the beach is the perfect way to spend a summer day. But since I live in the mountains, I don’t get to as often as I’d like. On our recent trip to Carpinteria State Beach in Southern California, we camped at the coveted Carpiteria State Beach Campground. Reservations for this campground sell out six months in advance, but luckily the tot’s aunt had an extra space and invited us to use it.

The beach at Carpinteria is known to be family friendly. I was pleased to see a gentle surf and plenty of sand and seashells to hunt. I was less thrilled with the oil rigs out in the ocean, obscuring an otherwise perfect view of the unending horizon.

The campground has private bathrooms, outdoor showers and kitchen sinks, plus warm private showers at a quarter a piece. The walk from camp to the ocean is less than thirty seconds, and was the closest I have ever been to living at the ocean.

Big E and little g joined their cousin Eden for some fun in the sun and the sand. The highlight of their trip was chasing waves and digging, digging, digging. Perhaps that’s why my tent and sleeping bag were covered in sand for the entire week.

When they weren’t playing at the beach, the tots spent time playing at the Carpinteria State Beach’s playground, which was a quick walk or bike down the campground trail. We also enjoyed quick trips to the nearby Foster’s Freeze, as well as a longer drive to visit Old Mission Santa Barbara. There we enjoyed perusing scenes from the recent chalk art festival, while little g napped in the car.

If you have a chance to visit Carpinteria State Beach, do it. My only complaint was the sand accompanying me everywhere, including into my sleeping bag and tent. Next time, I might try an RV.

Carpinteria State Beach, California

Big E and little g examining anemones.
Our family vacation this summer was a week long camping trip to Carpinteria State Beach in Southern California. With the gentle surf and long stretches of sandy shore, it was easy to see why Carpinteria has a reputation for one of the best family beaches in the nation. The tots were thrilled not only with the ocean, but all the wildlife they saw as well. 
Not only is this giant starfish doing some amazing acrobatics, it’s in the process of eating a mussel.
As a Mountain Mom, the ocean is an unfamiliar place to me, exotic and powerful. In previous trips to the sea I had never explored tide pools; I hadn’t even realized that was something I could do. But on this trip to Carpinteria State Beach, observing the amazing sea life was the highlight of the vacation. 

Watch those toes!
A few days before our trip, I took the tots to The Living Planet Aquarium and got a preview of what to expect. At Carpinteria we saw hermit crabs, sand crabs, star fish, brittle stars, anemones, sea slugs and sea snails in person. It was awesome. 
The starfish were plentiful, and beautiful.
Tide pools are explorable only during low tides, which happen first thing in the morning. The gentle rhythm of the waves and the diversity of sea life helped wake up me and the tots, not to mention the cool waters soaking our feet. Big E and little g loved seeing all the cool creatures, except for the sea anemones, which would curl into themselves if the tots touched them. When they were done watching creatures they enjoyed climbing on rocks and digging in the wet sand, even in the early morning hours. 
I’m not sure what this was, but it looked cool.
The whole family enjoyed exploring the tide pool creatures at Carpinteria State Beach. If you’re headed to the ocean this summer, you don’t want to miss the tide pools.
I love that Mountain Dad is wearing a flannel shirt and fleece vest at the beach. 

Happy Fathers Day Mountain Dad!

You Might be a Mountain Dad if…

You’re more likely to be found on a hike than mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning.

Your kids ask, “Do we have to go camping again?”

Your dream vacation includes dirt, campfires, a four wheeler and some explosions.

You pack bear spray everywhere you go.

You can name every person on Duck Dynasty.

Requirements for a Mountain Dad: 

1. Love your kids.

2. Love the outdoors.

NOTE: Numbers one and two are interchangeable, just don’t tell the kids if you love the outdoors more.

To all the Mountain Dads out there, I hope your fathers day is a great one.

To my favorite Mountain Dad, thanks for getting me into the outdoors all those years ago when we started dating.