July 4th Holiday at Girl Camp

Of all the holidays, I love July 4 the most. Why? Because it's summer, and a holiday of being outside!

This year, July 4 occurred on a Thursday, and that was just perfect for a long visit at Girl Camp in Elk River, Idaho.

The tiny town does a big fireworks show on the Saturday closest to the Fourth and swells with hundreds of extra people seeking old-fashoned summer fun. We usually have lots of friends, relatives, and/or fellow Girl Campers visiting for the occasion, but this year nobody was free to come. So it was 'just us kids,' meaning Hubby Ed, yours truly, and our fellow Girl Camp owner, Miss Shelley.

Different, but still great. No worries, no agenda, just pure R&R.

That's Shelley at the grill bar, rustling us up some breakfast. Her '53 Aljoa is parked up above.

She calls her trailer Cherry Lane. Although in this shot, it looks like it should be called Wild Daisy!

I stayed in Iron Pony, while Ed commanded the cabin that's across the street (with cable sports TV).

For this privilege, he got to cut the grass in the cabin's yard.

It made a lovely green carpet for some new outdoor furnishings.

The patio area by the Girl Cave got some new chairs, too. I just love that cool shade of green!

We cooked, we napped, we fished, we cooled off in Elk Creek, we visited with neighbors, and for the most part, kept our electronic devices turned off for the sake of the moment.

Which is say, I could have taken a gazillion more photos and manned the digital channels as usual, but I didn't.

Cuz after it--it was a holiday!

10 Ideas You Can Borrow for Girl Camping

1. Use an old ironing board as a sign. Bonus: Stand it up to make an extra table or an impromptu bar.

2. Transport treasures in a set of vintage luggage. Bonus: You can display the luggage itself once you've removed the items you put inside.

3. Use an old suitcase as a step. Tip: Reinforce the inside with scraps of lumber, and make a non-slip surface by affixing a carpet piece to the top.

4. Cut up old license plates to make signs. Bonus: They yield numbers as well as letters.

5. Make anchors for your awning-pole ropes. When you can't pound stakes into grass, these give you a way to anchor down the awing poles. For each, you'll need a large can, an extra-long eye bolt, a quick-link (it connects the rope to the eyebolt) and quick-mix cement.

6. Paint your propane tanks. Bonus: Add a basket of flowers to the top and you have an instant garden.

7. Make a pennant banner from vintage hankies. Bonus: Yours won't look like anyone else's.

8. Display your party clothes. Why save something as fun as these red shoes for just a single occasion?

9. Get creative with chalkboard paint.  Bonus: Any sign surface you make with it can be erased and used again.

10. Add whimsy with a simple but silly 'road sign.' Bonus: You can make one with nothing more than a few pieces of scrap wood, a handful of screws, and some white paint.

Pretty In Pink At The Farm Chicks Campout

Leaving no doubt as to her objective, Miss Elaine brought her trailer all the way from California to Spokane, Washington, to camp in conjunction with the Farm Chicks Antique Show.

You can just about imagine the attention she must have gotten with this pink and white Shasta in tow across three states.

The trailer made a lovely centerpiece at the campground, too.

Here's another trailer treasure in pink and white. I didn't get to meet her owner; no one was home.

I love what's written on the side...and the fact that the pink paint is allowed to show through the silver bar.

This pink trailer is actually a step-mat created by Miss Denise--the most amazingly creative crafter ever--using fabric from Maryjane Butters 'glamping' line for Moda.

People are pretty in pink, too! Here's Miss Jasmine with one of the 40 china place settings she brought with her for our potluck table. This was her first campout with the girl-gang, and I must say: She seems to have been born to it!

Next time: Creative ideas from the Farm Chicks flock.

Galloping In For the 2013 Farm Chicks Campout

In Spokane, Washington, the first weekend of June is set aside for the massive and insanely popular Farm Chicks Antique Show at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds.

Since 2009, some of the area's glampinistas also have taken over Riverside State Park, nearby, in order to camp together, go to the antique show, and get in some excellent girl time. Among the attendees, 'Farm Chicks' means the campout as much as it does the antique show. (Probably a copyright infringement, although it's guaranteed that Farm Chicks, the show, benefits immensely from the shopping dollars we spend while camping in its name!)

Here is my trailer, Iron Pony (1972 Red Dale), set up for the occasion.

Because I would be helping to decorate our common meal area, and also because flowers make me happy, I brought along potted plants and cut flowers from home. They stayed at my campsite when not doing their other duty.

Here they are as adornments for the LONG dinner table set for the first night's potluck dinner.

Red petunias rock the red party shoes, or maybe it's the other way around. (The Prince Charming next to the red Cinderella shoes is vintage Hollywood cowboy Tom Mix, riding his iron pony.)

Women traveled from several states to join in on our campout. One, who came from California, came over to my campsite with this pillow. She'd given it a ride all the way from a trailer rally in Pismo Beach, where a friend had seen it, thought of and bought it for me, and sent it along to Washington.( Is that not cool? Marcie and Elaine, you're the best.)

So much went on over four days that I can't begin to get it all in one post. (This is Miss Jasmine, who surprised us all--on her first time to join in--by bringing and setting out 40 place settings of vintage china that she'd brought all the way from Seattle. WOW! This was one time when we did not mind doing dishes in the woods.)

Since one post won't do, there will, of course, have to be more. So come back soon, or better yet, subscribe. You'll get to see more of what had one park user asking, 'Who ARE you people, anyway?!'