Idea for Dry Camping: A Solar Lamp

When camping without electricity (an element of dry camping), you still have need for light. Here's a super-fast way to rig up a solar lamp that can be hung outside or inside, as you need it.

The shade (thrift store or robbed from home) is suspended from a metal garden hook by means of a large S-hook. Ribbon, rope, or chain would work, too.

Under the shade, the top of a charged solar light stake goes inside a quart jar. Raffia was used to make the jar hanger, which hangs from the small end of the S-hook when under the shade. The large end of the S-hook connects everything to the garden hook.

Solar lighting is your good, good friend when it comes to camping away from a power source. No worries about smoke or fire inside your camper, trailer, or tent, and the next morning, you can pop the light top back onto its stake and let the sun charge it back up.

Plus--if you don't want to bother with  a shade--the solar light top in a jar still will help light up your night without power, whether you're indoors or out.

The Little Little Trailer Goes Visiting at the Campground

The Little Little Trailer woke up at a fine campground recently, where she was happy to see that the campfire coffee was ready to drink and where the sun's early rays helped dry off the dew she accumulated overnight.

It was such a lovely day that she decided to do a little campground cruising just to see what the neighbors were up to.

She pulled up to the front door at Cherry Lane and honked to see if anyone was home.

There was, and TLLT was invited in for a glass of breakfast bubbly.

However, as she's been watching her waistline lately, she opted for a nice cup of hot green tea instead.

After her farewell, The Little Little Trailer stopped to admire the handpainted wooden tool box that serves as the entrance step-up to the Cherry Lane trailer.

Next, she cruised on over to visit Iron Pony, whose entrance was set off by red flowers.

TLLT really loved the surface of the funky folding table Girl Camping Girl discovered at a local antique store. Smooth hauling!

And then, check out this artifact that a fellow camper found out along the old railroad bed that runs by the camping area. Good thing TLLT didn't accidentally run over that while out touring!

Girl Camping in Kendrick, Idaho

Sometimes you really don't know what you've got right in your own backyard.

Girl Camping Girl, her hubby Mr. Ed, and adventure partner Miss Shelley just spent a glorious camping weekend at a small-town RV park (7 spaces) only 15 miles from home. We visit Kendrick, Idaho, several times a year to shop at the local antique stores and get out of the snow zone, but never even knew the little RV park was there until Miss Shelley read an item about it in the newspaper.

Loved it, and we'll be back!

The trailer parking spaces are right alongside a 5.3-mile bike path that's been established on the old railroad bed. It follows the Potlatch River through an area that was once the winter home of native Americans, thanks to its mild winter climate. The whole trail is lined with benches that overlook the river, and has been planted with flowering trees and shrubs that were in full bloom the end of April.

Lilacs love the Kendrick climate zone. Some of the old ones along Main Street had to be 30 or 40 feet tall. When the sun came out, it definitely smelled like a blooming spring.

Since we were only a block off Main Street, we were in easy walking distance of Kendrick's stores and cafe. Kendrick is a well-kept little town with a quaint Main Street made largely of brick buildings. The hardware store sells beautiful garden starts and hanging planters.

One of the old Main Street buildings has been renovated into a bed & breakfast by a couple we met while camped in town. Girl Camping Girl was invited in for a tour of what is quite a fabulous place. (Note to self: Must host a party there in future.)

We discovered a quilts & more store we hadn't known was there on previous visits to Kendrick. It was a gold mine for Miss Shelley, who added to her cherry-themed trailer decor.

This fantastic cabinet with drop-down side leaves is painted with cherries and fits perfectly outside Cherry Lane, a 1953 Aljoa.

And how about this stunning lap quilt with appliqued cherries? Joanie, the proprietor, have Shelley two cherry-theme camping mugs to go with the ensemble. Bonus!

Meanwhile, Girl Camping Girl scored this funky fold-up table. It's going to make a great bar, and a laptop station, too.

G'petto, GCG's favorite furkid, enjoyed his campout time.

We each had our own trailer to retreat to, and GCG's electric fireplace did a fine job, as usual, of keeping hers toasty.

We walked the bike trail far enough out of town to catch a great view of the Potlatch River pouring down toward the Clearwater.

Had to stop and record a 'we were here' photo at the Welcome to Kendrick sign.

Campfire grub--yum!

All in all, a remarkable weekend getaway. Cheers for sweet small towns!

Girl Camping Necessity: Fire Starters

Nothing creates the aura of camping faster nor better than a real wood campfire. If you intend to have one on your next trip or Girl Camping sleepover, be sure you have....

....the means for getting a fire started, if not the wood itself! (Many campgrounds and nearby supermarkets sell bundles of campfire wood, but the dry kindling material and lighting device are generally up to you.)

You can buy parafin-based fire starters to help kindle up your fire, but you can make your own, too. Girl Camping Girl is in the process (above) of making some right now.

Supplies are paper cupcake liners plus tin; a bowl of wood shavings;  a source of parafin that you'll melt; and a safe way to do the melting.

GCG uses an electric 'buffet warmer' with ceramic top, and puts her parafin pieces in a tin can with paper removed. A double boiler will work, too. Just be aware that parafin is highly flammable--the point of using it for a fire starter--and use low, slow heat that you supervise constantly.

You can use new parafin from the canning-goods section of a store, or...if you hoard candle-bits like GCG seems compelled to do, you can melt them down.  Pour melted parafin over the shavings sprinkled at the bottom of each cup. (Use two liners per cup--they'll burn hotter than just one paper when you light it up.)

Top with another shavings sprinkle and tap down into melted wax with a spoon. Allow to cool and set, and you're in business--you have fire starters!

How they work:

**Set a 'muffin' beneath kindling sticks. Light the paper, which will ignite the top shavings layer, which will set off the highly flammable parafin, which will burn down to the bottom layer of shavings, which will help ignite the kindling sticks, which will then be hot enough to kindle your firewood.

Don't count on being able to pick up twigs and sticks for the rest of your kindling materials. If you can't bring chopped kindling pieces from home, include a hatchet in your camping tools. Then you can break up a piece of firewood to make kindling sticks on the spot.