I just had a great idea.  I’ve been looking at all the different kinds of tents there are out there and had this thought that, wouldn’t it be great to have a hiking camping tent that was big enough to put Aero’s  dogs camping tent inside during the night.  Cool.  Especially if we were camping in wild places and there were bears and cougars around.  I’d feel way more secure if we were all together in the night.  What made me think of this was finding the Kelty Mantra 7 Tent.  This...

  “Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful”… and I’m dreaming of a summer camping trip.  There are avalanche warnings on all of the local mountains so I’m sitting here fantasizing about all of the different summer outdoor camps we’ve enjoyed.  This year Conny and I will be treating Aero to her very own dogs tent.  We have found the perfect one.  It has a detachable floor for easy cleaning and a clear side window so she can see out.  It is freestanding a...

New item #8 – new cozy long johns underwear. What a day for going shopping for long thermal underwear for our snow hiking trip!! It is a cold, snowy, chaotic day here in town.  I hope it won’t snow so much that we have to postpone our much anticipated backpacking camping trip in the mountains.  I’m excited to use all of the great new snow hiking outdoor gear we just ordered.  I am going to assume that this snowfall will stop soon, and go ahead and order some new long thermal underwear. ...

New item #5 – finding the best ski jacket.  Oh, my goodness!  I just proved the old adage “seek and ye shall find”! And what a find I found.  It’s called the Burton LTD Heated Dream Snowboard Jacket 2009.  An electric jacket!  Can you believe it?  It has Thermo-Tex Integrated Heating Technology and even comes with a rechargeable battery.  I’m going to be sitting in front of the fire, watching the moon and the stars, wrapped in what amounts to an electric blanket.  I’m blown away. ...

New Item #4 – brand new snow hiking boots. Yippee! My next favorite thing, after camping, is shoes. I love buying shoes.  This has been a fun time. I know that it’s really important to have good, comfortable hiking waterproof boots (snow can get pretty wet at the bottom of the mountain).  Both Conny and I like to have fairly wide hiking boots so that we can wear thick socks.  We’ve looked at lots of different styles but it’s been hard for me to decide on just one.  I finally did decid...

New Item #3 – choosing the best sleeping bag.  This was serious business.  There was a lot to consider.  We had to find the best possible sleeping bags to keep us toasty warm.  There is nothing worse than waking up cold in the middle of the night.  They also had to be light and east to pack.  We could choose one of the special cold weather mummy type bags or an old-fashioned rectangular type.  We need to be concerned about these sleeping bags weight as well. Although the temperature might h...

New item #2 – the perfect hiking backpacking tent. Okay, now the search for the best lightweight camping tent is complete.  This one has been fun because there are so many hiking camping tents to choose from.  I felt like a kid in a candy store.  We’ve chosen an ultra lightweight, free standing, 3 man tent that weights around 5 pounds. It uses lift technology and DAC Featherlite NSL aluminum poles and is really easy to set up. It also has very good ventilation. That ventilation is certain...

New item #1 – a great canister stove.  This will be perfect for me to cook up some tasty, hearty meals on.  I might even get the title of “Great Chef of Camp Stoves”.  I think that this little gem is the ideal portable camping stove. It weighs just over 2 pounds, it’s dimensions are only 4.5 x 8.25 inches and it has a 2 liter capacity.  Plenty large enough for the three of us (Aero likes to share our meals with us after she’s eaten her own).  This all-in-one canister stove system ha...

Conny and I are totally getting into the planning of our up coming tent hiking weekend.  We’ve decided to go all out and first class.  We’re going to get a lot of new hiking outdoor gear as Christmas presents to ourselves (and each other).  It’s all very exciting.  I’ve decided that, for the next few days, I will share with you what wonderful and amazing items we’re choosing to indulge in, with snow hiking in mind. I really love camping and equipment browsing and buying is one of my...

The rain has finally turned to snow in the local mountains so Conny and I are busily planning a weekend tent hiking trip.  As we were going through our hiking camping gear we realized that it was time to invest in a new camping hiking backpack for each of us.  We already got Aero her new backpack (see my blog from December 2^nd) and it’s working out really well, but Conny and I definitely need to upgrade.  We’ve been doing some research on different types of backpacks and have decided to g...

I asked my sister that very question.  You see, my niece wants a snowboard for Christmas and I didn’t know anything about snowboard boards.  My sister knew about as much as I did so, what I did was, sneakily (I hope) asked some of her friends which snowboard would be best and they all unanimously recommended the LTD Betty Snowboard.  I checked it out and, WOW, that is a cute board. Mind you, I don’t think the fact that it’s cute is what makes it so popular.  I think the fact that it has...

                               I’m a wimp. Okay, I admit it. I am. I have a terrifying fear of what may be underneath me in a body of water… just beyond my vision. The crazy thing is – I love water!! So, when I found this sweet Wild River Tube at UpsideOver I went wild! YES! It has everything anyone could want in a fun floatation devise; a tough, 30 gauge PVC Inner Tube covered with comfy but rugged 840 Denier Nylon. And, most importantly, it has exactly what I need; a Tube with two cha...

Oh, to be a capable outdoorsy woman. Even better, an outdoorsy woman with access to so many time and energy saving options! Forget about having to rely on a big strong man to carry around everything. I remember the first time I packed the truck up with all our gear for camping and equipment for boating for a fortnight camping trip. I was amazed that I did it! All by my lonesome! At that moment I realized that the door of backpacking, hiking and camping no longer needed to be opened for me bec...

Nothing beats sleeping in the outback… except when a big, heavy dog is squishing you off your bed! Luckily, Conny and I have found the perfect solution to Aero’s reluctance about  sleeping on her own bed while we’re backpacking camping. It’s the Adventure Dog Dream Bed found at REI that will let her feel like she’s still on our comfy bed but will give us all the room we need to enjoy sweet outdoor dreams!  This wonderful bed has an inflatable insert that gives it a truly people-bed ...

   One often hears how things were so much better in the old days, but it isn’t true with everything.  Today, while I was browsing through UpsideOver, I found the Astral Otter kids’ PFD – comfy, safe and environmentally friendly. Wow! What an improvement! It brought me back to a beautiful summer morning many years ago.  My family and I were camping at the side of a loon filled fishing lake and this special morning my dad decided that I could go early morning fishing with him. I was only...

   When my husband, Conny, came home one night last week with a Tubbs Xplore 21 Snowshoe Walking Kit, I had no idea he had purchased it for me, since I have never had any experience in snowshoeing.

When I realized he was serious about us doing it together, I couldn’t stop laughing.  Then I started to read about the product.  How easy it is to “strap on and go” and that you can use a variety of different boots and still getting a perfect fit. But, how can this be? Let me tell you. This...

Check it out!  The Transparent Canoe Kayak! Using this kayak-canoe hybrid, made of a transparent polymer hull, could prove to be one the most fun, exciting, educational and , maybe, sometimes a little unnerving experiences you could have.  Kids would love it.  Last month Conny, Aero and I went camping at Harrison Lake, which is a local lake that gets quite a big salmon run this time of year.  The salmon (Coho, I think) were running thick quite near the shore and up into all the little creeks....

I think it’s finally time for me to listen to the experts.  I was just reading Cesar (the dog whisperer) Millan’s latest book and he strongly reiterates his recommendation to use a backpack for a dog that is not getting enough exercise. I have to admit that we’ve been falling down on the job lately due to tack of time.  I know it’s hard for our dog, Aero, to get only a short walk in the morning and be stuck in the house all day while we’re at work.  I’ve been looking at different ...

I just got back from a visit with our local Porta-Bote representative and I’m quite impressed.  For a long time now my husband, Conny, and I have been wishing that we had a small boat to take backcountry camping with us.  We often go on 4x4 logging roads that are too rough to pull a boat and trailer and some of these roads are quite narrow with tree branches brushing the top of the canopy that makes strapping a bulky boat on the roof not an option.  We find it so frustrating to camp at the ...