You've got to feel sorry for the folks who've never been camping before in their lives. My own wife is one of these individuals. I was utterly shocked to find out. She's the type that lists out endless reasons why she doesn't want to go camping. Yeah, you know the kind. The tent is too small, the ground is too hard, there are bugs everywhere, you can't take a shower in the middle of the woods, bla bla bla. The list will go on forever if you allow her to continue. But instead of doing that, I address the finer aspects of wilderness life. There's the fresh clean air, the moon and stars above, the peace and quiet, the solitude and of course the tasty camping food. Need I even say more?
One of my favorite parts of camping out as a kid was the food. Check this out; hotdogs and brats roasted over a campfire, soft drinks in a cooler, endless beef jerky, and fresh smores for dessert. Now that's what I call primo camping food. Who could ever get enough of these good eats? My father even showed us a way to take it to the next level. First you build a good hot campfire. Wait until some of the wood burns down and you have a good red-hot bed of coals to work with. Then you prepare the meal. Dice up potatoes, carrots, onions, and steak. Place a heap of it, mixed together, inside a fairly large piece of aluminum foil. Wrap it up really well and make certain there are no holes. Now place that wrapped meal into the bed of coals. You'll want to use a set of tongs to do this, and especially to take it out. Let it cook for a good thirty minutes and then check its progress. If it's not quite done to your liking, stick it back for as long as you see fit. This makes for one outstanding meal, and some of the best camping food I've ever tasted.
Don't knock Mother Nature until you've relaxed a bit in her vast serenity. The great outdoors is the ideal place to get away from it all, because you really can get away from it all. Take a camping trip with your family this summer, and really learn more about one another. Without the distractions of TVs, PCs, cell phones and IPods. Oh, and be sure to take along plenty of great camping food. That's the best part!
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