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As I look back on this day, I laugh because I definitely didn’t know what I was doing. I mean, I have been outdoors before, but when it came to REALLY camping, this was my first time. But I couldn’t look like a novice in front of my wife and my 2 little ones. They were looking at me for guidance and leadership and I didn’t want to let them down. But what was going on my camping list to make it an enjoyable time?
In order for me to get that squared away, I did like any person who don’t know what their doing. I went on to Google and the University of YouTUBE! And once I finished searching and watching as many outdoor camping videos I could stand, I came up with a decent list of things that I needed.
Now understand, my list would probably be different but I wanted to share with you the things we brought on our first camping trip as a family and put on my camping list.
Secure A Campground For Camping At Lake Lanier
I had to first secure my camping spot and it isn’t like booking a hotel online. I did stumble on to Recreation.gov and I was able to find available camping spots for camping with a tent (the same tent that I didn’t have yet). After searching the available locations at Lake Lanier, GA, I was able to find a place to reserve. The one thing I didn’t like about the website was on some of the locations, you don’t get a real time photo and one of the things that I wanted to do was go fishing. But I was lucky enough to find a place where I could throw out a line with the family.
What kind of camping tent will I need?
Oh yeah, about that tent that I didn’t have yet, I went searching many websites and I ended up getting a ten person tent that I found at Walmart for a good price. I knew that I wanted a tent with enough room and was easy to get in and out of with the kids. I think that this tent fit the bill. It even came with a dome light and everything that we needed.
Knowing that my wife wouldn’t want to sleep on the floor, I made sure to bring a couple of air mattresses for us to sleep on which worked out well for us. And we didn’t know if it would be cool in the tent, which it was, so I packed up some blankets. My wife usually gets cold, so I made sure to pack enough for her.
What were some camping must haves?
I think that if you don’t have a camp spot with running water and electrical hookups, you need to bring a generator. So I stopped by Home Depot and picked up this nice Ryobi Quiet gas generator. I was not as loud as traditional generators, but if I had time, I would have got a battery generator from Amazon because you have quiet time that usually starts at 10 pm, so you can’t run your generator and had I had the other generator, I wouldn’t have to go without power if needed over night.
I also make sure to bring a couple of fans to keep up cool when it got warm. They worked out well when we had the vents open in the tent and they all ran off of Ryobi batteries which made it great because I didn’t need the generator.
Making sure to keep our phones charged was important in case of emergencies so I added portable chargers to me camping list. The chargers made sure that we have power for our phones and we were able to charge then again in the morning with the generator.
What camping lights did I need?
Lights, lights, and more lights, you need to make sure you have lights. When it gets dark, it gets really dark when camping overnight. So I brought flashlights for everyone and also camping lamps to put on our camping list. This way, when someone needed to potty, they had light to go and do their business. They all were battery powered, but next time I will make sure to have an extra set of batteries in case the batteries weren’t charged enough from our last usage of the lights.
What is my camping list for food?
We had to be smart about what food we would bring because not only your option of cooking was limited to a grill, but you needed to have a place to store it once used and you also didn’t want to have food out smelling or you will invite critters, especially at night. So we brought out meat and put it in our cooler with ice. We made sure that all the food was securely covered. We also brought snacks that could go into zip lock bags and into the coolers.
One of the most important things to have is water, so make sure to bring plenty of it. You can keep extra in the car, but make sure that you have enough because they will lock the gates at 10 pm and you don’t want to be stuck without having water.
Other things that I added to my camping list
I made sure to bring our fishing poles, tackle box and gear, and bait. We also added a lighter, firewood and kindling to get the fire going. And don’t forget the smores! The kids really enjoyed making smores by the camp fire. Other things to remember is bring some kind of protection because you are out by yourself. The camp grounds are usually safe, but having something with you in case it didn’t stay safe either from animals or other people is important. If you don’t have a gun, at least having a machete or large knife would be wise, but I understand if you don’t want to.
There were other smaller items that we brought that we had on our camping list, but I believe that these were the basic items that we had on our first camping trip as a family. Let me know what your first experience was like and what do you do now when you go camping.
And at the end of the day, it’s about having fun and we had plenty of it. There is nothing like getting that fresh air and listening to nature and looking at all of its beauty.
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