Our first experience in camping with our family was in a borrowed canvas tent with an inside frame that would occasionally collapse. We kept getting larger, sturdier tents, and then proceeded in the other direction, getting smaller, lighter tents. Eventually we tried RVs and a travel trailer to really enjoy the outdoors in all sorts of weather.
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A couple of black and white pictures of our first tent for family camping. It was heavy cotton canvas made by Wenzel, had an outside frame, and withstood storms on Cape Hatteras that damaged other camping units. |
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Camping on the banks of the Wabash River. This was in a county park in Indiana during a canoe club visit to the Covered Bridge Festival. The tent is a self-supporting lightweight nylon Eureka. |
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When canoeing and kayaking the Wisconsin River, usually a three or four-day trip was planned. Camping on the sandbars and islands was delightful, usually with the experience of some stormy weather. Tent is a Sierra Designs half dome - very compact and lightweight. |
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The Lower Wisconsin River is a wide river meandering past towering wooded bluffs, through rolling farmland, and between sandbars and island which are always changing. It is 92.3 miles from the Prairie du Sac dam to the Mississippi River and is all canoeable. It is the longest stretch of free-flowing river remaining in Wisconsin and probably the whole midwest. The river has at least 20 species of threatened and endangered species and the valley contains 34 plant species unique to the region. |
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The Indians called the Everglades "Pa-hay-O-kee" which means "grassy waters". This campground is at Flamingo, which is forty miles from the entrance to the National park which consists of over a million acres at the southern tip of Florida. When we first camped here in 1961, little palm trees were planted in the campground. These trees have grown considerably over the years, but the park still remains the same. There are various trails throughout the park. We used to take the canoe trails, sometimes camping on a beach or chickie. Now we go on the boat tours to explore the mangrove wilderness and Florida Bay. Tent is a Eureka Overlander. |
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Camping on the pristine Peace River in Florida with some of our friends. At one time, the river marked the boundary between Indian territory to the east and white settler's land to the west. Each bend of the river is a movie set of palmettos, cypress knees, pines, wild flowers, and long strands of gray Spanish moss hanging from the gnarled arms of live oaks, with occasional cows wandering from the cattle ranches surrounding the river. |
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We added a Sun Twist outdoor screen room by Playhut to complement the Westy. The folded size is 31" x 31" x 3" and pops open to 6' x 6' x 6' with enough space for two chairs and a small table. We anchor it with 4 light-weight pegs and might add ropes and clamps if it gets too windy. Very easy and fast to set up and take down. |
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