What’s Camping Without a Campfire?

Growing up, my family used to go camping pretty frequently. Probably because it’s a pretty cheap ‘vacation’ you can take a bunch of kids on. If you think about it, camping is kind of a kid’s dream vacation. You can be wild, and mom can’t be mad. You can get dirty … it’s just expected. You can eat treats. You can stay up late. Yep, camping is pretty great as a kid.

It doesn’t matter if you’re planning your first camping trip and your 50^th, just because you’re in the wilderness doesn’t mean you have to act like an animal. I’m not saying you have to be on your best behavior, but you should mind your manners.

• Don’t leave a trace. Make sure you leave your camp ground cleaner than you found it.
• Leave wood for the next campers. If you can, try to leave a couple logs near the fireplace. A lot of campers arrive after dark, so it’s super nice to leave them a little something to help them get started.
• Keep your campsite clean. If you try to keep it clean throughout your camping trip, you won’t have as much of a mess to clean up when you’re leaving.
• Rake around the fire pit. Take 5 minutes to rake around your campfire before you leave. It’s amazing how much of a difference it will make. The people who take your spot when you leave will appreciate it.

One of my favorite parts of camping is sitting around the camp fire after dark making s’mores.  Oh, how I love roasted marshmallows! My least favorite part of camping is trying to start the fire. Have you ever had that problem? What’s camping without a campfire? I don’t think it counts as camping if you don’t come home reeking of campfire. So, to help save you a little grief, here are a few tips to help you get your fire started in no time.

• Take fallen pine cones and coat them with melted wax. Take an old candle, melt them down and dip the pinecone into the wax. Set them on wax paper to dry. Not only will your fire start quickly and easily, it will smell delightful!
• You know that lint you pull out of your dryer after every load? Well, it works great as a fire starter! Take the lint and push it into a toilet paper roll. Then just throw the roll and lint into the fire and you’re good to go.
• Shredded paper works great as a fire starter.  Don’t have any shredded paper? Newspaper will work just as well. Just wad it up and place it strategically under your kindling.
• ·         If you know anyone who works with wood, ask them for some sawdust. Take the sawdust and mix some melted wax with it. Once you’ve mixed the sawdust and wax, push the mixture into an egg carton. Let it cool and then cut the individual egg holders. You’ll only need one match to light that fire. The sawdust/wax mixture will burn for a good 10 minutes, which should be plenty of time to get your fire going strong.
  

Do you have any great fire starting tips? If so, share them with us in the comments.

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