Travel

CAMPING:

A Family Get-Away How-To

Primitive or premium, there’s a camping style for you and the grandkids to get away

Going stir crazy? Have the travel itch but not yet comfortable with airplanes, hotels, and fellow travelers? Then consider taking the grandkids on a family camping trip at one of the nearby state parks. Several Louisiana and Mississippi State Parks are within one to two hours of New Orleans, with campsites and cabins open yearround.

First things first

Choose your locale and decide whether you want to pitch a tent at a campsite (“primitive camping”) or go a little more upscale in an RV with electrical and water hookups (“premium camping”). Or plan a comfy experience with a furnished cabin. Multiple

options are found through a quick Google search. Whichever mode you choose, reservations are required at both state parks and private cabins; all have terrific online resources and reservations systems. And remember, if you want it, you need to bring it! This includes gear, clothes, firewood, food, and all other necessities, including garbage bags. Good campers are thoughtful campers: everything you bring must also go back out with you. That includes taking your trash with you for proper disposal at home.

Gear

Your locale and weather will determine your gear; grab a pad and start a list. Sleeping bags, tents, firewood and matches, eating utensils and cups, flashlights, lanterns, and all other necessities and creature comforts need to be planned for and packed. Do you need a pillow? Do the kiddos sleep with woobies? Don’t forget special items! And extra socks. And toilet paper! Remember to bring a sweater and hat for chilly nights, and sunblock for daytime rays while hiking or fishing. Don’t plan to sleep on the ground if you’re camping in a tent – buy each person a specially made foam pad to place under each sleeping bag. The ground is colder and harder (and more damp) than you might think. Remember to bring mosquito netting & spray if you’ll be in a tent.

Practice

Before packing, test whatever you’re taking to ensure comfortable sleep, that batteries work, and so forth. Consider an overnight practice run in your backyard if you’re planning to camp out in a tent. This way the kids will know what to expect when they get to the campground.

Safety

A word to the wise: pack a first aid kit with essentials including bandages, hydrogen peroxide, bug bite relief, antibiotic and burn ointments, and gauze, tape, and scissors. If you’re hiking, those bandages will be greatly appreciated. Remember fire safety if you bring a camp stove or fire pit, or are using an existing park fire pit. Read up in advance and review with the kids how to prevent forest fires. Never leave a campfire unattended. (Smokeybear. com is a terrific site for families and to prepare the kids.) The same rules should apply when you practice camping in the backyard. Print a map of the camping site/park area and review it with the kids in advance so that they have the lay of the land. Give each child a whistle so they can communicate their location in case they get separated.

Activities

BIRDING

Our Mississippi Delta locale is within the great migratory flyway with an abundance of birds throughout the year. Download a birding app or purchase a good paperback book, and bring along your binoculars. Early mornings in summer are best to see nesting forest birds like kite, thrush, and warbler. And you’ll find wading birds in coastal locales. Bring along a couple of fishing poles and a tackle box appropriately stocked for the fish in that park’s waterways. Want to go old school? Bring a trowel to dig for earthworms and a covered container to put them in. Cook what you catch, or fish for fun – take pictures and then catch and release. Remember bug spray.

COOKING

Yes, consider cooking a fun activity, with everyone pitching in. Some campsites provide barbecue pits or pre-made fire pits, but others don’t. Park cabins will have kitchens; check in advance what’s there. Depending upon what’s supplied, you may need to bring wood, newspapers, and matches for starting fires, and kitchen utensils like pots, pans, spatulas, etc. There are a wide variety of stoves and grills specifically manufactured for camping. If you decide to camp out regularly, you’ll want to purchase one of these to bring with you. Ample water and snacks are essential. Consider bringing beef jerky or making homemade granola or energy bars for the total camping experience. Last, don’t forget s’mores fixings! A camping trip isn’t complete without making s’mores around the campfire and telling ghost stories.

WATER SPORTS

Some camps provide canoes and even have swimming pools. Others have boat launches. Make your reservation at a park with the options that most interest your family. Remember life vests and towels if you’ll be on the water. Having the whole family together, away from wifi and electronics, is a great way to reconnect and make memories for a lifetime. Happy camping!

Trevor Wisdom is the managing editor of Nola Boomers, who loved camping as a kid and watching falling stars.