Packing The Right Clothes For A Camping Trip

You always want to be sure to pack the right clothes for a camping trip. This means be prepared for changes in the weather. A hot day can turn into a cool evening before you know it, especially in the mountains. Here is a checklist of items to make sure you are well prepared. Shop Kohls for camping clothes today.

• Shorts
• Short sleeved shirts
• Swimsuits
• Long-sleeved shirts
• Wind-jacket
• Jeans
• Underwear
• Raincoats
• Umbrella
• Cover-ups
• Sandals
• Sneakers
• Socks
• Tank-tops
• Kohl's Luggage and Backpacks 

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The Benefits Of Camping to Your Health

 Did you know there are a lot of health benefits to camping? Real sunlight is where necessary iodine enters your body. It is absorbed through the skin. This is very crucial for women. The lack of iodine can cause depression,and extreme fatigue. Natural sunlight has many other benefits as well. It stimulates chemicals in the brain to make us feel happy and well. Fresh air and sunshine alone is a stress reliever. The exercise you can engage in is another health benefit. Riding a bike, hiking, walking, swimming, boating, playing badminton, horseshoes, and the list goes on and on. There are many activities to engage in on a camping trip that are just plain good for your overall health. It's the type of activities children really need more of these days. A way to get them away from the play station, computer, and TV. I always noticed we seemed like a different family when we were at the campground. We were away from it all, and around other people who were enjoying the great outdoors as well.We often engaged in activities that we never did at home. It seemed to bring us closer together. Hiking together, swimming, talking around the fire. Just relaxing and talking about dreams for the future. It's one of the best activities I can think of to improve your health and the health of your family.


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Top Ten Camping Essentials

 I decided to make a list of the top ten camping essentials. There are some things you can get by without but these are things you want to be sure you have.

• Tent
• Sleeping bags
• Flashlights
• Matches
• Coolers
• Pillows
• Lanterns
• Sunscreen
• First Aide Kit For Camping
• Weather Radio

Granny Goes Camping

 I'll never forget the time we took my mom on a camping trip. We had decided to go to a little 

campground near Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. It was in late June a few years ago. This little campground was nice, it sat on a river with whitewater and you could sunbathe or just relax on the large rocks as the water rushed by. It had a small store with ice, firewood, and other necessary supplies. It was right around the corner from Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. It's called Hickory Nut Falls.
 We had decided to take the little pop-up camper on this little excursion. You can keep a lot of your camping essentials packed in one of these at all times. It's very convenient, all you really have to pack is clothing and food. Everything else is already stored in the camper. Just hook it up and go. Before heading out, mom wanted to go to Kohls to purchase some shorts, blouses and shoes for summer. I love shopping at Kohls, everything is always in order and easy to find. They have some really great sales as well. She had purchased some new shorts, a yellow bonnet , shoes, and a nice handbag.Exclusive Sale on Select "Simply Vera" by Vera Wang Handbags, Only on Kohls.com!
 We got back to the house and she immediately ran into the house to change into a new outfit for the trip. We all waited. She emerged a little bit later wearing a yellow bonnet with matching shoes and a matching yellow handbag. The bonnet had fake flowers on it. Me, my husband, and her husband all stood there taking in the sight before us. The only thing missing was a price tag hanging off of the bonnet. Finally, my husband leaned over and whispered" is she really going to go wearing that?" By now her husband who was all decked out in leather asked"are there a lot of bee's at this campground?, because Tangie is going to attract them." I busted out laughing. Mom said" I think I look cute!" I said"mom, you look like a girl who just popped out of a haystack on HEE-HAW!" She was adamant that her outfit was nice. Nothing else was said and we started loading our coolers and other items into the car.

 It was the weekend and I was excited about this trip. I had been to Chimney Rock as a kid, and I remembered it being a beautiful place to visit. I remembered Lake Lure, and whitewater near and around the area. The mountains are always a refreshing place to unwind, and the temperature is normally a lot cooler in the mountains during the summer.
 A few hours later, we were at the campground. We had been lucky and found camping areas that were close
to each other. The pop-up camper only takes minutes to set up. We helped set up a tent for mom and her husband Rob. We were right on the river. "Wow, this is really nice" mom said. She normally selected motels and such for vacations and often said this sort of thing wasn't for her. After looking around for a few minutes, she threw her arms out. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" she asked. "In your tent mom," I said. I brought an inflatable mattress, I told her."She folded her arms and began shaking her head back and forth. "I can't blow up a mattress she told me, with this incredulous expression on her face. After a few minutes I said, " just calm down a minute mama, it self- inflates, you don't have to blow anything up". After showing her the box with the air mattress in in she seemed to calm down a little bit. We had brought our big gas grill in the back of the truck and my husband had already unloaded it, and was cooking hot dogs on it. I had purchased a new grilling utensil set at Kohls during the shopping trip.20-30% Off Selected BBQ tools We were all a little hungry. My stomach had already started to growl. Most campgrounds have picnic tables at or near the camping areas, and I had already set our table up with tablecloth, utensils, plates, and condiments. We all sat down to eat, looking at the river. Our meal consisted of hot dogs, chips, slaw, baked beans, and corn. While we were eating, some people were setting up on the other side of us. They had a really nice camper. It was two couples and they had two kids with them as well. My husband said "that's what we're going to have one day"! He was referring to the camper next to us. It was the type that just takes the push of a button to transform into a full fledged home on the road. I was thinking it would be really be nice to have one of those, but I was just happy to be here and have an area right beside the river. "It is just beautiful here "I thought to myself. I took in a deep breathe, the fragrance of mountain laurel perfumed the air. My thoughts were interrupted suddenly. "What are we having for supper?" mom asked." "Either steaks or pork chops mom" I replied, I haven't decided yet." I think I want a steak" she said! Okay, I told her,"steaks it is!"Our new neighbors walked over and introduced themselves. This is common at campgrounds. You get to meet a lot of new people, and strike up new friendships. Both women had bleached blonde hair, and appeared to be in their thirties. The men appeared to be just a few years older. They were very friendly and asked if we had camped here before. No, it's our first time at this campground we told them. The kids were excited that there were other kids to hang out with. My son asked if he the other kids could walk to the bridge we had crossed coming in to go fishing. It was within eyesight so I agreed and the other kids went with him after getting permission from their parents. One of the ladies walked up to my husband and asked him to light her cigarette.
My moms husband offered to do it, holding a flame to the end of her cigarette before my husband could even get his lighter out of his pocket. This lady was very attractive, and wearing a bikini that I couldn't pull off. Mama sure couldn't. I saw a frown form on mama's face. The attractive blonde
said" thank you sweetie", to my step-dad. He was just glowing, "your'e welcome" he said. My husband mumbled something about "she didn't ask you," talking about my step-dad jumping to the rescue.
Suddenly, mama was standing up with her hand on her hip. She's all of four feet and eleven inches tall, although I think it's closer to nine inches now. Mom truly looked like one of the munch-kins from the Wizard of Oz. By now the lady was trotting toward the bathrooms saying she needed to go to the powder room to potty. This lady had this Dolly Pardon voice. One of those real sweet exaggerated southern drawl voices. It was just dripping with honey and flirtiness.
"I've never even seen Jello wiggle like that!" mama said. Then mom proceeded to do an immitation of the lady! She grabbed one of my cigarretes, stuck it in her mouth, and proceeded with an exaggerated, wiggly strut up to my step-dad. In a voice not her own she asked him for a light. My husband busted out laughing. I just looked at her in amazement. My daughter started to giggle, then she did the same thing. Finally, I said "for peat sake mama." "Stop it before that woman hears you." I glanced toward the bridge at the kids to make sure they hadn't wandered off. They were all there and appeared to be having a great time. Rob just looked embarrassed and a little shocked. He stood there staring at my mom like she had lost her mind.
In an effort to change the subject, I said come on mom, lets go out on that big rock,pointing to one of the huge boulders in front of us. It stuck up high out of the roaring river. But what if I fall in the river she asked?" I stood there a minute, thinking this possibility over. We had life jackets in the camper. I decided to get one out, just in case. After putting a life jacket on her, I hopped over onto the largest rock in the river. I reached my hand out to her and told her to take my hand.She grabbed my hand and hopped over onto the rock. My husband was marinating steaks for our our next meal. Rob was sitting in a chair lighting his pipe. We could see them from where we were. I noticed the new neighbors walking over to chat with them about thirty minutes later. They appeared to have brought their chairs over and were ready to socialize. I sat there noticing how strong the currant in the river was. Mama was staring hard over at our campsite. "There's miss thang again "mom said. Before I knew it, mama was on her feet. She threw her hand up on her hip, and was staring over at our camp harder than ever. The wind had started to blow a little, and blew mom's bonnet right off her head. Of course, it landed in the river. She started yelling about it, and then I saw Rob scramble down the bank to retrieve it. I felt panicked for a minute because Rob can't swim. Suddenly, I saw one of the other men jump ahead of him and grab it right up as it floated by. That was pure luck, I thought. All of sudden , mama hopped back over to the bank and was heading for the campsite. I could hear her expressing her gratefulness to the man who rescued her bonnet. He smiled and handed it to her saying your welcome, and told her to be careful around the river. She nodded in agreement. Rob looked irritable."I was getting it Tangie" he said. After this ordeal we all sat around talking and getting to know each other. The kids came back to the camp with a small fish. One of the men put it in a styrofoam bucket that was filled with water. The men all piled into my husband's truck and left to get a few supplies, and check out the area. I sat there on pins and needles hoping mama was going to be nice. The ladies sat across from us, smiling. To be continued Publisher: Kimberly Wetsel

Hickory Nut Falls

The Fugitives

Everything about this camping trip started out normal enough. We had arrived, checked in , and found the spot we wanted. We were set up and ready to enjoy the weekend. Other people arrived in greater numbers as Friday evening approached. A lady and six teenage boys showed up at the spot next to ours. We introduced ourselves, and offered to help them set up. They said they thought they could manage and thanked us. On Saturday night, we went to bed late. It was after midnight.
The boys next door were up all night and loud. I didn't get much sleep.
The next day was just a normal day at the campground. At around five o'clock, the campground owners visited our neighbors. I heard a lot of commotion but I still didn't know what was happening. Several hours later, we were sitting by our campfire and one of the boys from next door walked over and plopped down in a chair. The campground owners stopped by and were next door talking with the boys mother. I heard a lot of loud voices. A few minutes after that, the boy in the chair at our site and one of the other boys took off running. The next thing thing I knew, cops were running through our campsite as well. My family and I watched as campsites were invaded by this police chase. By now we were all standing up. A little while later we saw a police car drive by with the boys in it and another one with the lady in it. The campground owners walked over to our site and asked us if we were okay? They apologized for the incident and said that two of the boys were on house arrest and had removed their anklets, and their mom had decided to take the fugitives to the campground to hide them from authorities.
After that it was just another enjoyable weekend at the campground with some peace and quiet. Publisher:Kimberly Wetsel