Camping Stuff

I posted previously about how my family went camping for the first time over Labor day weekend in 2008. We enjoyed that, and being as Matt's hobby (jeeping) is easier to do on a camping weekend, as well as my hobby (endurance riding?) also requires camping (but with the horse!), we figured we'll be doing lots more of it.

For Christmas I had requested some camping stuff - dishes, utensils, some Lodge cast iron cookware, and got it, and was scratching my head as to how in the world to store and transport it.

Then, I remembered one of the wedding gifts we had received (july 2005). It's a "picnic cooler/caddy" and it came with 4 plates, cups, spoons, forks, knives, a cutting board, a "cheese" knife, salt and pepper shakers, and a wine bottle opener. All the utensils have special straps to secure them with, and there is a nice-sized insulated zipper pocket. Would all the new camping stuff we got fit inside???

Yes! It does, it is perfect :-)

**This is the picnic caddy filled up, with enough plates, cups, and silverware for 8 people! Plus some handy utensils for dinner prep! The thing on the left side is an insulated wine bottle holder! What a fancy picnic that would be :-) hehe. I'm guessing we won't be using it for the purpose it was intended for!


**This picture shows it mostly zipped, with a view of the insulated cooler section, which is holding 4 bowls and 4 cups. There is still room for more, if needed. Another view of the wine holder, and the back shows that it's intended for use as a backpack, but I have stuck a tablecloth in the straps instead. There's another carrying strap on the top I can use.
Not bad for a once-forgotton wedding present, hey? :-)

New Truck

So, on Labor Day weekend, 2008, my family loaded up and headed for Shakamak Park in Indiana. Shakamak is coincidentally quite nearby Redbird, which is an OHV (off-highway vehicle) Recreational Area.


My husband is into horsepower. It used to be 4-wheelers, now that he is married, has a family, has settled down into off-roading with Jeeps. Reality is that Jeeping is much safer than 4-wheeling, but it is TERRIFYING to me, and while I gave it a fair try, I will never be inside of that Jeep again on a trail. Ever. (picture is of the Labor Day Redbird weekend. We had 3 Jeeps and 2 Suzukis in our group. Matt's Jeep is the black Cherokee at right.)


Well, Shakamak is about 2 1/2 hours away from our home, and we loaded up the Chevy truck with our tent and camping gear, hitched up his cousin's trailer, loaded the Jeep onto it, and away we went. The bench seat was so cozy, my husband at the wheel, sleeping baby in the rear-facing car seat in the middle, me in the passenger seat. Lovely weather, windows down the whole way.

This is a nice arrangement....if our family was never to grow, if we never wanted to go around the farm with anyone else, etc., etc. What we decided was that while the Chevy worked, it wasn't going to work forever. What we needed was a 4 door heavy-duty pickup truck. Of course, other factors went in to deciding we needed a new truck. The Chevy just couldn't handle the full load of 6 fat cattle on the stock trailer. Around the farm with a baby there's just not enough room for the driver, the car seat, plus 2 or 3 tractor, combine, and grain truck drivers to get back and forth from the field. So we began the search for a heavier truck, with four doors, plenty of room for easy access for multiple riders, plus all of my husband's specific requirements (weight, transmission, engine...etc).

Matt was the one who did 99.9% of the searching. He made calls, he checked the web, we drove through dealer lots. We actually ended up buying the first truck we test drove, but not until a month or so after we drove it, and they lowered the asking price significantly. It's got a ton of miles, it's been used, but the price was right and it should work great for us. Plus it fits in the garage! It's a dark green Ford F-250 4x4 crew cab with a diesel engine, and a short bed. Tan leather interior. Very roomy!

**Here's a photo of the truck, as promised. Look closely at the bed - it doubles nicely as a play yard! (under close supervision, of course!)**