Suzi’s Blog
The U.S. National Forest Campgrounds Guide website, www.forestcamping.com, is a wealth of information about developed campgrounds in all 176 national forests and grasslands across the country. It is basically an encyclopedia, straight forward and impersonal. Suzi’s Blog adds a little personal touch to the ForestCamping.com website with postings about our experiences, adventures, and discoveries along with other postings related to camping, national forests and grasslands, and family fund.
I am Suzi Dow and I hope you will find something interesting, something helpful, something informative, but mostly something that will help you get out and discover our national forests and grasslands.
Guide to Crumb Crust
I like having a little something sweet after dinner and a piece of pie is just the thing. However, when camping, baking a whole two-crust pie just ain’t going to happen. My solution: Crumb crust in individual serving dishes instead of a shortening based pie crust. The following are four version I found useful. Read More >>
Young Families Camping Medicine Kit
The majority of First Aide Kits I have seen in the stores focused on adult travelers. If you have young ones, say Elementary School age and younger, here’s my suggestions for a young family’s camping/traveling medicine kit: 1. Any medication(s) your child needs such as a EpiPen or antihistamine. 2. A fever reducer/pain reliever such Read More >>
Building a campfire for cooking
Building a campfire for cooking
Civilian Conservation Corps
On April 17, 1933, the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Camp Roosevelt, was established in the George Washington National Forest in northwest Virginia. There would be 14 more CCC camps built on the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson national forests, both in Virginia. A sad note is that, other than Camp Roosevelt, those other 14 Read More >>
Most Amazing thing we’ve experienced
You asked, “What’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever experienced or seen in a national forest?” That’s tough one. Not because there was a lack of the “amazing” but rather an abundance of them. I have maybe 14 journals loaded with things we have seen and experienced with a long list of adjectives attached. Here Read More >>
Noteworthy Vedauwoo Campground – outstanding!
I remembered Vedauwoo camping, in Medicine Bow NF, for its wonderfully fanciful rock formations. Our initial visit to this campground was in 1998 and memories of the huge “rotting” granite boulders carved into fanciful shapes had stayed with me. But now, after our 2012 visit, I know there is much more to this super camping Read More >>
Entertaining children while camping
Frankly, when camping with my grandchildren, all I need to do is find a clear flowing creek with a sandy bottom and they are entertained for hours. I think they are all part waterbug. But here are some other ways I have found that do entertain those children when on dry land: – An inexpensive Read More >>
Water Pump – A solution that works
Getting water into our motorhome’s fresh water tank requires a water pump. You don’t need to be a genius to come to this conclusion. But you need to employ some creative thinking is required. Fred has been hauling water to our motorhome for years and has had the hernias to prove it. This year we Read More >>
A weekend of camping meals – easy and pleasing
The long Memorial Day weekend almost all over. A weekend of camping doesn’t mean a weekend of cooking. Here’s a menu of camping meals I came up with to minimize time at the stove. A disclaimer – breakfasts are not included in this plan. Dinner first night – Chicken Kebabs (serves 6) Mix ½ cup Read More >>
Dogs on trails
On May 9th, the Merced News published an article title “Outdoors: A trail guide for a walk on the wild side.” Nice article but what caught my attention was the bit about “A reader recently asked if I could recommend some campgrounds with a surprisingly difficult combination of features: easy day hike trails adjacent to Read More >>
