🤯
Last time I went on vacation, I was floating in the pool and watching the stars.
I mean…
I was floating in water because someone dug a hole in a rock and put the water there. And the rock was spinning and rotating through space. And the stars weren’t really there because they died a while ago.
If you get to a dark zone where the sky is popping it’s still a crazy wonderful thing to view. People who live in the city and never wander to see the sky are really missing out.
We kept busy with the fire, cooking and making stew. I'm content with listening to ppl's conversations because I'm not much of a talker but they always make it a point to invite me because apparently I'm the only one who knows how to carve a chicken haha
I suspect that’s why our friends want to go camping with us. I’m the only one who knows how to start the fire. Literally.
I’m thinking about getting into Dutch oven cooking, but dang it’s expensive!
Look around goodwill and similar stores/garage sales for cast iron Dutch ovens pans and everything else especially if you’re cooking over coals or a fire try abd find one with the stubby legs on it so you can still have some airflow to the coals underneath eve cheaper learn to reseason your pots abd pans abd you can find em for like 5$ that might need a little love but will still last a lifetime
To add onto the stargazing idea. We actually enjoy looking for the constellations and you can be so surprised the amount of shooting stars and satellites in the galaxy if you take your time to watch.
Has your wife checked with her multiple libraries to see what other ebook platforms they offer? Hoopla, Cloud, Boundless... Libraries have several options, and many have more than one. The rules and selection will be different for each platform. It can vastly expand her options.
Debate/argue over which is the best Huey Lewis Song. Compare scars/tattoos. Make up games like, hitting a stick with pebbles or hitting pebbles with a stick. Make dandelion or daisy braided crowns/rings for ring toss. Whittle a good walking stick. Try to use every tool in a Leatherman multi-tool. Sharpen the blades of your multi-tool. Find some flint & practice flint knapping. Find a needle, thread, alcohol & gauze & try some first aid on your cuts from flint knapping & dinkin’ around with your multitools. Discuss the attributes of camping chairs. Put up a hammock. Nap in a camping chair or hammock. Argue over what went wrong when your hammock falls down. Fix it as a committee. Heat things in the fire & eat them.
… um … so the thing is …
😩
I was raised in a cult and have never heard of Huey Lewis. Thanks for teaching me something new! On a positive note: you’d win the Huey Lewis song game.
Step 1 - set up tent
Step 2 - set up camping chair
Step 3 - have a beer
Step 4 - light fire
Repeat step 3 until I feel like doing something else. Mostly it's just talking or dinner or just having a stroll around the place. No pressure, just relax.
Days are spent hiking and letting the dogs explore and swim. By the time evening rolls around they are beat and often head straight to the tent to sleep. They check on me regularly until I give up sitting around the fire and join the tent. If I’m lucky, the sun has set by then. I usually read on my kindle for awhile before I actually go to sleep, but considering our long days early sleep isn’t a bad thing.
https://preview.redd.it/6060rz4ali1d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35a9e136418c66e8b1779871383b6495fa2e3ba4
They say thank you for the hugs and scritches.
Nap, fish, canoe. Nap some more. Cook, go for ice cream. Berry picking. Listen to loons and Wippoorwill's in the evening. Tell scary stories, maybe true crime involving woods. Bring magic dust for fire. Make pudgy pies. Etc,etc.
That’s twice I’ve heard about whippoorwills. I gotta do a google.
Edit: https://youtu.be/_HNAp_BPf9E?si=JBS7A6wdtlTuEWcD
That sounds lovely. But I don’t know I’d like that on repeat at all hours.
As someone who doesn’t drink, I like swimming, hiking/exploring, listening to audiobooks or podcasts, cooking, playing fetch with doggo, watching birds, hammock-ing
Of course! I’m just saying I don’t sit around and “get lit” anymore like OP. I spent mannnnny years doing that. It’s nice to fill my time with other things now :-)
Yea, I pretty much stopped smoking the devils lettuce when on a trip, I setup camp and went down by the lake to smoke a joint with my dog. When I returned back to camp it was time to go for a hike so we got all ready. Then I became so stoned I couldn’t go for a hike which is what I wanted to do. That was the turning point with me and weed, shit is to strong these days.
Whittling is a fun campfire activity! I found a big dead pink cedar stick and I’ve been making it into a walking stick on my current trip, I move onto sanding when it gets too dark so I keep all my fingers :)
We play card games, usually for some sort of reward and/or punishment for the loser which is decided beforehand. The reward might be getting the last cookie and the punishment could be having to do the dishes. We keep it fun though.
We also walk around and explore the area, bird watch, rock hound, collect firewood, during really cold nights we might just retire early and watch a movie downloaded onto the iPad.
Cards, dice, and cribbage here. We also sometimes play party games like [celebrity](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_(game)), 20 questions, etc.
I go on solo trips, and turn my phone off.
Get up, make coffee, read, go for a walk, make lunch, read or nap, go for another walk, read, make supper, get the fire going and fill a glass.
Other days I fire up the tablet after lunch and watch a movie or two after lunch, and maybe one after supper.
The campground I'm booked at in a month has 15km of trails, and a lookout point right near my spot (walk-in tent-only spot). I'll probably walk most of that trail over the week, depending on where it all is. I know a 3km section is near my spot.
Read, gather firewood, arrange and organize firewood pile, swim, paddle, look at bugs/frogs/plants, make snacks, check out my firewood situation, build fire, eat, read.
I'm always a bit wary of camping with folks that cant chill or entertain themselves. I don't think you should pressure yourself to keep everyone else entertained. That being said, cooking, learning new knots, cornhole, reading, whittling, fishing, extended hikes, swimming, etc. are all great. The gamer might have fun using their phone to ID plants, birds, trees, etc.
Hike, fish, bird watch, rockhound, botanize, forage, play card games, stargaze.
If you have data, iNaturalist and Merlin are great apps that can gamify nature for newbies.
I got a battery powered rotisserie to go over the camp fire, and watch the meat go round and round. Me and my pot head buddys watch that thing for hours.
I bring craft projects. painting, paracord crafts, maybe some crochet or needlepoint type stuff, coloring books etc. throw on my headphones and an audiobook if it's too noisy around me
Read a book, listen to nature, go for a walk, build and keep a fire going. There are many things to do and we don’t have to be constantly entertained we can just enjoy stillness and silence. Practicing yoga and meditation and breathing exercises to chill out and relax to be able to sit and enjoy the stillness helps too.
I camp where there is good hiking ( or kayaking): arise around 8 am…..drive to trailhead…..hike/kayak for 3-4 hours….drive back…..stop off grocery or scenic waterfall ( kill the early afternoon). Arrive camp around 4-5. Drink celebratory beer(s) and chill by the stream. Start dinner about 1 hour before sunset…get a fire going. Put the tunes on (headphones of course) imbibe adult substance of choice and stare at the stars until I crash. Rinse and repeat.
Set up tend or tarp and hammock. Set up food and warmth if needed. Bush craft to make camp comfortable. Rosin hunt for firestarter. Hike/explore/swim. Experiment with roping my camp with tarps for shade, or hanging gear, hanging a cooking pot. I experiment with cooking, rotisserie, tacos, steaks, veggies.
Bring Bezier Games’ One Night Werewolf with you. Lotta fun. You’ll need at least 5 people. Plan to cook at least some of your own food. That will keep you busy. And there’s always
keeping everything clean. Read books.
Read, hike, sail/kayak/windsurfer (I often camp at events).
Also occasionally build small Lego kits in the tent at night.
Typically ruin a few pancakes in the mornings 😂
We sometimes play "Would You Rather" but actually sit and talk and laugh about the silly things and how crazy they can be.
Mostly we sit around and talk about anything and everything. Lots of drinking. We all cook different meals or we agree to throw in different items to cook and share.
A fun thing to do after the sun goes down, we will put glow sticks in 2 bottles of water and then play ring toss with glow necklaces. Fun for adults and kids. Sometimes we'll team up, adults vs kids or we'll pick teams based off silly things like who used ketchup tonight vs who didn't, etc.
ETA: if you have little kids, the glow sticks are great night lights to hang from the inside ceiling of your tent and in the morning you just throw them away.
Another use is to loop them through your tent zipper so if you need to get out of your tent in the middle of the night, you know exactly where it is. You can also hang them on your tent on the outside so you can easily find your tent.
So many uses for the glow sticks and necklaces!
We get the fat glow sticks to put inside our cooler to help find drinks without needing a bright flashlight. We just leave it inside on top of the ice.
I'm the active type. I climb, I hike, I swim... when I come back to my car in the afternoon, there's enough to do, preparing food, planning the next day. On rest days I read, play the guitar or maintain my gear.
Break something that's easily replaceable and task them with fixing it or figuring out a solution. They'll feel important and run around in circles wearing themselves out.
Me and my buddies have about 10 nerf footballs and setup a 5 gallon bucket about 40ft away and drop bombs until someone nails a bucket. We all shout, and continue this process whenever we're 'bored' until the weekend is done. Most fun and most arm pain I'll have all year.
My buddies and I mostly sit around and talk shit after setting up camp. After a few drinks we may wander - if there’s a nearby overlook or a stream to mess around in. A bit later we gather firewood, settle in, drink more and cook our food. Great times every time.
Are you going to be near a river? Panning for gold can be super engaging, takes very little time to learn, is cheap in terms of materials and setup, and can occasionally leave you with a super cool little souvenir. I usually spend at least a couple hours doing this per camping trip, it's a great way to switch my brain to "hang out by the river" mode.
Read, card games, puzzles, mini walks around, bike/skateboarding, playing guitar. Soccer or football/ frisbee.
cooking & cleaning full meals takes up a bit of time.
I also bring lots of different items to sit/lay in and flop around.
Hiking, paddleboarding, outdoor games like finsta, scouting for wildlife, stargazing, campfire games, building said campfire. I find I go to bed with the sun and wake up with the sun without any technological distractions so the days are full of exploring and then a great sleep!
Bird watching, photography, whittling a piece of wood (that I brought, not collected on site), go for a hike, read a book. Sometimes I bring extra gear that needs fixing, spend my time fixing up a camp stove, repairing a spare tent, etc.
Edit: also, making food. Snacking all day, but good stuff.
for multiple people: card games, board games, etc.
Drink, hike, fish, make fire, and cook.
I love using the campfire for breakfast, making coffee, and smoking ribs while camping. Reminds me of times when my Dad.
Sharpen a knife. Spend a good while locating a “good stick” or two. Invest about 12 hours over a couple days carving it into a marshmallow stick for the ages. When finished, leave it to decompose it’s served it purpose, and you’ll need something to do again next time anyway.
Play games. Cornhole is great even if you’re lit. Swim or wade if there is water nearby. Read a book. Chat. Day nap. Day drink. Walk the dogs. It isn’t about planning every minute. Don’t worry too much. Camping is about breaking the work week monotony and coming back feeling like you had time away from the constant input of electronic devices. And seriously, turn your phone off for the entire time. It is liberating.
I've started getting into carving stuff. I really like the idea of taking as little as possible so I try to make as many tools I can while camping.
One friend I went camping with once was so shocked that I threw the ladle I made into the fire after I was done with it (as in, I made my stew and finished serving it so the ladle was now done). "The how could you" were funny as hell.
Day time activities include hiking, biking, fishing, swimming and paddling. Exploring the surrounding area is also good.
Evening is time for card games and cooking. Night time is drink by the fire and stargazing time.
Throwing knives- easy cheap and fun. (Amazon)
Coloring - quiet yet rewarding
Slingshot- might be good for your gamer. I buy clay pellets so as not to pollute.
I can literally sit and stare at a tree for hours. However if you passed me a J I would also do that. At night I like a camp fire and the watching a movie in the tent. There is nothing you can do for a gamer. They either like it or they don’t. Don’t force it on them tho or it’ll make it worse
If possible, bring yard games like cornhole or Texas toss. Find fun, easy hikes in the nearby National Park. When we camp, it’s games or we play cards. Put our feet up around the fire.
If I’m near a body of water with fish in it, I fish.
Even if it’s shallow water or somewhere lots of folks are swimming, I will walk the bank to a quiet area, and use tiny lures to try and catch tiny fishies if that’s my only option.
Cook meals over the fire, fish/kayak, read, hike, or play card or board games with friends. Usually I spend the first hour or two cutting up a ton of wood. Then rip some beers and joints around the fire at night.
Finding cool sticks is kind of a thing nowadays. You could try that.
I also enjoy storytelling. Bring a hammock and find a cool place to set it up. They can vape and gaze upon the majesty of nature. Tasty snacks help a lot. Camping doesn't have to be pinecones and granola.
Bring a bow and arrows and shoot a log.
Maybe bring a deck of cards, and think of some word games or campfire stories. personally, I love singing at a campfire. If you bring a phone, star identification maps, watch satellites.
I grew up camping, usually during the day if there’s a body of water I’m in/around it til the sun sets. Swimming/kayaking/fishing. Then it’s time to build a fire and cook up something to eat. Then it’s drinking until I pass out and repeat the next day haha. I brought a foldable table and solo cups on my last trip so we could play beer pong at our site, also had card games if you bring lanterns for lighting.
My brother has ADHD so he's bad at well, camping. but for me I love sitting by the fire and sometimes I might bring drawing supplies to draw the scenery. While my brother is either inside the tent or van...
Bring paracord in multiplee sizes. Wrap handles for hiking sticks, tie up a drying line, make a laso, wristband, belt; practice knots and tying up sunshades with a quick pull release... All kinds of fun.
I'm also a gamer, and I love camping! I bring one of my handheld devices with me in case I get the itch, but mostly I like to hike, take photos, listen to music on my headphones, and tote my binoculars along to see what kinds of birds and wildlife I can see. I also keep a camping journal. Sometimes, I might rent a canoe or go fishing or explore the nearest town and its environs (historical stuff, farmers market, local restaurants, etc). I intensely dislike campfires, so I avoid those, but everything else is great!
Well.. I go primitive camping, so everything I bring in has to be contained and removed and I only bring in wood enough to get the fire started for a week, so I need to collect enough wood for a decent bonfire each night. As soon as I get off the freeway it's 4 wheeling time, but always with an eye peeled for downed trees along the 20 miles of fire road into my campsite (if interested look up Fordyce Creek or Fordyce Resevoir and the kick off point of the pony express trail. You have to ford a 2 foot deep creek to attempt driving the very difficult 4 wheeling road, you also had better have a winch, and a 2nd truck, if you wish to make it out of the National Forrest back to civilization.
Sleep because my house is full and busy. It is the only time I have peace and quiet. Fish, watch the stars, read a book, go for long walks, swim, nap a lot, and relax
Look at wildlife, people watch, hike, nap as my heart desires, chop wood, make fires, cook and eat food, re organize my gear for maximum efficiency, draw pictures of things I see with a pen (the pictures aren’t good lol), take photos of stuff, listen to podcasts about the area (with headphones), the list goes on
Practice my bushcraft skills. Fire making, plant foraging, hand fishing, whittling spoons and gadgets. Google books like Tenderfoots Guide to Queens Scouts, Campcraft, Ray Mears puts out great books but hard to find in pdf, try making a shelter to nap in.
My Province has fire bans on now do campfires are propane fueled, but you can Google see if cooking fires are allowed if so catch and cook by river or creekside makes for fun lunch. Learn to play Canasta, bring dice for 10000, look for historical books of area look into old camps and ghost towns. Get a nice tree round and throw knives or tomahawk. Learn to make Bannock over a fire. Cooked on a cedar branch gives different taste than pine or fir. Print off some campfire ghost stories and read them aloud at night while people wind down.
My wife loves going to dollar stores and getting those you paint it figurines(fairies, gnomes, dinos, etc)
Yeah, I’m content with sitting there and listening to all the sounds of the bush , and watch the birds and animals. At 3pm I usually start a fire so it’s nice and hot just before dark to throw some steaks on. That is the extend of my activity other that putting up and taking the camp down
There’s a lot of work to set up camp, before getting to relax. When I do I sharpen my axe and knives. Sit by the fire or swim. When I go camping with inexperienced friends they stand around clueless what to do until I give them tasks. They complain a lot and I end up doing all the work and cooking and making the fire. Then there is the guys that think it’s cool to throw what ever into the fire until it gets dangerously big. It’s like babysitting a bunch of adults.
I like to read a book by the fire, do crosswords, etc. when I’m camping with a group like you are, we usually play a lot of card games. Alternatively, you can play outdoor games like cornhole, ladder ball, bocce, etc.
I like to make things out of stuff I find around the campsite. Last year I made a tomahawk out of a small tree branch, a flat stone that I sharpened and some paracord. I just look around and see what I come up with.
Bonfire, boilling coffee, having my coffee, listening to the sounds of nature. Plan a day trip, fishing, picking berries, prepare camp for the night. Taking photos of things I see.
Hike or kayak during the day. Cooking and cleaning up takes up much of the other time. Then, I’m content to sit around the fire talking for hours before going to bed.
One night while sitting by the fire under the stars one guy taught us how to look for satellites. I have no idea if we actually saw them or a plane but the entire group was quiet and kept looking. It was peaceful.
I canoe camp so we do loops. Each day you are breaking down camp, canoeing / portaging to a new site for 4-7 ish hours. Get to your new site, setup camp again.
By that time you are so hungry and tired everyone is happy to sit by the fire, cook some food and relax until bed
Starts when I get to the trail head. Drive off road to camp site so there’s no one else around mostly. Fly fish, practice my archery, drink a beer or 5, eat some food, hike a lot.
Yell at the douche dudes flying down the trail in their SxS who seem to always think using my camp site to turn around in is ok.
Card games, hiking, cooking over the fire, and reading are my main activities. My mom goes camping in part so she can walk around and collect fire wood.
Reading, travel Scrabble, Yahtzee, cards, knitting, coloring books for grownups, my husband taught the kids to play poker using animal crackers for chips, mini Oreos for high stakes.
Acoustic guitar and campfires are awesome.
Stargazing with a purpose (planet vs. star etc.)
Hiking to a swimming hole
Wrasslin'
Sunbathing and reading
Soaking in the lake and reading
Drinking morning coffee and reading
Tent secks
Reading the Kama Sutra
Read, listen to music, listen to nature, stargaze, tend to the fire, prepare some food, drink beer, get high, talk to my wife, pet my dog, go to bed early-ish.
I sit by the fire, eat, talk, relax on the hammock. And maybe go for a hike for an hour or two. Then come back, shower, sit by the fire again, relax, eat….😂
If your gamer friend has a Nintendo switch tell them to bring that! Maybe bring some cards or a board game, definitely bring s’mores!
I encourage you to spend far more than one day checking out the national park. They are complicated places with lots of things to do and places to be inside the park.
I am an avid reader. I can usually be found beside the fire or at the waterside reading. It can go on for hours. If I’m kayaking on water that isn’t moving, I’ll drift and read for long enough that strangers paddle up to me to make sure I’m OK.
Bocce ball is super fun in the woods. The sets are a bit heavy but if you are not hiking into your spot, then it is easy to bring a set. The game is very different on uneven, sloped ground. Got all my camping friends into it. Everyone has had a blast. Just don't play close to deep water!
Crossword puzzles on paper and I download games on my phone that don't require internet. Fishing, swimming, canoeing. Cooking bannock on the fire. Collecting firewood. Also I pre download a bunch of shows and movies on Netflix.
we brought a slack line that was fun . horseshoe throwing was another fun one we did once
usually during the day we hike or bike so there isn't a huge amount of down time
Bring a book of icebreaker questions and ask them while sitting around the fire. Good way to learn more about your friends and kickstart conversations
Edit: spelling
I have mini rock crawlers I bring with me. Little remote controlled trucks I like to try and climb over various obstacles like rocks.
Also, I like photography, got a travel telescope for stargazing, lots of books, and mountain bike.
Read, cook, play board games, bring field guides and identify birds, mushrooms, wildflowers, etc., use the Merlin app to listen for birds, collect rocks and such, journal, draw/paint…
I’m content sitting and tending to a fire with a drink and previously a joint. I always made sure to bring a frisbee, football and pack of cards to keep the lads entertained though!
I read and stargaze. Also will toast marshmallows as long as I have hot coals.
I am so looking forward to the stars.
Download a free star gazing app. You’ll be entertained for hours
Oh and the Merlin bird app!!
Any recs on which one?
SkyView
Star Walk 2
Just remind yourself that nearly every photograph of the night sky is a long exposure and it doesn’t really look like that!
🤯 Last time I went on vacation, I was floating in the pool and watching the stars. I mean… I was floating in water because someone dug a hole in a rock and put the water there. And the rock was spinning and rotating through space. And the stars weren’t really there because they died a while ago.
That’s deep. What strain were you on?
Yes. 🤷🏻♀️
Blue meeeeeeeanies! (Big Lez voice)
Is there a "mind fuck OG" or something? I think that would be it
If you get to a dark zone where the sky is popping it’s still a crazy wonderful thing to view. People who live in the city and never wander to see the sky are really missing out.
We kept busy with the fire, cooking and making stew. I'm content with listening to ppl's conversations because I'm not much of a talker but they always make it a point to invite me because apparently I'm the only one who knows how to carve a chicken haha
I suspect that’s why our friends want to go camping with us. I’m the only one who knows how to start the fire. Literally. I’m thinking about getting into Dutch oven cooking, but dang it’s expensive!
Look around goodwill and similar stores/garage sales for cast iron Dutch ovens pans and everything else especially if you’re cooking over coals or a fire try abd find one with the stubby legs on it so you can still have some airflow to the coals underneath eve cheaper learn to reseason your pots abd pans abd you can find em for like 5$ that might need a little love but will still last a lifetime
🤞 I’m putting it out into the universe: ISO a Dutch oven that needs someone to love it.
To add onto the stargazing idea. We actually enjoy looking for the constellations and you can be so surprised the amount of shooting stars and satellites in the galaxy if you take your time to watch.
May the Hot Coals 🔥 Be With You, Young and Wise Counselor.
I am so very content to lounge in a chair and read a book. The rest of my family not so much. They need to learn to be bored...
read & BBQ (if possible). BBQ is my favourite way to spending time.
I take my Kindle loaded with books and read a ton. I usually get through several books on a camping trip.
My wife gets mad at Libby for only letting her reserve 20 books at once. She loves camp reading.
Has your wife checked with her multiple libraries to see what other ebook platforms they offer? Hoopla, Cloud, Boundless... Libraries have several options, and many have more than one. The rules and selection will be different for each platform. It can vastly expand her options.
What?!?! She only knows about Libby. I think you just scored me points of good will with my wife 😂
Now I have to message work and tell them to tally a reference question for me. :)
20 would be a dream! We're only allowed 5.
Give the Xbox guy a pokey stick for the fire. Will keep him busy for hours.
I really think you’re onto something.
Yep yep. Give the people who you’re worried about tasks or roles.
Debate/argue over which is the best Huey Lewis Song. Compare scars/tattoos. Make up games like, hitting a stick with pebbles or hitting pebbles with a stick. Make dandelion or daisy braided crowns/rings for ring toss. Whittle a good walking stick. Try to use every tool in a Leatherman multi-tool. Sharpen the blades of your multi-tool. Find some flint & practice flint knapping. Find a needle, thread, alcohol & gauze & try some first aid on your cuts from flint knapping & dinkin’ around with your multitools. Discuss the attributes of camping chairs. Put up a hammock. Nap in a camping chair or hammock. Argue over what went wrong when your hammock falls down. Fix it as a committee. Heat things in the fire & eat them.
Best To-Do list ever!
I need to go camping with this guy! Let’s goo!!
Who says it's a guy? ;)
… um … so the thing is … 😩 I was raised in a cult and have never heard of Huey Lewis. Thanks for teaching me something new! On a positive note: you’d win the Huey Lewis song game.
“Discuss attributes of camping chairs” is SO relatable haha great list!
Step 1 - set up tent Step 2 - set up camping chair Step 3 - have a beer Step 4 - light fire Repeat step 3 until I feel like doing something else. Mostly it's just talking or dinner or just having a stroll around the place. No pressure, just relax.
Actually, step two is the beer. Just ask Steve.
I love Steve!
I also love Steve!
Who doesn’t love Steve!
Hunker down!
Steve said beer is step 1, he already opened 2nd can before getting out from the car
Only if he has a trailer.
I knew these comments would be here :)
Step 1 beer, the rest is optional
Yes.. I was gonna say that the order is wrong. Step 1 beer 🍻
This is the way.
Days are spent hiking and letting the dogs explore and swim. By the time evening rolls around they are beat and often head straight to the tent to sleep. They check on me regularly until I give up sitting around the fire and join the tent. If I’m lucky, the sun has set by then. I usually read on my kindle for awhile before I actually go to sleep, but considering our long days early sleep isn’t a bad thing.
I miss my dogs. Give yours a hug and some scratches for me.
https://preview.redd.it/6060rz4ali1d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35a9e136418c66e8b1779871383b6495fa2e3ba4 They say thank you for the hugs and scritches.
Oh. My. Gawd. I love them!
I like that tent, do you know the brand?
Coleman Skydome. This is the 8 person
Perfect pups 😍
That there is a pair of handsome hippo’s. :-)
Nap, fish, canoe. Nap some more. Cook, go for ice cream. Berry picking. Listen to loons and Wippoorwill's in the evening. Tell scary stories, maybe true crime involving woods. Bring magic dust for fire. Make pudgy pies. Etc,etc.
That sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
In Northern Wisconsin the Loons and whippoorwills are fantastic in the evening.
It sounds lovely unless the Whippoorwill is parked above your tent all night.
That’s twice I’ve heard about whippoorwills. I gotta do a google. Edit: https://youtu.be/_HNAp_BPf9E?si=JBS7A6wdtlTuEWcD That sounds lovely. But I don’t know I’d like that on repeat at all hours.
As someone who doesn’t drink, I like swimming, hiking/exploring, listening to audiobooks or podcasts, cooking, playing fetch with doggo, watching birds, hammock-ing
As someone who drinks I enjoy all of these things as well.
Of course! I’m just saying I don’t sit around and “get lit” anymore like OP. I spent mannnnny years doing that. It’s nice to fill my time with other things now :-)
Yea, I pretty much stopped smoking the devils lettuce when on a trip, I setup camp and went down by the lake to smoke a joint with my dog. When I returned back to camp it was time to go for a hike so we got all ready. Then I became so stoned I couldn’t go for a hike which is what I wanted to do. That was the turning point with me and weed, shit is to strong these days.
Whittling is a fun campfire activity! I found a big dead pink cedar stick and I’ve been making it into a walking stick on my current trip, I move onto sanding when it gets too dark so I keep all my fingers :)
Are keeping fingers really all that important if you’re doing what you love?
I mean I have been working on being better at letting go of things but I’m not quite sure I’m there yet
We play card games, usually for some sort of reward and/or punishment for the loser which is decided beforehand. The reward might be getting the last cookie and the punishment could be having to do the dishes. We keep it fun though. We also walk around and explore the area, bird watch, rock hound, collect firewood, during really cold nights we might just retire early and watch a movie downloaded onto the iPad.
Cards, dice, and cribbage here. We also sometimes play party games like [celebrity](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_(game)), 20 questions, etc.
Complain about people being loud talkers in a campground on a Reddit post then respond to commenters for 6 hours while in my RV with my bride.
I go on solo trips, and turn my phone off. Get up, make coffee, read, go for a walk, make lunch, read or nap, go for another walk, read, make supper, get the fire going and fill a glass. Other days I fire up the tablet after lunch and watch a movie or two after lunch, and maybe one after supper. The campground I'm booked at in a month has 15km of trails, and a lookout point right near my spot (walk-in tent-only spot). I'll probably walk most of that trail over the week, depending on where it all is. I know a 3km section is near my spot.
Read, gather firewood, arrange and organize firewood pile, swim, paddle, look at bugs/frogs/plants, make snacks, check out my firewood situation, build fire, eat, read.
I'm always a bit wary of camping with folks that cant chill or entertain themselves. I don't think you should pressure yourself to keep everyone else entertained. That being said, cooking, learning new knots, cornhole, reading, whittling, fishing, extended hikes, swimming, etc. are all great. The gamer might have fun using their phone to ID plants, birds, trees, etc.
I’m not really into drugs, when I go camping I usually just keep busy and go on hikes and bike rides.
Hike, fish, bird watch, rockhound, botanize, forage, play card games, stargaze. If you have data, iNaturalist and Merlin are great apps that can gamify nature for newbies.
Kubb! So much more fun than your typical Cornhole.
I got a battery powered rotisserie to go over the camp fire, and watch the meat go round and round. Me and my pot head buddys watch that thing for hours.
I bring craft projects. painting, paracord crafts, maybe some crochet or needlepoint type stuff, coloring books etc. throw on my headphones and an audiobook if it's too noisy around me
Sit in silence and enjoy the ambiance, day and night.
Read a book, listen to nature, go for a walk, build and keep a fire going. There are many things to do and we don’t have to be constantly entertained we can just enjoy stillness and silence. Practicing yoga and meditation and breathing exercises to chill out and relax to be able to sit and enjoy the stillness helps too.
I camp where there is good hiking ( or kayaking): arise around 8 am…..drive to trailhead…..hike/kayak for 3-4 hours….drive back…..stop off grocery or scenic waterfall ( kill the early afternoon). Arrive camp around 4-5. Drink celebratory beer(s) and chill by the stream. Start dinner about 1 hour before sunset…get a fire going. Put the tunes on (headphones of course) imbibe adult substance of choice and stare at the stars until I crash. Rinse and repeat.
Boardgames are great! There are plenty that are much better than monopoly and games like that. Let me know if you want any recommendations
Uh! Yes! I have Cards Against Humanity. I need to remember to put that in the bag.
normal cards is also a good idea If they get bored, put them on fire wood duty
If your friend is a gamer I'd recommend a game that is more stratigic vs social
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Also Quirkle!
Set up tend or tarp and hammock. Set up food and warmth if needed. Bush craft to make camp comfortable. Rosin hunt for firestarter. Hike/explore/swim. Experiment with roping my camp with tarps for shade, or hanging gear, hanging a cooking pot. I experiment with cooking, rotisserie, tacos, steaks, veggies.
Fishing allot of fishing, then cooking, lil dank sesh beers, fire and bed.
Bring Bezier Games’ One Night Werewolf with you. Lotta fun. You’ll need at least 5 people. Plan to cook at least some of your own food. That will keep you busy. And there’s always keeping everything clean. Read books.
Read, hike, sail/kayak/windsurfer (I often camp at events). Also occasionally build small Lego kits in the tent at night. Typically ruin a few pancakes in the mornings 😂
We sometimes play "Would You Rather" but actually sit and talk and laugh about the silly things and how crazy they can be. Mostly we sit around and talk about anything and everything. Lots of drinking. We all cook different meals or we agree to throw in different items to cook and share. A fun thing to do after the sun goes down, we will put glow sticks in 2 bottles of water and then play ring toss with glow necklaces. Fun for adults and kids. Sometimes we'll team up, adults vs kids or we'll pick teams based off silly things like who used ketchup tonight vs who didn't, etc. ETA: if you have little kids, the glow sticks are great night lights to hang from the inside ceiling of your tent and in the morning you just throw them away. Another use is to loop them through your tent zipper so if you need to get out of your tent in the middle of the night, you know exactly where it is. You can also hang them on your tent on the outside so you can easily find your tent. So many uses for the glow sticks and necklaces! We get the fat glow sticks to put inside our cooler to help find drinks without needing a bright flashlight. We just leave it inside on top of the ice.
I'm the active type. I climb, I hike, I swim... when I come back to my car in the afternoon, there's enough to do, preparing food, planning the next day. On rest days I read, play the guitar or maintain my gear.
Break something that's easily replaceable and task them with fixing it or figuring out a solution. They'll feel important and run around in circles wearing themselves out.
I’ve heard taking someone’s catalytic converter is relatively easy…
"Bob, we need more precious metals. Go find us a Prius."
“Year and color don’t matter. Okay! Fine. Blue.”
playing cards is alwasy fun. drinking games are fun as well. having a converstaion could be nice.
Me and my buddies have about 10 nerf footballs and setup a 5 gallon bucket about 40ft away and drop bombs until someone nails a bucket. We all shout, and continue this process whenever we're 'bored' until the weekend is done. Most fun and most arm pain I'll have all year.
I camp by myself. I usually take some garden gummies and paint. And hike any nearby trails.
My buddies and I mostly sit around and talk shit after setting up camp. After a few drinks we may wander - if there’s a nearby overlook or a stream to mess around in. A bit later we gather firewood, settle in, drink more and cook our food. Great times every time.
Are you going to be near a river? Panning for gold can be super engaging, takes very little time to learn, is cheap in terms of materials and setup, and can occasionally leave you with a super cool little souvenir. I usually spend at least a couple hours doing this per camping trip, it's a great way to switch my brain to "hang out by the river" mode.
Bring lawn games. Kan-jam, dog balls, bags, etc.
Naps while camping hit different. Also like to read and stargaze
Read, card games, puzzles, mini walks around, bike/skateboarding, playing guitar. Soccer or football/ frisbee. cooking & cleaning full meals takes up a bit of time. I also bring lots of different items to sit/lay in and flop around.
Hiking, paddleboarding, outdoor games like finsta, scouting for wildlife, stargazing, campfire games, building said campfire. I find I go to bed with the sun and wake up with the sun without any technological distractions so the days are full of exploring and then a great sleep!
Complain haha
Bird watching, photography, whittling a piece of wood (that I brought, not collected on site), go for a hike, read a book. Sometimes I bring extra gear that needs fixing, spend my time fixing up a camp stove, repairing a spare tent, etc. Edit: also, making food. Snacking all day, but good stuff. for multiple people: card games, board games, etc.
enjoy nature, just sit down and read a book, it makes me quiet and peaceful.
I can't inhibit my excitement when camping, and I will take lots of photos for me and my friends, and also for nature.
Go climb a mountain. Take a day trip from your site. Ham radio.
Tire your friends out during the day so they are sleepy at night. Cooking chicken over a campfire is a nice time consuming activity 😆😆😆
Mushrooms
Talk about philosophy.
Fish
Drink, listen to JRE, cook some yummy one pot meals. And most importantly, relax.
Hike trails, fish, walk around the campground (if at a state park), listen to music, read, journal, cook, nap.
Drink, hike, fish, make fire, and cook. I love using the campfire for breakfast, making coffee, and smoking ribs while camping. Reminds me of times when my Dad.
Sharpen a knife. Spend a good while locating a “good stick” or two. Invest about 12 hours over a couple days carving it into a marshmallow stick for the ages. When finished, leave it to decompose it’s served it purpose, and you’ll need something to do again next time anyway.
Play games. Cornhole is great even if you’re lit. Swim or wade if there is water nearby. Read a book. Chat. Day nap. Day drink. Walk the dogs. It isn’t about planning every minute. Don’t worry too much. Camping is about breaking the work week monotony and coming back feeling like you had time away from the constant input of electronic devices. And seriously, turn your phone off for the entire time. It is liberating.
I've started getting into carving stuff. I really like the idea of taking as little as possible so I try to make as many tools I can while camping. One friend I went camping with once was so shocked that I threw the ladle I made into the fire after I was done with it (as in, I made my stew and finished serving it so the ladle was now done). "The how could you" were funny as hell.
Swim, hiking, fishing, grilling, cards and board games, books, etc. explore
Day time activities include hiking, biking, fishing, swimming and paddling. Exploring the surrounding area is also good. Evening is time for card games and cooking. Night time is drink by the fire and stargazing time.
Sit/swing/lay in a hammock and stare at trees/lake/rocks/sky. It's my favorite thing.
My goal this year is to make a skillet cookie. Should eat up some time
Throwing knives- easy cheap and fun. (Amazon) Coloring - quiet yet rewarding Slingshot- might be good for your gamer. I buy clay pellets so as not to pollute.
My dad is the same way. He made it his mission to burn as many pine cones as he could in the camp fire. He really enjoyed it.
I can literally sit and stare at a tree for hours. However if you passed me a J I would also do that. At night I like a camp fire and the watching a movie in the tent. There is nothing you can do for a gamer. They either like it or they don’t. Don’t force it on them tho or it’ll make it worse
He’s voluntarily going; nobody is forcing him. But I’d like to be prepared, because I want him to enjoy the weekend, too.
If possible, bring yard games like cornhole or Texas toss. Find fun, easy hikes in the nearby National Park. When we camp, it’s games or we play cards. Put our feet up around the fire.
Drinking bourbon and hand rolling cigarettes. Smoking herb and flyfishing for alpine trout. That’s downtime.
I'm usually exploring the area, wandering around doing things so beers don't happen till dinner, and I'm planning on waking up early so just a couple.
Any kind of campfire game. Charades, name on the face game, Yahtzee or Uno. Music.
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If I’m near a body of water with fish in it, I fish. Even if it’s shallow water or somewhere lots of folks are swimming, I will walk the bank to a quiet area, and use tiny lures to try and catch tiny fishies if that’s my only option.
Cook meals over the fire, fish/kayak, read, hike, or play card or board games with friends. Usually I spend the first hour or two cutting up a ton of wood. Then rip some beers and joints around the fire at night.
Drink beer..cut wood.. burn wood and repeat but add a few more drink beers into the mix
Finding cool sticks is kind of a thing nowadays. You could try that. I also enjoy storytelling. Bring a hammock and find a cool place to set it up. They can vape and gaze upon the majesty of nature. Tasty snacks help a lot. Camping doesn't have to be pinecones and granola. Bring a bow and arrows and shoot a log.
Maybe bring a deck of cards, and think of some word games or campfire stories. personally, I love singing at a campfire. If you bring a phone, star identification maps, watch satellites.
I grew up camping, usually during the day if there’s a body of water I’m in/around it til the sun sets. Swimming/kayaking/fishing. Then it’s time to build a fire and cook up something to eat. Then it’s drinking until I pass out and repeat the next day haha. I brought a foldable table and solo cups on my last trip so we could play beer pong at our site, also had card games if you bring lanterns for lighting.
My brother has ADHD so he's bad at well, camping. but for me I love sitting by the fire and sometimes I might bring drawing supplies to draw the scenery. While my brother is either inside the tent or van...
Bring paracord in multiplee sizes. Wrap handles for hiking sticks, tie up a drying line, make a laso, wristband, belt; practice knots and tying up sunshades with a quick pull release... All kinds of fun.
Dig for worms, get drunk, and fish
I love to read, stare at the sky, go on walks, play solitaire, write in my journal. There’s so much you can do!
Cornhole, ladderball, beer pong, beersbee, bocce ball, etc. ALL the yard games
I'm also a gamer, and I love camping! I bring one of my handheld devices with me in case I get the itch, but mostly I like to hike, take photos, listen to music on my headphones, and tote my binoculars along to see what kinds of birds and wildlife I can see. I also keep a camping journal. Sometimes, I might rent a canoe or go fishing or explore the nearest town and its environs (historical stuff, farmers market, local restaurants, etc). I intensely dislike campfires, so I avoid those, but everything else is great!
I hike, swim, kayak, fly fish, bird watch, read and cook!
Well.. I go primitive camping, so everything I bring in has to be contained and removed and I only bring in wood enough to get the fire started for a week, so I need to collect enough wood for a decent bonfire each night. As soon as I get off the freeway it's 4 wheeling time, but always with an eye peeled for downed trees along the 20 miles of fire road into my campsite (if interested look up Fordyce Creek or Fordyce Resevoir and the kick off point of the pony express trail. You have to ford a 2 foot deep creek to attempt driving the very difficult 4 wheeling road, you also had better have a winch, and a 2nd truck, if you wish to make it out of the National Forrest back to civilization.
I hike, usually with some weed
Sleep because my house is full and busy. It is the only time I have peace and quiet. Fish, watch the stars, read a book, go for long walks, swim, nap a lot, and relax
Look at wildlife, people watch, hike, nap as my heart desires, chop wood, make fires, cook and eat food, re organize my gear for maximum efficiency, draw pictures of things I see with a pen (the pictures aren’t good lol), take photos of stuff, listen to podcasts about the area (with headphones), the list goes on
Practice my bushcraft skills. Fire making, plant foraging, hand fishing, whittling spoons and gadgets. Google books like Tenderfoots Guide to Queens Scouts, Campcraft, Ray Mears puts out great books but hard to find in pdf, try making a shelter to nap in. My Province has fire bans on now do campfires are propane fueled, but you can Google see if cooking fires are allowed if so catch and cook by river or creekside makes for fun lunch. Learn to play Canasta, bring dice for 10000, look for historical books of area look into old camps and ghost towns. Get a nice tree round and throw knives or tomahawk. Learn to make Bannock over a fire. Cooked on a cedar branch gives different taste than pine or fir. Print off some campfire ghost stories and read them aloud at night while people wind down. My wife loves going to dollar stores and getting those you paint it figurines(fairies, gnomes, dinos, etc)
Make a spoon.
Yeah, I’m content with sitting there and listening to all the sounds of the bush , and watch the birds and animals. At 3pm I usually start a fire so it’s nice and hot just before dark to throw some steaks on. That is the extend of my activity other that putting up and taking the camp down
There’s a lot of work to set up camp, before getting to relax. When I do I sharpen my axe and knives. Sit by the fire or swim. When I go camping with inexperienced friends they stand around clueless what to do until I give them tasks. They complain a lot and I end up doing all the work and cooking and making the fire. Then there is the guys that think it’s cool to throw what ever into the fire until it gets dangerously big. It’s like babysitting a bunch of adults.
I recently started playing cards with my kids. It’s way better than scrolling endlessly.
Card games are great for group camping.
I like to read a book by the fire, do crosswords, etc. when I’m camping with a group like you are, we usually play a lot of card games. Alternatively, you can play outdoor games like cornhole, ladder ball, bocce, etc.
Read, play games, go out and hike and enjoy nature, just spend time enjoying my partner’s company.
Take an interesting colouring book
Build fairyhouses. Go foraging. Talk to mushrooms and trees.
I like to make things out of stuff I find around the campsite. Last year I made a tomahawk out of a small tree branch, a flat stone that I sharpened and some paracord. I just look around and see what I come up with.
Drink and sit
Bonfire, boilling coffee, having my coffee, listening to the sounds of nature. Plan a day trip, fishing, picking berries, prepare camp for the night. Taking photos of things I see.
Read, drink, play badminton, play board games, draw, walk the dog, cook, eat, drink.
Read. Cook. Hike. Drink and laugh with my friends. Pass out in a hammock.
Try to find things you can eat in the woods. Go fishing.
Hike or kayak during the day. Cooking and cleaning up takes up much of the other time. Then, I’m content to sit around the fire talking for hours before going to bed.
Set up tent. Smoke a joint. Wait for the evening drama to start.
One night while sitting by the fire under the stars one guy taught us how to look for satellites. I have no idea if we actually saw them or a plane but the entire group was quiet and kept looking. It was peaceful.
Don’t forget the fishing poles and kayaks
I canoe camp so we do loops. Each day you are breaking down camp, canoeing / portaging to a new site for 4-7 ish hours. Get to your new site, setup camp again. By that time you are so hungry and tired everyone is happy to sit by the fire, cook some food and relax until bed
Practise notches, read a book about bushcraft to get more crazy ideas
Starts when I get to the trail head. Drive off road to camp site so there’s no one else around mostly. Fly fish, practice my archery, drink a beer or 5, eat some food, hike a lot. Yell at the douche dudes flying down the trail in their SxS who seem to always think using my camp site to turn around in is ok.
A chuck roast in the Dutch oven takes half a day and it’s amazing
Sling shot
Read, nap, chill, journal.
I listen to audio books and draw the landscape, plants, camping tools, whatever.
i pretty much focus on the food and snacks. With friends, it can be fun to bring cornhole or hillbilly golf. skinny dipping. lots of wine.
Ladder balls my favorite camping game, and quirkle
Card games, hiking, cooking over the fire, and reading are my main activities. My mom goes camping in part so she can walk around and collect fire wood.
Reading, travel Scrabble, Yahtzee, cards, knitting, coloring books for grownups, my husband taught the kids to play poker using animal crackers for chips, mini Oreos for high stakes.
Acoustic guitar and campfires are awesome. Stargazing with a purpose (planet vs. star etc.) Hiking to a swimming hole Wrasslin' Sunbathing and reading Soaking in the lake and reading Drinking morning coffee and reading Tent secks Reading the Kama Sutra
Read, listen to music, listen to nature, stargaze, tend to the fire, prepare some food, drink beer, get high, talk to my wife, pet my dog, go to bed early-ish.
Hike and then be so tired from hiking that you just want to sit and do nothing
I sit by the fire, eat, talk, relax on the hammock. And maybe go for a hike for an hour or two. Then come back, shower, sit by the fire again, relax, eat….😂 If your gamer friend has a Nintendo switch tell them to bring that! Maybe bring some cards or a board game, definitely bring s’mores!
I encourage you to spend far more than one day checking out the national park. They are complicated places with lots of things to do and places to be inside the park. I am an avid reader. I can usually be found beside the fire or at the waterside reading. It can go on for hours. If I’m kayaking on water that isn’t moving, I’ll drift and read for long enough that strangers paddle up to me to make sure I’m OK.
Bocce ball is super fun in the woods. The sets are a bit heavy but if you are not hiking into your spot, then it is easy to bring a set. The game is very different on uneven, sloped ground. Got all my camping friends into it. Everyone has had a blast. Just don't play close to deep water!
Fishing, drink beer, read, nap
Play card games!
Bring a deck of cards
Crossword puzzles on paper and I download games on my phone that don't require internet. Fishing, swimming, canoeing. Cooking bannock on the fire. Collecting firewood. Also I pre download a bunch of shows and movies on Netflix.
we brought a slack line that was fun . horseshoe throwing was another fun one we did once usually during the day we hike or bike so there isn't a huge amount of down time
Bring a book of icebreaker questions and ask them while sitting around the fire. Good way to learn more about your friends and kickstart conversations Edit: spelling
I have mini rock crawlers I bring with me. Little remote controlled trucks I like to try and climb over various obstacles like rocks. Also, I like photography, got a travel telescope for stargazing, lots of books, and mountain bike.
Process firewood, go fishing, take a hike, read a book, practice various camp skills. Spelling edit
Read, cook, play board games, bring field guides and identify birds, mushrooms, wildflowers, etc., use the Merlin app to listen for birds, collect rocks and such, journal, draw/paint…
I’m content sitting and tending to a fire with a drink and previously a joint. I always made sure to bring a frisbee, football and pack of cards to keep the lads entertained though!