camping

Oh man do I have alot to tell you.

First of All. Used campers, I would start by looking on Craigslist. Are you looking for a popup or a travel trailer? My brother picked up a popup that looked like it was never used on craigslist last year for very cheap. Also, at some of the restaurants you can find a magazine that is called Auto & RV trader. They are free. Pick one of those up and start looking through it. I believe that they make these magazines for michigan and indiana so look for both of them. Also, if you want to go for a drive to Elkhart on St Rd 19 you might find some dealerships that are open and have used campers.

Popups come with everything in them. meaning beds, sofas, dinnete tables, sinks, stovetop burners (for inside and outside use), refrig or freezer and some come with bathrooms and showers. Same with Traval trailers. We started out camping in a tent (cheap way out $100.00), we then moved to a popup for 2 years. As we camped last year we were extremely tired of the popup and wanted to move up. We had no bathroom in our popup and wanted to get something with our own bathroom. We now have an old Airstream that we are going to fix up for next year. So we are back to camping in a tent for this year. Make sure that your have plenty of storage and do some internet research before you buy anything. That is what we did and how we got what we got.

Now you need to start looking for some of these items to stock your camper with: bedding, sleeping bags or blankets or comforters, pillows, towels, washclothes, pots and pans, plastic wear, plates, napkins, papertowels, soap, shampoo, tableclothes. As you can see you will need anything that you would normally use at home. What I have done is anything that is old in our house I put to the camper, this way I am not going out to purchase new items for the camper that will just get dirty fast. Remember some nights will be cooler and some will be warmer. We had an electric heater that we took and a box fan just in case. I also have a tub of toys that I pack for the camping season for my son to play with when we are at the campsite (books, bubbles, chalk, baseballs, baseball bat, soccer ball etc). The last two years we took his small bike with us everywhere we went it fit in the camper perfectly. We also had a scooter that he road all over the place. Now these toys (expect for the bike) would not come out of the camper. They were concerned his camping toys.

Now places to go. State Parks are always a great place to go. They have only electric hookups at most of the state parks (there is atleast one state park that has full hookup). They have hiking trails, playgrounds and nature centers at most of them. You would have to go indiana state parks to find where they are located and what they have at each one of them. We have been to potato creek many times and really like it there. At potato creek they also have a beach and bike trailers. Lots of stuff to do there. State parks are not very expensive either I believe that it is around $25.00 a night. Most state parks have decend bathrooms.

We have also been to Twin Mills in Howe Indiana. We love this place because they have a beach, dodgeball, basketball, pool, at least 2 playgrounds, mini golf (which is an additional charge), tether ball, shuffleboard, video game room, they also have activities for kids each weekend, lots of area to walk or ride your bike, canoeing, fishing and I am sure that I am forgetting some stuff. They have some full hookup and electric and water only hookups. Bathrooms are pretty decend. They are going to be a bit expensive. I think $50.00 a night.

Another place Eby Pines in Bristol, indiana. They have many activities during the weekend for kids. Full hookups and electric and water only hookups. They have a 2 pools, pond to fish in, playground, basketball courts, tennis courts, game room. I am sure that they have more but I can't think of the rest right now. There is also a county or state reverse next to them that has hiking trailers in it. This place is going to be a little more expensive than a state park.

Another place that we heard was a good place is Jellystone parks. Look them up on the web they have many in our area with lots of stuff to do at them. We are going to a Jellystone at Indiana Beach this year in July. Can't wait to see what it is like.

By the way the last two years that we have been camping it has rained at least one night/day. It wasn't that bad, my son and I would normally go and play some cards in the camper or at the table under a canopy. Lots of fun.

I sure hope that I gave you enough information. If you need more please let me know.

If I think of anything else I will let you know.
Mommy of Aaron

We do like to go camping around here not to far away as you can tell. But one thing that you can do is go and check out the campground before going to it. The people that we camp with have done that so that we don't end up somewhere were we don't like. Then we have bad camping experiences.

Good luck!

Mommy of Aaron