Do you have a favorite sock that you enjoy wearing while hiking and camping? Do you like to wear a specific sock with your hiking boots? SmartWool socks are my favorite socks by a long shot!

I discovered these wool socks about five years ago. I purchased my first pair at the Eddie Bauer Outlet when I was on the Eastern Shore of  Maryland visiting my dad. The socks felt great! They offered extra support, especially around my arch.  The pair I purchased back then finally needed to be replaced, so I added Smart Wool socks to my little Christmas list. My husband kindly obliged and headed to REI to buy me some new ones. This year, I received their PhD high performance socks. Made from Merino wool, they are made specifically for a woman's foot and they feel just great. They have extra cushioning in the heel and on the ball of the foot. And, the wool keeps my feet really warm.  Yes, they are quite pricey, but I figure I only have two feet,  so they are worth it!

Do you have a favorite sock for when you are camping? A dry sock, of course, is best, but I'd love to hear your opinions on SOCKS in general.

Photo by Melissa A. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer

I am a hopeless pack rat. I'm constantly trolling thrift shops, estate sales, and book sales looking for old magazines, cookbooks, reference materials, and whatever else I can find. This, of course, creates a fair amount of literary clutter in my house. This habit also acts as a literary springboard for me. I find many wonderful ideas in old books and often implement them in my life. A perfect example of this surfaced earlier this week.

I  was driving the children around and saw a sign for an estate sale. Since I can never resist an estate sale, I popped in for about five minutes. I didn't find much until I ventured downstairs into the tool room in the basement. There I found a large shelf with a massive collection of vintage Popular Mechanics magazine. I soon found more than a few issues that sparked my curiosity.

 The May 1958 cover made me laugh out loud. The cover flashed a color story entitled "Budget Vacation, 7500-Mile Camping Trip." The cover also advertised "For the Craftsman: Fold Up Trailer You Can Build." I adore little nuggets like this, because I easily related to the content. I happily forked over a dollar for the magazine and headed home.

This morning, I started to read the seven page article on family camping. It was written by Joseph N. Bell and features photos of his family vacation plus a plethora of tips. There's also a charming vintage illustration that shows where the Bell family traveled during the summer of 1957. They left their home in Chicago and headed west for four weeks. Remarkably, this family of five traveled 7500 miles on a mere $500 back then. The tips offered by Mr. Bell are not only priceless but incredibly timeless. Many of his tips are still relevant today---more than fifty years later! 

In the article Mr. Bell sensibly wrote his tips with bullets in order to highlight them for the reader.  Mr. Bell seems like he was a very sensible guy because he wrote frankly about the economics of family travel and the need for flexibility and preparedness. He also urged his readers to use equipment in auxiliary ways and to travel with a sense of humor and adventure.

I can't summarize the article here, but two tips that stand out address the issues of food and organization:

Regarding food he writes:

"The largest single expense in traveling with a family is food. By carrying cooking equipment and using it consistently, we were able to pare eating costs to the bone. (We ate only three meals in restaurants during our entire four week trip.)"

Regarding organization he writes:

"A motoring vacation with camping equipment can be fun and can be done economically if you plan it properly and know what to expect."

When I looked at the family photos in the article, I again laughed. Mr. Bell shot a photo of his wife perched on the side of the station wagon sporting shorts and heaving the equipment off the roof. The kids were down below and were responsible for hauling the gear to set up camp. He also shows a photo of his wife cooking by a lake. The caption states: "Kids seem to be the same at home or in camp. They watch while Mom "sweats over a hot stove," and Dad unpacks.

Like I said, some camping advice and observations are truly timeless. Happy Camping season to all!

--Melissa A. Trainer

I'm getting excited for the summer months–camping, hiking, Dutch oven cooking, s’mores, and lots of good casual food around the campfire. 

My husband and I have been crafting our own version of campground cookery for some time now. Over the years, we’ve cooked everything from frozen pizzas in the camper oven  to rib eye steaks over a campfire. Homemade cookies, grilled oysters, and local salmon have formed the backbone for many of our meals.

Of course, we have an array of cookware in our camper, but without a doubt our cast iron pans and Dutch ovens are our favorite tools. We have five or six Dutch ovens and on any given camping trip, we load at least one of them with fruit and pastry in order to make a Dutch oven cobbler for dessert.  If you’ve ever cooked over an open campfire using cast iron Dutch ovens, then you know what it’s like to truly make a labor of love for your family and friends. Dutch oven cookery is a fine art and  these portable ovens  get hot and heavy. Hence,  it is important to be careful and STRONG, as well as skilled in the art of managing a natural heat source!

With that in mind, I’d like to recommend one of our most critical Dutch oven accessories–the Lodge Red Leather Gloves. These gloves are great! I gave my husband a pair about six years ago. I can assure you that they have been put to the test time and again. And, indeed, they pass every time. So, if you are thinking of adding Dutch oven cookery to your campground cuisine this summer, be armed with a set of these awesome gloves!

Photo of Dutch Oven pie taken at 100 Years of Scouting,  July 2010, by Chris Trainer

If you are lucky enough to be traveling and camping throughout Alaska this summer, be sure to visit the Anchorage Museum located in the heart of downtown. When we lived in Anchorage about five years, I spent many afternoons at this museum with my children.

During the cold dark days of winter, I often became restless and wanted to learn more about America’s Last Frontier and the fascinating history of this very young state. When those moments struck, I would often bundle up the children and  take them downtown.  We  spent many hours strolling  through the museum’s permanent galleries. These visits gave my children a wonderful historical foundation of knowledge. So, once the snow melted and we started to camp in our travel trailer, we were all well-versed in  the region’s history, culture, artwork, and lifestyle.  The Alaska History Gallery and The Art of the North were two of our favorite permanent exhibits.

The museum recently underwent a major expansion and the Public Relations Manager, Sarah Henning,  told me earlier this week  that the expansion includes a hands-on science center with 80 exhibits and a marine touch tank. She also informed me that the new Smithsonian Arctic Studies Gallery, which is enhanced by touch screens, videos and audio, features 600 Alaska Native artifacts.  One current exhibit that completely fascinates me is “Sailing For Salmon: The Early Years of Commercial Fishing in Bristol Bay,” which runs from April 1 to October 2, 2011. The exhibit features historical photographs and eyewitness accounts from one of the world’s greatest fisheries, which is located in southwestern Alaska.  More than half of the planet’s sockeye salmon return to Bristol Bay annually and this commercial fishing industry has a history that dates back to the late 1800s. Before the 1950s, it was mandated  that all fishing in Bristol Bay had to be done on sailboats.  Motorized boats were forbidden.  This, of course, required great skill on behalf of the fishermen! The exhibit was curated by Tim Troll and John Branson for the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alaska. The Anchorage Museum has enhanced the exhibit by pulling some of the photos from their own photography archives.

Indeed, this type of exhibit is what brings Alaska’s  fascinating history to life for both young and old. So, if you are lucky enough to visit Alaska this summer, put this jewel of a museum at the top of your to do list! Without a doubt, it will help to bring meaning and perspective as you camp and travel  throughout America’s Last Frontier!

Image courtesy the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park and the Anchorage Museum.

–Melissa A. Trainer