~ Carmen We love to go camping!  Recently, we spent three days camping in Gulf Shores, Alabama attending the National Shrimp Festival (see 5 Reasons to Go to the National Shrimp Festival).  This wasn’t our first rodeo.  It was so fun and memorable the last couple of visits, we continue to camp at Gulf Shores State......

~ Carmen Everything tastes better over a campfire, right?  So far, I have not been proven wrong!  On our last camping trip, I decided to see how one of my favorite recipes would taste using our beloved pie irons (see Camp Cooking Equipment You’ll Love ).  We usually make hamburgers at least one night on our......

“> ~ Carmen This past summer, I took three days to really explore my hometown, Memphis, Tennessee (see 3 Days in Memphis).  I had lived here for over ten years and never ventured to all of the tourist spots.  If you have never “played tourist” where you live, I highly recommend it.  For one thing, I......

  ~ Carmen When I was growing up, my family had a small, home daycare center.  Not only did this keep us busy from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday-Friday; it also limited our vacation time to weekend trips to nearby campgrounds.  Luckily, I grew up in Arkansas, the Natural State where beautiful state parks......

~ Carmen I’m not the cook at home.  That would be Joe!  But something draws me to the campfire when it comes to cooking.  I just love my camp cooking equipment (read Camp Cooking Equipment You’ll Love), especially dutch ovens.  We actually have two cast iron dutch ovens, one we keep in our camper and one......

  ~ Joe Looking for great single track? You need to check out the Cherokee National Park in Copperhill, Tennessee.   It hosts the Tanasi and Chilhowee Trail System for mountain bike riders.  The Tanasi Trail system offers abundance of options for easy single track rides under the foliage of a forest canopy, challenging intermediate......

~ Joe Riding in the dark Daylight hours are getting shorter, but that doesn’t mean you need to park your bike until spring.  After the sun sets, there are still great opportunities to hone your mountain bike skills, indulge in a new adventure, and get a fierce workout.  Riding during the day affords you the......

    ~ Carmen I’m always looking for dishes that would do well in my seasoned dutch oven ( see Camp Cooking Equipment You’ll Love).  To be a good camping recipe, it also needs to be easy.  Often, we don’t start coals until the sun sets and it cools down, which means I’m combining ingredients in......

  ~ Carmen Let it be known, I know how to make a campfire.  You can’t be a Girl Scout leader for nine years without learning the ins and outs of fire making.  Sometimes, however, you might need a little help.  Maybe you’re low on kindling or you’re dealing with wet conditions.  For me, I’m......

~Carmen I grew up in God’s country, ARKANSAS!  There is a very valid reason Arkansas is called “The Natural State”.  From the backwaters of the southeast to the northwest Ozark mountains, everywhere you turn is a nature lover’s wonderland.  We didn’t have a whole lot of extra money growing up, so family vacations tended to......