Seattle's Child: New Camp Out Guide: Fun in the Backyard or the Backwoods

August 2007

New Camp Out Guide:
Fun in the Backyard or the Backwoods

Back in my previous life – pre-kids – I used to camp.

On our yearly trek back to my native Montana, my husband and I would often camp along our way through Idaho, near Libby Dam in Montana or in Glacier or Waterton National Parks. Camping was also a good way to live on the cheap through Scandinavia, and to this day wild lupine evokes images of that trip. Certainly, camping holds a familiar and wonderful place in my memories.

But now, as the mother of two young children, I feel a sense of guilt. I know I should get my kids out there; I want them to experience this beautiful world from a more rustic and simple perspective; I admire and am awed by my friends who do it. But, frankly, the whole idea of organizing a trip and packing them up sounds daunting.

Seattle writer Lynn Brunelle’s new book, Camp Out! The Ultimate Kid’s Guide – From the Backyard to the Backwoods, may be the impetus I need. Brunelle’s book covers all imaginable aspects of camping – providing an easy-to-read, user-friendly guide that includes everything from where and how to pitch a tent, how to dig your own pit-toilet, how to brush your teeth causing the least environmental impact, and how to use duct tape in multiple ways, as well as fun and easy recipes. She even includes a few classic ghost stories and some silly songs to sing around the campfire.

The beauty of her book is that whether you are a first-time camper or an experienced one, Camp Out! integrates the basic logistical nuts and bolts of camping – including a detailed check-list of items to pack – with the more creative activities that can make camping an experience worth remembering.

Brunelle is the author of the popular activity book Pop Bottle Science and a four-time Emmy Award-winning writer for the television production of Bill Nye the Science Guy. She spent her childhood in Maine, roaming the woods and marshes with her brother, catching pollywogs, pressing leaves and exploring animal tracks. When she became a mother, Brunelle started looking for ways to re-create those experiences for her own two young sons. With degrees in biology, art history, literature and metalsmithing and a master’s degree in art education, Brunelle naturally incorporated all of her passions into the activities she developed for her children. Eventually her efforts became the impetus for Camp Out!

Being from Big Sky country, where the sky truly is big, one of my favorite chapters is “What’s Up? The Night Sky,” where Brunelle explores the wealth of discovery waiting in the heavens. Readers get a scientific portrayal of the formation of the stars and planets, complete with seasonal graphs of the constellations, as well as a look at the mythological stories and heroes for which the constellations are named. She conveniently suggests a list of optional gear to bring along, such as binoculars or a small telescope, a compass and a star chart.

In another chapter, titled “Backpack Naturalist – Experiments and Projects,” Brunelle provides a multitude of fun activities to help campers explore the natural environment. She suggests a field-journal to use for observation, noting the various critters in tide pools, rotting logs, on the ground and in the sky. She also provides experiments to see how seeds are transferred from one site to another and how to make your own spider web.

Threaded with historical and cultural anecdotes, many of Brunelle’s activities incorporate Native American and pioneer tradition. “Our whole country’s history is based on the outdoors and living off the land,” says Brunelle. “When you’re camping, you can imagine that people were here, in this same spot, hundreds and hundreds of years ago … (camping) allows kids to connect with their history.”

“We live in such a busy world today,” adds Brunelle. “Camping – even if it’s in your own backyard – gets kids unplugged and allows them enough space so that they can cultivate their own ability to create and discover. Let them look at bugs and grass and bark … and then help them connect it back to the world we live in.”

Although Camp Out! is geared towards families with kids 8 and older, the book is a valuable guide to anyone wanting to camp, including families with small children. The book’s 384 pages of information and its friendly format, coupled with interesting and humorous sidebars and goofy graphics, makes this book a must-have for anyone wanting to experience the great outdoors, regardless of how far from home you go.

Camp Out! The Ultimate Kid’s Guide – from the Backyard to the Backwoods by Lynn Brunelle (Workman Publishing, July 2007; $11.95 paperback).

Dana Thompson is a Bainbridge Island writer, outdoor lover and mother of two.

Making a Winter Journal

In the chapter on “Crafty Camping,” Brunelle encourages campers to make a picture history of each camping trip called a “Berry Ink Winter Count.” It’s based on a Native American tradition of recording each year’s significant events on animal hides – done yearly at winter’s first snowfall.

To make your own simplified “winter count,” Brunelle suggests mashing fresh wild berries in a lidded plastic container for ink, and then finding a feather with a pointed tip or a sharp stick to use as an applicator and a flattened, crumpled-up paper bag to substitute for the leather hide. Each family decides which events from their camping trip they want to record and makes up a symbol or picture which represents that memory to draw on their “hide.”

“The experiences you have when you go camping are special,” says Brunelle. “There may be many firsts – spotting an eagle, catching a fish, hiking up a mountain … even dropping your marshmallow in the fire.”

Kick the Can Ice Cream

“Kick-the-Can Ice-Cream” (Chapter 3) is a recipe altered from one Brunelle and her brother used to make. Fill a 1-pound coffee can with one pint half-and-half, a half cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and seal it with duct tape. Place it inside a 3-pound coffee can packed with crushed ice and rock salt and again sealed with duct tape. After kicking the can around for a short time, there’ll be delicious homemade ice-cream for hungry campers.

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