A Good and Affordable Family Tent

Casa (left) and Green River (Right) tents

Casa (left) and Green River (Right) tents

Jason Bean, from =) Bnpositive’s Blog, asked me the other day what my recommendation was for “a quality, yet affordable family tent for 4 people.” This was on Twitter, where brevity is key (Twitter limits posts to a maximum length of 140 characters), so I thought I would follow up on my response to Jason with a little more information about the two tents that I recommended; the Mountain Hardware’s Casa line and Kelty’s Green River model.

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Explore the Backcountry with Benchmark Maps

Road and Recreation Atlases are available for 8 western states

Road and Recreation Atlases are available for 8 western states

One of the tools I use to help locate potential camping spots is a Road and Recreation Atlas, from Benchmark Maps™. These atlases provide a lot of useful information for the recreational enthusiast that you don’t find on regular maps, like campgrounds, unimproved roads and trail heads. The company produces these atlases for eight western states and each state is broken down into various map scales, from 1:750,000 (1-inch equals about 12 miles on the map) to more-detailed 1:250,000 (1-inch equals 4 miles on the map) pages.

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Win an Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Ruggedized Camera

Win an Olympus® Stylus 1050 SW at CampingBlogger!

Win an Olympus® Stylus 1050 SW at CampingBlogger!

Last month we gave away a great little GPS receiver, a Garminâ„¢ eTrex Summit® HC, and this month CampingBlogger is back with the camera that was on of my Top 5 Christmas gift recommendations, in November. I’m a little more frugal with your money than I am with mine, however, so I’m giving away the top-of-the-line, 10.1 Megapixel model 1050!

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Outdoor Links for January 2nd

Skiing the Backcountry – Gotta Get Up to Get Down!

Skiing the Backcountry – Gotta Get Up to Get Down!

When I was a kid, I learned to ski at the Hoodoo Ski Area and the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. Skiing is also a popular family activity here in Silicon Valley, and we have several friends who make the trek to Tahoe or Sierra Summit, east of Fresno, on a regular basis.  Skiing the Backcountry covers all things skiing with articles, gear reviews and resources to make your next backcountry skiing adventure safer and more fun.

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10 Things to do on your next camping trip

If you are considering a family camping vacation this summer, you might be wondering how to keep everyone entertained and active, while you are in the middle of the woods. Fear not! There are camping activities to suit the ability and interests of everyone, young and old alike. Here are ten popular camping activities to get you started on planning your next family camping adventure.

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Quick Takes