Renting Gear makes Sense for New Campers

Renting is a great way to tryout camping before you buy

Renting is a great way to tryout camping before you buy

There is a relatively new way to get into camping without spending a fortune on gear – rent it, instead. A few companies, like new sponsor Lowergear.com, can provide everything from the tent to a camp stove. Renting gear is their business, so the process is pretty simple. Just select the gear you need, choose a time-period for the rental, and tell them where to send it.

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Interesting Links for a Friday

NOAAs Interactive Snow Information Map

NOAAs Interactive Snow Information Map

Wintercampers.com had a post yesterday about an online Interactive Snow Information Map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This looks like a great tool for planning your winter family recreation activities, for driving conditions, snow-depth, and wind.

David Watsons wildlife photography blog

David Watson's wildlife photography blog

Translation Is Lost is the name of David Watson’s photography blog, which was a big hit for my kids, last night. Everyone had their own favorite set of David’s pictures, although we probably spend the most time on his Swimming with Wild Seals! post.

Loyd Schuttes Yosemite Blog

Loyd Schutte's Yosemite Blog

Yosemite Blog had a post yesterday about the opening of the skating rink at Curry Village. Checkout that picture; who wouldn’t want to go skating underneath Half Dome?

There’s some light reading for you and your family on a Friday. It never ceases to amaze me about how much truly interesting information there is to see in the blogosphere. The only problem is finding it!

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Share your Wildlife Photos

Outdoor photography can be a fun hobby for the entire family

Outdoor photography can be a fun hobby for the entire family

I’ve never been a big photography-nut, but one of the things that I really enjoy in the outdoors is trying to get pictures of wildlife. My current camera is a Cannon PowerShot A720 IS, which has a bit more zoom (6x) than most cameras in the $250 class. I probably don’t use 10% of this camera’s functionality, which speaks well of its quality because it still gives me good results.

My girls, who are 7 and 8, are just starting to get interested in taking their own pictures on our family camping trips. I think this will be a great way to develop their interest in the outdoors as they grow older.

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Give the Gift of Ansel Adams this Christmas

No, this is not Jeffrey Pine, but it is as close as I could get without violating copywrite laws

No, this is not Jeffrey Pine, but it is as close as I could get without violating copywrite laws

Recently the Ansel Adams Gallery announced the introduction of a series of “Archival Replicas” in sizes ranging from 7×9 to 30×38 inches. Until now, Ansel Adams photographs were only available as original prints, 8×10 inch Yosemite Special Edition photographs, or fine art posters. New advances in image reproduction technology has allowed the Gallery to accurately reproduce the neutral black and white images to their exacting standards, at a reasonable price point for the average enthusiast.

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We have a winner!

Congratulations to Justin P., winner of the Garmin eTrex Summit HC!

Congratulations to Justin P., winner of the Garmin eTrex Summit HC!

Congratulations to Justin P. of Rome, GA for winning the Garmin Summit HC GPS receiver! I had just enough time to notify Justin on Friday, before catching a flight to Las Vegas for a family birthday get-together.

We’ll take a little break here for the holidays, but I’ve already got a good idea for our next contest, which I’ll start in January. There is a chance that we might have more than one prize, for this next giveaway. There was another manufacturer that came in late on our last one, but there just wasn’t enough time left to do them justice.

We’ll run the next one the same way, so if you are already receiving new CampingBlogger posts in your email inbox, you are automatically entered in the drawing.

Thanks to everyone who participated – it was not only a lot of fun for me, but I also got a lot of new subscribers to the blog, which pulls a lot of weight with potential sponsors for future contests.

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