Driving and riding an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)  or Four Wheeler is one of the most fun activities you can do outdoors for young and old.  Many people will debate the age when kids should be allowed to start driving but most laws

Justin and McKenna Riding A Four Wheeler

require kids to be at least 16 years old before driving a four wheeler.  Some state laws vary but regardless of law, what’s more important is that the child be mature and practice safety all the time.

And parents need to model safe driving habits because children do what they see.  My son-in-law Justin recently took my grand daughter McKenna for a very short ride on a four wheeler.  Just seeing her in this picture was amazing.

Even at this age, she had so much fun.  Grandpa is probably going to have to buy her a four wheeler when she grows up.  The next time you plan to go outdoors and play with mother nature, consider buying and using four wheelers vs hiking or biking and remember, “The Joy is in the Journey”.

Duck hunting season is right around the corner.  The cool air just arrived in Minneapolis yesterday and that smell of Fall is in the air.  The leaves will soon change color and fall from the trees as the temperatures begin to drop closer

Jenny and Baylee feeding the ducks

to zero degrees in the coming weeks and months.  As an avid duck hunter, I have lots of Hunting Gear to get ducks to fly close enough for a shot including duck decoys, duck and goose calls, camo clothing, shotguns and shot gun shells.  But even with all of these things, my grand daughter Baylee found something that brought ducks closer to her than I have ever gotten ducks to come to me.

Baylee and her mom Jennifer took some bread slices to a local pond and tons of duck walked right up to them.  How fun!!!

If you haven’t ever used bread slices to feed ducks with a young child, give it a try.  Do it next time you go camping. So next time you plan a duck hunting trip or a camping trip, bring an extra loaf of bread to feed the ducks and remember, “The Joy is in the Journey”.

The first time we used our new Eureka family tent was during spring vacation.  My dad heard that Eureka family tents were high quality tents so he bought one and was anxious try it out.  Our family decided to go to on a camping trip to see the area around

Eureka! Grand Manan Tour Family Tent

Arches National Monument in Utah. We drove nearly half of the day to get there and find the camping spot my Dad had reserved.  The whole area was filled with different shades of red, gray or pink sandstone and a few tumbleweeds that drifted with each gust of wind that blew through the campsite.  My brother Jerry and I ran towards the concrete bathrooms, leaving our parents to unpack and set up the tent.

A short while later, we returned to find the cooler, gas grill and tent spread out on the ground. Dad was on his knees in the back of the station wagon, hunting frantically for the ground cloth and rope we used to help keep the tent stable when the wind was blowing hard.  Minutes passed without any luck then finally Dad appeared, with a shout of “Eureka!! I found them!” as he tossed out the rope and ground cloth.  Jerry and I helped finish setting up the tent and were nearly blown away when a gust of wind caught the tent-it was only the rope that kept us from joining the tumbleweeds as they blew off of the nearby cliff edge!  Eureka family tents have always kept our family safe and dry no matter what mother nature decided to throw our way.  If you are looking for a great family tent like our family has, you’ll be blown away by the quality of Eureka familty tents and NOT by the wind.

Last summer we packed our fishing gear and I took my son Ryan and my 4 1/2 year old grandson Jacob fishing to one of my favorite lakes in Minnesota…. Lake Jane.  Jacob had gone fishing several times before but this was a special trip.  Jacob had practiced casting for hours in my front yard before we left to go fishing.  We were out on the lake in my 16 1/2 foot Alumacraft fishing boat but we

Jacob Caught All The Fish

hadn’t caught anything.  So after a little while, we decided to move the the other side of the lake.  Jacob had been doing a great job of casting his bait into the water.  He had always been safe that day and cast his bait almost 100 feet out from the boat every time.  Then it happened.  Jacob caught a fish (a small sunfish) but he had trouble getting it in the boat.  So his dad (Ryan) showed him how to lift the fish from the water by the edge of the boat into the boat.  Jacob was so proud of himself.  I told Jacob that if he wanted to catch more fish, he had to kiss the fish on the lips.  I showed him how by kissing the fish myself then after a little reluctance, he kissed the fish on the lips and threw it back in the lake.  He actually touched the fish all by himself.  We all laughed and shared a toast of pop by clanking our cans together as it was getting really hot.

Then it happened again… Jacob caught an even bigger fish (a big 2 lb Largemouth bass).  This time Jacob was able to get the fish into the boat all by himself.  This fish had much bigger lips but he still kissed the bass on the lips before throwing it back.  Ryan and I went back to our casting and we wern’t paying any attention when Jacob caught his 3rd fish (another small sunfish).  We couldn’t believe it.  Jacob was catching all the fish and we hadn’t caught any fish.  After an hour passed by without anyone catching any fish, we headed home whereby Jacob told grandma about his fishing success over and over and over again.  He was so proud of himself and we were even more proud.  It had been a great day. 

Besides Jacob catching all the fish that day, it turned out to be a success because we packed the right fishing gear, brought lots of night crawlers, had a fishing boat and practiced safety throught the day, including wearing life jackets.

I have lived in Minnesota for most of my life and I’ve seen lots of Pontoon Boats but they’ve always been big wooden or aluminum platforms on top of two or three aluminum pontoons capable of holding 8-20 people.  Some have even been called

Classic Accessories™ Fremont Pontoon Tube

“Barges”.  I’ve often gone fishing with an entire Cub Scout pack or my family and another family all fishing over the side rails of the pontoon.   One man pontoons are now gaining in popularity as effective rafts or fishing vessels to add to your fishing gear.  These unique boats are now inflatable and can fold and fit into a compact 46-lb. carrying case making them very portable and easy to store over the cold winter months. 

These boats are great for fly fishing and getting up close and personal with those under water monsters like Northern Pike, Large Mouth Bass, Walleye, Sun Fish and Crappies. 

You should consider adding a one man pontoon like the Classic Accessories Fremont Pontoon Tube to your fishing gear or get two and paddle around with a friend or family member.  It’s a fun past time and a unique alternative to kayaking.

Many people in Minnesota fish because we have so many natural, fresh water lakes.  It’s very common to see hundreds of people traveling around the state with a boat trailing behind…. either a Lund, Crestliner, Alumacraft and many other 12′, 14′ and 16′ fishing

Colorado Pontoon Boat

 boats with tiller motors and all kinds of fishing gear.  I have to admit I love going fishing and going in these kinds of boats.  But another kind of boat is growing in popularity.  A One Man boat that gets you up close and personal with the water and the big fish beneath the surface.   These are Inflatable Pontoon boats and you an really catch some big fish in these boats. 

Why get one of these Floating Pontoon Boats and add it to your Fishing Gear if only one man can use it?  You should look into these because they can be deflated and packed into a small storage space inside your vehicle thereby saving you space at home.  You can also save on gas in your car because you don’t have to pull a trailer which causes your car to become a gas hog.  You can quickly land these inflatable pontoon boats and easily navigate rivers, streams and lakes. 

You can also use these Inflatable Pontoon Boats for hunting squirrels along river banks or ducks and geese on your favorite lake, pond or river.  The Green/Sage color blends in well with the background of a hunting blind and will need very little camouflage to keep it hidden from you flying feathered friends.

The single most important factor in choosing an expedition tent is know what kind of weather you will be facing during your expedition.  A general rule of thumb you can use when looking for expedition tents is that 3 season tents are usually for spring,

Eureka K-2 XT 2-3 Person All Season Tent

summer and fall.  But four season tents are good for winter as well.  Without a doubt, expedition tents are the most rugged tents made.  This type of tent is designed to protect you against all forms of weather, be it snowstorms, dessert storms, rainstorms, etc. Always think about where you will be camping most often before buying an expedition tent.  If you are just looking for a tent that can handle light snow and light winds, you likely won’t need to invest in an  expedition tent. If you plan on hiking MT Everest or spending weeks out in some of the more remote parts of the world, you will need an expedition tent.  A good expedition tent is expensive – thousands of dollars. It’s not a good idea to get a poorly made expedition tent because if you are going to camp in places where you need an expedition camp, your life could be at risk is something goes wrong with the tent.  There are different options when it comes to expedition tents. Depending on where you go camping, you may have to choose a different type of expedition tent. If you go camping on mountains rather than rain forests, you will need to pick out a tent designed for mountain camping rather than jungle camping.  It’s a good idea to do solid research online about getting the best expedition tent for your needs. There are so many choices and brands out there and you want to make sure you make the right expedition tent choice.

I have to admit I’ve never liked motorcycles because when I was in sixth grade, I was a crossing guard for my grade school and I witness a car hit a motorcycle from behind at 30 mph. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.  But I acknowledge the fact that motorcycles can be fun to drive in the summer with the wind blowing through your hair when on the road.  I prefer four wheelers and bicycles as

Sportz X-Plorer PAC

modes of transportation and recreation.  But the bottom line is this.  It doesn’t matter whether you prefer a motorcycle, four wheeler or bicycle to get you around.  If you enjoy camping, you can tie backpacking tents to any of these and get on the road to you favorite camping destination.  But what about the other things you need to bring with you when you go camping.

The Sportz X-Plorer PAC is a complete one man camping package. The PAC includes a 1-person tent, full rain fly, one mummy style sleeping bag, one folding stool and a carrying bag. All items pack conveniently into a heavy-duty bag that features adjustable straps that attach to any rack.  This backpacking tent is 8.3′ x 5′ and sleeps one person comfortably.  It has one interior pocket for keeping your gear organized and off the ground.   It also has full no-see-um mesh sides for full ventilation.  The best part is that all items pack into the carrying bag which can be attached to any ATV, motorcycle, bicycle or backpack.  I encourage you to get outdoors. Get on the road and go camping.  And remember, ”The Joy is in the Journey”.

Last year I drove up to northern Minnesota from Minneapolis to do some fishing one of my favorite lakes.  I camped at the Cross Lake Campground and had a blast.  I slept right in the back  of my truck.  I simply placed an air mattress in the bed of the truck that had a topper on it and I opened the side windows that also had screens in them so I could get some air circulation at night.  I

CampRight Truck Tents - Truck Tent Chevy Avalanche / Cadillac EXT

lowered the tailgate to get some extra headroom and I put a cooler on the edge of the tail gate.  Fortunately, there were not very many bugs so that was good.  I did have some chipmunk and squirrel visitors that were curious about my sleeping outside of a typical tent.  I was truly one with nature.  But then it started to drizzle.  And that’s when I wished I had a truck tent.

CampRight truck tents offer the largest interior room. More height for easier dressing and sets up out over the tailgate for added length. They sets up in minutes with four easy to use color coded poles and pole pockets. To get a good nights rest, the sky view vent lets air circulate and the cab access sleeve allows for a 12v fan and light cords. Four large interior gear pockets, d rings and light hanger hooks are for stowing gear and convenient lamp placement. Heavy duty nylon fender hooks and cargo snaps hold the tent in place and won’t mar the finish of your truck. The straps are also color coded for easy set up. You camp high and dry inside CampRight. The rain fly comes completely down over the tent and will protect you in the most terrible rain storms. Only CampRight offers clear vinyl rain fly windows.

How many times have you wished that your tent had a sleeping area and an area to sit at a picnic table aways from the bugs.  I’ve lived in Minnesota almost my entire life and with all of our beautiful lakes, we also have lots of mosquito’s and other flying insects.  My wife Kay and I would often take the kids camping and the mosquitoes always seemed to bother my wife and kids more than me. 

Chinook Twin Peaks Guide 4 Person Plus

When I moved to Texas in 1987, we were surprised to find there were literally no mosquitoes when we went camping.  This was mainly because they had a lot less water for mosquitoes to flourish.  But they did have fire ants and roaches which were almost worse.  We moved back to Minnesota in 1993 and the mosquitoes welcomed us with open arms again.  We had a big family dome tent with lots of room for all three kids and we spent a lot of time around the camp fire.  It would have been nice at the time to have a large screened area to protect the kids from the mosquitoes while still enjoying time around the campfire.  Chinook is a tent manufacturer that came up with an innovative design concept in family/group tents: Chinook’s InterDome.  Among the large dome tents available today, the Chinook Twin Peaks Guide 4 Person Plus tent is a 3 season, 2 tent-in-1 system, for double the living space. One very roomy sleeping dome, plus a functional and practical screened dome with a removable heavy-duty floor the will make you the envy of the campground.  It has an extremely large screened dome which is big enough to fit a picnic table.  Both Interdome rooms have plenty of headroom with peaks that are 6’6″ high.  It has a heavy duty, oxford nylon floor on the main dome that will stand up to repeated camp cot and foot traffic. And it has a very durable PE floor on the screened dome hat can be removed if necessary.  It’s two large doors on the fly double as sun and rain awnings. Now you can have a large screened area to protect the kids from the mosquitos while still enjoying time around the campfire.   If this is something you’d like, I recommend you check out the Chinook Twin Peaks Guide 4 Person Plus tent and remember, “The Joy is in the Journey”.