Backyard Adventure!
Having fun in our great backyard.
Not all adventures need to start by leaving home. Some can begin right in your own backyard.
Our backyard is where Rosie and I decided to have our adventure.
One of the items on my Bucket List is to go camping. To step out of my comfort zone and go camping on my own.
I enjoy camping but haven’t done it in a long time. In fact the last time I went was back in 2013, almost 10 years ago. Wow!! Time does fly!!
While I enjoy camping, I’m not a fan of primitive camping. I do want certain creature comforts. But at the same time I’m not a glamper. Although if I gave it a try I might find I really like it!
I think I have everything I need for a camping trip but decided to do a test run. Plus Rosie has never been camping so this is a new experience for her.
So how did I introduce Rosie to camping? We did some backyard camping. Just because we were right in our backyard didn’t make it less of an adventure!
Getting Ready for An Awesome Time!
I have a new tent. One that has never been taken out of it’s bag. Setting up the tent by myself was quite an adventure.
I have a new tent. One that has never been taken out of it’s bag. Setting up the tent by myself was quite an adventure.
But Rosie was there to supervise.
Rosie and I got our site situated with our fire pit, camp chair and mountain pie maker.
Then we got our provisions together for the night. No camp out is complete without hot dogs, s’mores and an addition to our camping tradition – mountain pies!
Dinner and Dessert
Getting the fire started was a bit challenging for me. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve done it. But perseverance won and we had a fire.
Rosie and I had an awesome dinner of hot dogs and chips. Why is it that camp out hot dogs always seem to taste better?
And for dessert we had peach mountain pies. Mountain pies are super easy to make! The great thing about mountain pie makers is you can make main dishes and desserts!
To make a fruit filled mountain pie, use two slices of Brioche Style Bread spread with butter. Lay one slice of bread in the pie iron butter side down, scoop a tablespoon of pie filling onto the center of the piece of bread. Lay the other piece of bread on the pie filling butter side up then close and lock your pie iron.
Hover the pie iron over the top of the fire. Periodically turn the pie iron until the bread is toasted on both sides. Don’t hold the pie iron too close to the fire or you’ll burn your pie like I did. But even burnt, my mountain pie was still delicious!
I did indulge in a small adult beverage. After all, it was a Saturday night sitting by the fire.
Winding Down
When the fire died down Rosie and I headed inside the tent for the night. Rosie decided her bed wasn’t going work and crawled on the air mattress with me. She snuggled against me all night long. Rosie doesn’t sleep with me so this was a special treat for her.
Waking Up to the Great Backyard
The next morning we were up early. The morning sun has a way of waking you up when the roosters crow. Surprisingly both Rosie & I slept good and were well rested.
Starting the day by sitting outside and drinking my morning cup of tea gave me a sense of well being and relaxation. Listening to the bird chirp and feeling the slight nip in the morning air was a pleasure that I realized I have been missing.
Even though The Rose slept good last night, she spent a whole lot of time on the couch today!
Overall our backyard adventure was a great success! Rosie took to camping like she’s old hand at it!
So what did we learn from this experience?
- Make sure to have plenty of daylight to get the tent up. Although the instructions say the tent can be easily put up by one person, well that’s not exactly true. I had to do a bit of wrestling to make that happen.
- Make fire starters by dipping rolled newspaper into melted candle wax to make starting a fire easier. Have plenty of firewood handy.
- Make a list of all the supplies we’ll need. Since we did backyard camping I didn’t need to use a cooler or any type of food storage.
Before we go out to a campground, we’re going to do another backyard adventure. Only this time we’re going to do everything as if we were at a campground. Keep cold items in coolers, store food supplies in a tub and cook breakfast on the grill. We’re going to get the full camping experience right in our backyard.
The final thing we learned is when we go camping for real, Rosie and I are going to have a lot of fun!
Thank you for visiting with me at
Down Home at Dee’s
Subscribe to Down Home at Dee’s and join Litten, Tigger and me on our adventures of Exploring Life Every Day!
Down Home at Dee’s is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com