Last week, I had the opportunity to tour several of the W.L. Gore & Associates facilities that produce the company’s venerable Gore-Tex® brand of breathable, waterproof fabric. If you didn’t know that Gore-Tex was a brand and not a company, don’t feel bad – I didn’t know, either, until a few days before my trip when someone at work mentioned that they used to use Gore cables in their radar systems. Gore cables? Turns out, Gore is into a lot of interesting areas, from emerging energy to medicine.
Author Archives: Roy Scribner
Beer Sausage: A Camping Staple
Hamburgers and hotdogs are a regular camping meal for most people, including our family. Sometimes, though, the regular meals get a bit boring and we like to spice it up with beer sausage, which is equally simple to prepare and tastes a lot better than a hotdog. The biggest problem with cooking a decent beer sausage is actually finding good sausage. For this meal, we tried “Hofbrau Brats” from Trader Joe’s® and they were just okay. Like almost all sausage that you can buy in a grocery store, they were a bit greasy. You are much better off sampling the sausages from local meatpackers and sausage makers in your local area. If that does not pan-out, the next best option is to go mail order from a reputable sausage house, like the Mt. Angel Sausage Company, in Mt. Angel, OR. I really like their Fricadelwurst, which is a very lean, spicy chicken sausage.
Ultimate Birthday Camping Party
Even a camping birthday requires cake
When we began camping as a family, some years ago, we camped at a few private campgrounds to see how the kids would react and to test all of our gear. Private campgrounds, such as KOA® or Jellystone Parks™, are good places to get some camping experience because they have stores with food and camping gear and activities to keep everyone busy.
Camping Mistakes I’ve Made
This looks like a good spot!
When it comes to camping there is no substitute for experience, and the best way to gain knowledge is to get out there and make some mistakes. Fortunately, there is a lot of good, common sense, information out there, like learning to setup your tent before you go camping and using checklists to reduce your chances of forgetting something important. I thought I’d share some of the mistakes that are permanently engraved in my memory, so that you can hopefully spare your family from a frustrating camping experience.
Basic Camp Kitchen Gear
There are few things more traditional about camping than the camp kitchen. Whether you are baking beans over a campfire, grilling steaks, or cooking up a perfect Saturday morning breakfast in the backcountry, equipping yourself with the right camp cooking tools is an essential part of whole camping experience. These camp kitchen accessories will go a long way toward helping you ensure that your next camping menu is a success.