Life can be stressful. Between work demands and family obligations and activities, we often don’t take enough time to rest and relax. We are typically always on the go, shuffling kids to and from after-school activities, commuting to and from work, answering late-night calls or emails from the boss, and just trying to keep it all together. It can be challenging to find a moment to just breathe and be free.
We find ourselves in front of a computer or tablet much of the day and when we are not, we often have our faces buried in our phones. As a result, we are missing much of the world around us and the opportunity to connect socially in the real world versus the virtual world. This is why getting outdoors and disconnecting from the virtual world is so critically important for our overall health and well-being as well as for ensuring our relationships with family and friends are strengthened through interaction and actual real-life conversations versus text messages and emails. Camping is a great way to disconnect and enjoys nature, breathe in the fresh air, and have fun with family and friends.
Just enjoy yourself!
There are so many ways to enjoy being outdoors. If you are lucky enough to own your own camper, you have the freedom to get up and go just about wherever you like and to take all your gear and supplies with you. “Camping” this way doesn’t mean roughing it, and it is a great way to explore a wide variety of places and locations while still enjoying the comforts of home like a full kitchen, a comfortable bed, and a full bathroom with a shower. Even if you don’t personally own a camper, they can easily be rented, enabling more of us access to camping in style.
However, the next best thing to bringing your home with you into the wilderness is finding a cabin off-the-grid somewhere to rent. This style of camping is often referred to as “glamping” since it is more glamorous than pitching a tent, but there is nothing wrong with loading up the car or truck with all your gear and driving to a campground to pitch a tent. Most modern tents go up quickly and easily and provide lots of room and protection from the elements. Many larger tents even include “rooms” for larger families and for keeping your gear separate. Depending on the weather, sleeping under the stars at night is often a great way to unwind and truly appreciate the quietness of nature. Nothing is more comfortable than throwing a hammock up between two trees and resting in it while enjoying the cool breeze and subtle rocking motion. There are no rules to how long you should stay, so whether it is just a quick overnight trip, or for a week or more, just get out there and start enjoying yourself! Relax, unwind and let the stress of life melt away.
So much to do and see
Whether it is simply rest and relaxation you crave or if you are the more adventurous type, camping offers a wide variety of options. Nothing beats hammock time for pure rest and relaxation. If you are the adventurous type, though, finding a trail to hike would be fantastic. There may even be a creek or lake nearby for additional fun. Be sure to grab a flashlight and pocketknife to carry with you on the hike for just-in-case situations. These might likely include the flashlights from Olight and one of the many Knives, which are all very useful to have on hand with you. Once on the trail, it’s fun to look for animal tracks, hunt for berries, or find interesting rocks and crystals.
Carrying the Seeker 3 Pro is an awesome way to ensure you have plenty of light when the sun starts to set. The Seeker 3 Pro bright flashlight is small enough to carry in a backpack or on a belt with the included holster. As a safety upgrade, the Seeker 3 Pro now includes a proximity sensor that automatically steps down the brightness when the light is too close to an object. This is great for preventing mishaps should the light come on accidentally while in a pack or in a pocket. The light provides a great mix of flood and throws, with illumination out to approximately 820 feet. There are six total lighting level options. Turbo mode provides an astonishingly bright 4,200 lumens for up to two and a half minutes before stepping down to 1,200 lumens for another 127 minutes. The light also includes both a “moonlight” setting and a strobe setting, and all modes are accessed using the rotary switch on the body. This is a go-to flashlight for most camping and hiking expeditions! Taking in the fresh air is the perfect antidote for all the stress you are looking to eliminate.
Take in the sights and sounds of nature all around you, and if you are daring, climb a tree for an even better view. There’s no shortage of fun things to do while enjoying the campsite, trails, or water. Your only limitation is your imagination and your sense of adventure.
Night time falls
When the sun sets and the darkness surrounds you, it is time to break out the Olanterns and Obulbs. These are great for having around the campsite, especially for prepping food for dinner and for general conversation and enjoyment around the camp table or fire.
The Olantern camping light is awesome to have as it provides just the right amount of light to work around and especially for prepping food for dinner. Gone are the days of using the old-school propane lantern with difficult-to-install cloth mantles. The Olantern provides a quiet and cordless way of illuminating the area. It has three settings using the standard bulb, high, medium, and low. Once fully charged, the Olantern can provide up to 6.5 hours of runtime on high (360 lumens) and an impressive 20 hours if using it on the medium (120 lumens) setting. The Olantern also includes a second bulb that can produce a neat candlelight effect, and it is extremely easy to change between the regular bulb and the candlelight bulb. This is fun for the family and sets a nice ambiance for sitting around the picnic table while dinner is cooked over the campfire. Speaking of fire, nothing beats a great campfire at night. It is great for telling spooking stories, but it is best for campfire meals!
Grab your handy Oknife and cut up some fresh veggies like carrots, onions, broccoli, and cauliflower. Mix those with some olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning and toss in some cherry tomatoes. Place a nice piece of salmon on a piece of tin foil and spoon the veggie mixture over the top and then seal the tin foil packet. Toss them directly into the fire or on a grill placed above the fire. After about 10 to 15 minutes, remove the packets from the fire and enjoy some delicious fire-cooked salmon! Even better, there are no dishes to clean since you can eat directly from the tin foil packet.
Be sure to wear an Olight headlamp, like the Array 2S headlamp for easy, hands-free lighting where you need it most while cooking. Being able to put light exactly where you need it but keeping your hands available for tasks is incredibly helpful while camping. The Array 2 and 2S are great Olight options that deliver hands-free illumination perfectly. The Array 2S provides astounding different lighting levels to choose from, so you can pick what works best for you and your particular situation at the time. It can provide a maximum of 1,000 lumens on high and as little as 30 lumens on low. It even provides an option for a red light to preserve night vision while still providing adequate illumination. The Array 2S also has the added benefit of being controlled by simply waving your hand in front of the light. This is a super “handy” feature to have and allows you to keep your hands free and available for meal prep while not being worried about getting the light messy from having to touch it directly. Using both hands to safely remove the food from the campfire is extremely important.
Once the main course has been devoured by everyone, it is time to start the dessert. The campfire offers a few great options for those who enjoy a great dessert. One popular option would be s’mores. This is fun for the kids as they get to participate by roasting marshmallows over the hot coals of the fire. The assembly is super quick and the end result is always a crowd-pleaser. Simply roast the marshmallows until your desired amount of “doneness”, which for most is a gorgeous golden brown, then carefully slide the hot marshmallows off of the stick and onto an awaiting graham cracker with a square of chocolate. Cover the top with another graham cracker-like sandwich and then enjoy the sweet gooey goodness! Another fan favorite is a fruit cobbler. Simply open a couple of cans of your favorite fruit pie filling, such as apple or peach, and dump them into a cast iron dutch oven. Then mix in cobbler mix, cover, and place the dutch oven over some hot coals in the fire pit. Add a few hot coals to the lid of the dutch oven as well and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve it hot in bowls and then top it with some vanilla ice cream if you have that on hand for a very decadent and satisfying dessert.
Wrapping up
Life can be challenging and full of stress. We need to take time for ourselves to relax and recharge for our own personal health as well as the health of the those closest to us, our family. Unplugging or disconnecting by getting outside and into nature is a perfect way for many of us to unwind from the stresses of life. It is a great way to relax and enjoy each other’s company and explore the natural world around us. And few things in life are more enjoyable than a fabulous meal cooked over a campfire followed by campfire dessert. Do yourself and your family a favor, start planning a camping trip that fits your lifestyle and then just get out there and enjoy all it has to offer while leaving the hustle and bustle of life on pause. And while you are at it, grab some Olight gear to bring with you as it is designed to make enjoying the outdoors so much better.
