2013 Was A Good Year



     2013 wasn't a very outdoorsy year for us but we still had a lot of fun and had a lot happen. We made a lot of changes that will lead to being able to have a lot more fun with our family and also as a growing outdoor blog & website. Here is a review of our 2013:

     One of the most proud moments was changing from just a blog to a full website with a blog and store! We are still working on improvements to the website and keep adding new items to the store all of the time. Be sure to visit www.GirlsInTheOutdoors.com.

www.GirlsInTheOutdoors.com



     Since we didn't do many trips this year, we made the ones we did do count. We made sure we made a few trips with our family so we could make lots of memories together. We had a lot of fun on those trips and will be ready for more memories in 2014.

Father's Day Double Header

      Another exciting even was when I was chosen to be the Colorado Prostaffer for Schadeycreek Fishing Lures. Since we didn't do many trips this year, the only thing I caught on a Schadeycreek Lure was a crawdad, but it was a start and I am very excited about supporting a great company.

Crawdad on a Schadeycreek Lure

      I also took up a few new hobbies this year to expand my outdoor knowledge. The first hobby is fly fishing. In our back yard I can cast with great form and make a fly land close to where I wants it to land. In front of water, I get a little frustrated and tangled up. In 2014 I hope to improve my fly casting and be more comfortable with fly fishing. I am convinced the problem is, there isn't any red on my fly rod or reel so I will be working on getting some red on it this winter.

Practicing Fly Casting

     I also started fishing from a float tube this summer. I love my float tube! I love being on the water and it helped me get back onto the water since we hadn't been able to find a new boat. I will be able to get out on the water in areas that a regular boat can't get into.

Float Tubing

       Another hobby I took up was geocaching. Geocaching is fun and frustrating at the same time. Sometimes I start to get frustrated & grumpy when I can't find a cache and think about giving up, but then when I find that little container I get all giddy and can't wait to see what is inside. Once the container is placed back it it's hiding spot, I'm ready to find the next one. I really need a newer GPS though, maybe with a little more red on it.

Geocaching Find

     I haven't been on an ice fishing trip yet, but I now own an ice fishing rod. It's called Candy Apple and it has the perfect amount of red so I should be really good at ice fishing...as long as I don't freeze solid.

My Candy Apply Ice Fishing Rod

       We sold our motorhome, the rock crawler and the old truck and bought a bigger, more powerful truck and a 5th wheel camper. We are very excited about going on more adventures with this setup that we could with the motorhome. We've even started to plan some out of state trips. We are also excited about not losing our camping spot when we decide to go for a drive like sometimes happened with our motorhome.

Ready to go camping!

      Three years ago we sold our boat and started looking for "The" boat. We wanted enough room for all of our family, all of our fishing gear and toys and to be comfortable with a full boat or when it is just us. A couple months ago we found "The" boat. We have missed being out on the lake and can't wait to get back on the lake in our Hurricane Deck Boat!

"The" Boat

       We want to make sure all of our followers and customers know how much we appreciate your support. We hope you enjoy the blog posts and our social media posts. We have a lot planned for 2014 and can't wait to get back to our normal fishing, boating, camping, shooting, atving and playing schedule. Be sure to find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest & Etsy so you don't miss any of our adventures, advice or specials. 



I Am Prepared For Almost Anything!

     I have talked about my day bag in several posts now so I thought I would share with you what the contents are and how I adapt it to what we are doing that particular day. I am always adding new items to my day bag that we discover we need for emergencies or just to have. When we go hiking or hunting, there are more survival type items in my bag that I will go over in another post. This post is more of my every-day-day-trip bag.

      The bag part of my day bag is the first part that is adapted, depending on what we are doing. The bag on the left is a large fanny pack that my husband used to use for hunting. Now, it is used as a day bag for the ATV. The bag fits in my ATV trunk very nicely and keeps everything in one place instead of all over the bottom of my ATV trunk. The bag on the right is a backpack I use for most of our day trips. It has a lot of pockets and holds all of the contents you'll see below and also a Plano box or 2 with fishing lures. It also has comfortable straps so I can carry it on my back for a long walk comfortably. (No, you can't go to a Napa store and buy this bag. You have to know the Napa Man to get one.)

 

     There are a lot of items in my day bag and you will see I use a lot of Ziploc baggies to protect them and keep them organized. The face wipes and the toilet paper roll in the Ziploc bag go in the ATV bag. The face wipes were added this past summer for long days on the trails riding behind my husband's ATV. The toilet paper in the Ziploc bag is for easy access because there are hardly ever public restrooms on a trail. The toilet paper in the food saver baggie (it's the flat thing the tp in the Ziploc is on) is for the big bag because that one usually gets used when we are near bathrooms, but it is always good to have toilet paper for emergencies. The Kleenex in the baggie also goes in the big bag. We just use the toilet paper on the ATV trips, but we aren't going to open the food saver bag just to blow our nose. We also carry a Lightload Towel (1 in the ATV bag and 2 in the bigger bag) just in case we need a little heavier towel for something.

     I am kind of afraid of the dark. If it's a nice quiet night with nothing moving around I'm fine. BUT, if I hear something moving around in the darkness, I'm not having fun. To help with this, I carry a LOT of lights. The smaller flashlight goes in the ATV bag and all of the other's are in the big bag. I carry a little bit bigger flashlight, the blue lamp/flashlight, there are actually 2 hat clip lights in my bag and then my really awesome head lamp from Coleman. If you go night fishing with me, it can get bright in a hurry if needed.

 

     This is what happens when you go through your day bags which she knows usually means she is either getting left at home or going to have fun soon.

 

      I always have plenty of sunscreen with us. We each have sunscreen in our tackle bags plus what I carry in my day bag. Just because we have the sunscreen, doesn't mean we remember to use it though. Bug spray is another one we have with us at all times, but I always remember to use it (bugs are another thing that can ruin my day). I also bring a small tube of lotion which I don't use while fishing because I don't want the scent on my bait. After putting my hands in the water and dirt all day, tying fishing line and messing with worms and other bait all day, I really want some lotion.

     I also carry a lot of tools. The multi-tool and pen-screwdriver stay in the big bag because we carry plenty of tools on the ATVs. I also don't carry the umbrella and hand fan on the ATV because we carry rain gear and the breeze while riding cools me off. I get hot really easy and then I get sick so I try to stay as cool as I can and the handheld fan helps this. The binoculars and pocket knife are handy on any day trip.

 

          I use the bags bed sheets come in for a lot of things. I like the ones with zippers better, but I haven't had one of those for a long time. This smaller size one is great to keep my braces in.

     I can fit my knee brace, big wrist brace, 2 small wrist braces (not pictured because I forgot to put them away after the last time I used them and now I'm not sure where they are), large ankle brace and 2 smaller size ankle braces all in this smaller sized sheet bag. I have been known to fall on a flat, straight path with nothing to trip over so I keep all of these close on any day trip.

 

     This is my all-stuff-little bag. This bag is easy to transfer from one day bag to the other. I used to have one this size with a zipper but the side ripped out of it (that was a very sad day). This bag will do until it's time to buy sheets again.

 

 

     The main part of the small-stuff bag and the part that stays VERY easy to get to is the bee sting supplies because most of my family is allergic to wasp & bee stings. I have the bite & sting kit (also good for snake bites), lots of band aids, Benadryl and meat tenderizer. The meat tenderizer is in that long food saver bag on the right. I'll have to do a post on how to seal a powder in a food saver bag.

 

     I also carry hand warmers, Wet Ones, an Ace bandage and ear plugs.

     Even though we usually have the spray bug spray with us, I usually have the Off towelettes and some bug bracelets just in case. I also have antibiotic cream (Neosporin), more band aids, Hydrocortisone cream and Zanfel cream. Zanfel cream is kind of expensive, but if anybody in our group ever gets into some poison ivy they will LOVE me.

     I also carry a whistle (this one has a compass on the end, a string to carry it around your neck and the compass end screws off for a small storage space), a can opener, nail clippers, empty Ziploc bags and the makeup compact is carried for the mirror not the makeup. It is good to have a mirror for signaling and also fixing a stubborn contact lens and seeing if the bug you hit while riding the ATV made you bleed or left his guts on your face (yuck!). I also had a spare emergency survival blanket so I threw it in the bag.

 

     I have some OTC medicine in my bag, too. In the green squirt bottle I have aloe gel mixed with some water (so it will squirt) for burns, hand sanitizer (for helping clean hands during a fishing trip or ATV trip at lunch time, this foaming style is very nice for this), eye drops (contact lens wearers usually carry these), pain medicines, Pepto pills, Tums and allergy medicine. I don't want a headache, muscle cramps, tummy troubles or allergies to get in my way during any fun trip. We also added the toothpick/flossers last summer when we kept getting beef jerky stuck in our teeth. I also carry a mini Tide To Go Pen because I kept staining some of my favorite fishing shirts. The pen doesn't take up much room and since I started carrying it, I haven't had to use it much.

     I also carry plenty of Girls In The Outdoors stickers to hand out to people, because everyone needs one of those!

 

 

     I will share more trip specific items in later posts. If I find something else to add to the every-day-day bag, I will also share that. What to you carry in your day bag that I should have?

Spring Cleaning

     This weekend we did some spring cleaning and went to buy our fishing license for 2013. The motor home has it's new custom spare tire cover put on and the new hitch cover put in (see the boat propeller?). Some other little things were done outside and next weekend, the inside will be cleaned and some stuff will be loaded back in. I can't wait!! I hate the day the motor home gets winterized and I get very excited when it's time to un-winterize.

 

 

      I also went through all my tackle and started going through my day bags. I put away all my new lures I bought on the last Bass Pro trip and got for Valentine's Day. I also cut old line off of weights and hooks, added hook bonnets to lures that were missing theirs, cleaned off dirt that was left on from last summer, organized a little bit and threw away broken bobbers and disfigured hooks. I didn't get very far on the day bags, maybe that will be good one to do a post about.

     I got distracted when the Girls In The Outdoors stickers arrived! I can't wait to start handing them out!

     I had to get up to stretch my legs and when I came back I laughed at what I saw. Can you tell where I was sitting? My "helper" dropped her ball there because she knew I would throw it out of my spot when I came back (she has a fetching addiction).

     Did anybody else get any fun spring cleaning done this weekend?

Happy 6 Month Anniversary To Girls In The Outdoors!

      October 23rd is our 6 month blog-aversary! I can't believe it's been 6 months already!

     April 23, 2012 I posted my first post called Welcome To My Blog! and crossed my fingers someone would read it. I also started the Girls In The Outdoors Facebook page and hoped to get a like from someone I didn't know. I wanted to start a blog for women to learn and share their experiences in the outdoors. I had no idea that so many people would read my blog and learn from some of my advice! The excitement and support keeps me coming up with new ideas for posts every week.

     I want to thank all of my readers for your support, your comments, Facebook likes and Twitter follows.  To thank everybody, we are holding a competition. It will be a random drawing contest! I want to know what would be your dream trip. Is there a place you would LOVE to fish, hunt, camp, hike or visit? Is there a fish you dream about catching, an animal you dream about hunting, a gun you dream about shooting or a trail you dream about driving, riding or hiking?
      My dream fish to catch would be a peacock bass. I like fishing for bass, but I think a peacock bass would be the coolest fish to catch ever! It could be the artist in me loving all the colors and unique striping making me want to catch one and take multiple photos of. I would LOVE to fish for a peacock bass.

Okay, you know my dream, what's your's? Post in the comments what your dream would be and be sure to leave your name with your answer so I know who to write on the little slips of paper for the drawing. If you don't see your comment right away or if you leave a question and I don't answer right away, don't worry because we will also be celebrating my birthday this weekend!

    

Exciting News! We Have A Logo!



     I am very excited to reveal our logo! This was a lot of fun to do and took me awhile to get it just right. My favorite word is "Girls." I think it is my favorite word because it was the first word I did and it's when I realized this was really going to work. A BIG thank you to my husband Kris who helped me come up with ideas for some of the letters and helped me take all of the pictures.
     Soon you can own merchandise with the logo on it and will be able to win t-shirts and prizes soon! I can't wait to see the logo on t-shirts and I REALLY can't wait to wear the t-shirt!

Cuz It's Red

     Recently I held a contest where I asked for pictures and stories about getting women involved in the outdoors. This is my follow up post from that contest which explains how I got involved in the outdoors again.
     Ten years ago, I wasn't much of an outdoors person. I grew up fishing and camping but then my family started doing our own things. I focused on working and school and spending most of my time in front of a book, cash register or computer. I really had missed the outdoors, but I didn't have anyone to help me learn what to do or anybody to go with me.
     In 2003, I met a guy that was a fisherman, hunter, camper, and off roader. I had never really used fishing lures until I met that guy either. He bought me a fishing rod, a reel and some lures. I had a small tackle box that I had used to carry art supplies for college and I never thought I would ever need anything bigger than that. That guy became my boyfriend, then fiance and in 2005 he became my husband. In those 9 1/2 years since we met, I now own more fishing gear than a lot of guys, an ATV personalized for me and I own 5 guns of my own.
     The first rod my husband bought me had some red embelishments on in. My favorite color is red, so he knew I would like the rod. From there he started buying me some red lures for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries and any other excuse he finds to buy be a gift. My small tackle box grew 4 times to my current 2 large tackle bags. My husband buying me red lures and gear made fishing fun for me again and I learned how to tie on my own lures, put bait on my own hooks and as long as the fish isn't too toothy, take the fish off the hook myself.

Most of my red fishing gear.

 

     I used to joke that red lures and hooks were what fish were attracted to because red is a cool color. My husband and our friends would always roll their eyes when I explained my reasoning until one day my husband read an article about fish and red lures & hooks. The article said some fish will go after red lures and red hooks hanging from lures because the red looks like blood which they associate with an injured baitfish. I had PROOF that red is the best color for fishing!

 

     I can only use braided line and spinning reels. If I use any other type of line or a different kind of reel I end up with a HUGE nest and an even larger amount of frustration. I used Spider Wire for a long time until I found Power Pro's red braided line. I was so excited that I could use red line on my red reels with my red lures!
     My husband made fishing fun by letting me choose gear because its "cool" or "pretty", not because they do a specific thing that a specific fish will go crazy for. Even if he thinks my choice in lures is weird or not right for the conditions, he lets me experiment and learn what works and when it works, instead of lecturing me how it works and why. Sometimes my "cool" or "pretty" choice works out better than some of the "scientific" choices. A lot of sporting goods stores are picking up on the fact that some women use the "cool" and "pretty" method of choosing their fishing gear, which is why they carry so many pink and purple rods, reels, tackle boxes, lures and other accessories. I think it's great that the stores are doing this because it gives girls that don't like red a couple more colors to choose from........and it makes it really easy to find gifts for my nieces!

     My mom was very anti-gun and as kids, we weren't even allowed to play with toy guns or water guns. That led to me being nervous and a little afraid of guns, because I didn't know about them. I knew my husband was a hunter when I met him, so I knew there would always be guns in our house. When he had his guns out for cleaning or getting them ready for hunting or target shooting, I was a little nervous. He explained how guns worked and how to be safe with them. He was very patient and never pushed me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with when it came to guns. When I finally decided I was ready to try shooting, he surprised me with the red Ruger .22 in the below picture. He had taken an old composite stock and painted it a sparkly red. Of course I couldn't say no! The first time I shot that rifle, I had a blast and was really good at it. A couple years ago he wanted me to try a shotgun. We couldn't find a red 20 gauge shotgun, but I saw this pink camo Remington Model 870 pump action. I am horrible at shooting that gun right now, but have a lot of fun doing it. With some more practice, I'm sure I'll get better at it, but it's still not as much fun as my rifle. Of course I had to have matching cases for my guns so we found the red & black Ruger case and the pink camo shotgun case.

 

     Pistol shooting was another story. I hated pistol shooting because my hands are so little and most pistols my husband owned kicked so hard it hurt to shoot them. Then my husband found the pistol on the right in the picture below. It is a .32 cal Vz.50 (CZ 50). My hand fits it just right, its fun to shoot and it doesn't kick too hard. This is the pistol I used when I took the concealed carry class and I did really well with it. It has a reddish tint on the top so that was another bonus. About a year ago my husband found this .22 rimfire Beretta Neos pistol for my birthday. This is my favorite pistol. I LOVE shooting this gun plus it looks really cool!

 

     We were watching one of Ted Nugent's shows one night and he was talking about how to make bow hunting fun for your wife, girlfriend, sister or daughter. His first step was to buy a pink bow for them to use. I started giggling because that is exactly how my husband got me interested in fishing again and got me interested in shooting only in a different color. If he hadn't surprised me with the sparkly red rifle, I don't know that I would have liked shooting as much as I do. 

    
     This past year we decided to invest in some ATVs. We used to go offroading in a Jeep but it seemed like my husband was always working on a friend's rig all of the time and didn't have time to work on ours and it was getting really frustrating. I liked riding in the Jeep, so I could take photos, but the ATVs are more fun and less work for my husband.

 

     The story of my red ATV is funny because I didn't know it was red. We decided it would be best for me to have an automatic and my husband likes Polaris, so when he saw an ad for an automatic Polaris we decided to go look. When we walked into the guy's garage and saw it was red, it was pretty much a done deal. I pretended not to be excited about it being red so the seller wouldn't know how much I wanted it. My husband took it on a quick test drive and we loaded it on the trailer and brought it home. We added the trunk with a seat on the back for some great storage and as a place for my 3-year old niece to ride safely. We also added an oversized plastic milk crate on the front for my little dachshund to ride in and some other custom bags. I still get a little nervous on some trails, but my husband never makes me do an obstacle I'm not comfortable with and he shows me the easy lines to take. I'm getting more comfortable with the driving so sometimes I take the harder line. I love riding my ATV and love it even more because it turned out to be red.

 

     I love hearing stories about how a girl was encouraged to enjoy the outdoors whether it is fishing, hunting, target shooting, offroading, hiking or any other outdoor activity. If you have a story you would like to share, please email me (GirlsInTheOutdoors(at)yahoo(dot)com) and we will share your story on the blog.

Bug Off!!

I can't stand bugs. I'm not afraid of them, I'm just easily annoyed by them. If there are a bunch of of annoying gnats flying around my head, I will be miserable and have a crappy day. Because of this, I have tried many ways of bug defense. At home we have a giant bug zapper and I feed my hummingbirds very well so they will have energy to hunt and eat a lot of bugs at night. Taking a large bug zapper and a bunch of hummingbird feeders on a fishing, camping or boating trip isn't very practical though so we have found some other options.
Our most favorite for of bug defense is a ThermaCELL. (No they did not pay me to say this or give me a free one to try out.) I was a little sceptical at first when my husband suggested we try a ThermaCell, but Bass Pro had them on sale so we went ahead and bought one. I wish we had bought one years ago! If this one dies......well, I don't want to think about that.

We bought the carrying case which is very handy. (I thought I took a picture of it out of it's case, but I guess not.) The carrying case will hold the spare fuel and scent pads keeping them organized and close by.

The back of the case has an opening for the fan's intake and a clip you can clip to your belt, chair, tackle bag, boat seat, day bag and lots more.





I love that you can use it almost anywhere! It's designed to work when you're sitting in one place but we use it on the boat all of the time and it works great there, too. Two of our favorite fishing spots have the most annoying bug problems certain times of the year so we ALWAYS take the ThermaCELL when we go to those spots.

My next favorite are those weird looking bug bracelets. We originally bought them for our nieces and nephew to try out but now they are always in my day bag. They work really well and if you only use them for a little while, you can put them in a plastic baggie and reuse them later (a day or 2 later, not weeks later). I found out that if the bugs are messing with the back of your neck, put the bracelet around your ponytail! My nephew kept the bugs away from his face by putting a bracelet around the brim of his hat. The kids love wearing them so much that sometimes we find them still wearing the bracelets when they get out of bed in the morning. The bracelets are not oily so they don't leave a residue on your skin, in your hair or on your clothes (or bedding).

 Of course OFF! is always a favorite but I really like the towelettes because they fit in my day bag easier and they're good for faces (I HATE getting OFF! on my lips!). I really like the orange spray cans of OFF!, too. They don't stink like most OFF! and they are "Sweat Resistant" which means when you start sweating while you're fishing, it won't come off and run into your eyes! (It does come off in the shower though.)

 If you forget your bug defense or one mosquitto gets through your defense somehow, I suggest Avon's new Anti-Itch Spray. It works really good and fits in a day bag, first aid kit, medicine cabinet and most purses.

That's how I keep the bugs away from me and take care of the bites that got through my defense system (which doesn't happen very often.) Hope you have a bug free weekend!

A Funny Story About A Lure

 A few years ago I started "customizing" some spoons my husband had that the paint was chipping off of. He took the paint off of those spoons and I painted them & customized them. One of those spoons I painted red, put a "pretty" treble hook on and stuck some Scooby Doo stickers on it and sprayed a clear coat over the top to protect the stickers. I wanted to prove that you didn't HAVE to have a "realistic" lure to catch fish.

My Custom Scooby Lure

We went out to one of our favorite fishing ponds where we've caught some pretty good sized bass and I tied on my Scooby spoon. I was very excited and couldn't wait for the picture of me holding a large bass with the Scooby spoon hanging out of it's mouth. I was composing the email I would send to Hanna Barbera and Bass Pro Shop on the partnership they should create to sell Scooby Spoons.
I raised my favorite fishing rod with my favorite spinning reel, flipped the bail and let go one of my nice long casts. I watched my bright red spoon fly through the air and into the exact spot I wanted it to land and then realized my line was still in the air and not attached to my Scooby spoon. I just stood there and watched the water ripple where my spoon had hit the water. My husband knew something bad had just happened because I wasn't moving. I brought my line in and realized my knot had failed. I was heartbroken because my Scooby spoon was lost forever on it's first ever cast and it was all my fault because my knot tying skills at that time sucked!
We fished for a couple hours, not catching much. I kept thinking about my Scooby spoon out in the middle of the pond and wondered how deep it was in that part of the pond. I kept watching the spot where my lure had landed in the water like a miracle was going to happen and it would float to the surface and I could swim out and get it. The heat and lack of catching finally got to us and we decided to pack up. I made one final cast out with a jig and started reeling in. All of a sudden I was caught on a tree branch on the bottom of the pond. I hadn't got caught on anything all day and started thinking how "funny" of a story this would make some day in the future of loosing a lure on my first and my last casts of the day.
All of a sudden the pond released the tree branch from the bottom and I started dragging it in. I started thinking how funny it would be if there was a fish attached to my lure and it was tangled in the tree branch. When the tree branch came to the bank I realized my lure wasn't attached to the tree branch, it was attached to another lure and that lure was hooked on the tree branch. All of a sudden I realized the other lure was my customized Scooby spoon! It took me a few minutes to process and then I had to tell my husband to hurry and look to confirm I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. I lost the spoon on my first cast of the day and got it back on the last cast! I still laugh every time I tell this story because what are the odds of this ever happening?
I have improved my knot tying skills and haven't used my Scooby spoon since that day.

An Essay Contest Brings Back A Lot Of Memoires

“Sponsored by Coleman and hosted by the Outdoor Blogger Network, this is my submission for the Coleman Camping Heritage Essay Contest.”

   This may be a submission for an essay contest, but I think it's my favorite post yet. I went through old family photos looking for Coleman gear and decided I need to do more posts about camping when I was younger. Coleman gear has always been a big part of our camping gear. The main reason of course is because it is dependable and lasts a long time. The other reason is because my brother's name is Coleman and my grandpa's middle name was Coleman so it was a lot of fun to have stuff with their names on it.
   In the 2 pictures below you will see my dad with some Coleman gear. You have to look hard in the background to see them. The picture on the left, on the left side you can see the old Coleman cooler we had forever and the photo on the right, on the right side you can see an old Coleman water jug. I can remember that green cooler on almost every camping trip and picnic we went on as kids. Even though I don't remember the water jug, it still brought back memories for my husband, because he remembered his grandparents having that same water jug.

 The baby in the stroller in this next photo is me and my dad is sitting on that same green cooler. The green Coleman cooler made a great place to sit, a great table for kids to eat at and was the perfect size and shape for storing food for a camping trip or a picnic. It had one of those trays to keep stuff on top out of the ice or keep your worms away from your food. I always thought that little white tray's only purpose was to keep the worms away from your food. I had no idea it was also used to keep your eggs safe at the top so they wouldn't get broken, your lunch meat and cheese towards the top for easy access or even keep dry goods like bread from getting smashed during the drive.

 Here is another photo of a picnic with the green cooler. Coleman the cooler is on my right and Coleman the brother is on my left (I'm the one with the puffy hair).

   I have to admit I was a little jealous that my brother's name is on lanterns, coolers and tons of other fun stuff and there wasn't anything with my name on it. It's still fun to find Coleman gear for my brother Coleman. In December, my brother received a Coleman camping toilet for his pop-up camper from his dear sister and brother-in-law. 

  The green Coleman cooler is gone (not sure where it went) and the kids have become adults but Coleman is still part of our outdoor gear. My husband's old Coleman stove is great when we don't want to cook in the motor home or the house. We bought the Coleman kitchen a few years ago and use it for camping and when we're cooking outdoors at home. The old stove and the newer kitchen, I believe, make the best breakfast ever!

   Sometimes we forget about some old memories and then something like an essay contest makes those memories come charging back. I could have written a book on the memories of that old green Coleman cooler and start a new book on the new memories created with the Coleman kitchen and stove. Even if I don't win any of the great prizes, remembering the camping and fishing trips, picnics and road trips was a lot of fun. Thank you Coleman for sponsoring this contest.