We recently took a last-minute trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to enjoy some fall colors. We didn’t have reservations, so we decided to camp at Cosby Campground. It’s one of the least popular campgrounds in the park. In my book, that’s a good thing. Cosby is about 30 minutes east of the tourist mecca of Gatlinburg, so we didn’t have to deal with traffic or crowds. Here’s a map of the entire park >

It was dark when we arrived at the campground. We selected site B67. It is located in the back of loop B (Cosby Campground map). These sites are among the best in the campground. They are elevated from the road and surrounded by woods.  The entire campground is wooded, but there isn’t a lot of undergrowth, so the sites are only semi-private. Each site has a picnic table, a fire ring with a nice cooking grate and a flat, crushed gravel pad for your tent.

We had just arrived and I was rolling out our sleeping pads in the tent when someone from a couple of sites over came over and told Billy that there was a bear nearby. She shined her flashlight into the woods and the bear was 20 feet from our tent – the tent that I was inside! I got out of the tent barefoot and walked quickly toward the car, not even bothering to zip the tent shut. Moments later the bear stuck his head inside our tent! He then circled around the tent and then slowly walked away. Our hearts still pounding, we drove over to the camp host’s trailer to let her know about the bear.

Our bear encounter was the talk of the town the following day. When we went to buy firewood, the shop owner exclaimed “that was you!?” We saw a couple more bears during our stay at Cosby, but we were careful not to leave food out so we didn’t run into any problems.

Cosby campground is very beautiful. It’s a clean and well maintained campground, including the bathrooms. The bathrooms don’t have soap, so don’t forget to bring some from home.

{us after five days, no showers}

There aren’t any showers at Cosby. I’m fine with not showering for five days, but if you are desperate for a shower, you can take one for $5 in the town of Cosby.

There are lots of hikes of varying difficulty that start at Cosby campground. We especially enjoyed the hike to Hen Wallow Falls and the self-guiding nature trail.

Location: 471 Cosby Park Rd, Cosby, TN
Reservations: Only a handful of sites are reservable online. Most sites are first come, first serve. With the exception of holiday weekends, you should have no problem finding a site.
Camping fees: $14/night

Have you visited the Smoky Mountains? Where did you stay?

I’m having a craft day with my sister-in-law today, so I’ve been thinking about some crafty fall DIY projects. Here are a few that I really like.

1. Solar Lanterns

These lanterns are great. How cool would it be to hang these from trees around a campsite? I love the look of the copper pots and that they are solar powered.

2. Fall Pinecone Garland

What a great, inexpensive project! I’m definitely doing this! I love bringing the outdoors in. I’m skipping the glitter, because I can’t stand the mess. (Hint: buy your twine at the hardware store, it’s usually cheaper than craft stores).

3. Sweater Redos 

There’s something I love about the elbow patches on this sweater. And I love the zipper and leather details on this sweater.  I’m on the lookout for the perfect thrift store sweaters for these two projects.

4. Cross-stitched iPhone Cover

I picked up a little cross-stitch cell phone case at Walmart for under $6. I’m planning on creating a plaid iPhone cover. I’ll post photos when it’s done. I haven’t cross-stitched since I was a little kid, so we’ll see how it turns out. This chevron pattern is really neat as well.

5, Painted S’mores/Hot Dog Roasting Sticks

How cute are these? I’d totally make them if I was camping with kids!

Update: Here’s the pinecone garland I made:

I love how it turned out!

Most of the time I keep my cell phone turned off when we’re on a camping trip, but there are a few apps that I like to use.

Try them out; they’re all free!

Waze

Waze is a navagation app with turn by turn directions. It will help you avoid traffic and speed traps on the way to your campsite.

Field Trip

Google’s Field Trip will notify you when you’re near interesting landmarks, historic buildings and great places to eat. It’s perfect for any road trip!

Chimani National Parks Apps

Chimani’s apps are a great companion for a visit to a National Park. They have apps for Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains and more. Each app contains tons of features including photos, interactive maps, audio tours, sunrise/sunset times and even ranger events.

Gorillacam

Gorillacam allows you to shoot time delay photos, stop motion video, but my favorite feature is it’s photo timer. I can just prop my iPhone up on the branch of a tree and snap a photo of Billy and I.

Instagram

I use Instagram as my personal field guide. It helps me remember the names of plants I encounter. I snap a photo of the plant, identify it and post it to my Instagram account. You can follow me here.

Photosynth

Microsoft’s Photosynth allows you to take amazing panoramic photos and share them with your friends.

Coleman’s Classic Camping Cookbook & Meal Planner

This camping cookbook lets you search by cooking method, meal or ingredients. It has all the classic camping recipes.

SkyView Free

Sky View Free is really helpful for identifying stars and constellations. It uses the iPhone’s camera and overlay’s the names of the stars.

Also check out SkyView Satellite guide. It’s free for a limited time and lets you track satellites, the International Space Station and more.

Coleman Lantern

This cute, simple app will help you find your headlamp after dark. (hint: it’s packed in the deepest, darkest depths of the trunk of your car)

Yahoo! Weather

Yahoo! Weather is easy to use and it has all the information I need: current temp, 5/10 day forecast, detailed forecast, weather radar map, chance of rain and sunrise/sunset times. Thanks to images from flickr, it’s beautiful as well.

Without a doubt, fall is my favorite time of year to camp. I love sitting by a campfire bundled in a wool blanket on a crisp fall evening.

Here are some great looking recipes that I’m planning on making this fall.

1. Campfire Baked Apples

Bake up Family Spice’s campfire apples for a fall treat.

2. Dutch Oven Pumpkin Corn Bread

Nothing says fall like pumpkin. Try this dutch oven pumpkin cornbread from Overland Trailer.

3. Veggie Chili

My veggie chili is the perfect meal to warm you up on a crisp fall day.

4. Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate

Check out this Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate from one of my favorite blogs, A Beautiful Mess.

5. Apple Cider Toddy

Try an Apple Cider Toddy from The Boys Club as you sit around the campfire.

It may seem a little strange to worry about how you look when you’re in the woods camping. But when you think about the number of photos that are taken on camping trips, it makes sense. Here are my tips on how to look your best, even when the showers are miles away.

Hair

1. Start Curly: If you have straight hair, curl it before you leave your house. It prevents your hair from getting really flat. I’ll often curl my hair on Friday. By Saturday it’s just wavy, and on Sunday it just has a little extra volume. I use a technique like this.
2. Dry Shampoo: If your roots start to look greasy, use some dry shampoo. It’s super easy to use. Just spray it in, wait a few minutes and then brush the powder out. Pssssst! Dry Shampoo is $6 and it works great.
3. Pigtails: When my hair begins to get a bit flat, I sometimes put it in pigtails. They tend to look less slicked back than a ponytail. Just make your pigtails really low or you’ll look like Punky Brewster.
4. Hat: If all else fails, cover up your hair with a hat, scarf or bandana. I love my straw cowboy hat, It comes with me on every camping trip.

Skin

1. Makeup Removing Wipes: Sometimes it’s hard to wash your face at night. My old roommate tipped me off to these Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes and I really like them. They are meant to remove makeup, but they work equally well on dirt and oil. They are a great way to clean your face without water. 
2. Baby Wipes: Baby wipes are useful for freshening up other parts of your body when you can’t shower. They’re also really good at removing soot from your hands. I buy them in small packs like this.
3. BB Cream: BB Cream is great because it moisturizes and evens out your skin. It’s lightweight and perfect for a no-makeup look. I use L’Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic B.B. Cream in Light.
4. Mascara: When I’m camping, I leave my mascara on for a few days. I use L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tube Technology Lash Extension Effect Mascara, Blackest Black. I skip the white base and it stays on until I wet it with warm water. Then it removes in pieces and doesn’t smudge all over your face. 

Clothes

1. Running Gear & Yoga Clothes: In addition to my usual jeans and shorts, I love to pack a running tank top and shorts. They’re flattering and work well whether I’m hiking, kayaking or biking. I even sleep in them at night. In colder weather, I opt for yoga pants, a tank top and a fitted sweatshirt. Pick synthetic fabrics if possible. If you get wet they’ll dry quickly. Target has some nice, affordable activewear.
2. Flannels: Flannels are the quintessential camping shirt for a reason. They are cosy, lightweight and perfect for nights around the campfire. I find most of mine at Goodwill, but this flannel is my favorite.
3. Tank Tops: I always pack a few tank tops for every camping trip. I like the fit of AE tank tops. These racerback bras work really well under a tank top.
4. Flip Flops: In addition to hiking boots, it’s great to have a pair of flip flops that you can slide on when you step out of the tent. I’ve had these Reef Stargazer Flip Flops for years. They’re durable, comfortable, cute and you can hose them off if they get dirty.
   Also check out my camping checklist for a complete list of what to pack.

What’s your secret to looking cute while camping?

My southern Grandma’s veggie chili is my all time favorite. It’s got tons of healthy stuff in it: zucchini, squash, peppers, tomatoes and beans.

Chili is perfect fall camping food, especially when there’s a chill in the air.

Maybe that’s why they call it ‘chili.’ Or maybe not.

I made a batch of chili and dehydrated half of it for our recent camping trip on the Wisconsin River. Dehydrating is a great way to go, but if you’re planning on car camping you can freeze the chili instead. It freezes well and it’ll keep your cooler cold until you’re ready to thaw it.

To make dehydrated chili, start by cooking up a batch of chili at home. Then leave it in your dehydrator overnight.

At camp start by covering the dehydrated chili with water. Let it soak for about 15 minutes. Lay in the sand, recline in a camp chair, etc.

Then heat it over a stove or fire. So easy!

Dehydrated Veggie Chili
Vegan

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
28 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
2/3 cup salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
pinch of crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cans (15 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 large red bell pepper cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 large zucchini cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 medium yellow squash cut into 1/2″ chunks

At Home:

1. Sauté onion. Add tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, crushed red pepper and salt. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes
2. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 50 – 60 minutes.
3. Let chili cool slightly and then spread over solid ‘fruit roll’ dehydrator trays. I dehydrated half of a batch of chili, but if you have enough trays you could dehydrate a full batch of chili. Set dehydrator to 135 degrees. Once chili is dry (about 8 hours), put it in an air-tight container or zip top bag.

At Camp:

1. Cover chili with water and let sit 15 minutes, or until it’s nearly rehydrated. 
2. Heat and serve.

This past weekend we camped with Billy’s grandma and her husband at Thomson Causeway in Thomson, Illinois. They are members of an RV club called the DuPage Drifters. It was my first taste of RV camping. Now I’m keeping my eye out for vintage campers…just in case.

If you live in Illinois, you probably recognize Thomson for it’s prison, which was built but never occupied due to lack of budget. Thompson Causeway is a US Army Corps of Engineers campground located on the Mississippi River, 2.5 miles west of Chicago. It’s really set up for RV’s more than tent camping, mostly grass dotted with trees. The campground is located on the widest point of the Mississippi.

We visited Lock & Dam #13, which is about 20 minutes south of the campground. It was cool to see how it opened and closed to let boats through. If you’re camping at Thomson Causeway and see a Barge pass in the distance, you can hop in you car and drive down to the Lock & Dam to see it pass through. I was surprised to see pelicans on the Mississippi River. The American White Pelicans that we saw on the Mississippi are related to the Brown Pelicans that live by the ocean.

We also saw lots of frogs.

And turtles.

On Saturday night, the DuPage Drifters had a Luau. Billy’s grandma made Blue Hawaiians, which were a big hit. Everyone dressed in Hawaiian shirts and leis. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to camping with them again.

Before we left on Sunday, we checked out the Windmill in Fulton. It was built in Holland, then shipped piece by piece to Fulton.

Thomson Causeway Recreation Area:

• Location: Lewis Ave. and Main St. Thomson, IL 61285
• Reservations: Recreation.gov
• Camping fees: $10-$18/day
• Area Attractions:
  Lock & Dam #13
  Fulton Windmill
  Ingersoll Center and the Sloan Marsh Overlook

Need a fresh recipe for backpacking or camping? Try this Dehydrated Broccoli Noodle Salad.On our recent camping trip on the Wisconsin River, I made this Broccoli Noodle Salad and it was amazing. I thought it might have just tasted great because we were starving, so I made it again for a party last week. Still delicious. This Broccoli Noodle Salad is ideal for backpacking as well.

I dehydrated the broccoli and green onions. That way I didn’t have to worry about them spoiling. If you’re going car camping, you may want to skip the dehydrator and just make the salad ahead of time at home. It’s the kind of salad that tastes better if it sits for a day in your fridge or cooler.

A few hours before you want to eat, add water to the dehydrated vegetables.

This is the fun part. Crunch up the ramen noodles while they are still in their bag. Get out that pent-up aggression!

Ok. Calm down. You’re on vacation. Add the ramen seasoning packet to the dressing. Add the ramen noodles to the vegetables, along with the dressing, peanuts, sunflower seeds. Stir together and enjoy!

Dehydrated Asian Broccoli Noodle Slaw
Adapted from Allrecipes
Vegan

Ingredients:

• 12 ounce package broccoli coleslaw mix (I used Trader Joe’s organic)
• 3 ounce package Top Ramen Oriental Flavored Ramen Noodles (other ramen noodles may not be vegan)
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
• 1/2 cup unsalted raw sunflower kernels
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

At Home

1. For even dehydrating, slice the green part of the green onions and finely chop the white part. Spread out green onion and broccoli slaw on separate trays of the dehydrator. Set dehydrator to 135 degrees. Once vegetables are dry (about 4 hours), put them in an air-tight container or zip top bag. 
2. To make dressing, combine sugar, oil and apple cider vinegar. Store dressing in a leakproof container.
3. Put peanuts and sunflower seeds in a separate container or zip top bag.

At Camp

1. A few hours before serving, add enough water to dehydrated green onions and broccoli slaw to cover.
2. Once the vegetables are rehydrated, pour off the excess water.
3. Take the bag of ramen noodles and crunch it up. Add ramen noodles to the vegetables. Add  ramen flavoring packet to the dressing. Shake or stir the dressing.
4. Add peanuts, sunflower seeds and dressing to vegetable noodle mixture. Shake or stir to combine.

Billy and I just went on an 25-mile, overnight kayaking and camping trip on the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, just west of Madison, WI. It was such an amazing trip, we can’t wait to go back!

The Wisconsin River is a wide, shallow river with a pretty strong current and lots of sandbars. The Lower Wisconsin Riverway is ideal for a multi-day paddling trip, especially because there are no dams in the 92.3 mile stretch from Prairie du Sac, WI to the Mississippi River.

We always try to take a weekend camping trip for my birthday. This year Billy planned a trip to Yatesville Lake State Park in Kentucky. We were going to camp at a boat-in site, so I dehydrated a bunch of meals in preparation for the trip. On the Thursday before our trip, I checked the weather. The forecast said rain, and flood warnings to boot. So we scrapped those plans and decided to kayak the Wisconsin River instead.

On Friday, we loaded up the car and headed out. I wasn’t able to find a campsite, most of the state parks in the area were booked up. We decided to try Tower Hill State Park, just outside of Spring Green. Tower Hill has a handful of sites, all of which are first come, first served. Luckily, we were able to get a nice campsite and set up camp.

We headed into Spring Green and had a great lunch at Freddy Valentine’s, a historic bank building that is now a bar restaurant. Then we drove around trying to find an outfitter that would be able to shuttle us and our kayaks. Wisconsin Canoe Company was able to help us out. They charged us about $60 to shuttle us and our kayaks from Peck’s Landing to Prairie du Sac. We planned to kayak 25 miles down the Wisconsin River and return to our car at Peck’s Landing.

We returned to camp and Billy figured out how to fit all our gear into the kayaks. Here’s a complete list of what we brought. Most of our food did not require a cooler. The only things in our small, soft-sided cooler were a few beers and some sharp cheddar  (American Cheese is a good alternative, since it does not require refrigeration).

This was our menu for the weekend:

• Friday Dinner: Tortellini with Dehydrated Tomato Basil Sauce
• Saturday Breakfast: Oatmeal with Dehydrated Peaches, Blueberries and Bananas
• Saturday Lunch: Dehydrated Chili, Pita Chips and Dehydrated Hummus
• Saturday Dinner: Broccoli Noodle Salad and Pie Iron Grilled Cheese
• Sunday Breakfast: AlpineAire Bandito Scramble, Cheddar and Dehydrated Hash Browns
• Sunday Lunch: Leftovers (I had planned a Dehydrated Feta Dip, but it didn’t turn out. I won’t be dehydrating feta again)

I’ll link to recipes as I post them. It’s not necessary to dehydrate foods for a trip like this, but I found it convenient since I didn’t have to worry about food spoiling. Dehydrating food does save some weight, but without a reliable source of water (see cow below), you have to pack water anyway. Canned food would work just as well.

On Saturday morning Amy from Wisconsin Canoe Company shuttled us up to Prairie du Sac. On the drive up, she gave us a lot of information about the river. We unloaded our gear, packed up our kayaks and we were off.

Right after we left Prairie du Sac, we started seeing wildlife.

We spotted a Bald Eagle flying, and then landing in a tree off in the distance. We’ve seen a few Bald Eagles this summer. It’s great that they have made such a comeback.

We knew we were in Wisconsin when we spotted this cow chillin’ in the river.

We stopped for lunch on a little island. The river is really shallow, only 5′ on average. Our kayaks bottomed out a few times trying to get to the island. By the end of the trip, we got better at avoiding shallow areas.

I sat on the beach and made lunch, while Billy hiked to the end of the island to check out a bird on the shoreline. It was an Osprey. We ate pita chips, hummus and veggie chili for lunch.

After lunch, we set back out. A little ways downriver, we stopped off at Ferry Bluff State Natural Area for a hike to a lookout point that Amy had recommended. She said that the hike would take about ten minutes, but the bugs were so bad I think we did it in five.

Bugs aside, the view was well worth it. Breathtaking!!

We hopped back in our kayaks. Shortly after, we came across Wisconsin’s only nude beach. Did you think I was going to get closer for a photo?

As the sun started to set, we found a nice little island with a sandy beach to set up camp. We had the whole island to ourselves!

Billy started a fire, and we got dinner started.

We had Broccoli Noodle Slaw and pie iron grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

After dinner we relaxed on a blanket by the fire. The sunset was gorgeous, and once it got dark, you wouldn’t believe how many stars were in the sky. I used the Sky Guide App on my iPhone to locate stars and constellations.

When we woke up the next morning, it was raining. We made some tea and coffee and hung out in the tent waiting for it to stop.

Around ten o’clock it cleared up, and we made a breakfast of freeze-dried eggs, hash browns & cheddar. It was cloudy with a chill in the air. It felt like fall day. We packed up and headed out to complete our last nine miles.

We paddled along the shoreline, checking out the wildlife on the shore. We stopped off at a few sandbars along the way.

Shortly after lunch, we saw Peck’s Landing and our journey was complete. I’ll definitely be back someday, and maybe I’ll even paddle all 92.3 miles of the free-flowing Lower Wisconsin Riverway.

Some tips if you’re headed out to the Lower Wisconsin Riverway:

• You can’t bring any glass – no glass containers, beer bottles, jars, etc.
• Bring 1 gallon of water per person, per day. You may want to bring more if it’s really hot.
• If you can fit a bundle of firewood in your kayak or canoe, bring it. By the end of the summer there isn’t much wood to collect for campfires.
• You can camp on islands and sandbars in the Wisconsin River for free, but you can’t camp on the shore.
• Select a sandbar that is 18″ above the river. A rainstorm upriver can quickly flood low lying areas.
• Mark the shoreline of your sandbar with a stick. That way, you’ll know if the water is rising.
• I don’t want to sound like your mom or anything, but wear your life jacket. Especially if you’re drinking.
• Check out our packing list from this trip.

Billy and I are planning a camping trip to Yatesville Lake in Kentucky. Our site is a boat-in site, so we’re bringing our kayaks. We’ll need to pack light so we can fit everything into our kayaks’ hatches. There is an access trail to our site, but we think it would be more fun to boat-in with all our gear. Our campsite is primitive, but within the state park there are also sites with RV hookups, hot showers and even a golf course. I keep joking that I am going to sneak off and take hot shower while Billy is roughing it.

If you’re headed out to the backcountry or you just want to pack light, dehydrated meals are the way to go. I am planning on bringing an assortment of dehydrated meals for our trip. I don’t want to weigh our kayaks down with heavy cans and jars of food. I’m dehydrating a jar of our favorite spaghetti sauce right now. It’s really easy, and when it’s done dehydrating, it will be small enough to fit in my pocket.

You don’t even need a dehydrator to make dehydrated foods. You can just use your oven on its lowest setting, with the door cracked slightly. If you don’t mind spending a little more, REI has some freeze-dried meals that are pretty good, though I tend to prefer my own cooking. I think the Mountain House meals are the best of the bunch. I really enjoyed their dehydrated eggs when I went backpacking in Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks. I just topped the eggs with some Taco Bell taco sauce and they were awesome. The Mountain House Pasta Primavera was decent as well. Another option is to find dried foods at the supermarket or bulk food store.

Readily Available Supermarket Dried Foods

• dried tortellini
• soup packets
• dehydrated chili mix
• ramen noodles
• sun-dried tomatoes
• wasabi peas
• dehydrated onions (spice aisle)
• dried fruit
• oatmeal
• cous cous
• minute rice

If you decide to dehydrate foods at home, there are three rules you should follow.

3 Rules of Dehydrating

1. Prevent Spoilage: Keep all dehydrated foods in the freezer until you are ready to head out. Oil causes dehydrated foods to quickly become rancid. Try to cook with a minimal amount of oil. Rinse greasy foods like ground beef with water before you dehydrate them.
2. Don’t Mix Flavors: For example, don’t dehydrate bananas at the same time as onions – you’ll end up with banana-y onions and onion-y bananas. Nasty!
3. Use the Right Temperature: Foods like meats have to be dehydrated at a higher temperature to make them safe to eat. Other foods like fruits and vegetables can be dehydrated at a lower temperature. Refer to the manual that came with your dehydrator for the exact settings.

Hungry yet? Here are some recipes that look especially tasty.

Dirty Gourmet has a lot of really good recipes for dehydrated meals and snacks including this Coconut Curry Soup.

Ramen noodles aren’t just for broke college students. Check out Dirty Gourmet’s Not Your Average Ramen.

These Maple Olive Oil Apple Chips look delicious as well.

Dehydrated Bushwalking Food has some great dinner ideas, including this Tikka Masala.

Check out this savory Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic, and Goat Cheese Rotini from Happy Tramper.

Or try this healthy Lentil Soup from Powered by Plantz.

Laurie Ann March authored two backpacking cookbooks. Take a look at her recipe for Sunny Garlic Hummus.

Backpacker’s Packable Dehydrated Salads look great if you can’t live without salad when you’re on the trail .

Their Spicy Curry Noodles look great as well!

This One Pot Vegetarian Chili mixes wet and dried ingredients and looks incredibly healthy.

Check out YouTube for tons of step-by-step videos on food dehydration.

Do you have any go-to recipes for packing light? I’d love to try them out on our trip!