Hey, happy campers! Last week, a friend asked me what my favorite camping meals were. Like always, I came to Live Seasoned and searched ‘camping meals’ and was so surprised to see I hadn’t created a post with that information yet. What the heck? What am I doing with my time? Probably camping and eating honestly.
What makes a meal a camping meal? A few things. Meals meant for camp should have one, or better yet most of these attributes: few ingredients, easy to store, mostly nonperishable, easy to prepare, very little cleanup, and very little waste whether in the form of trash or compost. Continue reading …
About a month ago, I went camping in Canada. I stayed at the Green Point Campground on Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. When I was researching various campgrounds near Tofino, it was really hard for me to get a sense of the best campground. I was torn between Green Point, Surf Junction, and Bella Pacifica. It definitely took me a couple hours of browsing and debating (and list making) to settle on Green Point and I’ll happily tell you why.
This past May we did a series of travel posts as both a kick-off to summer and as a bit of inspiration to get out there and explore. This month we’re continuing the travel theme, but with a focus on camping!
On our most recent road trip, we spent 24 hours in Canyonlands National Park. Here’s the summary in 24 photos! Continue reading …
Last weekend, I camped at Green Point Campground near Tofino, BC. Beyond surfing, skim boarding, biking, and hiking, there are plenty of beaches to comb and coastal tide pools to explore. I really enjoyed climbing around on the rocks between North Chesterman and South Chesterman beach. This area is also known as Frank Island, but you are able to access it by land, no need to cross water to reach it. Continue reading …
We write about hiking a lot. Hiking in all seasons, hiking in many different states, day hiking and weekend backpacking, hiking with kids, hiking and photography, etc, here are all our hiking posts.
This past weekend, I went on a rad little hike. This time it wasn’t the scenery that made it extra special, it was the destination, an old bomber plane crash site. The plane was a Royal Canadian Air Force Canso 11007 that crashed shortly after takeoff on February 12, 1945. Apparently the engine malfunctioned causing the plane to crash into the trees just south of Radar hill, about a dozen kilometers south of Tofino, BC. There were 12 people onboard, they all survived the crash and were rescued 11 hours after going down. I’m betting most people will read this article for the pertinent information since the trail is ‘unofficial’ so I’m going to get right to it. Continue reading …
Portions of this post were originally published in 2012 on my old blog, Winter Foliage.
When we lived in PA, we had the good fortune of belonging to a farm-share, or community-supported agriculture (CSA), called Plowshare. The CSA is still alive and well, and if you’re in the State College area, I highly recommend supporting their work. If you want to learn more about farm shares, read this post. And you can find our full archive of farm share posts here.
As members of Plowshare, we received weekly deliveries from the farm, we broke bread at potlucks with fellow members, and we helped harvest sweet potatoes!
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Saturday Sarah and I woke up early to drive out to our CSA farm and help with the sweet potato harvest. It’s not often that we’re up and out early enough to drive through the fog in the valleys or see the dew on the spiderwebs.
Happy Monday! In honor of Earth month, we’re sharing 34 alternatives to disposable plastic products. I hope you had a swell Earth Day yesterday. Initially I had a little lake kayak paddle planned, but a friend called and suggested a food truck rodeo in downtown Chapel Hill. After sharing a serving of every and anything that called to us, we headed to her deck to sit in the sunshine and plan a camping adventure. Soaking up eight hours of beautiful North Carolina sun was actually epically earthy. I enjoyed it to the max and ended up passing out well before midnight, a first in weeks for me!
The food truck rodeo was a no waste event, meaning everything that could be recycled or composted was with the help of volunteers who stood by each trash can instructing consumers where to discard their plates, cups, and food scraps. It’s almost unfortunate that we need that type of vigilance to get it right, but we surely do. Besides proper waste disposal, the coffee truck was selling stainless steel straws! They don’t do lids or plastic straws, hooray!
Plastic straws and my wish to ban them forever is actually what inspired this post of 34 alternatives to disposable plastic products. There is just no reason for us to go through so many, so often. Two at once?! I want to punch that drink right out of your hand. I’m not saying I’ve never done it, but I am saying I will never do it again. I once spent an entire afternoon picking up trash on one of my favorite Thai islands and by far the most common item was plastic straws. It was heart breaking.
Major benefits of swapping disposable plastic for reusable items :
Happy Friyay! There’s a party goin’ on around these parts as we celebrate the kiddos’ April birthdays with their little buds. Mimosas for the moms, a kid corner for cupcake decorating, this delicious cashew dip for fruits, some veggies and hummus, lox and bagels all around. That’s really all it takes for a good time. We think that the less you try to coordinate, the easier and more enjoyable the event. Some simple prep beforehand leaves you with very little ‘to do’ during party time giving you the time and energy you need to chat with guests and actually enjoy yourself.
Tonight I’ll catch a redeye to Philly, arrive Saturday morning, and finally see my pup, Cash, after more than forty days away. Hooooray! I’m excited to feel the air in Pennsylvania and see what’s in bloom, but I’ll head right down to my bug bungalow in North Carolina.
Sunday is Earth Day and I plan on spending a sunny afternoon kayaking on Jordan Lake followed by a long hike through the mountain laurels with Cash. While I normally encourage disconnecting in nature, now is a great time to snap some photos of the natural changes you witness and any wildlife you may see to upload to iNaturalist. Being a citizen scientist is helpful any day of the year, but what better day than Earth Day?! If you’re wanting a bit of mindfulness, check out the video above and get a primer on flower gazing, a form of meditation that you can take to the trails or your garden.
Want to know something neat? Each time you click through to Amazon from our website, we are kicked back a few cents from each purchase with no extra cost to you. If you ever feel like going wild on Amazon, click through from our site and you’ll be supporting us at the same time! Thanks, yo.
Nature’s Healing Spirit is a compilation of 33 accomplished writers’ experiences with the natural world. Some passages are straightforward, concise, and clear in tone, while others tiptoe into the narrative and only slightly pull back the shades on their personal lives. Some stories have a succinct ending while others leave you wanting for more. Luckily, each author’s piece is followed by a short biography where you can find other published works and their websites.
Feeling cooped up? We know it’s technically Spring now, but if you’re wondering what to do with your last few weeks of what feels like winter, we have a solution for you. Go visit a National Park or Monument before they get hella hot and busy. Here are five reasons why you should visit a national park this winter. Added bonus? We included all the info on Devil’s Garden located in The Grand Staircase of Escalante, Utah. It’s the perfect place to head off to before it gets too hot.
