TIP: Want Good Cheap Fun? Try Camping

Last weekend I went camping for the first time in 25 years. We decided on camping because it's so affordable. I certainly had my concerns about rain, bugs, bathrooms, bugs, showers, bugs, snakes. Did I mention bugs?

I wanted to go because my daughter, who turned 13 this year, has never had the experience of sleeping in a tent. I spent many weekends camping with my family as a kid and they're some of the best memories I have. Campfires, hiking in the woods, the stars at night.

The campsite in Slade, Kentucky, was $15 per night including electricity and water. The cost of gas was $100. I bought some camping equipment - $100 for cots (well worth the money and I'll use them for my daughter's sleepovers), and $16 for old pots, pans and utensils at the Goodwill store. The biggest expense was food, but I would've spent money on food if I had been home anyway. I brought the dog along, so I saved on the cost of a kennel.

We had a great time. The hiking was fantastic...the campsite was shady and beautiful with big tall trees and a little creek running behind our tent. We slept to the sound of crickets and trickling water. It was a lot of work, but it was SO relaxing. At night I got up to walk the dog and the sky was amazing...hundreds of big, bright stars in the black sky. Gorgeous. And while I usually feel like summer is passing me by while I look out the window of my office each summer, I feel like I've already had a chance to really enjoy summer, and it's not even the Fourth of July - the half-way mark.

My fears were about the heat and the bugs and the rain. The heat wasn't too bad because we had a shady campsite. Sure, it was hot but we were dressed for it. Yes I had lovely "camping hair" for four days, but who cares? The bugs weren't bad, maybe because we used some bug spray, but not excessively. I came home with more bug bites on my trip to Puerto Vallarta where I stayed in a resort!

It did rain one night. That stunk. That's the thing about camping. You have extremes - moments when you love camping and moments when you're asking yourself why you ever dreamed about such a crazy activity. For me, the good aspects outweighed the bad this trip.



Here's what I spent:
Campsite for 4 nights: $60
Gas roundtrip: $100
Gear: $116 (reusable for next time!)
Food: $150 (I would've spent this at home)
Ice, firewood: $15
TOTAL: $381
REAL COST: $160 (excluding the gear and food)

Vacation on the cheap this summer

Camping is likely to increase in popularity this year as consumers seek inexpensive ways to vacation with the kids. When I was growing up my folks couldn't afford a hotel vacation so we spent a lot of time tent camping. Some of my best memories are from our camping days and I have a great appreciation for the outdoors and for nature because of it. Tent campsites cost around $20 a night. What's your favorite place to camp?

Have you ever taken a volunteer vacation? I'd love to hear your experience. It's an intriguing idea presented today by the Daily Green. You volunteer to help out and you get free lodging and meals. You can bring older kids to many of them, too. Provide your own transportation and you've got a really inexpensive vacation and probably life-changing experiences too.