The Front Porch

A few weeks ago my wife and I went camping with her mom and dad and my father-in-law set up his camp in a really cool way. First you want to set up your tent between 2 trees (or as best you can). Next up was a 10x10 Canopy ($50 at Wal-Mart) and he pulled it right up in front of his tent. Lastly was the fly. You start as you would with any fly and run a rope across the two trees as high as you can, then pull a LONG tarp over the rope from behind the tent. Continue the tarp over the top of the canopy and use bungee cords to secure it to the front of the canopy. This does a couple things. On a hot summer day the tarp will absorb most of the heat from the sun and keep the tent nice and cool. It is also going to do the obvious and keep you tent and canopy dry if it rains and also protect it from falling tree debris. It creates a nice "front porch" to your campsite. The last thing you can do is run a stretch of rope through the gable of the canopy and tie your lantern to it. Use the rope to raise and lower it for lighting and this will not only provide excellent light to your site but also attract the bugs up over your head rather than right in your face. Plus, you don't have to worry about looking in the wrong direction and getting blinded and have to walk around in the dark with that little blue dot everywhere you look for the next 20 minutes. I took some pictures when I set up my camp like this recently and it really is convenient. Hope this helps you stay a little more comfortable in the woods!