Family Camping Survival SkillsOn Labor Day weekend, 2007 we went to Wellesley Island State Park for family camping. I believe Wellesley is the second largest of the 1000 islands in upstate NY. As their site says “Wellesley Island State Park has the largest camping complex in the Thousand Islands region. Secluded wilderness sites nestled along the banks of the St. Lawrence River are accessible only by foot or boat. For the less rugged camper, there are regular tent/trailer sites and a cabin colony, including facilities for group camping and twelve vacation rentals, which will enable you to enjoy the sunset from the porch of a fully outfitted cottage.” We did a family camping weekend so we dragged along our camper and the three kids my wife and I had the canoe strapped to the top of the truck as well. Wellesley Island is one of my favorite family camping spots. As a child growing up in Upstate NY we spent the weekend summers traveling around the eastern United States. In fact I am told that I was tent camping at 2 weeks old at Wellesley Island with my parents and 4 brothers and did that for many years before we got our first pop-up camper. It was a great four day weekend. We canoed, fished from the canoe and shore, swam, hiked, hung out with friends, played ball and had a great time. Even though my wife isn’t into survival skills as I am, the kids and I still practice a lot of survival skills. The funny thing is that simply taking three kids 11, 9 and 4 for a four day camping weekend can be a form of survival in itself. I see that many people post on the web looking for things to do with kids while family camping. On the following pages you can see some great ideas. Besides some of the things we did that are “Normal” family camping things to do, we also made pine needle tea, made our own edible plant walk through the nature center, practiced fire making and material gathering skills, tried out a couple different MRE’s, made spoons and bowls with coals from the fire with our Staghorn Sumac straws and last but not least the kids and I learned how to unclog a clogged camper toilet. While on the edible plant walk and while fishing, hiking and playing we saw several plants including; Live forever, St Johns Wart, Wood sorrel, Sheep Sorrel, Dandelion, Cattails, Clover, Lambs Quarters, Burdock, Plantain, Garlic Mustard, Jewel Weed, Poison Ivy, Mullein, Nettles, Ferns, Wild Carrot and I’m sure much more. I had my Petersons Edible Wild Plant guide book with me, but of course I left the camera at the camper on the plant walk. So much for being a preparedness expert. The bottom line is that survival skills can be many things from making a fire to simply keeping kids safe and happy while camping and I am always working on learning, improving and passing on my survival skills. CampingSurvival.com. It's not about the END OF THE WORLD - It's not about surviving a hypothetical PLANE CRASH - It's about the SATISFACTION YOU GET knowing you can take care of yourself and/or your family in ANY SITUATION, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!
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