In Transit Mississippi River Adventure

Posted on August 6, 2012 by

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I believe everyone has a grand adventure hidden deep within.  Peter Bragiel, along with his brothers and cameraman-friend Tony, have realized a dream from childhood and they documented the trip.

Peter, Dan, and Paul have dreamed of canoeing the entire length of the Mississippi River since they were kids.  Nevermind they really hadn’t paddled canoes or camped like this.

I watched the entire series over the course of a couple of days.  It held my attention.  I guess I’m a sucker for this kind of thing.

Watch as the Bragiels travel from Lake Itasca, Minnesota all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  It took 61 days, a couple stops at clinics, a few canoe repairs, and plenty of pizza and beer to complete the excursion, but they did it.

Question:  What adventure is sitting just under the surface?  What thrill do you need to accomplish?

 

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GSI Bugaboo Camper Cook set Review

Posted on August 2, 2012 by

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After posting about My Camping Chuck Box, I was asked to go over my cook set, so here we go!

My camping cook set is the Bugaboo Camper 4 person cook set made by GSI Outdoors.

This cook set contains:

  • 1 – 3 liter pot
  • 1 – 2 liter pot
  • 1 frying pan
  • 2 lids (one for the 3 liter pot and one for the 2 liter pot and frying pan)
  • 4 plates
  • 4 insulated cups with lids
  • 4 bowls
  • 1 washpan/ storage bag
  • 1 nForm pot gripper

What I like about it:

  • As a car camper, I don’t really care too much about weight, but I do keep it in my chuck box, so it does come into play.  It weighs less than 4 pounds, so I’m happy about that.
  • The pans have a non-stick coating, which makes them easy to clean.
  • The pans are big enough to cook plenty of food for a family.
  • The whole kit packs into a 10 inch diameter space making it easy to store
  • The lids have strainers built into them, which is a nice feature.

What could be better:

  • The lids are made of plastic and I’ve heard stories of them melting.  I don’t usually cook with the lids on, so it’s not really an issue for me at this point.
  • The plates are 7.5 inches in diameter, which is a little small, but that’s not a huge deal.
  • The bowls are really just more cups.  They aren’t shaped anything like bowls.  The advantage of the shape, however, is that the food retains heat better than normal bowls because of the minimal surface area.
  • The cook set includes only 1 pot gripper.  This is fine, except that it doesn’t come off the pots particularly easily, so once it is on a pot, it is probably staying on that pot until you are done cooking.
  • It was not designed to be used over campfires.  Again, not a huge deal, but good to know.

Final thoughts:

I’m satisfied with the GSI Bugaboo Camper Cook set.  The issues I have with it don’t really diminish the usefulness of the kit.  In order to make it more functional, I purchased an additional N-Form Pot Gripper.  There are a couple of other versions of this cook set for different types of camping.  There is also the Pinnacle Series of cook sets.  The only difference between the Bugaboo and the Pinnacle sets is the Pinnacle is hard anodized aluminum rather than non-stick coated.  These are more durable, but also more expensive.  The choice is yours…

Question:  What do you cook with at camp?

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Gallery

Dutch Oven Calzones

Posted on July 30, 2012 by
Dutch Oven Calzones with Dipping Sauce

This gallery contains 8 photos.


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Calzones are a good meal to have once in a while.  Usually, we get them from our friendly neighborhood pizza joint. I thought it would be fun to make them at home in my dutch oven.  They came out great!  … Continue reading →

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Gallery

Backyard Cheese steaks

Posted on July 26, 2012 by
Peppers and onions in cast iron skillet

This gallery contains 5 photos.


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I love a good cheese steak sandwich.  When I see one on a menu, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll give it a try.  I’ve also tried making them at home a few times with limited success.  Until now.  Here’s … Continue reading →

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My Camping Chuck Box

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

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One of the biggest things that prevents people from going camping is how long it takes to prepare for a trip.  One way to cut down this time is to make yourself a camping chuck box.  A chuck box, also known as a patrol box, is really just a self contained set of kitchen gear.  It’s history goes back to the cowboy era in the American Southwest.  It was the primary component of the Chuck Wagon.

A chuck wagon held all of the cooking equipment, from pots and pans to silverware, and also all the dry goods necessary for such a transient lifestyle.

My chuck box holds the essential cooking equipment along with a couple of other necessary supplies.  When I get ready for a camping trip, I don’t need to decide which pans to bring.  I won’t forget silverware.  I know I’ll have matches and a flashlight.

Take a look at what’s inside my Camping Chuck Box

Inventory

  • Lantern Mantles
  • Multitool
  • Lighter
  • Matches
  • Headlamp
  • Mini Mag-lite
  • Tongs
  • Spatula
  • Turners (plastic and metal)
  • Measuring spoons
  • Can Opener
  • Biodegradable Dish Soap
  • Chef’s Knife
  • Bandaids
  • 9×12 inch Cutting Board
  • Salt & Pepper (This is the one I’d like to get)
  • GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper
  • Spare Batteries
  • Silverware
  • Small Cutting Board
  • Marshmallow Roasting Forks (MANDATORY :))

Some people say a chuck box isn’t complete without dry goods like coffee, flour, sugar, or even a roll of aluminum foil.  I don’t have these things in my box for a couple of reasons.  I prefer to take only the food I’m going to use and I like to rotate through food so I don’t have to worry about whether it’s still good to eat.

It’s easy enough to put it all together in a different container right before we leave.  I also pack food away in the car at night so we don’t have to worry about critters digging through it.  I can keep my chuck box out and ready without attracting said critters.

You may choose to build your own chuck box.  This is a nice option if you have the space.  We are car campers so everything needs to fit in the trunk.  It is easier for me to fit a bunch of smaller containers in the truck rather than a few big ones.  Because of this, I chose against building my own.  They also can be quite heavy.  That was another turnoff for me.

Before your next camping adventure, take some time to prepare for your future trips.  This chuck box fits in the truck of my car and only weighs 20 pounds fully loaded.

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