We did our big camping trip last weekend at Awenda Provincial Park which is about an hour north of Barrie, Ontario.
It went very well, although Saturday was pretty rainy. Luckily our friends thought to bring a big tarp, so we had a dry place to hang out. The weekend ended up being really fun.
We learned that we need to organize our camping gear better. It was difficult to get everything packed into the car and the fact that we had an extra air mattress and extra tent didn’t help much. We also had a sleeping bag which I’m sure is rated for -100 degrees. It’s very cushy, but we just don’t need something that big for summer camping.
That’s it for camping this season, but we’re hoping to go several times next year.
On with the links
Fascinating article on decision making and how tiring it can be.
Adrian Liston pokes some amusing holes in the US government debt vs family debt debate. Apples and oranges.
Canadian Couch Potato had a very funny post on the suitability of gold as an investment.
Financial Uproar (one of my favourite bloggers) had an excellent piece – debt isn’t evil. He’s right.
Nelson from Financial Uproar wrote another great post on fixed or variable mortgages. Great analysis.
The Oblivious Investor came up with an innovative way to plan for variable withdrawal rates in retirement.
Big congrats to Potato who has finally finished his PH.D.
Boomer & Echo explain real return bonds.
Canadian Capitalist announced that BMO Investorline will allow US$ registered accounts.
Kevin Press didn’t have a successful yard sale. I think he just can’t let go of those couches.
Michael James talks about the problem with currency hedging.
Million Dollar Journey wrote about futures contracts.
My Own Advisor doesn’t like online investment calculators. Probably because most of them lie.
11 replies on “LinkStuff – Camping Trip Edition”
Glad to hear about the successful camping trip, Mike. Pack and unpacking the car is my least favourite part about camping. You might think about getting summer sleeping bags. We have five that take up the same of space as our old thick one.
We also had a (more or less) successful camp trip last week. The new system where we don’t cook worked great. More time for the kids. More time to do nothing. More time to hang out at the beach.
We still take the thick sleeping bags for camping, even in the summer it gets pretty chilly in the mountains at night.
A big tarp is also a must have, but you’re right…it’s a struggle when you have to pack so much stuff. Maybe leave the kids at your in-laws next time? 😉
Thanks for the mention!
Whether debt is “evil” depends on the person. To me cigarettes aren’t evil because I’m not tempted, but to many they are “evil” because these people are tempted. Most people are best served by treating debt as though it were evil mainly because they get into debt when they’re young and don’t know yet whether they can handle debt.
I am interested in the Kevin Press yard sale article but the link won’t work. Can you send me the link please?
Thanks
We usually try to pack gear and arrange in boxes, e.g. tent/tarps together, cooking/food together, sleeping bags/mats together etc to keep organized. If you continue the family camping, it might be worthwhile to buy nice 3-season down-filled sleeping bags. Ours are rated to about -5C, and are highly compressible to save space.
Another way to organize is roof rack or hitch boxes.
@AnnBanan – Thanks, I’ve fixed the Kevin Press link.
It should have been http://blogs.sunlife.ca/todayseconomy/2011/08/five-reasons-our-contents-sale-failed-epically/
@Bob – Glad to hear your trip went well. Where did you go?
@Echo – Hmmm..leaving the kids with the relatives is a great idea. 🙂
@Michael – Good point.
@Sampson – I will look into better sleeping bags. One of our recent purchases was a travel bag for the roof. It fits pretty much all of our camping gear and is fairly waterproof.
Thanks for the mention.
Yeah, regarding debt, it can be evil but it’s a necessary evil to some degree in our society. I don’t know anyone my age who has ever paid cash for their house; a least some debt is a requirement but you need not be consumed by it.
Have a great weekend, I look forward to your posts next week!
Mike:
We just came back from a 5-night trip to Silent Lake Privincial Park, a current favourite destination. It is 23 km south of Bancroft along Hwy 62. I recommend this park for future consideration as it has something for everyone. For young kids, there are 2 very good swimming areas (Day Use and Camper Beach). For adults, each beach has floating docks off the beaches in the deeper water. Very easy and convenient canoe rental (run by the park) with quality rentals. Very quiet lake (no motorboats, etc). Campsite quality is a bit variable, but we have a particular site we always book in the 89-106 loop. A couple of short hiking trails as well as a 15k trail around the lake for the more ambitious. Mountain bike trails too. Bancroft is the only real “rainy day” diversion (and we have had a few there!), so that is one downside.
Bit further than Awenda, but we find the older the kids got, the easier it was to “go further”….. 🙂
Hey Gary – thanks for the Silent Lake info. One of my neighbours who also has small kids also mentioned it, so we’ll definitely check it out in the next year or two.
A good swimming/beach area for the little kids is essential. 🙂
Two links and being called your favourite? Well, I’ll be… consider this blogger flattered. Are you trying to sleep with me?