We like to start the summer season ‘test camping’ at the nearby state park, Chatfield State Park. It’s a nice reservoir just outside the Denver metro area along the foothills with trails and lake access.

Last year we were considering getting a new travel trailer but decided instead to invest in a spacious inflatable tent instead. There were several reasons for this:

• Relative Cost
• Ability to travel farther and faster without towing a trailer
• Ability to use more campsites
• The overall comfort level now attainable in these tents

So we bought an $1700 inflatable Panda tent from RBM and also made various purchases of cots, sleeping pads, a heater, a shower pump, and more. And I bought a new 60 quart Blue cooler that can keep ice and food frozen for multiple days and a 6 ft x 2 ft cargo carrier for my truck.

I decided to take a crack at building my own collapsable camping kitchen using plywood, pegboard, and PVC pipes. We bought a collapsable sink to set in it and pegboard hooks to hold utensils, as well as a light. It worked great in the trial camping trip.

We don’t often take the dogs with us, but they came with us on this camping trip and we all had fun.

We’ve got more camping planned for the coming months and years. We love the new tent and the possibilities it brings.