Family Camping | the ULTIMATE Set Up + Experience

We are going on our first ever family camping trip. Work is being done on the moat. Cross our fingers, perhaps we won't have a moat by the time we get back. We'll have to wait and see. Hopefully by the end of this video. 2 nights, it'll end up being 2 full days. Half a day today, half a day at the end, full day tomorrow. Is that normal? 7 people, that's like more than we take on vacation. If we have a good time I think we're definitely staying longer because you have to take all these mattresses no matter how many days you stay. Oh my word, we're on our way! We did it!

We did it!

Do you think we're extra?

Oh, well, no, this is the thing. I don't want to be like— I know, I think we're having a lot of fun with it.

Like, well, you gotta, you gotta enjoy the process because it's gonna take more than the— oh yeah.

Well, what I'm saying is like, we're like cooking kind of extra stuff that we probably wouldn't, which by the way, did we bring my salsa? Did it get brought?

I don't know if we did. We have to have the salsa.

I know, we're making tortilla chips.

Did anybody pack the salsa from after lunch? Oh, you— Nate. We're like 10 minutes away, but we gotta go back to get salsa. I know! We're there.

We forgot Teddy.

Sorry, I didn't have him on the checklist. Sorry, Teddy. It's okay. We got you now, buddy.

We walked in and I was like, oh Teddy, we forgot.

Here we go. Let's go to the woods. We got the salsa.

So what I was saying when we remembered was that we are kind of being extra in like, we're cooking a little bit more. Did you bring that chuck roast?

Yeah. Yeah, we're basically gonna spend this whole camping trip Setting up and cooking. And then breaking down.

And having fun, hopefully. Relaxing in the green.

Yeah, we came back.

Another time.

Second time. At least we weren't in the woods. And we weren't even as far as the first time, but—

Yeah, we forgot more food.

We've been in the car now 30 minutes? No. 40 minutes?

We've been in the car—

We're still home.

40 or 50 minutes.

We forgot the hobo packets.

And eggs.

You gotta have dinner and breakfast.

Like, what in the world?

What have we forgotten that we're not gonna remember? Look at this. Okay, so we need a master list. That's the lesson learned. That's good.

You're gonna have to hold them on your lap.

Yeah, we gotta go.

I know, this is classic, isn't it?

We're gonna be setting up at dark.

I know, because we still have one more place to go.

Oh, we gotta go to Ace. We did, we did bring salt. All right, here we go again. We made it. Well, we made it to Ace. That's saying something. Should we get a farm truck? That can be what Jonas drives. It's big, yes, but that's the point. It's safe. If he gets in an accident, he's gonna be on the safe side. Don't tell me we forgot something else.

No. What about Teddy?

Teddy is insane.

Okay, we need to undo the windows a little bit.

Cage cooker, tarps, locks for trailers. Well, if they have one.

Yeah.

Get some brooms while we're at it. That or like a cargo van.

Did you want this? To double boiler.

Is this straight up cast iron?

I think so.

Okay, glad I got that out of the way before we go into the woods. Get everything?

I think so. Hey, did you wake up happy? You ready?

You're gonna love it.

You want to go?

Camping. We have room for that. Hey guys, there's your truck. We'll get you that truck. Steering wheel's on the other side, but you guys will get used to it. Now you like their truck, bud?

I love that truck, it's so cool.

We're now into the forest. This is pretty.

Big Creek Lodge, it's private.

Oh wow. How cool would it be to live right there? 1890 this was built. Okay, roadside camping only where tent signs. But look, I think we— the road is closed.

It's just gone down.

There's a spot right there. I don't know if we want to be on a dead end. We could camp there or we could go back to the campground.

Let's just go back to the campsite.

You want to? Or do we go—

wait, there's a road that way. No, but see, okay, so it says Y Gap 1. Yeah, which is what we were looking for, those campsites that way. That's that campground, that campsite.

Let's see what that sign says.

Yeah, okay, so sad it's closed.

Yeah, it says road closure.

Impression on us is not—

yeah, and I don't want to go up there because we're not going to be along the river.

No, let's go and look at this site. Okay, see if this is what we're gonna do, or we can just go back.

Let's go look at it. My problem with this one is we are in the dead end, so we're gonna have to deal with cars coming and turning around all the time, or sometimes. Hey, we do have a fire pit and you have access to the creek. Looks like the campground is it. Just gonna pay our dues, $5. It's nice. Daddy, she's coming back. You'll be okay. This is our choice. Is it open? Yeah, it says one night. No, this is primo. This is primo because it's right next to the creek and it's right next to a bathroom. One night. We need two nights. We're heading out to try to make a phone call. We got to get to reception before 5:00 probably. Problem is we were gonna roadside camp, first come first serve, and that road was closed and there's no thing on the internet about that road being closed. And now we're in a situation where we're in a reservation campground, looks like. We could go back to that one spot, but it was kind of creepy. Okay, there are some sites available. A must mean available. Okay, I am happy. Hopefully the beautiful one's happy. Uh, we got a spot. Here's the trick though, you can only reserve Friday and Saturday. It's Thursday, so you've got to hope nobody's in there. You can't reserve the day, reserve the day of. So we gotta hope nobody's been in there one night. I was this close to thinking this is gonna be over.

Me too.

And if somebody's there, it could be over. Everybody cross your fingers. Look for campsite 8, there's 4.

6, I think.

5. We're right by a bathroom and there's no neighbor on one side, so that's pretty good.

6.

6. Okay, 8. It doesn't look like anybody's there. Hot dog! Oh wow. Yeah. And it's so nice! All right. That's us! It's nice!

Yeah.

Wow! Okay. What do you think, Beck?

Nice?

Yeah, it's nice. It is nice. We're either extra or really good at this. You guys want the tour? Okay, we got a fire pit, we got the Hobo Pockets going, 7 camp chairs around. We brought our own firewood from home. We got some fish thawing for tonight. Henry is just in heaven. Step over to our kitchen. We got a little tool table there with our hammer and our lighter. Brought our own tablecloth. This, this picnic table is nice, isn't it, Rebecca? It is. Kitchen supplies, fire poker, drinking water from home, washing hands water for our washing hands station. We might not be extra, Rebecca. We might be good. Trash bags, paper towels for drying. This is like the kitchen counter right here. We got paper towels, we got Eco Soap, we got a sink for washing the pots that we're going to reuse. We got a camp stove, propane. We also have a griddle to put on the top of this for tomorrow's pancakes and eggs. Rebecca, I don't know how to cook Hobo Pockets. They've been in there, they've been on the side. I don't know how you know when they're ready.

They should be ready. We're just heating them.

They're cooked. Yeah, you cooked them, they're just heating later. We have to keep Teddy on a leash. Then we've got our Kodiak canvas tent. Super easy to set up, especially if you remember how to do it. We got a bug net on it. We've got— look at that, how cute— 7 sleeping bags. We're ready to go. Word on the creek, Grandma and Big Daddy are coming to visit tomorrow. Henry's got some trucks. We brought a camp foot mat, doggies' food. We've got a 10 by 10 over the picnic table. It's probably gonna rain, it's supposed to rain every day. I'm feeling great, my symptoms are great. Great. No pain? No pain? No pain anywhere? Your legs? I am gonna sit down though. Is that all right?

Yeah, it's fine.

Can I sit down a minute?

We can sit down all evening. It's good.

Okay, now that's piping hot. Woo, that's hot. Y'all are good. Is it good? Yeah, it is. That one was a gamble. You're gonna be able to eat all that?

Yeah.

Okay. Little Henry likes it. You like this camping? I got some fish going. We're reheating some of the Hobo Pockets and Inside that is pork lard. I'm gonna go for some pork rinds later. You guys have snacks for later? No, more hobo pockets, she says. Well, there's two heating up. I've pulled the skillet a little further out because it's just— it's too hot. Let's just slow down a little bit. And it's raining. You're safe over there, huh? Got the chairs up. The fire goes on. Hopefully it's just a drizzle. And you get hungry in the woods. That's good. How y'all doing over there?

Good, how are you?

We're doing good over here. We have a pork fire, a lard fire. Watch, I'll show you. Mom went to lift the lid. Look. Oh wow. It wouldn't have ruined my pork rinds, I guess.

Are they in there?

No.

Oh, okay.

I didn't know you could burn lard.

I did it once. Take the lid off. You heat it up to 600 degrees.

Yeah, I guess so.

You did this once? Well, that smoker thing I want to be catching on fire.

Well, at least we have more lard.

Wow, look at all that lard!

Heat up some oil, this time on the camp stove. I don't know what temperature it is, so we'll just hope it works. Looks like it is eventually working. It is. Okay, a third of them turned out okay. That was good. Yeah, trying to have my carnivore popcorn. Y'all having them?

It's so much harder to make fun of popcorn.

Oh yeah. All right, 9:15, we're calling it a night. How was it last night, everybody?

It was good. Well, no, except for there's the top. I don't know.

There was a big bang.

There was a giant— there's two gigantic bangs.

Nobody else heard it though, but I'm the only one that woke up.

And then—

okay, was it that way? I see a dumpster right there.

I thought it was that way.

There's some dumps right through there.

I thought it was that way, but I don't know. Okay, I'll be honest, I can't tell you what it was. I just was—

what did your head say it was?

A bear.

We were gonna be eaten, weren't we? You moved Henry from the outside of the tent to the middle.

Henry started screaming then, and I was like, why is he screaming?

What's our breakfast setup here? We've got— you brought liquid pancake mix.

Well, I brought—

you're gonna need the griddle.

You can find it. I bought dry. I've mixed the dry together and I mixed the liquid together.

You're gonna need the griddle.

Yes.

You're excited about Rebecca, that hibachi grill—

the griddle, I love it.

That was game changer.

It really, it really— we didn't have to use skillets.

We only dirty one thing. And look at this, like you'd think we've actually family camped before and did outdoor cooking before. Perfect bacon, perfect pancakes, perfect eggs. Nothing was burnt. How is it, Gideon?

Good.

The pancakes while camping taste extra special.

Yeah, yeah.

Carnivore camping breakfast there. Eggs, lots of butter, and bacon. Lunch prep right after breakfast. They're just gonna have sandwiches for lunch. A little trickier when you're a carnivore. Got beef roast, put some salt on it. You want to make a stew? Yeah, just gotta make sure I keep it in water. It's gonna get burnt.

You're gonna cook it over the fire?

Yeah. Thinking about putting it on this off to the side. It won't be quite as hot, although there's a log burning right underneath it. You want to cook roast on low and slow. We only have so much control out here. Making a list. Grandma and Big Daddy are coming and seeing us, so why not send a list? Thankfully there's no cell phone reception here. That's cool.

It's nice.

Kind of wish we could have made it. We— next time we'll have a reservation and we'll know where we are. Look at you, big boy. You learning to balance? Tractor. That's his first and only word for a long time. Tractor. Look at Teddy. Teddy, you've gotten into the hitchhikers. I don't think Teddy's having a good time.

No, I don't either.

If Grandma and Grandpa will take him, because he's stressed out. He won't just sit on a leash. He just has to be Right by your side all the time. Are you guys really gonna try to swim? Yeah, I put it on Grandma's list to bring me a sweater. All right, first time cooking beef stew on the fire. It's boiling. There's plenty of water in there. It's gonna be super tender. That's good. I like it that way. You ready to go on a walk? Let's do it. Get your little feetsies hanging out. I think you were about as old as Henry when we started vlogging, Gideon. I think they're gonna try to swim. Yeah, yeah, 69 degrees out here right now.

So cold.

Well, you won't have to worry about anybody out swimming at the same time. Gideon's gone in. Jump in, Jonah! Who's that, Henry? Who's that?

Doggy.

Yeah, he's learned doggy now. Let's check our meat. Look, I'm glad we have a lid for this thing. Okay, yes, we need more water. It's pretty much time though, but they still have to prep their food. I better give it a little more water. Did Big Daddy bring you all your stuff?

Yeah, he brought—

or is this his stuff?

That's his stuff. Cool.

I'm sure it's done.

Oh, it is done.

It's more than done. What's for y'all's lunch? We're gonna—

well, I'm making ham and cheese sandwiches for the kids.

Wow. Okay, you're gonna do grilled cheese and ham sandwiches?

How many do you think they want to eat?

The boys, boys will probably eat too. How'd it turn out there? Good, good.

They turned out really good. All the sandwiches turned out really good.

Yes. No, ham and cheese sandwich, not good enough for you, babe?

No, I don't like ham and cheese.

She likes a— I'm getting a gluten-free— this is like a Subway veggie sub, veggie sub, but your cheese and onions and lettuce. Is it better than Subway?

Way better.

Really? That's gluten-free? Bad?

Yeah.

Where did you get a gluten-free hoagie? That is actually good.

It's, um, Sammy's Bakery in Florida. Yeah, so good.

You order these shipped?

Yep, they ship them to my house.

Okay. Did you guys catch any fish?

Nope. Okay, sadly no.

Are you gonna try again?

Probably not. All right, I think they're all fished out.

Probably, probably not. Now that's a pile of meat. Let's cut it up. Much better. You know that, remember? That's the secret, staying full on carnivore. The roast beef was good. It was a little dry, but the butter helped. It's pretty dry because it cooked so fast, so hard, so long. Are we extra or are we really good campers? Good campers. Okay. All right, Teddy, I'm trying to get these up. You're miserable here.

I know, he's so miserable.

He's gonna go with his second favorite person, Big Daddy. How do you handle it? Oh, he's into it. He's over this. He says, get me out of here. Daddy, you ready to go? He's like, all right, all right, see y'all. Okay, we just took a nap, got the shirt off. The sun is coming out finally. Well, you know, it's supposed to rain all weekend and it hasn't yet. Just a little bit. They're making fried corn chips. I want you guys to save the lard for me and I'll make pork rinds. What's the trick to making good chips here, babe?

I have no idea.

We are getting this down. She's putting it in layers here. We're hitting it with salt while it's wet. It's spread out, it's not on each other. We've got our grease to 380. We're gonna have another go in their oil with, uh, pork rinds, but this time we got a temperature. 350, almost there. We want 380.

400.

What do you think, Jonah?

So cool.

First time we ever made it. Most of them turned out. Look at this carnivore popcorn. Corn chips, eat your heart out. Another walk. Is this where y'all came to fish?

No, we went up.

It's a cool lookout. We're back. It's gonna be time to make supper soon, but this trip has— it's been very relaxing once we've got here and set up. We've been a lot— spent a lot of time sitting around the fire, took a nap today, took a few leisure strolls. This has been very refreshing. I think it's been worth the trouble.

Adorable. He chooses to sit. My hot dog cooked inside.

Call them homemade marshmallows.

Delicious. They're the best.

The gluten-free setup. We got Hu organic chocolate. We got sweet and nut flour sweet thins by Simple Mills. And we got homemade marshmallows. How do you make a homemade marshmallow? It's very easy.

Well, you bloom your gelatin and then you get your maple syrup to about 235. and then pour it in while the whipping thing is whipping, and then whip it for like 3 to 5 minutes and it makes them. And then you let them dry, and then you have to cut them and then like put them— keep them in a paper bag like this, and it like dries them out so that you can roast them.

Y'all hear that rain hitting the tent. A little rain last night, at least 5 hours of rain. We had a little wetness in there. It's not a leak though. I thought it was a leak. I didn't think there was anything I do— could do about it, but it was the vent. It's time to go home. We're packing in the rain. It's been a fun camping trip. Henry's loved it. But I think everybody's ready to go home. I think that's been one good thing— a good thing about this is it's made everybody appreciate what we have at home. That looks different. All we got left is the tent. Good memories. I can tell this is one of those weekends kids are going to tell stories about when they grow up. Hey, you guys ready to go even despite the rain? We're only leaving a little bit early. We were gonna eat breakfast, so I don't think it's a failure.

It's not.

No. Would you recommend family camping? Yeah, despite all the trouble. And we'll probably spend all afternoon—

I know—

unpacking, but it's worth it.

It's so worth it. My biggest concern was Henry and the fire, but he totally did great. Oh yeah, he stayed very far away.