resort camping, outdoor campingThis winter we discovered resort camping and have decided to find as many of these campgrounds as possible to escape the inevitable summer heat in Phoenix. We enjoy the resort camping facilities a great deal so I decided it was time to get a new tent to take resort camping. Many of these campgrounds let us pitch two tents, and the kids are old enough to have their own. When shopping for one online today, I found a fantastic tent that has a 9' x 9' floor, which is enough space for our cots, a few small tables and a chair or two so we can check our email or play games on the laptop.

This tent is the Eureka N!ergy 9 Tent and according to the product description, it's a three season tent, but in Arizona, this will be a four season tent since we have so many climate zones in this state. It will get a lot of use when we're resort camping or outdoor camping in a public campground. Many of the public campgrounds in Arizona have amenities like running water, electricity, hot showers, and flush toilets, but the resort campgrounds have variable amenities like clubhouses, swimming pools, outdoor activities for the kids and adults alike, and even televisions and Internet access.

I found this tent for outdoor camping at Bridges Outdoor World located at www.bridgesoutdoorworld.com, a great site for camping supplies and gear. We love to go outdoor camping and can do it all year long so I know this tent will get a lot of use. Our old tent is fine and we'll probably let the kids use it from now on while my husband and I enjoy the space inside the Eureka Tent. We will keep the cooking utensils in it along with the camping stove. There are bears and coyotes in our neck of the woods, so we keep the food in a secure cooler in the back of the van along with the other food we bring along to keep it out of the mouths of critters.

Sometimes the resort camping parks have small stores so if we run out of something, I can just send the kids to the store and they can buy what we need. We always have some decadent snacks when we're camping because we really burn a lot of energy swimming or hiking, and if the kids want S'mores or lots of marshmallows with their hot chocolate, that's fine with me. We normally eat very healthy meals when we're outdoor camping, but the kids know from experience that we relax the rules when we're camping, which might be one of the reasons they love camping so much, even more so since we discovered resort camping and all the activities they provide for them.