Happy Father’s Day, Everybody!

Throughout the eight years of writing the Everything Summer Camp Blog, I’ve written a good handful of posts about honoring and celebrating Father’s Day…eight—to be exact! There are a handful of ways to approach Father’s Day: consider all the things your dad does for you, think about what you can do for him, think about what you definitely should NOT do for his sake... Let’s review some of those valuable pointers from Father’s Days past.

What Dad does for You
Consider all the things your dad does to keep your household running and give him the gratitude, happiness, and love that he deserves today and every day! He’s a wealth of knowledge and maybe wisdom, he does lots of lawn and home care, and he often knows how to fix things when the lawnmower is broke or the toilet won’t flush.

What You can do for Him
These ideas are basic and require only materials that you likely already have in your house. And don’t feel bad about not buying your present; your dad will probably appreciate a homemade project more! You can make him a greeting card, create a fingerpainting, make a picture, or make a homemade desk ornament. Get a closer look at these ideas on this Blog post.

 What You can do WITH Him
Play catch, catch a movie, get musical, play a game. Today’s all about enjoying the day with your dad! Get out and have fun with your father so you can give him the best Father’s Day you can!

Whatever you do to celebrate Father’s Day, make sure to do it out of gratitude for your dad! Make him feel special for the day and show him how much you care. Have a great Father’s Day, Everyone. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Folks!

Everybody knows one of the best parts about an expedition out into the wilderness is bringing some food along. Whether you’re just looking to refuel after a long adventure or you have a plan in mind to sit down and enjoy a picnic, eating in the great outdoors is a crucial element of your excursions.

We know this very well here at Everything Summer Camp and keep only the best in portable food storage available on our site. Take a look at some of our great means of food storage right here. One brand you’ll find is Fozzils.

You don’t know tableware the likes of Fozzils because nothing else can match the lightweight nature of Fozzils containers or its ease of transportation. Featuring innovative construction that allows for totally flat storage when not in use and totally flat packing, these containers are made of segments that can be folded and snapped together into a bowl or other dish shape when you want it to hold food.

Stop going for disposable means of food storage like sandwich baggies and aluminum foil and hold onto the same BPA-Free, non-stick, foldable and snappable plastic containers from Fozzils. Not only nice for you, they’re nice to the environment as well; Fozzils tableware is far less wasteful.

A brand name under the parent company of Olicamp, this company was founded 40 years back in 1981 by Mr. Oli Steinhauser, Olicamp got its start producing a line of camp cookware which included stoves, pots, and frying pans. Olicamp has since then expanded their selection, offering utensils, fuel, food storage, and a number of other accessories to make outdoor cooking simple and convenient.

Check out our full-size Dish, Bowl, and Cup Solo Pack that wears a cool design for all your picnicking and camping trip adventures! Get a good look when you click right here and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John 

Hey, Fans of Nature Photography!

Today is Nature Photography Day. It’s a day to promote and practice the wonderful art form of nature photography. A true master of the craft, Ansel Adams is one of the most well-known names in the field of photography. I covered him recently as one of photography’s great pioneers! Check out that Blog post by clicking right here.

It is so much fun to simply go traipsing through your local wilderness whether that be a forested path, a beautiful shoreline, flat prairie, rolling hills, or rocky desert and capture the visual glory of the natural world all around you to share with folks who didn’t have the experience or to help people see a common experience from your unique perspective.  

While the beauty of nature is never lost, it can shift quite drastically from one season to the next. Summer, of course, is when everything is at the peak of its liveliness and so Nature Photography Day has been set for June 15^th, just a week or so before the official first day of summer!

Indeed, the summer air is always buzzing with an incredibly active energy. Life abounds! The vegetation is rich with a lively green. Creatures of all kinds are moving this way and that for one thing or another. Birds are chirping. Bugs are literally buzzing. It’s a party!  

Get out to immerse yourself in nature and see what you end up seeing! You might come across some deer or beavers if there’s water around. Everything of the wilderness is growing which means it’s ever-changing. What something looks like today may no longer look the same tomorrow. So capture its existence as it is in the moment you come across it.  

Learn about nature and enjoy capturing it on camera. Nature is all around us. You don’t need to be any kind of professional. Just take part with whatever equipment you have and whatever nature there is around you. Happy Nature Photography Day and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summertime Explorers!

We love discussing all the amazing activities that may be available to you for your summer camp stay. If you’re passionate about Caving (also known as ‘spelunking’), maybe you were fortunate enough to attend a camp that offers it as one of their activities! Cave exploration is a thrilling experience. Today we're talking about some of the ways for you to get the most out of this awesome opportunity!

The advice to “travel light” has never been more appropriate than with Caving. Be safe with the proper equipment. Bring enough, but only what you need and the lighter-weight your gear is, the better! A few essentials to have along are:     

• Food and Water—Have enough with you to last at least a day or even two.
• First Aid Kit—When accidents happen you need to be prepared under the ground.
• Extra Clothes—Caves are notorious for wet and muddy conditions; have an extra set of clothes to change into when your adventure is over.

Don’t Take it to the Limit
If you’re starting to feel kind of weird, be sure to let others know it. If you start feeling tired, uncomfortable, claustrophobic, or just not quite right, make sure that you take a break and rest before continuing on.

Stick Together
Caving trips should always be done in groups. The only reason to ever split from the group would be a serious injury or emergency.

Have a Plan
Confirm that every in your group knows what the emergency plan is. Appoint someone as the trip leader to make decisions during the crisis. You should only ever take action without consulting your trip leader if you’re life’s endangered.

Rule of Three
Similar to climbers, cave explorers should maintain three points of contact to prevent you from slipping and falling.  When moving on rough terrain, always keep three points of contact.

Protect the Cave
It’s simple: Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints. Caves are fragile ecosystems. It’s the natural habitat of the bat. Bats live and breed in caves. You should never damage or alter the cave and definitely never leave any trash behind. Also, do not disturb the bats!

Check out a previous Blog post about the boys who discovered the Crystal Cave here in our home state of Wisconsin. Click here to read it and enjoy spelunking if you get the opportunity to this summer! Have fun and experience a whole new world that’s totally peaceful, pitch-black, and quiet. As always, thanks for reading!

- John 

Hey, Pen People!

Today is designated to honor the massively popular ballpoint pen! Why today? Well, it *ahem* MARKS the anniversary of the patent being filed for the ballpoint pen back in 1943. Aside from Gel pens and Rollerball Pens (which use the same, basic mechanics), Ballpoint pens are likely the only pens you’ve used in your life unless you have an interest in calligraphy or comics.

Before the invention of the ballpoint pen, people wrote with anything handy that came to a point—traditionally a bird feather—that would get dipped in ink. After a while, the fountain pen came along—typically a wooden body with a metal tip to it that featured a small reservoir that you could fill with ink and continue writing for a longer length of time before needing to refill.  

So how’s the Ballpoint Pen work?

Ballpoint Pens are made to last for weeks and weeks of writing instead of just paragraphs or pages. They function by dispensing ink over a small metal ball at the very point—usually steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. As you move your pen across a paper surface, the ball rolls and leaves an inky trace behind its path.

The design was intended to be a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip and fountain pens and has become the world's most-used writing instrument with millions being manufactured and sold every day! Despite its current standing in the world, Ballpoint Pens were initially thought to be an inferior pen because handwriting didn’t look as good. School children continued using old-style dip pens for a while before Ballpoint caught on.

Ballpoint Pens have also been called Biro Pens, named after László Bíró who typically gets all the credit for the Ballpoint Pen. Indeed, he IS the inventor of the modern Ballpoint Pen, it is one John J. Loud who is responsible for the Ballpoint technology. His pens, while wrote great on leather, were extremely rough on paper. The patent eventually lapsed and Mr. Bíró jumped on a newer version that wrote nicer on paper.  

Take today to appreciate what a wonderful invention the Ballpoint pen is. Write a note to a friend, a family member, or directly to yourself and do it in ink! Happy Ballpoint Pen Day, Folks! And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John