Life with Mike & Kirsten: camping must-haves

We went camping this weekend but our time got cut short because it was exhaustingly windy. We camped near Taos right on the Rio Grande river. It was a great camp ground and we had a great camp site...25 feet from the river. Mike went up Friday morning(he actually worked all weekend so I was on my own most of the time) and Boulevard and I headed up Friday after work.(wasn't sure how Stu would do so we boarded him)

A few camping must haves:

1. REI Campbed 3.5
This camp pad was AMAZING...so amazing that I didn't even hear the nearby campsite(maybe a 1 minute walk from our site) that was being so loud that the police were called around 11:30pm by the camp host. HA - Mike even responded to the call and I didn't even know it happened or woke up until Mike got into the tent for the night. Like I said, the sleeping pad was amazing!

2. Wet wipes - I used the Wet Ones brand for my hands and Neutrogena for my face. These were CRITICAL due to all the blowing dirt and the fact that the power went out on Saturday so there was no running water. The Neutrogena wipes were great to wash my face right before dozing off on my sleeping pad.

3. Tuna Salad - It was so windy, any type of fire was out of the question but since I make an impecable Tuna Salad, I did not starve without a grill. Soooo yummy!

4. Walk Easy - This is a harness/collar/bra thing for Boulevard. The camp host actually saw Boulevard dragging me around the camp site so he brought this Walk Easy over and it was fabulous. No pulling or yanking my arm off any longer! I will be purchasing one.

(Boulevard after swimming in the river - you can sort of see the Walk Easy)

5. Bandana/hat - Used to keep my hair out of my face,(I have shorter hair now so a pony tail isn't an option) protect my head from the sun, & I pulled it down to protect my ears from the sun as well. I preferred a bandana so I could also wear my sunglasses.

(after a short little hike for us after Mike left for work - bandana = must have)

6. Kindle/Book - I spent 80% of the time reading and playing games on my Kindle. Boulevard was exhausted by noon on Saturday and was not interested the 4th time I took him to the river to swim so I did a lot of reading. I swear every time the camp host came to visit I was in the same spot - sitting in my camping chair with my feet propped on the picnic table for practically the entire day. I finished "Heaven is For Real" ~ great book if you're looking for a new read.

Here are a few more pictures:

(our camping headquarters)