Every year a few friends and I go canoe camping on the St. Croix River. It’s a two-night trip, and we stay at a different campsite each night. I’ve often claimed that canoe camping is “almost” like car camping. You’d be surprised how much you can pack into a canoe if you take advantage of [...]

“Let’s walk to the oak.” It’s a phrase that I’ve heard my entire life. I grew up in central Minnesota, and the land our cabin is on has been in the family for over 70 years. Also on that land, on the north edge, is a towering oak tree. This oak tree has no idea [...]

If there’s one thing we’re all in search of on a hot summer day, it’s shade. Sitting under a tree to avoid the sunshine can shave 15 degrees off your skin temperature, making for a much more relaxing afternoon. There are many different awnings on the market, and I just tried a unique one called [...]

Let me start by saying that this whole situation is bad, and it’s going to get worse. In no way am I downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. Every day we see more confirmed cases (and deaths) and are witness to drastic measures being taken on all levels. The NCAA tournament will be played [...]

I’ve always had a problem with statistics, specifically, the number of people partaking in an activity. We see these numbers all the time in the news. “3 million people did this,” and “134 million people did that.” The problem is that there isn’t a broader context that helps us make sense of the numbers. This [...]

My earliest fishing memories are from a twelve-foot Lund with my sister and my Dad. It wasn’t a comfortable boat to fish from. There was no flat bottom, you were always tripping over the anchor (the front was the worst), and the flat wooden benches were uncomfortable after about five minutes. The last thing my [...]

If you spend any time at all on Instagram you probably know about #vanlife. A quick search of the hashtag pulls up over three million photos of people living lovely carefree lives in their decked-out camper vans. It looks like paradise, right? Who wouldn’t want to work four hours a week managing a website that [...]

The Advanced Elements Ultralight Kayak is great for all ages and skill levels. I’ve been curious about inflatable kayaks for a long time. I love to paddle, and for much of my life, I simply didn’t have anywhere to store a kayak. It seemed like the perfect solution to my problem. Why didn’t I ever [...]

We were the first ones to get our hands on the Mock One Hammock for a sneak preview. I love hammocks. There just isn’t anything that I find to be as comfortable as swaying in the breeze in a nice hammock. I even have one strung across my living room and I prefer it over [...]

With what the sun can do to your skin … short term and long term … shade anywhere is a good thing. Even an essential thing. That makes the Quik Shade MAX Shade Camp Chair a really good thing, and for the beach an essential thing, too. You really need to consider sun exposure for [...]