Autumn is by far my favorite time to camp. Summers are ok if you have lots of trees for shade. Camping in a pine forest is amazing because a layer of pine straw adds so much cushion to the ground (but not great for the rain fly as sap drips on it).

I’ve never done a true winter camp, the coldest I’ve camped in is -5 C / 23 F and that was just the low temp overnight.

Late spring would be my second choice for camping after the ground has defrosted and it’s not so muddy.

I do 90% of my camping with my kids’ Scout Troop so cast iron dutch oven meals are always high on my list. There are so many choices and some great flavorful options. We do a good chicken pot pie in a dutch oven with american biscuits (like the beef stew mentioned previously). And, of course, any sort of fruit cobbler in a dutch oven will always be a winner.

Foil packs are really great because kids (and adults) can do a choose-your-own-adventure. Want lots of veggies, you got it. Want zero veggies, you got it as well. As long as you have moisture and heat, you can get a tasty meal.

I started working at my current company in 1999. It took them a couple days after my start date to get me an electroic swipe card to get in and out of the building. The short-term solution: a paper card with the signature from the head of HR authorizing me to get into the building and onto my floor, as nobody recognized me yet.

I still have it. I do not know why but it’s been with me ever since, moving from wallet to wallet.

I saw it coming and I still laughed. :)

There’s not a lock, but you can adjust the tension on the thumb slide and thus cause the slide to require more force to open. There’s a video on how to do that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ-atBnbQ7k

I don’t think it will open on its own in your pocket, but if you left-pocket carry, I can certainly see it opening accidentally when you’re putting something _into _ your pocket.

I start local and work my way out. Does your county have a website that shows campgrounds? How about adjacent counties? After that, I start looking at state recreation areas and parks. As I’m not too far from a state border, I look at the adjoining states as well.

In my area, most state parks that allow camping have separate areas for RV vs tent camping.