Winter Camping

What to eat. Keeping it simple always helps keep the tenor of the trip low-key. Prepared foods that pack well and carry easily are a great option. If you need to keep things cold, make sure there's a fridge on-site or bring plenty of ice and a cooler. Some parks have concessionaires that stick it out through the winter (call ahead to find out). For something a little different, buy so-called MREs at an Army-Navy surplus store or similar outfitter. MREs are military rations -- "meals ready to eat"; they give you an entire meal in a heavy airtight plastic pouch. They come in offerings suitable for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and contain everything you need to have a complete meal -- including plastic eating utensils. All you'll need is a plate or bowl in which to serve the food. MREs are novel fun for the kids.

Remember to plan for every meal and to provide for travel snacks, as well. If you plan on doing any extended walking or snowshoeing, pack some "gorp" -- a backpacking must-have that stands for "good old raisins and peanuts" -- in baggies. To make gorp, mix granola, M&Ms, peanuts, and raisins -- or whatever high-calorie food pumps up your energy and replenishes salt. The adventure-travel site GORP offers many gorp recipes you can try.

GORP: Guide to Outdoor Recreation

Recipes: Meals on the Go

Travel Snack Ideas

What to do. You're out of the city, you're away from the TV. Now what? Enjoy! Here are just a few ideas on how to spend your time cabin-camping:

• Read a book. There's a bestseller or old classic in your immediate future. Have each of the kids bring along a favorite or new book, or read aloud as a family. Pull out an adventure classic like The Count of Monte Cristo or Treasure Island or maybe Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
• Play a game. Try cards, Scrabble, cribbage, Monopoly. After dark or if the weather turns dicey, bring the fun indoors and have a marathon of games. Cabin Monopoly can take on all the frenzy of Wall Street.
• Build a fire. Then, just sit around it talking and singing. If you're a musical bunch, pack your instruments, or improvise percussion and impromptu poetry beatnik fashion by playing spoons and rapping free verse.
• Take a walk. This is what you're here for -- stretching your senses by immersing yourself in nature. Try a walk in silence to connect with your kids and your surroundings on a different level.
• Take another walk. Becoming attuned and relaxed can take practice. De-stress and learn to quiet your spirit by taking multiple meditative walks in the woods.
• Snowshoe. If it's snowy and your feet are sinking, bring along or rent snowshoes. It's a different take on walking with all the benefits.
• Take a cross-country skiing lesson. Gliding through a peaceful meadow on quiet skis is a pleasure well-known to Nordic cultures. Get in the Nordic groove by getting on cross-country skis. The movement is more akin to ice-skating than to downhill skiing, and it's as much fun as both.
• Bird-watch with binoculars. There's a lot of activity in those woods and fields. Find a place where you can blend in with your surroundings and observe. Sprinkling a little birdseed might aid you in your quest.
• Paint or draw. "En plein air" -- out in the fresh air -- is the chosen way of many great artists. Your effort can be as simple as sketching with a pencil on a napkin, or as elaborate as doing a landscape watercolor on a travel easel. Even if you've never fancied yourself an artist, you'd be surprised what you can come up with when you pay close attention with your eyes and ask your brain to translate what you see through your hands and a brush or a pencil.
• Write a poem. You remember haikus, right? The Japanese form of three lines -- five, seven, and five syllables -- works wonderfully when nature is the subject. Have everyone in the family come up with a haiku -- or limerick, or whatever form of poem appeals -- and share them in firelight after dinner.
• Memorize a poem. Many a poet finds his or her muse in nature. Bring along a book of verse and find something that resonates in your spirit. Commit it to memory for a lasting impression of your time in the wild.
• Write a letter. Someone you haven't talked to in a while is on your mind. Put your news and your feelings to paper. Bring an envelope and stamp and drop your note in the mail before you get home.
• Journal. Time with yourself and your thoughts is healing. Take advantage of the special atmosphere of your getaway to enjoy the company of your own unwinding mind.
• Watch a sunset and a sunrise. Need to rediscover your capacity for awe? Need to refill your wonder tank? Think of the sunrise as God's morning stretch and sunset as His autograph on the day. Whatever your conception of the Creator, there's nothing like a beautiful sunrise or sunset to stoke your fire of joy. Gather the kids together for a spiritual experience as a family.
• Stargaze. Look up at the night sky. When was the last time you noticed the stars? Away from city lights, you rediscover celestial magic. Constellations, planets, meteors, and untold inspiration await you.

Stargazing Ideas

• Stand outside and look and listen, smell and touch.
• Take pictures. Photograph your family in cabin relaxation and wilderness recreation. Make a point of capturing these moments together. Out of your normal element, you might see your kids' individuality in a fresh light. Have the camera on hand to get on film what words can't describe.