Camping-General questions for a 1st timer.

[Breandan]

Some suggestions...

Showers: You can buy the camp showers at Wal Mart and Academy, or you can do the cheapskate method of filling a bucket with water and setting it into a lotus-flower-like bunch of tin-foil with the shiny side reflecting the sun onto the bucket. After a few hours, you'd be amazed how hot that water can get. There's other methods to make solar showers, but they vary in complexity, and I wanted to offer the simplest one 

Firepits: If you can afford it, a bunch of stores (Wal Mart being the cheapest I have seen thus far) have the outdoor patio/deck furniture, including tables with fire pits built right into them. Not the cheapest fire pit by a long shot, but handy and doubles as a table for setting drinks/feet/drunken butts upon, and you can cook over them 

Just some thoughts to toss out there

[Merlin]

I was sorely disappointed when I went to Scarby the first time- i thought ALL faires were meccas of fun yummy foods!

OT .... but wow.
I thought Scarby's food was incredible. Here's what I had:
RED BEANS AND RICE: Needed a bit more spice but they had some available.... very good.

SCOTTISH EGG: Unreal how good that thing was

SHRIMP BREAD BOWL: Out of this world.

STEAK ON A STICK: Surprised me... thought it would be tough but it was awesome.

GYRO: Had 3 of these..... very good.

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

I was sorely disappointed when I went to Scarby the first time- i thought ALL faires were meccas of fun yummy foods!

OT .... but wow.
I thought Scarby's food was incredible. Here's what I had:
RED BEANS AND RICE: Needed a bit more spice but they had some available.... very good.

SCOTTISH EGG: Unreal how good that thing was

SHRIMP BREAD BOWL: Out of this world.

STEAK ON A STICK: Surprised me... thought it would be tough but it was awesome.

GYRO: Had 3 of these..... very good.

Wait till you hit TRF...    It's were this bear starts to fatten up for winter.

[MacKee]

Yea, the gyro's are better at TRF. IMO 

[Hercules]

Google-Earthed TRF (someone posted pics there too!). Soooooo is the campground ONLY that portion to the west of the blue, squiggly looks like a drunk's line? Or is it all the red-squiggly-IS-a-drunk's border line?



If anyone want to see on Google-Earth themselves just look up
Todd Mission Texas. TRF is right next to it. Or coordinates are:
30-15'27.39 N by 95-50'12.24 W

[Bonny Pearl]

I believe that the right side of the blue line is parking and the left is the camping area.  MPullen or someone else can confirm this.

If I am correct and you really want to 'ping' in on where McLotofus camp, count up eight parking rows from the faire side.   

[Breandan]

That's one of two camping areas. Family camping is north, out of frame on that picture. However, since that's the quiet camping area, not too many here would be interested in it

The squiggly red line needs to move to the left a bit, as camping is all the way to the treeline

[Hercules]

Nah I'm not trying to 'ping' anything. Just wanting to know where things are so when I get there I can camp somewhere decent.

North is mostly wooded area. That might not be bad considering the heat. But seems like a long walk to the grounds......

[Laird Fraser of Lovatt]

It's a bit of a march but not too bad, unless you are hung over.  The people watching is great... this is the time that the 'Danes are still ogling everyone in garb and playtrons are putting on their best face. 

[Yrose]

You can also drive up to the gate, especially if your going to make cannon you can get really close.

[mpullen]

I'm waiting on an updated sattelite survey over the area. I'll purchase that survey as usual and mark it up with grid markings. If the image doesn't get updated, I'll use last years map. I believe more clearing has been done along row 0, into which Chaos will be moving over from row 1 and 2.

My post will get set as a sticky, where groups/clans can state where they plan to establish their camping areas. This is only a preliminary claim, as the camping area is first-come first serve. If some else comes in and sets up first, all claims are off. Since we can no longer set up boundary markers, the land rush depends on those of us who come out early Thursday or those who jump over from participants.

I take Thursday off from work and I'm in line by noon (usually about 4th or 5 in line). I remember 2 years ago, around 9 PM when I had crashed in the trailer for the night on the access road (awaiting a gate opening the next day), when there was a banging on the trailer: "They are letting us in NOW". Ever tried to get a trailer changed from parking to move in a drunken stupor with a rushing crowd going by? We get locked in Thursday evening when security closes down. Friday afternoon is the general land rush.

[bellevivre]

Of interest:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10986131

Now, yes, you need a 10/10 easy up to go WITH this, but for anyone who wanted the 'pavilion' look without the price, well, add some velco-ed on dagging around the top, maybe a big celtic print tapestry over windows, and youre SET.

I am going to campaign for this one big time!!! I WANT!!

[midnightferret]

I made a Faire camping checklist. Because I want to go to faire. Youc an download it here on my much-neglected blog. It's only Word format, but I hated what my PDF converter did to it. I'm trying to find a better PDF converter and make it prettier, but if you want it, it's free for you to print or edit or do whatever with. Yay.

You might even be able to tell which items I have forgotten and wished I hadn't on some trip or other.

[RenRobin]

I made a Faire camping checklist. Because I want to go to faire. Youc an download it here on my much-neglected blog. It's only Word format, but I hated what my PDF converter did to it. I'm trying to find a better PDF converter and make it prettier, but if you want it, it's free for you to print or edit or do whatever with. Yay.

You might even be able to tell which items I have forgotten and wished I hadn't on some trip or other.

Have you tried this free one to convert to PDF files?   https://online.primopdf.com/Default.aspx

[bellevivre]

Oh geeze- look at this!

http://www.amazon.com/Giga-Tent-Fantasy-Gazebo-King/dp/B00282O87E/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1248212449&sr=1-29

It's only 4 feet tall- otherwise, i would SO be getting this for TRF this year!!!