Glamping

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Making Every Trip to the Cabin Count

Our place out in Big Bend is just a few miles shy of 600 miles from our driveway in the suburbs to our gate in the desert. The trip takes us 10 hours — including stops for breakfast and lunch and refueling. So, we have to make the most of every trip to the cabin.

Cheryl and I managed to coordinate a few days for a quick trip to the desert. We left Katy this past Sunday after church and returned home on Thursday. Although our time out west was short and I did have to work remotely, we did manage to get a few things done.


The first thing on the list was to install light fixtures in the guest cabin. We use LED lights because they are more efficient and consume less energy from our solar batteries. I added a light in the bathroom, the main room in the cabin, and on the front porch.


My neighbors Joe and Lisa squeezed us in to their busy schedule and helped us add some more components to our solar system — including adding wiring to recharge batteries on cloudy days by using our generator. A good back up to our solar panels.


Speaking of solar panels, I finally got around to cleaning the solar panels that service our main cabin. These panels and the batteries are now five years old and still working well. However, our upcoming upgrade will enable us to produce and store more power. More in that in the coming months.


I also hung a new pic in the guest cabin — of me and my friend Bobby Cooley hiking in the Himalayas. At our recent staff retreat, Bobby presented me with a door knocker and a poem that he had written. Bobby knows that my new theme song is Toby Keith’s “Don’t Let the Old Man In.” The door knocker and poem are a reminder to not let the old man in when he comes knocking at my door.


Another item on my list was to add a cooler to the outdoor cooking area. I took one of our old coolers and made a box with a hinged lid and then mounted it on a frame. This will give us a spot to ice down water and soft drinks and Gatorade when we have lots of guests at the cabin. Very convenient.


So, got a few things done while enjoying fantastic weather and amazing sunsets. I will be back at the cabin in November when we host the men from Manna House in Brookshire for a Big Bend adventure. Manna House is a residential recovery program for men dealing with addictions. Love this ministry and excited about the opportunity for us to enjoy adventure, good food, and conversation around the campfire.

Stay tuned and thanks for following our off-grid adventure.

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My Ozark Trail ConnecTent

My weakness is outdoor gear. When I get home in the evenings I like to peruse YouTube in search of the latest camping or hiking or anything-outdoors gear reviews. So, it should come as no surprise that I have all sorts of gear crammed onto the shelves in my garage. And, because I am a trekking pole junkie, I keep no less than three sets of trekking poles in my pickup truck at all times. Better to be prepared!

While recently watching a YouTube review of the latest in tents for car camping, I was wowed by a cube tent that attaches to the framework of a straight-leg 10 x 10 pop-up canopy. Amazingly simple and fast set-up that yields lots of usable square footage that, honestly, is closer to the glamping side of the camping equation.
After doing some research, I found a very affordable version of this tent — the Ozark Trail ConnecTent. So, I placed my order on Amazon and then waited with all of the patience of a kid on Christmas Eve. When my packages finally arrived I couldn’t wait to get home to set everything up in my backyard. And then, it rained!
At the first available opportunity, I unpacked everything in my backyard and proceeded to set up the tent. Although I managed to set my tent up by myself, the set-up of this particular tent would have been a bit easier with an extra hand to help. My wife Cheryl arrived home just in time to help me finish the job.
Setting up this tent is really pretty intuitive. I began by setting up the pop-up canopy. It is important to have a straight-leg rather than a slant-leg canopy in order to properly attach this particular tent. I raised the canopy to the lowest position and then proceeded to clip the tent to the framework. Very easy stuff.
Once I had everything clipped into place, I staked down the tent. A particular feature that I like about the pop-up canopy is that it comes with four guy-lines already attached to the corners. This adds a good extra measure of stability, especially to withstand high winds.
The inside of the tent is huge. I set up my camping cot just to get a feel for the interior space. Love the spaciousness of this tent. Perfect for car camping when I have the luxury of bringing extra stuff to set up a more comfortable base camp for hiking or biking in a state park.

I will have my first opportunity to use my new ConnecTent under the big Texas sky when I attend the Llano Earth Art Festival during Spring Break. I have a camp site reserved and can’t wait to set up my tent for a fun weekend outdoors. Will write more after the festival in Llano. Until then, happy camping!