This past weekend was a first for me in my collegiate life; I took my very first class trip.

For one of my Recreation and Tourism classes, we took a camping trip to Grahams Island State Park near Devils Lake, North Dakota. The trip was meant to teach us outdoor skills in a hands-on environment. Prior to the trip, we practiced setting up tents and talked about the most useful clothes to pack for various weather conditions. This was not the first time I have been camping though, and I would consider myself fairly competent in that department so I thought I might share some tips for you if you decide to follow suit.

Tip Number 1: Bring a cot. Now I know this might make me sound like a diva, but if it rains for a day straight (like it did for me) before you arrive, you will appreciate not sleeping on the wet ground.

Tip Number 2: Bring or find fun activities to do when you are not cooking or setting up camp. For our class, one of our assignments was to bring a camping game for the class to do. One game we played was Beersbee. This is where you set up two poles in the ground and put bottles on top of them. The goal of the game is to knock off the bottle with a Frisbee without the other person catching the bottle and the Frisbee before it hits the ground. Another activity our teacher had us do was a scavenger hunt where we had to find things you could only find in nature by either returning it to camp or photographing it. Sadly, my team lost but we still had a fun time exploring. Lastly, another thing that I brought was a fishing pole. Fishing is always a nice way to relax and enjoy the water. Unfortunately, you usually do not catch much off a dock, so I went home empty-handed.

Tip Number 3: Pack plenty of warm clothes, especially if you are going camping during the last weekend of September in northern North Dakota. I think I had on four top layers and two bottom layers and I was still a bit chilly.

Tip Number 4:  Don’t forget the s’mores!