The Tent

Yes, we finally set up our home away from home. And yes, it is as big as it looks. No, actually, it is probably bigger.

Very very exciting I must say. Now as long as we can find campsites big enough we are very much looking forward to setting up camp and then staying put for a good week or more. The only real downside is that it is too heavy to take on a plane so we can't take it with us to CA and use it in some meadow on the side of a mountain. It would be a gorgeous tent for getting packed in with mules though. It really wouldn't matter if it were raining since there is so much space inside for clowning around and playing games; assuming that we haven't pitched it in a drainage culvert.

The tent as you see it from the outside is really just a giant rain fly with a main room and three outcropping sections. In each section hangs a little internal two person tent, making three little bedrooms with a giant living area in between. There is a perfect sized square tarp for the main room with clips on the corners so that it always lies perfectly straight and flat. Ahhhhhh.

There are also lots of openings and, as you can see, the front door is huge. We bought the one with all the screening so we can shut out the bugs if we want/need to.

And finally to give you a bit of perspective on the size, here is Jon standing in the middle of the main room:


And again lying in one of the two man bedrooms. Note: In Europe when they say two man tent they mean two full grown people plus all their gear can fit. Unlike in the US where two man tent means if you like sharing a single sleeping bag with someone then two people can fit in it and screw your stuff. I think most American campers would call a European two man tent closer to an American 3/4 person tent.


And finally collapsed after the surprisingly not so hard set up in the hot sun, Jon gives you some perspective on the size of the main room.

Now we just need to get a regulator sorted for our camp stove and we are off!! Of course the tent is 2 ft wider than the tent platforms at Virginia State parks, but where there is a will there is a way!

I wonder what the kids will think when they get home from school this afternoon. Do you think we will end up sleeping in the back yard tonight?