Campfireless Camping?

Last night I was watching the news and heard something awful.

Saskatchewan has currently banned the use of campfires within its provincial parks.

We leave on Sunday to go camping.

Camping! Without a campfire?!?

I guess this is due to extreme fire hazards, but still.....

How can we roast marshmallows and hotdogs?

How can we make our banana boats?

How can we cook our meals in the pie-irons?

This sucks!

Last year, we went camping and ended up needing to use the camp stove more than we had planned. It had rained a lot beforehand, and we actually had to put up the tent in the pouring rain while the girls watched a movie in the van. Fun times! The wood ended up being so wet that we had a very difficult time getting a fire going. Finally on the third day we were successful, but our trip ended up getting cut short.

Now this year we have lots of great meals planned. Actually I forgot about this site until I mentioned camping meals in an earlier post. Lots of great camping meals and lots of varieties for pie-irons and foil dinners too. We like to premake meals to freeze and then they serve to keep the other food cold until we are ready to eat it. So I have already made a chili that is in the freezer. Now I have some other prep foods to make; pizza pocket stuff, tuna wrap stuff (one of our faves with feta, celery, grape tomatoes and more!), omelette stuff, veggies for snacking, etc.

Since I never really did any camping as a child (aside from a few trips before I can remember) I am really enjoying it now! Several people have commented to me lately on how "brave" I am to go tenting with kids. I find it to be quite fun actually! I love the outdoors, I love the smell of the campfire (if we could actually have one), I love the hikes, I love the beach time, it's all fun! I have been packing for several days already, little bits at a time.

Actually I am a bit of a "list" junkie. I have a list of things to pack, a list of things to make/prep, a list of things to buy, things to borrow (which we did already), things to do around the house before we leave, etc. I would die without my lists! A friend and I recently were chatting about lists. She also needs her list, and after having a baby 3 weeks ago, she is finding it helps to keep her sane, even when everyone else thinks she is crazy. I am the same way. I need to feel prepared and organized. For most things I am a procrastinator and leave things until the last minute, but for camping? I am almost obsessed with getting everything done early.

What things are you obsessed about? What would make you go crazy?

ETA: The Saskatchewan Parks website has updated their info to say that all parks north of Highway 3 are included in the ban for now. If this stays the same, we can have our fire!! Hurray!!