When you think of safety issues when it comes to camping, we naturally think of children and what we can do to assure that they are taught to be careful in the wild. And in a family camping situation, safety is a primary concern. Little ones are seldom thinking of potential dangers in their environment and a camp out has many opportunities for them to sustain an injury that could become a real issue if you are far away from civilization. Not only is the injury itself a concern but the distance from a good clinic or hospital in the event of a serious injury is a factor to a fast response if it is needed in an emergency.

But safety while camping is important whether the campers are young or old or whether you are dealing with seasoned campers or rookies to this wonderful pastime. Experienced campers got that way because the rules of safe camping have become so much part of their habits that they naturally take care of themselves and their fellow campers throughout their time in the wilderness.

Safe camping means setting camp in such a way as to anticipate and avoid potential problems with the environment. By doing a camp site inspection before laying down tents, you can look for dead branches overhead, for wasps nests, ant dens or potential lairs for local reptiles that you may wish to avoid in your choice of your camp site. Walk the camp site and surrounding environments with safety in mind and only authorize the camp site when it meets with your approval from a safety perspective.

In general, the simplest safety rules are the most important in a camping situation. And the general rule that each camper simply be aware of each other at all times goes a long way. This rule applies when working in camp whether it is cutting firewood, setting tents or unloading supplies. Be aware of where your fellow campers are. If there is any chance you could have an accident, look before acting.

But being aware of other campers also applies to everyone’s whereabouts. Don’t make it just the camp leadership’s job to always be aware of the safety and location of each camper. Many tragic camping stories have been told of a camper who stepped away from camp and had an accident and far too much time elapsed before anyone went to find him or her. Children use the buddy system to assure that there is always someone nearby who can go get help. But the buddy system is a good rule of the camp site for everyone. At very least, if you are going to leave camp, make sure someone knows you are leaving, why you are leaving and generally where you are going so if you are gone for too long, a search party can be successful in finding you and rendering help in the event of injury.

Your camp gear should also be well equipped with safety supplies. No camp out should ever leave the city without a fully equipped and checked out medical kit. Never assume that your medical supplies are packed and well stocked. Check them every camp out. Further, at some point either before or during the camp out, review safety procedures and be aware of the first aid knowledge of your campers. If your family or group is going to camp often, get one or several of your leadership team to take first aid classes so someone knows what to do in an emergency situation. The ability to make a tourniquet or build a transportation device to take an injured hiker out of the wilderness and get them to help may mean the difference between serious injury or death and prompt care when it is really needed.

Communications is also central to good camp site safety preparations. Many times when you get into a remote situation, cell phone communications are not reliable. So while you are camping, prepare your team with walkie talkies so everyone can get in touch with the camp leadership if a safety problem occurs and the team needs to be mobilized for a rescue.

If children are in camp, all adults must be acutely aware of their safety. Children should be strictly forbidden to run in camp or even in the woods. Tripping and falling on downed trees or where there may be hidden ravines is too dangerous and the outcome could be disastrous so taking away the “fun of running” from them is worth it to keep them safe. Also making sure children and teenagers are aware they must always to accountable to adults and not leave camp or go missing without communications is critical to their long-term safety. Young people love to explore and they should be encouraged to do so as long as an adult is with them and they can communicate to home base if the need arises.

Next to the natural dangers a wilderness situation presents, the camp fire is the greatest safety issue to be concerned with, particularly if children or youth are in the party. While it is always fun to play with the fire and to use it to cook hot dogs or marshmallows, any fire recreation activity must be done in accordance with strict rules. And the kids must be made aware of the need to stay out of the fire and not rough house near it to avoid the potential of anyone going into the blaze.

By making safety the top priority for everyone on the camp out, whether there are young people along or not, you go a long way to take potential injuries or mishaps from taking over the agenda of your camping experience. Good camping is smart camping and smart camping is safe camping. And when you come home from your camp out with no more injuries than perhaps a sun burn or a few scratches from putting up your tent, you will be glad you took the time to make your campers safety aware so everyone comes home happy and excited to go camping again as soon as they can.

Most people immediately think of Disney World or Daytona Beach or the Florida Keys when vacationing in Florida is mentioned. Sure, those are great places to visit; but the state has a whole lot more to offer.

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If an Italian deli is your favorite hangout, this pudgie pie is for you. An Italian deli is the best place to find the ingredients for this pudgie pie although most large supermarkets will carry the ingredients as well.

ITALIAN DELI PUDGIE PIE RECIPE
Ingredients Needed for Each Pudgie Pie:
2 slices sourdough bread
1 slice prosciutto di parma, or any other type of prosciutto (a dry-cured Italian ham)
1 slice Genoa salami
1 slice Capicola (Italian cold cut made from pork meat)
3-4 small chunks fresh smoked mozarella (don’t overdo it or the cheese will overpower the sandwich)
1 thin slice Asiago cheese
arugula
fire roasted red bell pepper slices (see note below for how to make your own)
Olive oil or Extra virgin olive oil and butter
Generously brush both sides of the pudgie pie maker with olive oil or butter and place a slice of bread on each side (Olive oil has a lower burn tolerance than butter so the sandwich needs to be watched carefully to avoid burning. If you don’t want to have to watch the sandwich as carefully, brush the bread with butter and use a drizzle of olive oil inside the sandwich instead).
Layer the ingredients on one slice of bread in this order: asiago cheese, fresh smoked mozarella, red pepper slices, extra virgin olive oil (if using), a few pieces of arugla, and the sliced meats. Cover with the second slice of bread.
Close the pudgie pie maker and cook in glowing embers of campfire until bread is golden brown and mozarella cheese is melted.
Remove from pudgie pie maker, cut in half, and eat immediately.

Note: It’s important to layer the ingredients in the order given because the arugla needs to be near the center of the sandwich to avoid overcooking it.

The Peppers: The roasted red pepper slices from a jar work fine in this sandwich but if you’re willing to take a little extra time beforehand and make your own fire roasted red bell peppers, it’s worth it.
Take a red bell pepper and cook it over the flame of the campfire until it’s black on all sides. Remove from heat; place on a paper plate, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit about 20 minutes. Unwrap, peel off the blackened skin, remove the seeds and membrane, and thinly slice.