There are many great memories of those days gone by, but, oddly enough, the memory of the hot sweltering summer weekends with mosquitoes galore sticks out like a sore thumb in my mind. Endless cans of bug repellent used to ward of our tiny attackers still had very little affect.

What those days taught me were two things, one, no amount of bug repellent is formulated well enough to keep them off of you and two, invest in a screen tent. When we purchased our first screen tent, many, many years ago, it would hardly even stand up to the quality of some of today's standards, but it did provide us the protection we were looking for from the flying insects.

Now that I am a father and love to take my kids camping, I refuse to let them go through the buggy days of summer that I went through, although my dad jokingly says it made me stronger. I said it just made me itch more.

I use a screen tent with every trip. I set it up on the site over top of the picnic table and because I have a 12x12 tent it is large enough to store a lot of things underneath the tent so I do not have to constantly put things away at the end of the night and pull them out first thing in the morning.

I do this not because I think bugs will infiltrate my camping gear but because the screen tent is also a great protector from the rain. Needless to say I have gone camping where I stood out in the rain in my poncho. Oh the oodles of fun it was, ok, well not really, but it does make me appreciate the screen tent that much more.

If you are new to camping, maybe thinking about getting into it or even a seasoned veteran, spend the few extra dollars and get yourself a screen tent. It will be money well spent. Trust me on that!

Cachuma Lake Campground

Cachuma Lake Campground is a county owned park in Santa Barbara. It is located on Highway 154 between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley. This is a wonderful campground that has a large number of RV and tent camping sites. The lake offers fishing, boat rentals, and wildlife tours. There is no swimming or skiing in the lake but there is a pool, plenty of bike and hiking trails, as well as a nature center, general store, bait shop, and small restaurant on the docks.

Casini Ranch Family Campground

Camping with friends or family? Prefer to camp alone? No matter, check out Casini Ranch! Stunning views and friendly people await you at this family owned campground nestled on the Russian River in Duncans Mills California. They offer swimming, fishing, paddle boat and kayak rentals, a general store, snack shop, Saturday Night hay rides, ice cream socials, and a great time!

Richardson's Grove State Park

This campground is located near the Avenue Of The Giants along the north western side of the state. Richardson's Grove State Park offers a variety of campsites from shaded in the redwood trees to sunny along the Eel River under oak trees. As a state park there are no hook ups for RV's but they do accommodate them. Check ahead for length limits on your RV before you go.

Giant Redwoods RV and Camp

This is a wonderful campground located along the Avenue Of The Giants in Meyers Flat. If you are looking for a great place to stay that offers you sites along the Eel River and a variety of family activities this is it. Not all sites are along the river and if you are camping in an RV, you would be better off with a partial hook-up site, as the full hook-up sites are rather narrow. The campground offers swimming, horseshoes, a playground for the kids, movies, and is close to all attractions along the Avenue Of The Giants.

Yosemite Pines RV Resort

Heading to Yosemite? Prefer a campground outside the park that offers spacious sites and other amenities? Check out Yosemite Pines. While it is about a 30 minute drive to the park itself, this is a wonderful campground to stay at. They have a pool, gold panning, petting zoo, store, and a game room. While campgrounds inside Yosemite do not offer hook-ups for RV's, you can get them at Yosemite Pines and enjoy the beautiful drive up to the park.