help me go camping/on a road trip without making a huge impact on the earth...

[Rikki Jean]

we're going on a road trip this summer, and we'll be doing some camping too. we're following dh's band for a few days to a festival in illinois, where we'll be camping in our pop-up trailer, then i'm going to visit family in chicago, and then a friend and i are driving back with the kids. i won't be able to use cloth diapers at all, for a number of reasons (nowhere to wash them, especially at the festival which is already hot and smelly w/o adding a bag of stinky fluff to the mix; also, my dad is strictly anti-cloth at his house, but i've learned to deal with it, especially since he feeds and houses me and my kids for two weeks!). i hate that we'll be using more gas and doing sposies for almost a month, but if i can make smart decisions about what we're eating on, where we're going to the bathroom, etc., i can do it in good conscience.

so, here are my questions:

-our trailer doesn't have a toilet. this will really only be an issue for us at the festival. all that's there is port-a-potties, and i really am not looking forward to the prospect of taking my 3.5 y/o in one of those things! I'm thinking of getting something like this portable camping toilet, but i'm not 100% sure how it works. i just keep picturing the camping toilet that dh's grandparents had, where you went in a bag everytime, and that had to get thrown away. i don't want to make a ton of trash everytime we use the thing! any other suggestions?

-i'm planning to bring lots, and lots, and lots of cloth napkins. there should be no issue washing all of those when we get to my dad's. we've been off of paper towels and napkins here for two years, so it should be a no-brainer transition to do it while camping. if anyone can think of anything that i should know about in this department, please let me know.

-i'm going to feel really terrible about throwing away all of my fruit and vegetable scraps, when they would be going to my compost pile at home. should i just dump them on the edge of some farmer's field as i drive by?

-lastly, i'm trying to figure out plates, cups, utensils, etc. we have a sink, so there's no reason that we can't wash dishes (we also have a stove, so we'll be doing some cooking). i am not interested in doing plastic, but i do want to do something that is durable and isn't going to break. i thought about corelle, but i think that it would break into a million pieces with all of the bouncing while driving. i'd like to do bamboo, but some mamas on another board are telling me that it's not too durable. enamelware is another option that i know about. help, please! give me the good and bad about enamelware, bamboo, etc., and let me know if there are other options i should be considering.



ETA: i also worry about all of the energy i'll be using with a propane stove (i suppose that i could turn the gas off as soon as i get it lit), and the impact of the batteries from our lanterns. any other suggestions?


ETA, again: As far as the enamelware goes, is there anything scary that I should be worried about (aluminum, lead, etc.)? I may be getting some older enamelware from DH's grandparents...

Also, in case anyone was going to mention water, we have our Klean Kanteens, so we'll be bringing those, and probably some large jugs of water for filling up. Again, if there's a better solution, I'd love to know what it might be (I know that sometimes you can find stores that offer some kind of water fill-up, but on our way out, we're going to be really pressed for time; we'll be doing 12 hour drives every day, without much time for stopping [which is going to e an adventure with two little kids!]).

[homemommie]

I would definatly buy one of those toilets. You'll be so glad you did.

[lil_earthmomma]

When I was growing up, we tagged along during chores and did our own chores far from the bathroom, (on a farm). The boys did whatever, but my mom made a potty frame out of wood, attached a seat, and placed an icecream pail under it. Then she just dumped the waste (responsibly) and washed the bucket. This also came on road trips and made peeing in the ditch much nicer for us girls!

This would work for everyone:
http://www.cabelas.com/vprod-1/0009518.shtml

This is a child version:
http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=54223F

HTH!!!

[Yooper]

We travel all over in an old pop-up camper every summer...including to festivals. We have done so since dd was born (and before!).

Anyway, we do have corelle in our camper. I have a mismatched set collected from thrift stores. I do not store them carefully, just stack them in the cabinet. We have bounced that trailer everywhere....festival fields are about the worst it gets, and have not had a single chip. So that should work. And would be really cheap as I always find tons in the thrift stores. We even have a full serving set of wine glasses in the camper (priorities) that are stores in otherwise useless old (but clean) socks.

This might gross you out, but we also do not have a toilet in our camper and we use mason jars We use the port-o-johns most of the time. They are actually kept quite clean, even at the most lax of festivals. The only time we use the jars is for middle of the night or first thing in the morning. Those are the times the port-o-johns are the dirtiest. You can usually hear when the honey wagon comes through to clean and restock TP, then we have the "all clear" signal. That is usually pretty early in the morning. But usually dd cannot wait to walk that far first thing so the jars are all ready to go. I have never had a problem taking dd into the port-o-johns when they are clean. But we did borrow a friends baby potty for the first summer she potty learned just to cut down on the trips to the port-o-johns. We emptied the jars and potty into the outhouses. It is pretty common so people do not give us looks. But if it worries you, pull a dirty sock over the jar so it is not so obvious. Rinse with a bit of soap. We have ours marked so we each have our own....dd has three

Almost every festival we have been to has compost and recycle bins. Some even do daily pick-ups at the sites and provide bags for that purpose. I would not just toss them as they can attract unwanted animal activity near roads.

We do not use a lantern. Perhaps we are just used to it but our eyes adjust to all but the darkest of nights. We each have an LED headlamp to use when it is too dark. I actually carry mine in my purse all of the time. It comes in handy!

Any festival will have water to fill up your containers with. We found a wagon invaluable for hauling kid and water.

[aprons_and_acorns]

I just wanted to share an idea about the potty-- we just use the potty chair that DS used when he was potty training. And then just dispose of the contents responsibly either in a port-a-potty or burying it like you would on a backpacking trip. Actually we've even lined the potty with a plastic bag and thrown away the contents like you would with a disposable diaper. My friend is a mother of twins and always has a potty chair in the back of her van for potty emergencies. Her children hate any kind of port-a-potty situation so that way they are covered for going to all kinds of outdoor events. I thought that was a good idea and so I started doing it too.

I hope your trip is lots of fun! It sounds like your little one is really being raised to care for the planet

[Rikki Jean]

Ugh, I am my own worst thread-killer! I totally forgot to reply to this thread! :

Originally Posted by lil_earthmomma

When I was growing up, we tagged along during chores and did our own chores far from the bathroom, (on a farm). The boys did whatever, but my mom made a potty frame out of wood, attached a seat, and placed an icecream pail under it. Then she just dumped the waste (responsibly) and washed the bucket. This also came on road trips and made peeing in the ditch much nicer for us girls!

This would work for everyone:
http://www.cabelas.com/vprod-1/0009518.shtml

This is a child version:
http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=54223F

HTH!!!

Thanks! We are the least handy people that God ever created, so the home-made seat probably won't happen for us. The Cabela's bucket might be a good idea though. I also forgot that we happen to have a seat like this. We live in DH's great-grandpa's house, and it was here when we moved in.

Originally Posted by Yooper

We travel all over in an old pop-up camper every summer...including to festivals. We have done so since dd was born (and before!).

Anyway, we do have corelle in our camper. I have a mismatched set collected from thrift stores. I do not store them carefully, just stack them in the cabinet. We have bounced that trailer everywhere....festival fields are about the worst it gets, and have not had a single chip. So that should work. And would be really cheap as I always find tons in the thrift stores. We even have a full serving set of wine glasses in the camper (priorities) that are stores in otherwise useless old (but clean) socks.

Okay, I think we might go for the Corelle. I've been trying to find enamelware for a decent price, but it's not happening. I found a set on CL, but it includes the pots and stuff, which I'm not interested in, since I plan to bring my cast-iron with me. 50% off day is this Friday at our Salvation Army, so I'll definitely be making a trip there! We're doing a test run with our trailer Sunday (we just bought it a few months ago, and haven't used it yet), going beach camping for one night, so we'll get to see how it survives on the crazy freeways of California!

Originally Posted by Yooper

This might gross you out, but we also do not have a toilet in our camper and we use mason jars We use the port-o-johns most of the time. They are actually kept quite clean, even at the most lax of festivals. The only time we use the jars is for middle of the night or first thing in the morning. Those are the times the port-o-johns are the dirtiest. You can usually hear when the honey wagon comes through to clean and restock TP, then we have the "all clear" signal. That is usually pretty early in the morning. But usually dd cannot wait to walk that far first thing so the jars are all ready to go. I have never had a problem taking dd into the port-o-johns when they are clean. But we did borrow a friends baby potty for the first summer she potty learned just to cut down on the trips to the port-o-johns. We emptied the jars and potty into the outhouses. It is pretty common so people do not give us looks. But if it worries you, pull a dirty sock over the jar so it is not so obvious. Rinse with a bit of soap. We have ours marked so we each have our own....dd has three

Nope, I'm not grossed out!

I'm going to bring DS's potty. I don't know why I didn't even think of that as an option! When we went camping last fall, we were at a campground with portables; I had to pee SO bad, but I am freaked out about going into those things in the dark, so I just went in the little potty. While I was pulling up my pants, my son picked up the bowl, and we almost had a major disaster!

Anyway, we've been to this festival quite a few times before, so I'm familiar with how the cleaning schedule goes there, but it doesn't make me like them anymore. It's in western Illinois in late June/early July, so it's hot and humid, and there are usually plenty of bugs hanging out in the portables. I'm rather squeamish when it comes to bugs, so I don't do well with that!

Originally Posted by Yooper

Almost every festival we have been to has compost and recycle bins. Some even do daily pick-ups at the sites and provide bags for that purpose. I would not just toss them as they can attract unwanted animal activity near roads.

I know that they have recycling, but I don't know about composting. I'll have to call and find out.

Originally Posted by Yooper

We do not use a lantern. Perhaps we are just used to it but our eyes adjust to all but the darkest of nights. We each have an LED headlamp to use when it is too dark. I actually carry mine in my purse all of the time. It comes in handy!

Good point. We usually just use a flashlight at night there anyway.

Originally Posted by Yooper

Any festival will have water to fill up your containers with. We found a wagon invaluable for hauling kid and water.

Thank you for reminding me that I want to borrow the wagon from DH's grandparents!

Thanks for mentioning the water-fill-up stations. I didn't know that the festvial had them, but I just checked their website, and they do! :

Originally Posted by aprons_and_acorns

I just wanted to share an idea about the potty-- we just use the potty chair that DS used when he was potty training. And then just dispose of the contents responsibly either in a port-a-potty or burying it like you would on a backpacking trip. Actually we've even lined the potty with a plastic bag and thrown away the contents like you would with a disposable diaper. My friend is a mother of twins and always has a potty chair in the back of her van for potty emergencies. Her children hate any kind of port-a-potty situation so that way they are covered for going to all kinds of outdoor events. I thought that was a good idea and so I started doing it too.

I hope your trip is lots of fun! It sounds like your little one is really being raised to care for the planet

Can you throw plastic bags in the port potty? I see all kinds of crazy stuff in there, so I'm wondering...my guess is no, but ya never know.

I've never been on a backpacking trip, so I have no idea how you bury waste in that situation. I don't think I'd do that at the festival anyway!

[Sadystar]

If there's going to be sun then you could invest in solar torches and a solar oven.

[Yooper]

Originally Posted by Sadystar

If there's going to be sun then you could invest in solar torches and a solar oven.

And solar shower! Nothing like a warm rinse off to get festival grit off before bed.