What is the definitive guide to Hilary Erickson's camping experiences and tips?

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson from The Pregnancy Nurse and Pulling Curls. Love this question because camping has been a whole “late-in-life conversion” for me.

From what I’ve shared so far, here’s the closest thing to a definitive guide to my camping experiences and tips, all in one place:

• I came to camping late: I’d done girls camp as a teen and “camping” on my in-laws’ land (which felt more like sleeping in a tent near a house). Real, drive-away-from-home camping with my own family happened much later, after years of baby-trying, pregnancies, and a personal rule that I won’t camp with a non-walker.

• Why I fell in love with it:

  • No (or very little) wi-fi, so we actually unplug
  • Tons of together time without everyone disappearing into screens
  • Shared work setting up camp and cooking
  • All the simple magic: flashlights, headlamps, fires, owls hooting, everyone sleeping in one “room”
  • The fire at night is a built-in gathering place for talking, card games, and even a little truth or dare

• My big-picture “mom philosophy” on camping:

  • It’s cheaper than hotels, and those dollars can go to more important long-term goals (I literally joked that ASU can have the hotel money)
  • It forces us to slow down and be together in a way we rarely are at home
  • Shared experiences (snoring, owls, kids crawling into our sleeping bags) become family stories

• My top practical essentials (from my camping checklist):

  • Water containers
    • At least one insulated jug for drinking
    • A separate container for washing hands/dishes (I’ve used cheaper jugs or thrifted containers so I don’t stress about them)
    • “Running water” at camp is huge for my sanity and feeling clean
  • Playing cards
    • They’re tiny to pack and give you hours of entertainment
    • We play Speed, Mormon Bridge, War, Hand and Foot, etc.
    • Teaching kids card games is sneaky parenting: you learn a lot about what’s going on in their heads while they’re relaxed and talking
  • Flashlights and headlamps
    • Every kid gets their own (which they love)
    • Headlamps are especially good for little ones who would set a flashlight down and lose it
    • My rule: no shining lights in mom’s eyes
    • I keep extras because I do not like being in the dark without one
  • Treats we never buy at home
    • Cheetos (my “gateway drug”)
    • Little Debbie/Hostess-type snacks
    • Fun s’mores variations
    • Camping is when I let them eat “crap” with a few carrots thrown in for good measure; nobody’s zoning out in front of a TV, they’re running around and climbing rocks
  • A decent cot
    • After pregnancies, my hips hate the ground
    • Blow-up mattresses can shoot out from under me (hilarious in theory, not in real life at 2 a.m.)
    • Quick-set-up cots for the adults are my compromise between comfort and not spending forever setting up camp beds
  • Sunscreen and bug protection
    • Sunburns or bites will ruin a trip faster than almost anything
    • I’m in the “Valley of the Sun,” so I’m pretty intense about skin protection and skin cancer risk
    • A good broad-spectrum sunscreen and something for bugs are non-negotiable for my family

• The emotional “wins” I notice:

  • Kids learning to work (even if they hide in the van a bit during setup, some work is better than none)
  • Holding hands on the way to the bathrooms/playground, siblings helping each other
  • Long conversations around the fire that we almost never get at home
  • Kids learning flexibility when we forget something and have to improvise (or overpay at the camp store!)

• Real talk: what still makes me nervous:

  • The prep and packing lists feel long and a bit overwhelming
  • I still kind of miss the comfort of a hotel room and TV
  • I worry about what might go wrong (bugs, weather, kids and the fire)
  • But every time, once we’re actually there, we have a genuinely good time and I remember why it’s worth it

So, if I bundled my “definitive guide” into one core idea, it would be:
Camping is about trading convenience and screens for connection and simple, shared experiences—plus some strategic gear that keeps mom from losing her mind.

If you’d like, I can turn this into a super simple, printable camping checklist broken into: “must-have for sanity,” “fun extras for kids,” and “nice if you’re older/tired/sore like me.” Would that be helpful?