Tents can be rented. Since you may never go camping again, you might want to look into that. (We rented a tent ca 40 yrs ago).

What to take and share? Since I no longer cook, when asked to contribute, my first choice is grapes. Everybody likes grapes and they are usually well received. Other fruit, cookies, baked beans are also universally welcomed.

Now we'll let the real campers give you answers.

Hope you have a good time.

Recommended for ease of set-up in a storm. and it's durability.

http://store.eurekatent.com/timberline-4-tent
?1432692068

This is the cook kit I would buy today as the one we're using is no long made; http://www.campmor.com/Product___86752

We have one and it is great. It to s a midrange ten. If you want cheaper because you may not go much, I also have a Coleman that made it through 5 years of cub and partner. I have the three person not here is the four.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004J2GUOU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1432694294&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=coleman+sundome&dpPl=1&dpID=412Nr-Xo09L&ref=plSrch


Cot? How big is this cot, what about the other 3 people?

I'm a big woman, and I found a big cot. X-large, rated to 300 pounds. I feel lucky to have found it.

Unless someone doesn't have a tent, in which case I'd welcome them, it will be only me. I'm big and I'm clumsy; I don't move around well. I want to be able to step around the space a little, and to be able to stand up sometimes (I'm 64" tall). What do you think?

It is only 4 feet tall. Inside, you would be always on your knees.

Last edited Thu May 28, 2015, 01:37 AM - Edit history (1)

With severe arthritis in both knees, I'd better get a taller tent.

With all be a problem with the Coleman too.

Will you be able the drive to the campsite? I mean, will you he able to unload your stuff right there? You are probably going to get a bigger than four person to Stand in. So it would be heavier. Maybe something like this?
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004E4ERHA/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?qid=1432729811&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX110_SY165&keywords=family+tent

* Pun on Amazon's service not intended.

And thanks for the memories that image brought.

its height assumes that you are sleeping on the ground, not on a cot. Otherwise, you are not going to fit four people in it.

For camping coffee and tea:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stansport-Campers-Coffee-Pot/20920957

See my reply to d_r.

I'll look for a Eureka tent that's taller. I'm going to use a cot, and I would really like to be able to reach something near a standing position inside the tent. I want a 4-man tent because I am large and clumsy, and want to be able to move around.

I camped from TX to Northern CA in that exact model.

This is the coffee pot I would buy today if our vintage one crapped out, as it has a glass percolator top so it can be used over a campfire.
http://www.campmor.com/Product___26028


If you're camping in cool or cold weather, you need a foam or closed cell mat on a cot to protect you from the cold air circulating underneath you.

Biscuits on a stick

Get one of those cans of biscuits, roll the disc shaped biscuit between your hands into a snakey shape, and wind that biscuit snake around the end of a straight, sturdy stick. Kind of like a corkscrew around the stick.

Hold the biscuit on a stick over the campfire, not too close, rotate occasionally, until it is golden brown. Takes 15 minutes or so. Prop on a fork stick if you don't want to hold it. Slide the biscuit off the stick, roll it in some butter.

Yum.

I thought the only food you could cook over a campfire were hot dogs and marshmallows.

And anything you can cook on your stove or in your oven you can cook with a campfire.

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That's a very impressive setup.

I also cook buttermilk biscuits w/ peppered sausage gravy, Chicken and dumplings and many other foods. Anything you can cook in an oven,or on a stove, can be cooked on an open fire.

The Boy Scout Handbook
written such that an 11-year-old can understand it.

Thanks!

For car camping, I'd borrow the tent and then use household equivalents for your other necessities. Most camping gear is only specialized (extra lite or small) for backpacking. For your purpose small and light doesn't really apply.

My $0.02

They're good, but your first time camping you may find you don't enjoy it. Rent or borrow a tent, or buy a cheap new or used one.
A pad on a cot makes it a little more comfortable, but it's not 100% necessary. Sleeping on the ground you need a pad as a minimum, an air bed is better.
Good food to share is fruits, nuts, popcorn, cheese and crackers...any kind of nibbly stuff. Bring plenty of water. Handi-wipes are good too, you can even use them for a crude shower if no facilities.
Anything you can boil water in is fine for making tea. A teapot is the handiest. You'll need an oven mitt. If someone else is doing cooking, you don't need to buy a camping cookset. They aren't even useful anyway (too small, too flimsy, and tend to burn food). Much better is cast iron skillet and Dutch oven (which are also useful at home). But wait and see if you like camping first.
eta: one more tip. Whether cooking over a fire or camp stove, the bottom of the pans will get really sooty. Rub a bar of soap on the bottom and lower sides. Not the insides of course. That will make scrubbing the soot off much easier.

But absorbs winds which will wreck anything in the campgrounds. And the no-see-um screens are still tight. Used it 3 ft from the Gulf of Mexico, on the shores of big lakes while fishing and hunting, 40 mph winds. Still ugly and intact.

Like everyone else I'd recommend them.

We have one you can stand up in and it is 11 feet square. We have two cots and two foam pads for them. Really nice because you don't need to crawl around on the ground.

It looks like this except it is a different color.

I am afraid to buy a tent, they use to spray something into it what should not normally be there.