Camping in the Backyard

Patrick and I went camping in the backyard last night. In the above photo we are getting our small tent set up, and yes, those are bunny ears.

This tent is a The North Face Big Fat Frog. I bought it about four years ago, have never used it, and set it up only once. Why buy a tent and never use it? I had another tent for many years, a Quest Preying Mantis, and I loved it. I loved it so much I wore it out: zippers broken (and repaired), screen broken (and repaired), a plastic hub eventually broke (and by being gentle I made it last a few more years), and finally had holes worn in some spots. The tent was long out of production and parts were non-existent so I finally gave it up. In the 90s, in so many ways, that tent was a cutting edge design, and even compared to today’s tents it had some advantages. When I saw the Big Fat Frog and some of the design ideas it shared I had to get one to try to adequately replace the Preying Mantis, even if I knew I wouldn’t be using it for a few years. I’m glad I bought it when I did, too: the Big Fat Frog isn’t made anymore, either.

Anyway, Patrick helped set up the tent and dragged his gear outside to get ready for the night.