10 Things to Do Off-grid

We enjoyed our first camping trip of the season this past weekend. We were only gone 2 nights but it was fun to go off-grid for a few hours. Lyle and I took our trailer north to Priest Lake, almost to the Canadian border. We had no electrical or water hook-ups and no cell signal or internet service.

In no particular order, here are a few things we found to do.

1. Cook over the fire.

Our trailer has a propane stove which I did use to make coffee but we cooked our meals over the campfire. And by we, I mean Lyle. He does all the camp cooking.

Our first night camping we always have roasted hotdogs because it’s quick and easy. The second night we had steak, cauliflower, and peach cobbler.

2. Read.

Of course.

I finished A Place to Hang the Moon, and then read The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow and Shelter. They were all 3 excellent… 5 stars. If you’re interested, here are links to them on Amazon. Obligatory Disclosure: These are affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission on your Amazon purchase. 

Lyle lost track of how many magazines he read over the weekend, but he now is only a year behind. I think he has 3 or 4 subscriptions and he just accumulates them, keeping them in order, until he has some down time–which is usually a camping trip.

3. Play games.

We enjoyed a couple rounds of our current favorite game, Kulami.

I lobbied for a game of Scrabble but somehow we never got around to it.

4. Talk.

Naturally, we solved all the world’s problems as we sat around the campfire. Or at least the problems in our immediate family. But actually none of the above. We just hashed them out. Sometimes it’s good to just have a chance to do that.

We also discussed our plans for the rest of the summer, including an extended off-Interstate cross-country road trip we are hoping to do in August. If it works out, I’ll be blogging along the way. Stay tuned for that.

5. Pray.

Since we aren’t actually capable of solving the world’s problems, we are grateful for the peace that comes from knowing the One who can. Being away from the distractions of our daily lives gave us a good opportunity to spend time praying for situations our loved ones are going through.

6. Ride bikes.

We have a goal of riding our bikes more this summer, but I am way more out of shape than I’d like to admit, so short rides around the campground loops were perfect to help me build up to longer rides.

7. Drink coffee.

We carried our coffee down to the lake each morning to enjoy the gorgeous scenery and stillness before going back to our campsite to build our breakfast fire.

8. Make popcorn.

Maybe making popcorn should be under the “cook over the fire” but I think it should be its own event. Campfire popcorn is the best!

9. Go for a walk.

We walked down to the lake more than once. There were more people on the little beach in the afternoon. Not super crowded, but we didn’t have it to ourselves like we had in the morning. The water that had shimmered in the morning light sparkled in the afternoon sun. Priest Lake is one of the prettiest lakes we have been to.

10. Enjoy the quiet.

The second morning was overcast and misty. The lake glimmered that morning.

It takes some effort to pack up to go camping, but for us, the chance to “get away from it all” for a few hours is worth it.