I've done a lot of outdoor activities, but there's one thing I've.. You heard right.

Hard to believe, but I've never been camping.

Well, that all changes today.

Let's go.

My friends Taylor and Kat are going.. I am so excited.

Thanks for joining me on this camping adventure.

Can you believe I've never been camping?

No.

That's crazy.

Hey, we're glad to be with you for your first down camping.

One on one with both of you.

All right, so where are we?

We are at McWilliams campground, here in the Spring Mountain National Recreat.. This is considered a developed campground, and we have all of our gear here.

This campground has quite a few amenities, but it's a great time for your very first experience.

All right, so then what do we have here?

There's a lot of stuff going on.

I'm like, where do we start?

Yeah, we are going to start just with our basics for now.

We'll get them loaded and then we'll kind of go over some of the .. So we'll go ahead and start.

All right.

So then what is this like what do you do.

We've got our sleeping bag.

We've got our tent.

We've also got a sleeping pad and a chair.

Kind of just your standard basics to get on.

Okay, first.

All right.

This is a little heavy, but we need it.

Yeah.

And the best way to go about setting up camp.

So being prepared makes a camping experience way less stressful and much more enjoyable.

So let's get started.

What do we need to do?

What's first?

Well, we need to set up camp... Let's grab the tent and head off to our tent.

All right.

That was all right.

Here.

Camp.. Yeah, and it's not as hard as everybody seems to make it out to be.

But I will hand you this right here to you.

Yes.

These tents.

Tuesdays are pretty .. Okay, so we've got a couple of things that you're gonna find inside.

You're gonna find the rainfly.

You're gonna find.

Okay?

The turns ou.. Then what is the rainfly, actually.

How about we just start pulling soil up?

Now, this was my first moment of intimidation between the rainfly, the poles, the pad and stakes.

It was a little overwhelming, but you know what?

It wasn't hard at all.

Especially because I had great teachers and took my time and so this one, this one.

If you're new to camping and setting up a tent, I would suggest a little practice before you go.

Maybe set up the tent in the backyard or even in your living room like they say, practice makes perfect.

Before I knew it, the tent was up and ready to go.

Put it away so that way we can go and start enjoying dinner and work.

Let's do it.

All right, let's go.

All right.

Good job.

All right.

Camping.

There's so many things t.. Yeah.

It's everything, you know before you go.

Okay.

What is this?

Right here that attracted my attention.

So every campground is going to be a little bit different.

So again that know before you go is definitely key.

But when you come into this campground particularly especially here on the Spring Mountains, you want to take a look at the kiosk.

There's one in every campground.

When you enter it's going to give you most of the informat.. if not all, of the information that you need for the site.

We are in a developed site, so that means that we do have to pay.

You see all the lovely amenities that we have here for our camping experience today.

So a lot of those, amenity driven areas actually come with a fee.

Okay.

So knowing before you, you go, .. a couple different ways that you can do this.

We came into a first come, first serve site, which means we have to grab one of these it to pay on.

Okay.

And so you can see there's a bunch of different fields on that th.. We recommend getting your camp set up first.

Okay.

And then coming back to fill this out.

So that way no one takes your spot while you're going to pay.

Okay.

We'll fill all this section out.

And then on the back here there is a receipt.

This section you'll tear this off.

We'll put this portion on our numbered post out front.

And then this section you can put in your car or you can leave it on there.

Just so that way people know when you're coming and going, you'll put your money in this envelope and then back at the same kiosk that you read when you started your journey here.

We'll drop this money, this envelope with the money in it inside of that.

And let's talk about the fees here.

We do cash.

We also have the scan and pay app which is run through recreation.gov.

So if you have the app downloaded on your phone, you can scan the QR code and then it will let you fill all of that information out electronically, which is pretty cool.

So then what do you put on your vehicle?

Or will they just know that you did it electronically or you still do that so you'll stuff out of the envelope, even if you do scan and pay, because essentially you're still doing a first come, first serve site.

Okay.

So what you'll do is you'll put scan and pay here, take the same receipt, and then this .. Okay.

This is really a community.

I'm saying, you know, kids and parents on their bikes, I think dogs.

And I think it's fascinating to me to hear that there's a host here.

They're here overnight as well.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

Our hosts here, they're .. Right?

If.. They'll know, like if you're doing the rules.

Right.

So if the kiosk isn't giving you all the information you need, you can also stop by the host and talk to them.

Being surrounded by all of this beauty, I mean, trying to get up here, like, from across town and the traffic and the stress.

But the minute I got up here, it's like, so calm and beautiful.

And again, they say t.. And I felt it like I just automatically was like a happy camper.

Yeah.

You're literally a happy, happy camper.

That's where they get that.

I'm probably right.

Yeah.

No, it's i.. And now you can.

I'm really excited that you got to spend your first camping trip with us.

Oh, I'm so okay.

All right.

So then we are campfire snacks in this s'mores.

I'm looking forward to that.

And we'll have some campfire stories.

Even though the day was winding down, the experience was far from over.

The wood was cut and the fire started.

Here's an important note about campfires.

Always make sure a fire is allowed here.

A fire is only allowed within the fire ring, and at the end of the night the fire must be completely extinguished.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

Once the grill was hot, it was time for dinner.

Then before you knew it, the sun set and it was time for s'mores.

There is nothing better than wrapping up the day with a tasty treat, especially with great friends.

It was so good.

Okay, for the last it.. It's basically jerky, all right.

I loved every minute of this wonderful adventure for the first time.

Oh, my girls make camp, buddy.

There we go.

My.

Boy, ten out of ten.

Thank you so much, lady.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing us to show you your first time camping.

Oh, I love this.

But now it was time to call it a day and turn in.

The next morning came quick as the sun peeked over the beautiful mountains.

I was so glad the coffee was ready my first time camping was an amazing experience.

My alarm clock this morning.

A beautiful symphony courtesy of the many birds that call this magical place .. I will tell you, camping was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to do it again.

Now it's your turn to do something out of your comfort zone.

Go out and explore all the beauty that nature has to offer.

Do that outdoor activity you've always wanted to do.

I'm Maria Silva and I hope to see you out on the trails.

You.