Camping in the great outdoors is one of my favorite things to do. I have discovered over the years that if you take just a little time in selecting you camp site your trip will be that much enjoyable.

You have the family in the care and it is packed to the top with every thing you could ever want. You research all the camp spots and pick the best one and now you are there now the first thing you have to do is pick the place to put your tent. I have compiled seven things you should take into consideration when picking that site.

• The sun: If at all possible you should pick a spot that has as much shade as you can. Even in cool whether a tent will heat up very quickly and make it very uncomfortable, especially in the morning when you want to get that little extra sleep. Besides that the uv rays can harm your tent and deteriorate the fabric over time.

*Flat ground is best: Rember the thing a tent is for is sleeping so the flatter the better, it is hard and uncomfortable to sleep on a slope. If you are in area like mountains that you have no choice remember to sleep with your head above your feet this will keep you from wakening with a pounding headache from all the blood rushing to your head.

*Rain in your tent is not a good thing: You will want to pick a spot that is not in a primary drainage are. Although these spots will have adequate shade and protection from the wind they can turn into a nightmare. I learned this first hand, after picking what we thought was the perfect site we learned that it was a main rain run of path and we woke up in a river and 4 inches of water.

*The wind can blow hard: Well keeping the drainage in mind you also need to think about the wind. Wind blowing all night can be very uneasy and hard to sleep in. Even the best guy lines and the best tentter securing them, a hard wind can flap a tent all nigh so you will want to look for cover from the north and south. Wind can also cool a tent down in cold whether camping. Two people can heat a small tent up over the night pretty good but a wind can take all that heat out.

*Rocks are not fun to sleep on: You should try to pick a spot that is free of rocks. Even the smallest rock you will feel in the middle of the night. Rocks will also ware on your tent and could tare a hole in the bottom. If you find a great spot with a few smaller rocks you can move them but you should return them when you pick your tent up. Using an inflatable bed or an air mattress will make the ground feel better.

*Bugs can be pests: It is a good idea to look a the bugs when picking a site. Bugs will like one spot over another for some reason, so watch for groups of bugs in one area you should try to stay away from them. Watch for ant mounds ant hills if you put your tent on or very near they will be in your tent in a short while. While putting your tent in a lush green area is great you will have more bugs than in a rocky or sandy area. Sloughs and low spots with water will bread mosquitoes.

I now that all this sounds like a hassle but if you will take an extra 5 10 minutes setting up you will add to your camping enjoyment.