Christmas gifts abound for outdoor-minded people

by Dennis L. Clay<br>Special to Herald
| December 11, 2008 8:00 PM

This is the second in a three-part series about Christmas shopping for the outdoor-minded people on your list.

There has never been an outdoor-minded person who has everything, although people can be heard making a similar statement.

“I don’t know what to get John for Christmas this year,” a wife might say. “He has everything he needs.”

I try to avoid such statements as the first sentence, but I hear the quote every year about this time. A book titled, “Everything there is to know about fishing,” may contain useful information and hold 2,000 pages, but it will not contain everything there is to know about fishing.

Last week we discussed knives as gifts and, for sure, a knife, especially an engraved knife, is suitable as a gift for all sorts of occasions, such as Christmas, birthdays, graduation, etc.

Let’s jump to a situation which might be considered a difficult case; a 90-year-old woman or man who has enjoyed the outdoors in many ways all of their life. Again a knife is always appropriate, but there are other alternatives as well.

These people would enjoy more time outdoors, but have trouble getting around these days. Consider giving them a calendar with outdoor photographs, plus, at the beginning of each season, staple a statement with wording similar to this:

“This entitles John Smith to one day in the great outdoors on a date of mutual agreement between (the first day of spring) and (the last day of spring). We will travel to a place of your choice, (this could be a favorite place where they fished or hunted) we will cook lunch and tour more places before heading home.”

Imagine a route which includes a loop beginning in Moses Lake, down I-90, then south to the town of Beverly, east to Smyrna, north past Royal City to Potholes State Park or Medicare Beach, where lunch could be prepared on a camp stove and served while enjoying the scenery.

Here’s another angle for the person who seemingly has everything. Give them an appropriate-size photo album and let them arrange their photographs of the outdoor activities of their lifetime. Or take a scanner and laptop computer to their house and scan the photos for them, fix them up a bit using Photoshop or another program and print them for the album.

Now let’s build on these ideas a bit. Give a nicely bound journal and encourage them to write about their outdoor experiences. Take a tape recorder to their house, or use one during the drive and outing, and have the person tell you of their experiences. Transcribe the stories in a computer and present the finished product as “The Outdoor Adventures of John Smith.”

All of the people who have everything aren’t 90 years old. Some of them are 25, 37 or older or younger, but they seem to have everything they need, all of the decoys, the firearms, the tents, camp stoves, sleeping bags, and on and on.

In reality, new equipment comes into play every year. For example there are many griddles on the market, but I bought my wife, Garnet, a Cabela’s cast-iron walled griddle last spring. It measures 20 by 12 inches in size, with 3-inch high walls on three sides and a grease trough along the front edge.

I place this tool in the center of a Camp Chef double burner camp stove, which means the stove covers both burners. Yes it is heavy because it is cast iron, but this also means it holds heat and transfers heat over the entire cooking surface.

Another item, which has been on the market for a few years and gaining favor with campers, is the Coleman Hot Water On Demand. It is a tool used to provide hot water anytime in just five seconds.

A small propane gas bottle is stored in one portion of the unit. A hose is either connected to a plastic water container or placed in a five-gallon bucket of water.

When the rechargeable tool is turned on it first pumps cold water, but as the control knob is turned up, the water changes temperature, becoming hotter. The last part of the control panel is spring loaded for safety reasons. Water at this temperature is hot enough to make hot chocolate and tea, so the operator does not want to leave it there for long.

Accessories include a carrying bag, a shower hose and a hose adapter, which allows the unit to be connected to a standard garden hose.

Having hot water available at deer or elk camp without having to boil it is a valuable commodity. So is having hot water available when cleaning fish or game birds in the backyard.

Next week: Last minute gift giving ideas.