In our search for the perfect piece of property to build our next home on, we've been spending a good deal of time in the woods -- traipsing through thick brush and weeds.

This means... we've seen a good deal of ticks, received more than our share of chigger bites, and walked through far too many thick spider webs -- with the spiders still in them! (It seems like all the spiders in the forest build their webs between dangling tree limbs -- right about at shoulder level.)

Unfortunately, this has resulted in numerous bug bites on our arms and legs, ticks that have managed to work their way up and under our clothes, and even a fairly serious spider bite where Jim's entire right arm got tight (the muscle was constricted) and he ran a high fever.

One thing we've learned:

A few weeks ago, we went camping with our friends, Mark and Erin, plus their little one (named Sophie) and their OTHER little-one-on-the-way (named... whatever Sophie decides to call him THIS week).

This was Sophie's first camping trip. And for a 4-year-old, this was a big deal! (Aside from being "broken up with" by her boyfriend at school last week, that is.)

In fact, we were worried we might not find a campsite that was available close to home... At which point, we were informed that our camping expedition would, in fact, still take place -- it would just be moved to Sophie's backyard instead!

This camping trip was happening, rain or shine... campsite or no campsite.

We camp A LOT. Actually, we used to camp much more when we lived in Florida (and we could even camp on the beach sometimes!), but we still have a lot of fun camping in and around Tennessee nonetheless.

Truth be told, I am SOOOOoooo thankful for my many years of experience as a solo camper on all those biking trips!

(And, yes I still consider myself a "cyclist", though I'm not nearly as diligent about it as I once was...)

Anyhoo, here are our best tips for surviving your first (or your next) camping trip.

After a night of camping at Cades Cove in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, we all drove (the twisty, windy, turn-your-stomach mountain roads of the Great Smoky Mountains) over to Bryson City, North Carolina for a day of whitewater rafting with the fine folks at Nantahala Outdoor Center.

This was mom's first-ever whitewater rafting adventure, my second (though both were on the same river), and Jim's fourth (all on different rivers).