Mark: Hello! My name is Mark. I am a camping expert at L.

L.

Bean in Freeport, Maine.

Today, I want to talk to you about how to setup your campsite. When you get to your campsite, one of the first things you want to do is make sure that you are setting your tent up on level ground. You don't want to put it in a depression where rain can collect underneath the floor of the tent and possibly get you wet.

Another thing you want to be careful about is what's above you. Look up in the trees and make sure that there are no loose limbs that could get blown down in a wind storm.

The next thing you want to do is make sure that you know how to put up your tent. Modern-day tents are much easier to put up than the older tents. Most of the tents you'll find have shock-corded poles, so that the pole sections won't fall apart when you put the tent together.

Something else you want to be aware of is that tents typically have directions, so you want to make sure that you read those before you get to your campground and put up your tent for the first time.

It's a good idea to practice putting your tent up at home, even in the backyard or a local park, so that you know how to put it up when you get to your campground. That will make setting it up a lot easier.

Once your tent is set up, it's time to put the other things in your tent, sleeping pads and sleeping bags. You want to make sure again that you are not on a hill or an incline because you will be rolling through the night if you do that.

Once your tent is set up, it's time to get your kitchen in place. You will be putting your stove down and possibly you will have your own separate picnic table, that you will put everything on to make it easier.

You want to make sure that your stove is not too close to the campfire, and you also want to have it close enough to the picnic table so you don't have to walk too far to get there.

Most campgrounds will provide you with the fire ring or a fire pit. It's really important though that when you collect your wood that you don't pull live trees down or chop live trees, collect your kindling and your tinder from already downed limbs.

Many campgrounds will be able to sell your wood, so you won't need to bring it from home, and in fact it's probably a good idea not to bring it from home because you can bring invasive species of bugs with the wood, or it might be tempting to have a huge bonfire at your campsite. It's really not a safe way to go. You better off having a fire that is controllable.

It's also a good idea to have a bucket of water nearby in case of an emergency, try to burn through all the wood that you start so that you don't leave unburned wood or partially burned wood for the next person to use that site.

So these are some things to think about when you go ahead and start your campsite experience.