Glow-in-the-Dark Tent Ropes
One of the best parts of camping is getting away from light pollution and being in a place where it’s dark enough to see the stars. But the darkness can also be tricky since we’re so used to having electric light at our beck and call. Even with a flashlight or headlamp, pesky tent ropes still seem to reach out and grab your ankle, causing falls and minor injuries. But that’s where glow-in-the-dark tent ropes come into play.
Camping Memories
Growing up, my two sisters and I went camping with my dad every summer. Usually, we would drive into a campsite near a river so we could go on canoeing or kayaking excursions during the day. We usually ended up at the White River, which runs between Missouri and Arkansas. It’s a spring-fed river, so the water is cool and so clear that you can see through to the bottom. We spotted a wide variety of wildlife from otters to turtles to herons.
But it wasn’t all picture-perfect serenity. There were, of course, some mishaps. When we first started going on these trips, we weren’t strong or particularly adept at steering. Once, my youngest sister and I accidentally took our canoe backward down a (very small) waterfall. Another time, my middle sister and I got into an argument about paddling, and she was so frustrated that she jumped out of our canoe and started swimming away. But, the next day we were in the same canoe again and magically found ourselves in perfect sync. We paddled ahead of our dad and youngest sister, not meeting any other people. We both pulled our paddles over the canoe and sat listening to the running water, breeze, and birds, as we let the current pull us along. It more than made up for our disagreement the day before.
In the evenings, we read and played card games. Sometimes, we would put on our life jackets and walk up-river a bit. We’d wade out into the middle of the river, pull our legs up, and float back down to our campsite before getting out and doing it all over again. Our dad always planned amazing camping meals, so we ate gourmet campfire dinners every night.
Using Glow-in-the-Dark Tent Ropes
My father is an experienced camper, an Eagle Scout with stories of canoeing through the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and hiking with a canoe on his back when he needed to get from one waterway to the next. Unfortunately, we, his daughters, were not quite as capable as campers. We did our best, but we weren’t as well-trained as he had been.
Once, we drove into our campsite at dusk, and he and I hurriedly went about pitching our family-sized tent. This was something I’d only done a few times, and the light was fading quickly. I helped as much as I could, but it was very difficult to see, and we had to redo some of our work when it was light the next day. It was definitely a situation when we could have used glow-in-the-dark tent ropes.
These glowing ropes, easily found on Amazon, are reflective, so they glow when hit with lit. If you have the time to let the cord charge in sunlight, you’ll get an even brighter glow. You can also pair these ropes with glow-in-the-dark tent stakes so you don’t have to worry about misplacing them while setting up a tent in the dark. (1, 2)
