Applications for Outdoor Living

The sales and marketing team at Car-Tel Communications are coming together to bring you applications that will benefit and enhance the usage of your phone to make sure you get the most out of it. We asked our guys who are interested in camping and outdoor living to write up their favorite apps and tell us why they love them so much. We're thrilled that these guys let us use them as guinea pigs and go first in our blog writing challenge. Check our what Ryan, Joel and Nicole all have to say when it comes to their favorite camping app! For more information on apps visit the store nearest you and our application experts will help you make that most out of your phone! Our website has a complete listing of locations!

Ryan-

KOA APPLICATION

The KOA app is the novice campers’ guide to success. It is an app that aggregates a list of campsites that you can visit. Using the GPS on your device, you’re able to view many different camp sites based on their distance from you. As you sift through each camp site, there is a brief overview about the location and what closely surrounds it. You can get driving directions, a campground site map, a list of amenities, photos, a list of different campground activities, and local attractions. There are plenty of links providing additional information beyond what is listed within the app.

I found the driving directions to particularly helpful when trying to find which entrance I should use to get to my particular campsite. Having access to the map of the entire campsite was also very convenient for the same reason. We were at large park, so making our way to and from the onsite supply shop was made easier with the included map.

Admittedly, my fiance wasn't quite as excited to spend her time in the great outdoors as I was but I was able to ease her apprehension with the list of amenities within walking distance to us. KOA showed us where Wi-Fi was available, that there was a heated pool, and even a Starbucks! (Okay. so we admittedly weren't exactly roughing it, but again, I’m a novice.) The list of available amenities was also helpful when deciding what we needed to bring with us- there’s nothing like getting into the woods and realizing you didn't bring the essentials! The app also provides you with pictures of the site and its surrounding areas, so it’s nice to see that you’re not going anywhere that looks like an old horror movie set.

Some members of your group may have a hard time just enjoying nature as it is, and that’s okay! The list of activities around the campground can give you a great idea of what you can do, and without the schedule of campground activities, we would have missed some really fun stuff. I found a place nearby using the local attractions link that did gemstone panning, something my Grandfather used to take us to do when we were kids. It was great to be able to do that again!

All said, our first camping adventure of the season would have been a lot different without the KOA app. It made the most stressful parts about camping effortless. I highly recommend this app to anyone who’s thinking about “roughing it” this summer (or just looking for a great day outdoors!)

Get this app here!

                                  Honorary Mention Apps from our team!

Joel-

The Ultimate Survival Manual app is much more than just tips and tricks to stay safe in the wilderness. This app teaches you the basics of surviving up to the advanced. The app is free with ads or you can pay 1.99 for the ad free version. There are almost 30 categories within the app that teaches you everything from ropes and knots to what is and is not poisonous. Anyone who is planning to take a trip into the wild should absolutely read through this and save the guides to their phone. I feel like Bear Grylls is with me when I’m out in the forest and have the ultimate survival manual at my fingertips! Highly recommend for all of the adventurers and anyone who wants to know how to survive!

Get this app here!

Nicole-

Sometimes it's hard to figure out what to cook in the outdoors. So I came across this called Camping Recipes, app and many more like it that give you simple, easy recipes. If you’re like me I don't want to spend hours cooking things when I could be playing games or running around catching lightening bugs with my nieces and nephews. This app makes things simple! It also allows you to create a shopping list of things you will need in order to prepare the meal. One of the best features of this particular app is that you can download the recipes offline, just in case you are in an area where service is an issue. Check out the "Antiguan Charcoal Baked Bananas" recipe, it's my favorite so far!  Get this app here!