Camping

[haha]

There is a nice state park about a mile from my house. It is right on the saltwater, with a nice NW type beach of rocks, driftwood, and people wearing jackets. ( As opposed to sand and people wearing bikinis.)

Anyway, this park has 88 camping spots; I think about 60 of them for RVs and the rest for tents.

I went walking on the beach this evening, and afterward I drove through the camping area. In July, in the middle of our camping season, with good weather, it was almost empty. There were 3 fifth wheels, 2 travel trailers, one motorhome, one trailer for the park hosts, one pop-up or fold-out tent trailer, and 3 tents.

This park used to be full. I don't know what is going on. Could be gas prices I guess.

Have any of you noticed relatively empty campgrounds this summer?

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes, I've noticed fewer campers.

 

[Martha]

It will be interesting to hear what Audrey and other full timers have to say.

Northern Wisconsin state, county and national park campgrounds have been pretty empty, much more so than last year.

We just got back from a trip to central Wisconsin that encompassed the July 4th holiday.  Campgrounds full or nearly so.  But that is what I would expect, especially because the weather was about perfect.

Hey, your state park campground sounds nice.  Maybe we will visit.    Put your clothers on; we might stop by.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Martha,


Did you listen to the 'praire home companion' this past weekend? 'Live' from Duluth!

Garrison Keillor noted that there were 31 pages of lawyers in the Duluth Yellowpages.

 

[Martha]

Martha,


Did you listen to the 'praire home companion' this past weekend? 'Live' from Duluth!

Garrison Keillor noted that there were 31 pages of lawyers in the Duluth Yellowpages.

Yeah, but it was a re-run. I just counted: It is now 33 pages. Listened as I was driving to Minneapolis.

 

[Sheryl]

There was a story on NPR recently about the decline in the popularity of camping. Many parks are closing campgrounds or reducing the number of sites.

I was shocked. The article focused on the idea that boomers have too many other demands on their time, and choose more "convenient" recreational activites.

 

[Dawg52]

Hey, maybe if demand is down, now might be a good time to buy a used camper at a good price.    Doubt if I will though. 

 

[TromboneAl]

One reason we go camping less is that when I sit at the campsite, instead of hearing the wind in the trees and the birds, I hear the RV generators running. Even if it's not loud, it certainly limits the natural experience.

Are RVers aware of this? Do they feel guilty?

 

[bow-tie]

There is a nice state park about a mile from my house...This park used to be full. I don't know what is going on. Could be gas prices I guess.

Have any of you noticed relatively empty campgrounds this summer?

Ha

Locally, I would say the opposite.  The county campgrounds stay relatively full, and around the holidays, they are a zoo.  Both of the 'grounds that come to mind have increased the number of available spots.  There seems to be an 'arms race' with everyone and their behemoth fifth wheel and new 3/4T truck.

 

[bow-tie]

One reason we go camping less is that when I sit at the campsite, instead of hearing the wind in the trees and the birds, I hear the RV generators running.  Even if it's not loud, it certainly limits the natural experience.

Are RVers aware of this?  Do they feel guilty?

I'm gonna have to vote NO on that one.  Seems to me they are too busy comparing the length of their "trailers".

I feel bad for them... they are really toughing it out with their A/C, heat, and satellite TV.

 

[youbet]

Neither the RV campers nor the primitive campers are wrong.  The problem is mixing the two.

DW and I have only done primitive camping:  Quetico, BWCAW, Applacian Trail, etc.  We would like to spend some time on the road RV'ing.  Both work for us, just not at the same time or the same place.

 

[Martha]

Locally, I would say the opposite.  The county campgrounds stay relatively full, and around the holidays, they are a zoo.  Both of the 'grounds that come to mind have increased the number of available spots.  There seems to be an 'arms race' with everyone and their behemoth fifth wheel and new 3/4T truck.

This can be a dispute with rvers too. We rarely use our generator. If we have the need for electricity, we generally stay in campgrounds with hookups. If we are in a primitive campground we may use the generator after several days. But we either do it when no one is around or we ask our neighbors if it is ok.

We were in a national forest campground memorial day weekend. One of the few other campers was a group with a couple of old rvs and four ATVs they used to tear around the campground. At night they cranked up the karoke machine and belted out the tunes. It was kind of funny. We turned up our CD player, cranking out Legend of the Mind (Timothy Leary's Dead).

 

[MJ]

One reason we go camping less is that when I sit at the campsite, instead of hearing the wind in the trees and the birds, I hear the RV generators running. Even if it's not loud, it certainly limits the natural experience.

Are RVers aware of this? Do they feel guilty?

Not related to RVs.
I took a long bike ride on one of my routes and stopped to eat by a picnic area off the Hudson. It was a perfectly pleasant (not too hot) afternoon even in the sun. This woman was in her SUV was running her car to get AC. I wonder if it occurred to her the she was unnecessarily (IMO) adding polution because she wanted to be a bit cooler. I was tempted to ask her the question but since there was a nice breeze and I didn't smell any fumes, I ate my lunch and headed out. I did ask a guy who wondered near me and was smoking, to please move away. He did.

 

[kaudrey]

We just got back from camping in Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah, and they were both pretty empty. Maybe 1/2 the tent and RV sites were being used. And we were at Zion on July 4th.

It was great for us - we'd hike for hours and see hardly any people. Very peaceful.