Author Topic: Camping out for any reason.  (Read 43136 times)

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Offline vesta111

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Camping out for any reason.
« on: August 02, 2013, 05:15:23 PM »
Darn I posted a camping out post right in the middle of Franks story by mistake so now I need to start a thread on a bran new thread.

First, why do we normal people leave our comfortable homes to camp outside ?   Grandpa told me in his time people ate in the house and shit outdoors, to day people shit in the house and eat out doors.

What is it that drives perfecectally normal people to

Offline vesta111

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2013, 05:48:04 PM »
Sorry cat on the key board,---- decide to leave all the things they work for , to go live in the woods with none of the things they bust their butt for the rest of the year????

No  expensive high Tech stuff, perhaps a radio, no inside plumbing, showers  being around strangers that may keep you awake all night drinking, fighting and causing a problem.

I noticed Franks family had a pop up trailer, Not good today, the Raccoons, and Bears would be in, in a heart beat.

So why do we leave our secure homes to spend a fortune to buy tents and camping gear unless we are wild life photographers or taking the family on a scientific expedition.     

My kids hated camping, they complained about sleeping on rocks, having to GO in the woods, only when we bought a small travel trailer did they feel safe. 

At home they never worried about snakes on land or in the water, or any kind of strange animal that could attack them.   

They did enjoy winter camping and following the prints in the snow, [ NO SNAKES ]   but still tent camping was to scare them.

Why leave a home with all the creature comforts of home, clean sheets, refrigeration and heat to take the kids out into an area more dangerous then the city streets ???   

Only reason I can think of was because the experience stayed with them, and why not?    We who consider ourselves normal do take young ones on the rollercoaster at amusement parks and scare the hell out of them.    I am not sure why I just typed that but some how there has to be some kind of reason for it.

Offline longview

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2013, 06:00:00 PM »
I took my three daughters camping, starting while they were still quite young, for several reasons.

- I wanted them to develop outdoor living skills.

- I wanted them to develop their imaginations for play and ultimately for problem solving.  As young as elementary school age, I gave them projects to
  figure out and do at the campsite.  Some of their ideas were very unhandy, and I let them discover and correct those, too.

- I didn't want them to be afraid of things that go bump in the night, and to appreciate the quiet of the night.  But, also to develop safety skills in     
  wilderness. 

I've been told by others that their reasons include: getting unplugged from work, tight schedules, and other stresses they have at home.  That, they, too, want their kids to learn about the outdoors, and things in nature, and develop an appreciation that will lead to valuing those things.  That happens better when living simply, such as camping.                   

Offline debk

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2013, 10:19:54 PM »
I never went camping or to camp as a kid.

My first experience "at camp", I was 18, and it was summer between 1st & 2nd yr of college. I went to a Girl Scout camp outside of Springfield Il. I taught swimming and life guarded, and also taught canoeing - which I learned right before the kids got there. Slept in a tent with on a wooden platform with 3 other counselors who were in charge of the 24 little girls in our "circle" of tents. I was at the lake from 9am to noon, and 1:30 to 5. Rest of the time was spent helping the other 3 with the kids. We got a new group of kids every 2 weeks. Closest place to a potty was an outhouse some distance up the path and it was really dark, cause we didn't have electricity except at the lodge where we ate. We had very green grass around our tent.  :whistling:

The next summer, I spent in Maine at a very exclusive camp for very rich little girls from NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC. Taught swimming, canoeing, water skiing, and lifeguarded. This time slept in a cabin with 9 13 yr olds. They spent more for 8 weeks of camp, than I did for a yr of college tuition, room and board and books!! We not only had 2 toilets and sinks,  had 2 showers in the cabin.

I didn't go camping again until my kids were in elementary school. Went up to Lake Cumberland with 6 -7 other families for 5 days. We had to take boats to this island. Slept in tents, dug holes for going potty. It rained the first 2 days.

I haven't camped since.  :yahoo:

My idea of camping is a hotel without room service...    :-)
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Offline Skul

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2013, 06:02:11 PM »
My "camping" consisted of what I could carry on my back.  That's it.
You pack it in, you pack it out.
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Offline IassaFTots

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2013, 08:20:33 PM »
My "camping" consisted of what I could carry on my back.  That's it.
You pack it in, you pack it out.

That's primarily been my experience as well....but sometimes I can drive my car in.  I love camping.
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Offline longview

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2013, 11:31:57 PM »
Backpacking indicates poor planning.


 :bolt:    :-)

Offline CG6468

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2013, 07:22:32 AM »
We've camped since 1972. Slept in tents for many years, graduated to a "used" Starcraft popup camper that had never been even set up, due to being weary of sleeping on the ground, bought a new Rockwood A-frame popup a year ago (Furnace, A/C, Heat pump, fan, top ventilating fan, stove, Microwave, AM/FM/CD/DVD radio, wired for cable TV) (1 person setup in less than 3 minutes, including the rear supports), and gave the Starcraft to our son, who's completely refurbished it.
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2013, 08:03:32 AM »
3 more years of Obama and democrats and we may all be "camping".
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Offline Dori

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2013, 01:47:24 PM »
I'm not fond of tent camping, but I do like camper/motorhome/tent trailer camping and I don't care about having hook-ups either.  I'm also fine with cooking outside.

I think camping is a good way to decompress from jobs, phones, media etc. 

 

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Offline obumazombie

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #10 on: August 04, 2013, 02:10:34 PM »
I'm not fond of tent camping, but I do like camper/motorhome/tent trailer camping and I don't care about having hook-ups either.  I'm also fine with cooking outside.

I think camping is a good way to decompress from jobs, phones, media etc. 

 



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Offline marv

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #11 on: August 04, 2013, 02:46:42 PM »
Camped out in Canada in the late forties on a vacation with my parents and brother. It was fun. We fished and explored. The last time was three months on a hillside in Laos in '59. Not so much fun.

It all depends on how you look at it.
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Offline CG6468

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #12 on: August 04, 2013, 05:05:27 PM »
I'm not fond of tent camping, but I do like camper/motorhome/tent trailer camping and I don't care about having hook-ups either.  I'm also fine with cooking outside.

I think camping is a good way to decompress from jobs, phones, media etc.

We look for the electric hookups to save the battery, and the A/C and microwave won't work unless the camper is plugged in to 30A service.
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Offline marv

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #13 on: August 04, 2013, 06:11:00 PM »
If it ain't in a tent, it ain't camping. Trailers, of any sort, are just like a mobile motel room. Just my humble opinion.
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Offline CG6468

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #14 on: August 04, 2013, 06:17:27 PM »
If it ain't in a tent, it ain't camping. Trailers, of any sort, are just like a mobile motel room. Just my humble opinion.

And you're entitled to that! But Arty Ritis visits all the time and doesn't appreciate crawling into a tent.
Illinois, south of the gun controllers in Chi town

Offline dixierose

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #15 on: August 04, 2013, 06:57:20 PM »
We did the primitive camping thing for a few years. Loved going to sleep to the sound of the creek and crickets. I found it a great way to unwind and get away from it all. Alas, I can no longer sleep "on the ground" due to back issues.
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Offline DefiantSix

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #16 on: August 04, 2013, 10:16:10 PM »
There was about a 4-1/2 month span last year where me and the family were living out of a tent before we got ourselves squared away in a better financial situation. Learned a lot about ourselves, what we can and cannot live without, and what some of the limits of the human body and our equipment might be, in the course of that time.

We have a family campout scheduled in a couple of weeks.
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Offline Wineslob

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #17 on: August 05, 2013, 09:49:24 AM »
My "camping" consisted of what I could carry on my back.  That's it.
You pack it in, you pack it out.


I still do this.

For me, it's my "Church". Every time I go backpacking (in a sense, "camping" doesn't count) I will see, and do things that many people will never experience in their lifetime. It brings me closer to God and the real world.

There is the magic sitting around a campfire in the middle of nowhere that cannot be explained in words. You must be there. Watching a lake come alive with rising trout in the evening with the colors of the sunset on the water is breath-taking. Eating said trout cooked on the camp fire later is even better, with a beer that's been sitting in snow that you got from the mountain above the lake.   :drool:
 
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Offline Hathcock

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #18 on: August 05, 2013, 10:44:06 AM »
I take my kids tent camping, usually one on one. I do it because it teaches them that there is a pay off to hard work. It's a chance to spend quality time with them with no distractions. I teach them to fish, shoot guns, build a fire, and generally be resourceful. They also learn to appreciate the comforts they have in life. 
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Offline Eupher

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #19 on: August 05, 2013, 10:50:40 AM »
Did a lot of camping as a Boy Scout -- probably every other month for a weekend and then a week in the summer. Later, as an adult Scout leader, more of the same but not as frequently.

As a boy, it was a sleeping bag on the ground (tents had canvas floors, of course). Later, as an adult, sleeping bag on a cot.

I won't even talk about the "camping" I did during field training exercises.... :p
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Offline Hathcock

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #20 on: August 05, 2013, 10:58:41 AM »
Did a lot of camping as a Boy Scout -- probably every other month for a weekend and then a week in the summer. Later, as an adult Scout leader, more of the same but not as frequently.

As a boy, it was a sleeping bag on the ground (tents had canvas floors, of course). Later, as an adult, sleeping bag on a cot.

I won't even talk about the "camping" I did during field training exercises.... :p

MMM yes tent city after Khobar towers... ahh the memories searching your cot before bed to make sure there weren't any camel spiders or scorpions... all the sand. on second thought camping sucks!
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Offline CG6468

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #21 on: August 05, 2013, 11:13:30 AM »
We took a troop of Girl Scouts camping once. Then the rains came. My buddy's tent had a water proof floor, but it was new and he didn't hose it down first to expand the tent material. It held water just like a bathtub, with sleeping bags and everything else floating around. Our tent was older, had been through a lot, and it was dry as a bone inside. The boy scout troop 4 sites from us pulled out during the night and left tent poles and other stuff in their rush to get home.

In the morning, my wife took the troop on a hike, and a tornado came close to hitting us. She came back and everyone was OK, and there was a roaring fire going to warm them up. They asked his my buddy Mike how he started the fire since the wood was all wet. He said, "It's an old Indian trick. I learned it from an old Indian."

Then he pointed out to the adult chaperones the railroad flares burning under the wood! He said, "I TOLD YOU I learned it from an old Indian!"  :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
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Offline debk

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #22 on: August 06, 2013, 12:38:06 PM »
We took a troop of Girl Scouts camping once. Then the rains came. My buddy's tent had a water proof floor, but it was new and he didn't hose it down first to expand the tent material. It held water just like a bathtub, with sleeping bags and everything else floating around. Our tent was older, had been through a lot, and it was dry as a bone inside. The boy scout troop 4 sites from us pulled out during the night and left tent poles and other stuff in their rush to get home.


You mean I was supposed to hose down the so-called waterproof tent BEFORE I took it camping? No wonder the floor was real wet and the walls in places.   :banghead:  Box didn't say to do that.  :censored:
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Offline CG6468

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2013, 02:54:04 PM »
You mean I was supposed to hose down the so-called waterproof tent BEFORE I took it camping? No wonder the floor was real wet and the walls in places.   :banghead:  Box didn't say to do that.  :censored:

Yep. That's VERY important. Hose it down completely and let it dry.
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Offline longview

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Re: Camping out for any reason.
« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2013, 05:39:05 PM »
You mean I was supposed to hose down the so-called waterproof tent BEFORE I took it camping? No wonder the floor was real wet and the walls in places.   :banghead:  Box didn't say to do that.  :censored:

I've met others that failed to do that and had terrible times.  I wouldn't have known to do it, but always had hand me down tents when the kids were little, so someone else had either intentionally figured that out, or it accidently got done.