Camping is lost tradition?
Photo from goodexperience.com.
Lake County Record-Bee columnist Mandy Feder wrote an article last week lamenting the end of the good old days of family camping in the United States. She writes that these days it seems when families go camping (if they go camping at all) they’re more likely to be sleeping in metal RVs than simple canvass tents. To some degree it’s true that more and more folks are choosing the RV experience over tent camping: in 2001 sales of RVs were up 12% and in 2002 sales were up another 16%. And on a recent trip to the Grand Canyon we saw dozens of Cruise America rental RVs ambling across the western landscape, no doubt full of families intent on “roughing it” outdoors.
Although I’m a tent camper myself, I can’t say that I have a problem with more and more folks choosing RVs. It’s really a lifestyle choice for many people and although an RV camping experience isn’t for me I can respect those who choose it for themselves. For me camping is about getting away from it all for a few days and I’ll always seek out campgrounds that offer a secluded, natural experience over one with electrical hookups and dump stations. I also enjoy backpacking but that’s not to say that I look down on families that choose to go “car camping” with 8-man tents and stocked Igloo coolers.
Everyone has a different idea about what it means to go “camping” but the one thing all campers have in common is a desire to get closer to nature. In our daily lives we rarely have the chance to encounter nature on a more personal level and camping - whether in an RV or sleeping out under the stars - give us the chance to reconnect with our environment.
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