Camping Philosophy - or Why Do You Camp?

[CurtPutnam]

Why do you leave the comfort of home to live in a tiny, mobile shelter?

For me, anyway, the overriding reason is to see this great country. We prefer to have our little piece of home with us while we sightsee. It is not camping in the same sense of what I did in the scouts or military. At my age, if you see me on the ground, it means I fell and need help getting up again.

To the extent that is possible, we want to enjoy the outdoors but we also want and have earned, a degree of comfort. A real bed and cold margaritas are part of the program. For extended trips, a complete kitchen is required while weekend trips usually need no more than to microwave. Frozen chili and breakfast burritos go a long way. She needs a vacation too.

When by ourselves, we are out & about, seeing sights, taking pictures, doing things or eating lunch (seafood on the pier is a real favorite.) If we have talked the kids & grandkids into a trip, for the most part, we stay in the park and avail ourselves of the amenities.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So what say you all?

[HangDiver]

We're usually dry camping out in USFS or BLM public land. Seldom are we at the camp site as we're off doing other things. The TT is place to sleep comfortably and eat a good meal.

[NoviBill]

I am still in Scouts (my son is an Eagle and now an adult). So I still love to backpack and see the untouched side of the National Parks. I love "roughing it" for a week or two. My DW is clearly the smarter one, she loves her own bath, bed and my cooking.

So why we have a MH and camp...

• We get to see National Parks from the Inside and stay for a week or so, don't get me wrong, lodges are nice - but we can't afford them by the week an our food is better.
• Waking up in a park and watching the sun rise.
• We get to meet people - something you don't get in a hotel
• We drive slower and stop more often and see more.
• We Sleep in our own bed, SSS in our own bath and cook our own food.
• We don't have a TV in the MH, so we have to talk to each other.
• Campfires - do I need to say Some More.
• Hiking from Camp
• Wildlife and Photography

[NJKris]

At my age, if you see me on the ground, it means I fell and need help getting up again.

Curt, that was a real smile maker!

I have to agree with you about everything you wrote so much, I may print it out to recite to people who ask me the same question!

[Beachbourbon]

We’ve been camping as a family for a decade...exclusively tent camping. We like to get away from civilization, but we were not roughing it in the middle of nowhere for weeks. We were long weekend family camper’s in actual campgrounds that were hopefully far from other people. Other than a comfy bed, a good rack of ribs and some good beverages, we didn’t want the comforts of home. No phones, TV, internet-just good old fashioned fun and real conversations over a campfire with folks we enjoyed. Really good memories. We even did a two week national park tour a couple of years ago. But honestly setting it and breaking down a tent camp four times in two weeks was rough.

This experience, getting older and wanting to tour the country with multiple stops lead us to RV camping. We could just get a hotel! But when we looked at everything we wanted to do, the RV made sense at this time. And time is a key factor for us because we only have a few more years before we’ll be empty nesters. We want to have more camping experiences with the kids before they are gone. And we want to test it out as a pre-retirement test! But even with an RV, I just want a comfy bed, a rack of ribs, good beverages and laughs by the campfire.

[itat]

We generally use our camper for two purposes. Sometimes we stay in wooded Provincial Parks and enjoy nature. Other times its our mobile hotel room for a sight seeing trip in an area we’ve never been to before. Either way, we like having our home away from home - our own bed and bathroom and a full kitchen and BBQ to cook meals rather than eating every meal in restaurants.

[clarkbre]

I wrote this in response to an Instagram feed back in April but it’s very fitting to this thread:

Why do I RV/camp?....

It's simple....

Today is now and I don't know what tomorrow will be.
We live in a world where irrational health takes our loved ones away way too early...where one crazy person's actions may not allow our kids and spouses to come home from school and work safely...where we get so wrapped up in a digital format that we forget to enjoy the moment.

Two weeks ago, our spring break trip allowed me to disconnect from the crazy, stressful work life and see my family as I hadn't seen them in months. I watched my wife and kids eyes light up as they woke to the campground dusted in snow.
Later that week my wife and I watched the waves of the Pacific hit the OR Coast as our kids played on the beach. I witnessed my 4 year old master flying a kite and my 7 year old amazed at a herd of elk. 5 more minutes was never asked for because we took the time to go at their innocent, playful pace.

I don't know what will happen today or where I'll be (or not be) tomorrow. However, the one thing I do know is that the memory and experiences of our travels will help keep us a grounded and happy family. My only hope is that one day my kids look back and know, without a doubt the best part of their childhood was spent exploring and experiencing the world.

Since that day life for us has got even crazier; but, RVing keeps us grounded and happy. We closed out an awesome 2018 season visiting many cool places, upgraded to a more capable tow vehicle and had baby #3 (on Christmas). Going into our third season, the baby won’t slow us down a bit. In fact, while some parents are excited about their new additions sitting up and rolling over, I can’t wait to visit the Pacific Ocean and the Continental Divide all before he is 7 months old. These are experiences that shape and create our happy family.

Godspeed.

[Windjammin]

For me I don't consider staying in a RV park as camping. Camping was out in the woods in a tent or under the stars when I was much younger. Today our RV is a 1/6th version of our house that we can use for trips to see the country in a much more economical way than staying in hotels or lodges. Now that we are retired I love taking it out even if it is just a 3-4 day local trip to get out of the house and do something different. And on long trips I think it pays for itself in savings on lodging and food.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by itat

We generally use our camper for two purposes. Sometimes we stay in wooded Provincial Parks and enjoy nature. Other times its our mobile hotel room for a sight seeing trip in an area we’ve never been to before. Either way, we like having our home away from home - our own bed and bathroom and a full kitchen and BBQ to cook meals rather than eating every meal in restaurants.

X2

[B and B]

We both enjoy our time in the Forest at Provincial Parks. Yes we have Hydro and can run our AC. I like to mountain bike through the woods, DW like to read and the Dog likes to smell nature. If we go to a rally this year that would be 3 nights on Full Hookups vs 75 nights with electric (Hydro) only. We fire up the smoker for ribs, invite the kids and have a great time. Sunsets over the great lakes or deer and fox on the Canadian Shield. I grew up camping, my kids did my DW did same. We were both in Scouts/Guides. The time to get away is important. Not seeing the trailer next to me through the trees and brush is heaven.

[omahagirl]

We had an older dog the kennel wanted to charge us huge amounts to keep her. The girls were also getting older, a way to keep the family closer. We by default ended up with a new tt and then 8 months later fell in love with a 5 th by the same mfgr. A search to find a hefty truck to pull it. Then over 2 years ago we started looking at A’s diesels. We found a well cared for 11 Berkshire she’s ours and we have enjoyed her tremendously.

[pilotpip]

To show my kids all the places I wanted to see at their age, and give them an appreciation of the outdoors. For me to unplug from a stressful job, get some fresh air, and enjoy the hobbies I like that I don't get to have in suburbia.

[AbdRahim]

Always wanted a MH. I love to drive. I then discovered camping. I usually do long stays for economic reasons and it always seems too short. Meeting new people is a blast. And campfires are the best. [emoji91] I have had enough hotels for a lifetime. Sightseeing, wine tasting, and just relaxing. It is home, wherever I go.

[CincyGus]

Originally Posted by CurtPutnam

Why do you leave the comfort of home to live in a tiny, mobile shelter?

Curt, I couldn't agree more.

I was raised in a suburban family, both parents from the country strangely enough, that never took vacations and certainly wouldn't think of leaving home to go somewhere to sleep on the ground and cook over a fire.

So my first camping trip was shortly after high school with a group of high school friends. I instantly fell in love with waking in the morning to sound of the birds chirping, deer wandering through the campground and the sound of wild turkeys gobbling in the distance. The smell and taste of percolator coffee and eggs cooked in a little too much bacon grease over the fire. I was hooked after the first 24 hours!

I spent the next 30 years camping at least 1 full week and 3-6 long weekends a year. All I had to do was get a couple people or more to agree to go and I was ready. My toddler daughter slept in our 6 person coleman tent with my DW and I for the first 12 years of her life and we all loved camping.

Having back surgery in 2000 made it a little harder to love the ground sleeping but a decent self inflating sleeping pad to place the sleeping bags made it tolerable. OCT. 2010 neck surgery made it even a little more challenging but I wasn't giving up something I loved willingly.

Feb. 2011 I talked the wife into getting her a new Chevy half ton as a daily driver (Her first new vehicle ever) for her 6 mile journey to work if she would agree we could also buy a popup camper. We bought a used one and used it for 3 years before discovering the entire front wall was rotting off and about to fall of. We went to Florida and the Smokies in it for week long vacations along with about every state/national park/forest within 2.5 hours of our home on long weekends.

2014 we stepped up to a new Travel trailer and thought we were really something. All that storage, not having to crank the ceiling up every time you wanted to stock or remove something, no drying out of the canvas if it happened to be damp when you packed up. Man, we had it made.

This past fall, I bought a long wished for toy hauler and a golf cart to go with the used 2500 Denali we had purchased in the summer. Our retirement rig a little early. I retired from my 60-70 hour a week job that I had held for 30 years and took 5 months off to fix some things around the house that had gotten away from me while I was working all those hours.

I just got a new job in December that I'm working a normal 40 at and loving the last few years of my FT work life as I plan to retire in 3-5 more at age 60-62. We have a burning desire to squeeze in as many long weekends as we can this year until I retire and we can go FT. Yes, sell the house and do it until we find someplace we decide is right for us to buy and settle down. And even them, I think we will go back and get a little TT for some local and short trips.

WHY?

It's the peace I feel when I'm outside with nature, walking a path, sitting on a shoreline, sitting around a campfire with friends, disconnected from this frantic, always connected, crazy paced life many of us live. It's sharing those moments with my family and friends. And making new ones during the process. Camping people are generally awesome, nice, helpful folks that are just as happy to be someplace a lot more relaxing than their normal life just as we are.

It's the great food we have time to cook or eating at someplace new or interesting or with a great view we've never seen.

It's a whole lot of different things but mainly, it's the way it makes me feel.

Camping is my reminder to just relax, take a deep breath, clear your head of worries because everything is just great.

I love it and will continue on as long as I can. If I could choose how to leave this life, it would be in the shade on a comfortable forest floor, looking up at the sunshine through the canopy, listening to the sounds of nature and just fall into a peaceful final sleep. That's my heaven on this earth.

[Mondaktex]

My story is very similar to others....

As a kid my parents didn’t camp at all. They grew up very rural, and a lot of their childhood was basically indoor camping. As a teenager I went a handful of times with friends tent camping and always had a blast. Fast forward to today, and many of our friends today grew up camping in trailers and tents and those trips are the ones they speak fondly of.

My wife and I took a leap, knowing that we will lose our oldest child in just a few short years to her own endeavors, so we dove in and bought the bunkhouse with very little personal RV experience. WE LOVE IT. They do too. Yes, it is a lot of work to relax, but any work I enjoy really isn’t work at all.

This is a great thread. It puts into words something we have all known all along, but don’t necessarily speak about. Thanks!

[njfishing]

For me it's about getting back to nature and decompressing from the usual grind... There's something very cleansing about being in the woods and the distraction of having to care for your basic needs like food, shelter and a fire as opposed to TV, the Internet and your phone... After a few days of camping I'm totally refreshed.

We also like to camp with groups of other friends and without all the daily trappings, it's better quality time and a great shared experience which enriches our friendships.

I've always said, if you want to get to know someone, take them fishing, hunting or camping....

Ahhhh...... My blood pressure dropped just thinking about it.

Come on Spring!!

[TheWolfPaq82]

Because I haven't found a Motel with a view like this.

[TheWolfPaq82]

where I feel my best.

[Teetime]

Why to we camp? Good question while I'm sitting in the man cave anticipating the snow today...

• Adventure
• Travel
• NO Motels
• It brings us closer together!
• Camp Fires
• The smell of bacon and breakfast cooked outside
• No Motels
• Friends
• Meeting other campers and travelers
• No Motels
• Taking walks
• Sharing with grandkids and family
• Extended stays visiting old friends
• Not staying with relatives...we have our own place to go back to
• Satisfaction, time to reflect in a beautiful place

[RACarvalho]

One day many moons ago when I was a kid and we where tent camping, my father said:

"you know, this is really crazy: You work hard everyday to have a good house with lots of comfort, etc and when you finally get it, you pack your tent and go camping in the woods ...."


My parents are in their high 70s and go camping until today (today they have a camper)....
Based on my 40 years of camping meditation, I believe we do it because we where made for being in the nature.
Besides the fact that modern technology can bring a lot of comfort, what show can compare to the sunrise or sunset?
What music can bring peace like a little bubbling creek and some birds?
And on and on....
Also, since I was a kid, I learned that camping brings the family together:
"You put everybody in a confined space so doesn't matter what your issues are, you have to solve it..."