Something for fun.... Campsites when you were a kid

[Kevhel1]

My wife and took a trip last weekend to a lake I used to LOVE going to when I was a kid. We were going to scope out some campsites so that when we do go, we would know what campsites to ask about. I can remember going there with my grandparents almost every time I visited them. It used to be hey, Pop and Nan, can we go to ..... lake this weekend? "You betcha". And we would go. We went so many times, that as my wife and I were driving there, I was pointing out land marks that would be coming up and, BAM!!! There they were. It has been 30 years since I had been there. Disappointed it has taken me so long to go back. But with our new camper that we just got a month ago, we will be making new memories.

I am so happy to start making some new memories with my wife and our children. I want them to experience what I did. But it just wasn't quite as I remembered.

It seemed a lot smaller. Has to be because I am SO MUCH bigger maybe. Almost 3 feet taller and 250 pounds heavier LOL. Maybe it was because I wasn't there with my grandparents. Who knows. But what I do know is that it was still heart warming, heart fulfilling, and just so wonderful to be there again. I saw myself swimming in the cove. Sitting at the campfire. Being told it was late so I had better go to bed so I can get up before breakfast and go fishing. If it seems sappy, sorry. It was just something that brought back that certain feeling, that certain memory, or that certain something that makes you want to share it with everyone.

So, the point is..... who has this same feeling ? Please share. This is for fun and a walk down memory lane.

[mj0528]

Originally Posted by Kevhel1

My wife and took a trip last weekend to a lake I used to LOVE going to when I was a kid. We were going to scope out some campsites so that when we do go, we would know what campsites to ask about. I can remember going there with my grandparents almost every time I visited them. It used to be hey, Pop and Nan, can we go to ..... lake this weekend? "You betcha". And we would go. We went so many times, that as my wife and I were driving there, I was pointing out land marks that would be coming up and, BAM!!! There they were. It has been 30 years since I had been there. Disappointed it has taken me so long to go back. But with our new camper that we just got a month ago, we will be making new memories.

I am so happy to start making some new memories with my wife and our children. I want them to experience what I did. But it just wasn't quite as I remembered.

It seemed a lot smaller. Has to be because I am SO MUCH bigger maybe. Almost 3 feet taller and 250 pounds heavier LOL. Maybe it was because I wasn't there with my grandparents. Who knows. But what I do know is that it was still heart warming, heart fulfilling, and just so wonderful to be there again. I saw myself swimming in the cove. Sitting at the campfire. Being told it was late so I had better go to bed so I can get up before breakfast and go fishing. If it seems sappy, sorry. It was just something that brought back that certain feeling, that certain memory, or that certain something that makes you want to share it with everyone.

So, the point is..... who has this same feeling ? Please share. This is for fun and a walk down memory lane.

Cool post! Yea, I get those same feelings at my dad's farm that was his dads. Specific memories of being with grandpa on the farm and how much I miss my grandparents. Good people that I strive to be like!

We didn't do much camping as a kid and if we did, it was with tents so this is all new to me. My dad leased 7 sections of land and leased it to hunters. We had full reign of that huge piece of land. So nice! The owner passed away and passed it down so I haven't seen it in 25-30 years but lots of memories of hunting, fishing and camping on that place.

Hopefully my kids are enjoying the camping and will reminisce it later when I'm gone when they take their kids out.

Life is short! Love one and another and Love God!

[Kevhel1]

Amen !!!!! To me, these memories are what makes life the journey that is.

[EdJunior]

We grew up camping. It was Dad's way of seeing a lot with little money. With Dad, Mom and 5 kids, money was not plentiful. We went camping all over Europe while Dad was stationed in Germany. Through Germany, and Italy, down to see the Mediterranean Sea. Prior to Germany, he pulled a small trailer with a '59 Cadillac Sedan de Ville. Pink. After Germany, and after a short tour in Vietnam, we moved to Abilene TX, and he found and fell in love with Possum Kingdom Lake, and the Brazos River. He had a '72 Chevy 3/4 ton truck with a cabover camper, and the kids usually slept in a surplus 8 man Army tent (the big round one). He loved Possum Kingdom and the Brazos so much, his wish was to have his ashes scattered in the River below the dam there. We did just that on Memorial Day of this year. It was amazing to see that the Brazos River below the dam had not changed a bit since we last went there in 1974.

Camping in Europe. Somewhere along the way to Italy probably around 1968 or so.


At Possum Kingdom Lake. At the time, this was the MWR Famcamp for Dyess AFB. This would have been 1972 or 1973 or so.


Camping in Florida, while stationed at Keesler AFB, MS, sometime in 1964 or 1965.

[Kevhel1]

That is so cool!!! Great picks and a great story. The pictures brought it to life. Great story and the classic memories I'm talking about. Big thumbs up !! You don't need a lot of money, just a family or friends and the experience of the great outdoors. The cab over reminds me even more of my grandparents. Classic.

[mj0528]

Abilene and Possum kingdom have some cool camping spots for sure. We live in Clyde which is right outside of Abilene. We've visited many of the parks around here and they are all super nice. I also group up on the brazos! Good Texas stuff there!

[D W]

Unfortunately, for me, the CG's I remember being at with my grandparents in the early 60's in upstate NY, no longer exist. Many of these CG's were seized by the villages, counties and state under "eminent domain" and were turned into municipal parks, (no overnight camping permitted), and golf courses. Others were sold by the mom & pop owners as the land and school taxes became too high to make them affordable as well as profitable. They became sites for apartment complexes.

Sad.

[D W]

Originally Posted by D W

Unfortunately, for me, the CG's I remember being at with my grandparents in the early 60's in upstate NY, no longer exist. Many of these CG's were seized by the villages, counties and state under "eminent domain" and were turned into municipal parks, (no overnight camping permitted), and golf courses. Others were sold by the mom & pop owners as the land and school taxes became too high to make them affordable as well as profitable. They became sites for apartment complexes.

Sad.

P.S. Had to post this pic for nostalgia. Apologize for the quality, but cameras were limited in 1962.

[johng4706]

HiI remember seeing a government phamplet addressed to the returning GI's family in my Dad's old Army footlocker. It basically said to be sensitive to suggesting some outside activities or certain foods. Born and raised in the city. No fishing or hunting, but did a lot of family things.

Dad spent five years in the service and in the Pacific battlefield. He had his share of sleeping under the stars and dinner over an open fire. I still remember Easter dinner. We would have a nice leg of lamb and my Dad always had his own steak. While he was in Australia they ate a lot of mutton.

Family finally gave tent camping a try, but with two younger sisters at an age where camping in an umbrella tent wasn't a proper thing to do. Those were the days I'll remember. Mom and Dad have been gone for years, but you're right, it's something that still brings a tear to the eye 55 years later.

[Iwannacamp]

I don't remember ever camping as a kid, but I have lots of fishing and hunting with my parents. I camped s little as a young adult and wanted an RV. Finally at 49 I got one!

[Kevhel1]

Took me till 47. So I am right there with. Was "roughing it" for too long and told myself, "no more". Gonna do it the way Nan and Pop did it. Anyone wanna buy a couple of 3 room tents ? Lol

[formerFR]

when we came up to N Georgia several years ago, for the first time in my 'adult' life, with my own family, I wanted to try to find and visit a 'campground' I remembered from my pre-teen experiences. It may have been a christian camp, or 4H, but I couldn't exactly remember the details, other than the experiences I had:
- a large lake/pond with a nice long diving board that would 'dip down' into the water when you jumped... sweet
- cabins for boys, cabins for girls... and,
- warnings of 'bears' at night, so don't try to go over to the girls cabin, or else!
- 'bear' growling sounds... later disclosed as the 'counselors' pulling wet shoe strings thru the punched hole on the bottom of a large coffee 'can'!
- good times... a large place

what I found when I arrived:

- a long, very long gravel/dirt road winding down eventually to the 'camp'... didn't remember that at all, but then again, I probably was riding a bus full of kids and could have cared less
- the camp was a lot smaller and cabins closer than I remembered... yes, I'm much bigger now, too.
- the lake/pond was much smaller - no more 'diving board' ... what a shame.
- did I say that everything was much closer and more confined than I remembered?
- my wife and kids didn't get my 'reminiscing', oh well.

[510Rick]

I had 2 places 1 was a camp spot on the Russsian river and the other was my grandma and grandpas house at ClearLake ca . I have more memories of ClearLake because it would be with my grandpa and he was and always will be my hero . Damn I miss him I better stop before I get teary eyed .

[CoMaddMax]

My mom started babysitting as soon as my sister went into kindergarten. Our first camping trip my dad RENTED! an aluminum topper. He put plywood across the top of the bed for the top bunk and a matrass on the floor. We were staying at… ok, we parked on a street next to a park in Sinclair WY (this was way back in the early 60’s). I remember the city because of the green Dino dinosaur. At 3:00 am the sprinklers came on and it sounded like a machine gun across the thin aluminum shell! After that he bought a topper and we camped every year until I graduated from high school. Good times on a beer budget!

[Sharon455]

There were 7 kids in my family, so tent camping was how we vacationed. My dad preferred dispersed sites and usually would find two close enough to house us all. In my younger days we had a wax coated canvas tent with what looked like umbrella poles. My mother always slept on a twin mattress grabbed from a lower bunk in the house, either taking up most of the tent or all of the station wagon.
Later, Dad bought a surplus Army kitchen tent that covered an entire camp site, table and all. It was divided into 4-6 rooms and took over an hour to completely set up. We lost that tent while loading it back into the boat after a week of camping at the lake. I can't swear that my brother didn't drop it on purpose, but it was much too heavy when wet to event attempt to rescue. A park ranger said they take a look and decide if it needed to be removed.

[TheMusikShoppe]

I remember going camping with my whole family. We would go to Duff Creek in Kings Canyon east of Fresno, CA, but we always called it "Big Creek". It was a small meandering stream with huge boulders strewn around it. I was about 6 years old. My parents, grandparents, great grandparents and all my aunts, uncles and cousins would go also. We would take up a whole campground! We had a tent and Grandma and Grandpa had a trailer. Others had trailers and campers. Huge bonfires and lots of food.

I learned to fish with Grandpa. He was always so patient with me. It's hard to be still and quiet when you're six. I remember my first fish. It was kind of small, but Grampa said we needed to keep it because it was my first.

We later bought an old used trailer and I thought it was the best trailer in the world!

I remember being able to wander from campsite to campsite because we were all family.

There was a river, my dad called it "Dinky Creek". It was funny because it's a HUGE river. To get to it, you had to travel on a one lane road with a 100+ foot drop on one side and a cliff face on the other. All of us kids would ride in the back of the truck. I always wondered what would happen if we met someone going the other way? We never did though.

I have always loved camping and fishing because of those early days. I am truly blessed to have had those wonderful memories.

We now are Grandma and Grandpa and it's our turn to give those memories to our grandchildren. My granddaughter just caught her first fish last trip and now Grandpa and I are teaching her how to be quiet and patient. Funny how the wheel keeps turning.

[Kevhel1]

Gray posts all !!!! What a trip down the different lanes. Really love this.

[WatkinsGlenCamper]

Originally Posted by D W

P.S. Had to post this pic for nostalgia. Apologize for the quality, but cameras were limited in 1962.

Hope you don't mind, but I did two small adjustments in Photoshop to your picture. That's a very nice photo of the "good ol' days". And if I'm not mistaken, isn't that an Edsel?

[EdJunior]

Originally Posted by WatkinsGlenCamper

Hope you don't mind, but I did two small adjustments in Photoshop to your picture. That's a very nice photo of the "good ol' days". And if I'm not mistaken, isn't that an Edsel?

Wow...nice clean-up job on that picture. And that is indeed an Edsel. Such an interesting car.

[kittlecat]

Originally Posted by Kevhel1

My wife and took a trip last weekend to a lake I used to LOVE going to when I was a kid. We were going to scope out some campsites so that when we do go, we would know what campsites to ask about. I can remember going there with my grandparents almost every time I visited them. It used to be hey, Pop and Nan, can we go to ..... lake this weekend? "You betcha". And we would go. We went so many times, that as my wife and I were driving there, I was pointing out land marks that would be coming up and, BAM!!! There they were. It has been 30 years since I had been there. Disappointed it has taken me so long to go back. But with our new camper that we just got a month ago, we will be making new memories.

I am so happy to start making some new memories with my wife and our children. I want them to experience what I did. But it just wasn't quite as I remembered.

It seemed a lot smaller. Has to be because I am SO MUCH bigger maybe. Almost 3 feet taller and 250 pounds heavier LOL. Maybe it was because I wasn't there with my grandparents. Who knows. But what I do know is that it was still heart warming, heart fulfilling, and just so wonderful to be there again. I saw myself swimming in the cove. Sitting at the campfire. Being told it was late so I had better go to bed so I can get up before breakfast and go fishing. If it seems sappy, sorry. It was just something that brought back that certain feeling, that certain memory, or that certain something that makes you want to share it with everyone.

So, the point is..... who has this same feeling ? Please share. This is for fun and a walk down memory lane.

I like you post a lot! In fact, I took my son to many of the same campgrounds (state parks) that my parents took us kids to and my son had as much fun as I remember as a child. Until my son graduated from high school, we went to a different state park every summer but one I had been to as a child. It was important to me that my son experience things like I did. And like you, while things were similar, they were also different. Many of the state parks have changed over the years, as in expanded, and the towns are all larger, but it was still an awesome time for my son and I and instilled in him a love of camping as well.