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| Above, The Beast at the Elk City (Oklahoma) KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Back when I was a kid, camping meant pitching a tent and unrolling a sleeping bag inside that, hopefully, doesn't have a pebble underneath that will feel like a boulder if I should try to sleep on it.
Today, after celebrating the 25th anniversary of my 39th birthday (thank you Ronald Reagan) earlier this month, I prefer to camp in a lot more comfort.
Over the couse of years, I went from tent camping to a tent trailer. Then, from the tent trailer to a micro-mini Class C motorhome to the present Class C.
This must correlate to one's age as I see that I am not alone in this.
"Mr. Outdoors" at Kitsap Sun has an article on "The Definition of Camping Changes As We Age".
He begins it with:
Almost subconsciously, my concept of "camping" has changed over the years.
I used to think it was all about tents and campfires and S'mores. I once considered bribing a youngster to buy marshmallows, Hershey bars and graham crackers for me because I was too sophisticated as an adult camper to buy them for myself.
Today, I tend to regard camping as finding a big enough spot to park the Navion IQ. The campsite must provide WiFi and a clear view of the southern sky for satellite TV.
Every now and then -- more often then, these days -- we pack up the big REI car-camping tent, Coleman stove and lantern, and visit Sol Duc Hot Springs or Dosewallips State Park for an old-time camping experience. More often than not, our adventure ends with soggy sleeping bags and questions like "What in the (expletive deleted) were we thinking?"
To read more, go here.
