It was so much fun to go tent camping with our DDs when they were little. Great memories!
DH later bought (and sold) a pop-up. It was never as much fun

When I was a teenager I went a lot with my parents. Tenting it. Then, when I was 19 - 20 years old I would go camping by myself, had my own tent.
After DH and I were married we went camping with some friends. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack the tent poles! DH has never let me forget. He says that is why we never camped again. Hey, it wasn't so bad, we tied it up to trees. What a baby.
Kathy G in MI

We camped almost all summer every summer when DS was growing up. Had a tent and then later a little camping trailer and then a tent trailer that some call a pop up. I have camped in CA, OR, Washington state and Victoria, B.C. So far, I haven't camped in the Midwest but that might change this summer.

When I was 8 years old. For the past 10 years I have lived like I was camping out. I'm tired of it. I love nature but I have no interest in sleeping in it.

My sons and I spend a week almost every Summer camping in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. We park at the end of the road and carry everything we need for a week on our backs. Food, shelter, clothing adds up to about 35 pounds each for us. If we see 6 or 8 other people during the week it's "crowded". Physically it's very demanding to carry 35 pounds for 8 or 9 miles at 10,000 feet elevation but it is so worth it.

{{!gwi}}

The number of people in a wilderness area is inversly proportionate to the square of the distance and the cube of the elevation from the nearest road. -Professor Hilderbrand

Ron

I grew up camping every summer with my family. We had a camper on the back of a pickup truck. I've only gone camping a few times as an adult (only once in a tent) and I'll never go again. I don't like going without running hot and cold water or electricity. I am not cut out for camping.

Yes, we used to go camping when I was a kid in NV. It was fun, except for the scorpions.

Went camping with the ex and our two dogs, even when I was very pregnant with Alex out in AZ.

I took the kids camping across the country a couple years ago. Bought a small tent before the trip but it got so hot I ended up stopping along the way and buying a bigger one. I gave an old friend in NV the smaller one for her girls, after we got there, so we wouldn't have to take it back. It got old putting up the tent and then packing it up the next morning, though. If I ever did it again I'd stay longer in the same place.

The kids and I went camping in Western KY last year, not so fun. It was hot and noisy all night long with a huge barge waking us up all through the night.

I'm hoping to take the tent out again this summer, go hiking too.

DH and I used to go when we first met. We'd go tent camping, then we went to a place that let you rent travel trailers. I think I'm too claustrophobic to stay in one now. I'd much rather rent a cabin in the woods than to actually camp.

I must be a pioneer...I go as often as I can,and I "rough" it..no running water,definitely no electricity,no washroom,etc...love it.
finding now with age,the tent sleeping is not as good as it used to be.

Started out tent camping---next was a pop-up--ended up with a 5th wheel! Now, NOTHING---I really enjoyed all three--I LOVE the outdoors!

Donna (^_^)

Yes, back in the late 60"s and early 70"s. We started out in a homemade camper he made. We made a trip to Canada. I hated it! Very soon after we bought a new Nomad. Then later a Starcraft. They were nice campers, but I hated camping. It isn't about not liking the out doors and nature it was about all the work I had to do. Cleaning the camper, fixing food to take, loading the clothes, doing all the work while camping and then take stuff back into the house when we got back home. Not a fun thing to do with 3 kids and the wife doing everything but the driving. We sold the last camper in 1976 when I was expecting the last daughter.

Sue

I have slept in a tent and camper, but did not like either one! I prefer a cabin or motel. I think it's because I don't like to be dirty LOL!!!

Oh yes, I camped with my family when I was a kid, and a teenager. Then moved on to a large tent of my own. Then a Pop-up, then a couple of different trailers. And now I have a trailer with a slide out. Still love it. Except when the weather forecasts storms. I stay home. Other wise, I'm at the cabin/river every weekend and then some.
Leslie

Tent camped once. Neither one of us could get up off the ground the next morning plus the ground was cold and damp feeling. We had air mattresses but the darned things collapsed in the night and left us on a very rocky bed.

It was not fun. Then we got a 33-1/2" 5TH wheel. Heat, air, TV, cable, stereo, internet hookup, stove, running water (hot and cold), sink, toilet and shower. Ahhh--that's MY idea of camping!

In the late 50's I went on my first camping trip. We slept on the ground with blankets hung around us for privacy. I had a wonderful time. Of course it was in Yosemite and that made it very special. I went from that to a small camper which we sold when we moved back to Kansas, then joined a camping club and bought a fold up tent trailer. It was my favorite way to camp. We camped for 10 years and really enjoyed it.

We had a tent trailer. My husband, four kids and I went through New Rngland and around the Gaspe Penninsula in Quebec. It was so much fun, but wne I got to be 75, I decided I was more in the mood for grand hotels.

I love camping! I go as much as I possibly can. There have been a few summers that I go camping every other weekend. I love sleeping in tents and being totally relaxed in the great outdoors for days. Nothing to worry about, no phones or computers, not even having to know what time it is. aaahhhh :)

When I was a kid, we went camping and slept on cots by the campfire. No Tent.

When my kiddos were young we Tent Camped and hiked. Sometimes we stayed with my Mom and Dad in there Motorhome.

Now I have a 36' Motorhome, but we are thinking of selling it. In fact I was going to put it on Craigs List today. But, didn't feel like taking pictures.

My ancestors spent generations getting out of tents, out of the forest, and away from roasting meat over open fires. In deference to their sacrifices, I like a maid to turn down the sheets and put a chocolate on my pillow, the maitre'd to seat me, and a menu with a list of luscious foods that are prepared in a kitchen that I don't even see!No, I don't camp . . . .

Ex had a 24 ft camper. Belonged to a camping club, and we traveled monthly on weekends..
Lived in it for two summers, first time in Columba Ga while he helped build a mall, and a summer in Largo FL, while he helped build Tampa Mall. Hated camping after that.

Tent camped once at Philmont, NM.

And tent camped Africa, and it was one that had the bathroom dividied by a curtain. Slept on cots with hot water bottles for keeping warm.

I never went camping while growing up because neither of my parents wanted to.

When I married, my husband had no desire to camp and he didn't want me and the kids to go because he thought we would get kidnapped. So.....one of the first things I did when we separated was to buy a tent and things we needed to camp. The boys and I had some absolutely wonderful times and made some great memories.

Jammer and I bought a small domed tent and when we go on long trips on the motorcycle we take it. We took it when we rode to Yellowstone, thinking we would camp out every other night to save money. We were gone almost 2 weeks and only camped out one night. When you ride all day it is nice to have a hotel room with shower and nice bed.

I've never been camping My boys went a couple of times when they were little. no man around to do camping stuff.

The only time was Girl Scout Camp Seven Hills when I was in 7th grade. I got my first period, I was so embatrassed!

Yes, with my folks growing up but it was called 'making a living' as they followed the fruit crops. Dad and a couple of other families made their own house trailers while working in Oregon and meandered down thru Ca. following the fruit season. After a couple of years, sold the trailers and went on to other things. My folks never camped again.

Before I was born Mom said they had moved to Wa. to look for work and they lived in a tent for several months so she wasn't into the camping thing anymore. They had 4 kids at that time, my sister and I came later.

My DH simply abhors the idea of camping, though I would have liked to do so. He didn't mind going on vacation a couple of times with our old motorhome but it wasn't staying in one place for any length of time.

When I was young I went with my GodMother and a large group of her relatives. I guess I was probably 14, and just at the age when could appreciate it, but just under the age when I wouldn't go again. We did have bathroom cabins, and had to walk a long distance to get there - I remember it being VERY DARK. But, that made it easier for my Auntie not to see me getting my first kiss - LOL. I think his name was Wayne. The family stil keeps in touch with him, but I don't know what he's doing now. Hmmm - maybe I should check - I liked him.

The unfornate thing - we were in Binghampton, NY, where the shootings were the other day. I was floored when I hear about it. You wouldn't think anything like that would happen in Binghampton - such a quaint and friendly town. This economy is driving everyone nuts!

We've had 2 travel trailers. The last one was a 35' 5th wheel. I couldn't exactly call it camping, b/c we had all the comforts of home. We enjoyed it mainly w/ our grandsons, but they got busy and we just quit using it much so we sold it. I kinda miss it! We used it once for an overflow of company and that was handy.

I have done it all. As a kid we camped alot and it was always in a tent. When our kids were young we started out in a tent. I finally said I am done. It got to hard with 3 kids and the weather and all. Hubby bought a really nice truck camper and we loved it. Had a bath with a shower and nice place to cook. We have so much fun.. The kids loved it.. Now all 3 of our kids camp with their kids. They all have nice campers. We go and visit when they are camping close by. Love sitting around a campfire... So many wonderful memories for all of us..

Susie

We camped when I was a kid in MA. DH and I bought a small travel trailer that we used for one summer and then I lived in it for a short time when he went overseas.

We tent camped with our kids when they were growing up and the Army would move us around. We now have a pop up tent trailer that I pull on the back of my trike. I love it and hope to buy a 5th wheel sometime this year.

When we were kids my family and several aunts,uncles and cousins went camping every summer.Usually on some river or lake so we could fish.We slept on old army cots under the trees,sometimes just under the stars!LOL Those were good times even though I hated sleeping out in the open.I was a scaredie cat when I was a kid.LOL
When my oldest DD was 3 months old we went camping,with all the family.We had a big Army tent.No floor or zipped door opening.One night it rained and next morning we were all sitting at the picnic table eating breakfast when one side of the top of the tent fell in from water collected on the top.DD was sleeping in her little baby bed right where it caved in.Everyone jumped and ran to pick up the tent and get DD out.She was still sound asleep in her little bed!
We camped with our kids,with and without tents,for many years.They still remember those days.

I took my family on a tent camping trip every summer while my kids were growing up. We have tented in or near many national parks, sometimes two parks per trip. A few summer trips were spent with my wife's parents in their log cabin on a Canadian flowage.

Used to go camping with my friend's family when I was young. Sometimes it was very primative since her dad liked to fish streams. Sometimes there would be no one around for miles. We ate what he caught.

Later I camped with a good male friend. We drove down the whole coast just stopping wherever. Slept under the stars and made whatever could be done in a single skillet or cooked on a stick over an open fire. Back then you could camp on the beach or a field by the road.

Ditto the above on motorcycle runs. I managed to live out of an oversized purse for a 3 day weekend. No saddle bags back then, Just what you could carry and a sleeping bag.

Camped in the van with DH before kids.

Back to sleeping on the ground on a sheet of plastic when DD was in scouts.

Went tent camping with DH a few years back. he pretty much decided his camping days are over.

DD likes to camp so maybe I'll join her and her guy once in
a while while I still can.

Reading this over I think I prefer the more primitive camping style. Tent camping is too much work in some ways. Plus these days you can't just leave everything out like before. Someone has to watch your stuff or it has to be locked away.

I have gone camping in my younger days, and I now know I do not like to camp. Believe me, I've had many people try to convince me otherwise. I am not a good traveler in general. Give me a hotel, please!

Sheryl

I have gone car camping in Germany, Austria, France and here in the US.

I have hiked and camped in Colorado.

I have bicycled and camped all over the US, from the west coast to the east coast, and all over Oklahoma.

All in Tents, never in an RV kind of camper.

Moni, yeah, I know how to ruff it. :)

OH, how I miss camping! Fresh air, peacefulness, hustle & bustle, smoke from the campfire, all rolled into one. Sometimes simple food, sometimes elegant. All in what you like. I learned how to sit by myself years and years ago. I don't need a maitre d' to do that for me. But I don't like roughing it TOO much. I guess a lot depends on what you call roughing it. I would bring a lot of creature comforts. Cots if there was going to be tents but I soon found I preferred to use my pickup. Let it rain, let it snow, let the bugs, critters, reptiles, rodents or other animals come, it didn't bother me! I'd wake up and have the coffee going, sitting in a lawn chair enjoying the sunrise or whatever when others would crawl out of a dripping tent, clothes soaked.... I wasn't criticized for using my pickup for long. Others started following suit. I always preferred to go to a place and spend a few days though rather than traveling around. I had it down to nearly a science. Had "camping kits" set up with the usual needs, refined over the years. No white gas for me for lanterns or stove, I did Hank Hill proud with propane. Great fun and great memories. Sadly, these days all my campsites last four letters are "otel". And that's a whole 'nuther experience!

We've tent and pop-up camper camped in several states. Dh and the kids love it. I'm good for about ten straight days and then I get really whiny and need a hotel and a better shower. We usually camp where we don't have access to fresh water so that's part of my problem. I'm also scared of bears. We usually travel to bear country.

Camp cooking isn't too bad. We do kid friendly or steaks. We usually try a find a good local restuarant or two along the way.

I keep a couple of fairy tale books in the camper for reading so rainy days and evenings aren't too bad. My kids love for me to read to them. I also have a tin of games like 'Go Fish'. Dh brings his laptop along so he can check in on work. (He may have one or two questions to answer, but it doesn't take up a lot of time.) We download pictures along the way, look at them and email the relatives.

Overall, it's fun, but I'm always glad to go home.

My idea of roughing it is slow room service!

Never with my family, but quite a bit when I was out of high school with friends. We had some nice spots in the dense forests in Oregon we liked.
Tap a keg of beer, break out the steaks, swim, fish and hike. It was fun, only for a couple of days at a time.
I would like to do it again.

Trin

My first DH and I starting camping when our son was about four. My husband bought a used van and we remodeled the inside and used it as our camper. Then we had to chance to buy a VW camper that had never been camped in so we bought it and sold the van. We used that for about a year. It had absolutely no power to climb mountains so we ended up selling it and started tent camping. When our son was nine, some friends that moved here from the NW talked us into sewing/building a teepee. That was quite an experience but the end result was some wonderful years of primitive camping, good times and great memories.
After DH died, I passed the teepee along to our son and he still alternates between using it and tent camping. It's been 31 years since DH and I made it.

I remarried and my current DH had one of the old VW campers when we married and we sold it a few years ago and bought a Class C motorhome with a slide. We've also got a two room tent that we keep on hand in case of family/friends over flow when we're camping. We've camped up to three months at a time. For the most part, I don't mind the cooking or camp clean up. Packing and unpacking is certainly not as tedious with the motorhome but the yearly maintenance & insurance can sure be a budget crunch. We keep threatening to sell it and go back to tent camping or a small travel trailer. I certainly don't see us giving up camping because we enjoy it too much to not do it.

We've made a lot of great memories while camping and had some wonderful and awesome experiences that we may never have had otherwise. That's not to say that we don't enjoy trips and nice hotels because we do and most of those trips have been memorable in their own way.

Thinking now...we may just be wanderers and adventurers at heart but we're the happiest with mother nature surrounding us.

One time-Last time. I decided that someones grandparents worked too hard to invent air conditioning and the comfort of indoor plumbing for me for me to go roughing it!!

Good to see your imput lkgrace345
I drive by your area often.

I have been thinking about this camping thread and realized I don't like camping anymore. I like guided trips, no driving, fine hotels and maid and room service. I have even found a way to be surrounded by nature and luxury. Ahhhh.....