Neither of us has camped since we were boy/girl scouts, but DH has expressed some interest in an Airstream. Neither of us has towed a trailer either.

I've camped and enjoyed it as a child, but then as an adult realized how much work went into preparing for it. Camping is a lot of work!

Why is that funny Blfenton? You'll see that we do have electricity when we camp. I'm not trying to sway others opinions, just curious as to who else camps. DOES in my title because on the other thread there were so many against it.

GS - Airstreams are NICE! We have friends that have one. Towing the trailer is kind of scary to me and one reason we have not gone too far.

I remember the first time we went in a larger (read fancier) camper and I couldn't believe it. Kitchen with small island, nice countertops, "den" with fireplace and they had 2 recliners and a regular couch in there.

4kids - it is fun when you have several in a group, although we enjoy going just the two of us (and the pup) also. Cooking/eating when camping is one of the best things LOL.

Good for you Cyn!! You are braver than me. We have bears around here!!

Lisa, I agree - it can be alot of work. Having a camper did help, we had it stocked with linens, dishes, etc. and that helped. But still, setting up camp, etc. is a job!

The Four Seasons sounds kind of outdoor-sy ... does that count? ;-)

One of the recent trends is Glamping and it sounds like the perfect experience if you want to be outddoors with all the luxuries of a hotel.

I do camp, usually 1 to 3 times a year. In a tent. I go to festival events where others usually camp, or else to regular campgrounds. So there are nearby showers, which I like. When I camp, I'm fine without electric, and (extremely happy) without TV.

We go camping once or twice a year. Our tent is large enough for the whole family, and it's the kind you can stand up and walk around in, not just for laying down. We've stayed in it for up to ten days at a time. In my late 40's I moved up from sleeping bag-on-the-ground to sleeping on a cot and now I feel like a real princess.

We always camp at parks or lodges with regular bathrooms and hot showers available, but even so I miss privacy while using them.

The down side to camping is the prep and after-work. Prepping all the food, washing all the sleeping bags and airing out the tent and tarp, etc. afterward adds a day of work on either side of a trip.

The up side, for us, has been spending time with our children and friends in beautiful surroundings, with a nice mixture of hiking, lake activities, etc., and cozy time around the campsite. Happy memories of all the kids huddled over their tin cups of cocoa, reading around the fire. When we stay in a hotel it's just a bunch of us fighting for control of the remote--will it be HGTV or Sponge Bob?

I think a nice compromise might be renting the cabins available at the state parks or even a simple AirBnB in the mountains.

I enjoy camping, although we haven't done it in a long time. DH grew up camping in a pop-up camper or trailer, even winter camping in Michigan. I did not, my mother's idea of camping was sleeping without an electric blanket. :) I like the whole campfire, cooking on a rock experience, although this bod is no longer fond of sleeping on the ground. We'll never do it again, we have a live-aboard sailboat that has become our camper.

My dh and I camped from NY to CA and back for 6 weeks when we were in college. Best experience ever. We camped often when we first got married because we couldn't afford hotels for vacations. Then we got a little more money and discovered the carribean! LOL... didn't camp for years. Until our 2 children came along. We tent camped at least 2x a year starting when they were toddlers. We really enjoyed it and felt it was good for them. Now they are both in college and they go camping on their own. I did camp with my younger brothers family last summer. Someone had to show them how it was done!

We still live on the east coast and are planning to buy a vacation place on the west coast. I definitely see a small RV in our future to make those cross country trips again. Now that we are approaching our 60's, a little more comfort is appreciated but there is still so much we want to see between here and there!

I was a girl scout leader for twelves years. We did platform tent camping. The chance to do more rugged camping was offered as well. I personally did not do it.

I think it was a good experience for both my DD's. Every few years or so I I notice they get a group together and do an overnight camping trip.

Me, personally? DH was never really interested in camping, and now I would find the hauling of the equipment not enjoyable.

My first, and only, experience with camping was about 10 years ago when our family (DH, our 3 children - age 21, 18 and 16 at the time, and I) went on a guided raft trip in the Grand Canyon. We were out for 5 nights on a trip we all will remember forever. We slept on the ground (it was way too hot to sleep in a tent, altho we were supplied with them in case of rain) under the stars. I had a very difficult time going to sleep the first night, but I'll never forget waking up the next morning and seeing the blue sky and canyon walls as soon as I opened my eyes. Washing up, as well as peeing in the river was a HUGE stretch out of my comfort zone. However, it really was one of those once in a lifetime trips that I'm glad I experienced with my family.

We owned a pop up camper when the kids were young. Had many fun times visiting beautiful spots in the country. The worse part (for me) was having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Walking a trail to the comfort station was always an adventure. The most frightening, and it really wasn't a danger, was when a herd of armadillos crossed the path in front of me.

We are now retired and thinking about getting a camper or RV (with a bathroom) and doing some long trips. I like the idea of not having to check in and out of hotels while traveling. We'll see.

I went camping about two summers ago. It was only for one night and it had its good points and bad. We camped at Cherry Springs State Park in northern PA. It has dark skies and is one of the best places to see the stars, if you get the timing right (no clouds, no moon), which we did. I think that was the night I discovered that my night vision is pretty well gone. I could see the stars, but getting around the park in the dark was nearly impossible and it was bad manners to use a flashlight since it ruins the star gazing experience. I had to follow the crunch of the gravel road under my feet back to my tent. It was fun to sleep in the outdoors and fun to cook hot dogs over the fire. Unfortunately some people at another camp site talked loudly and drank until about 3 a.m. and I got no sleep.

I'm not in a big hurry to do it again.

I'd love to get back to camping, but DH has already stated his trepidation. I must agree with him that a nice shower, comfy mattress (and A/C) are luxuries that we've gotten quite used to - but where there's a will there's a way and camping can be comfortable as well. Even tent camping. I hauled around a little cot for inside my Marmot tent and with my air mattress on top of it, snuggled into my sleeping bag, I was snug as a bug. (My tent is a 2-person tent, but I refuse to share it. Get your own. ;-))

As I've stated in other threads, my dad and I did an annual trip together for many years and we went to some very remote and amazing places. Sometimes on our journeys we stayed in campgrounds with facilities and hook-ups (although we always tent camped), and sometimes we pitched our tents in the backcountry, miles from anywhere. The latter was truly blissful. Sure, there are creature comforts that one goes without - and it's not exactly fun to have to get up in the middle of the night to pee - but the good things far outweighed the bad for me.

These are not my own photos, but are quite representative of where I've camped and backpacked/hiked. Here's a campsite on Cedar Mesa in Utah:

These vistas never fail to move me ...

And all of this look might look just like a "pile of old rocks" to many people, but this is an Anasazi ruin. I've been to this one; was a bit of a hike to get there and then a bit of a climb to get up to it, but it was well worth the effort. Magical place.

I'll stop now, as I truly could just go on and on and on. Well, I will just add that my folks, now into their late 70s, recently bought a lovely Airstream and are thoroughly enjoying camping in comfort now. I love that they still do this.

I have camped sporadically over my lifetime despite having a mother who would not have been caught dead camping. We did many outdoor activities, canoeing, biking, hiking just no camping as a family. I learned to hike and backpack and did this with friends and early boyfriends. I even did this in a former job with troubled youth.

Early on my DH and I camped with friends in campgrounds with tents or someone else's camper. I HATED that. The campgrounds, being that close to strangers in this artificial outdoor "camp". We gravitated to backpacking and hiking the Appalachians when the kids were small. My two y/o DD had to carry her own backpack! On one of our weekends on the trail, a mounted horse ride, 20-30 riders maybe, thundered past out campsite and that was it! Our kids age 7 and 3 decided horses were absolutely necessary to their lives and as my DH and I both had horses as kids that became our next family endeavor.

We actually camped and did many, many, camping trail rides with our horses. That is until the kids began competing in eventing and polocross. Then the closest to camping was an occasional overnight in the gooseneck at Fair Hill. I have not done any of that for 8 years now.

My S and BIL have now purchased a fancy fifth wheel and go all over the south to campgrounds and LOVE it. We have made plans to join them and scouted campgrounds on the beach near Destin FL. I'm too arthritically decrepit too backpack or horse camp any more so this might be something to try out.

In my adulthood I've done everything from camping in a tent with no electricity or plumbing except the woods (or a bathroom/cold shower facility down the way) to a camping trailer. DH takes hunting trips with our boys and grandkids (the boys and any of the girls who want to go, which so far has been no takers) on land one of our sons owns in South Alabama. This is in Jan-Mar and they have been camping in tents, using a generator part time. But DS bought a used pop-up recently to use for sleeping off the ground.

I have fond memories of camping with friends on raft trips on the Colorado & Green Rivers, with DH and the kids, and even my Girl Scout leader days, freezing in an unheated cabin and sleeping with all my clothes on. Funny how you can remember all those times. I think I can still rough it ok. Hey, it's temporary. IdaClaire you're so right - "....the good things far outweighed the bad for me."

DH and I have thought about buying a small self-contained RV to take trips when I retire (which may happen in the next couple of months). We've looked at the small B-class and really like them, so we'll see.

We have a 2002 33' Bounder now, and did have a 1995 34' Bounder that we traded for the 2002. In the 34' we full timed for 6 years. From RI to touring FL to CA,and Canada, Mexico (for 6 wks). The cross country a few times. Then settled here in Fl, but all summers spent in RI. We have never regretted it. This is our first summer in Fl..........HOT! We will go north in JUly for a month, though. We started in our 60's and 70's, and now in our 80's and 90's. Wish we could start over!

I'm not an out-doorsy girl at all. I've always said that if I were captured by the enemy and they wanted to torture me just make me go camping.

Can't remember who the comedian was but his take on camping...."why would anyone want to live like a homeless person?!"

Can't remember who the comedian was but his take on camping...."why would anyone want to live like a homeless person?!"

Ouch! LOL! We have ordered new daypacks for our upcoming trip and have talked about how we need to strap them on along with our boots and go for some long treks in our city before heading out to the wilderness in a few months. It did not escape us that we would look much like the "urban campers" that come and go, particularly near the downtown area. I usually wear twin braids and a do-rag on my head. I think I might actually look a bit like I live on the street. ;-)

LOL Jenn! There is a guy who must live somewhere near us who does "practice" runs with his pack. Obviously camping is not for everyone. With a nice camper you can really travel with a small home, with all the comforts. Hey! We have DISHES in the camper! Towels! TOILET PAPER!!

Marjorie - I am impressed!!

Joanie, do you just stay inside? LOL

I love to camp! I'm a tent camper, and have several depending on where I'm going and how I'm getting there. My favorite, however is car camping:

That's always looked like fun to me, Errant!

Errant, my niece and her SO have been traveling the world for two years. Sometimes they stay in Air B&Bs, and sometimes they camp. They have a similar set up to yours.

tinam61 - I had been reading the other thread and that's why I found the title funny. I didn't mean to offend you and apologize for having done so.

Oh no blfenton! You didn't offend me at all! :-)

Joaniepoanie, is this what you're thinking of?

I'll have to watch the clip later, but just wanted to say that I love Gaffigan!

*hot pockets!*

Watch the hammock bit, too, Ida. "You ever get in a hammock with someone else? You better be dating 'em... I got in a hammock with my cousin and he still won't talk to me."

I am a backpacker and camper. My family has had some amazing adventures, we love going for 3 -6 night long hikes and rarely encountering another human.

We didn't camp growing up as my mom spent large swathes of her childhood in the woods with her logger father and did not want to repeat the experience.

I spent a summer tenting in the Okanagan and tented on and off since but never in the back country. I liked it but I'm at an age now where I really enjoy a decent mattress. I'll never forget just how cold you can get in a tent at night and just how hot it can get when the sun starts shining on your tent.

I would probably still be tenting but I married a diva and he is very content to sleep surrounded by walls. So I doubt we will be camping anytime soon. I got him out about once a year earlier on. I certainly would go with friends and there is a really interesting course here in Nova Scotia called becoming an outdoors woman that I do want to take, and they teach you a lot of backcountry skills.

Lisa......that's not the bit but that was funny!

We've camped a lot over the years, but not as much recently. In fact, our second date was a camping trip on an island on a nearby large lake with a group of friends. Early in our marriage, camping on a trip down the Grand Canyon. As newly minted empty nesters after we got into whitewater kayaking, we camped a lot more on river trips including three 8 day wilderness trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho -- very much leave no trace camping. Those were private permits (meaning no outfitter), and we kayaked but we have friends who row rafts And graciously carried the gear so we ate well, drank plenty and had comfortable camp pads. We've been involved in other things lately, but as retirement looms getting back more into camping and boating Is something we are looking forward to doing.

eld, I did platform tent camping with the girl scouts! That was our summer camp. Winter camp was in a cabin.

Marjorie, I agree--impressive! It's good to know it's never too late.

Sorry if TMI but I always said what I enjoyed about camping with the girl scouts was that it was when I didn't have to worry about getting my period out there. Now that I'm postmenopausal, I could probably deal with camping again, LOL.

Gsciecechick -- I understand your concern. Before each of our multiday wilderness trips in my late 40s,I talked my doctor into a few months prescription of BC pills so I could regulate my period in advance so that it wouldn't occur during the trip!

Love camping! Get to the campsite, turn on the AC....... we have a Toy Hauler, we always carry motorcycles/scooters, bicycles, and sometimes add on 2 kayaks when we go camping. It's a moving house/garage. :-)

Yeah, I "do" camp every year, but I am a camp director. Not quite the same thing. I've done it all from bivouac style to car camping, but not with a trailer . . . yet. SO and I would probably get a small one if we could afford it, but I doubt that is going to happen. He is starting to corrupt me though, I sometimes enjoy a soft bed and nice shower at a hotel or motel, but most of the places we've stayed are just sort of so so. Finding a nice, quiet pretty place to stay is not easy. That's why I think we would love a trailer, could keep all our gear in there and would not have as much work to pack and unpack every trip.

Growing up, we never camped. With 9 kids, my parents opted for our family summerhouse on a big lake instead. Smart move in my opinion. And then I married DH, who loves to camp and hike. I tent camped for the first 10 years. I actually love being out there in the wilderness. Love cooking over a campfire, etc. But, outhouse trips at 2AM. Torrential rains causing major leaks in the tent. Noisy jumbo motorhomes parked right next to our campsite and too many camping trips with loud, drunken fellow campers kind of ruined it for me. Oh yes, and then the time we were camping way out in the desert at Chaco Canyon and DH somehow forgot to pack the tent stakes. But, a bear licking the dew off the side of our tent one night . . . about 8-inches from my face finally ruined it for me. I truly thought I was going to die then. And from there, developed my major fear of all bears. No more camping unless it's in a solid sided trailer with bathroom, beds and a rudimentary kitchen for cooking during rainstorms.

Lynn, I can totally relate! I never camped as a child. But we camped with the kids, and DH and I often camped with a bunch of adult friends. We went on a weekend trip to go white water rafting several years ago. We were all sitting around the campfire late one afternoon, enjoying the end of a perfect day over dinner and a little wine. A friend sitting next to me got a funny look on her face and I realized she was choking. I asked her and she nodded. To this day, I don't know why we both remained so calm, when everyone around us, probably about 20 people, kept eating and had no idea what was going on. I put down my plate, we stood up and walked a couple of steps away from the circle and I did the Heimlich on her. It took about 3-4 tries but the piece of meat finally dislodged. I had never done this before.

Her husband and mine caught on to what was happening and had come over to assist. But by that time it was all over. We were so far from any aid, she would have died if that piece of meat had not dislodged. From that point on, I think remote camping lost it's allure.

I love to camp and go anywhere from 2 to 5 times per year. Tent camping for me an my daughter. Not that we're exactly roughing it--it's all car camping, and we're well equipped with air mattresses and gourmet cooking gear. I do a lot of group camping with a group of women I connected with at a moms' support group. "Mommy group" has stuck together for 11 years, and we camp a couple times a year. We drink wine or margaritas and the kids run around doing whatever they do when they aren't oversupervised.

We usually camp within an hour or so of home. I've done Pinnacles National Park and Mount Lassen in CA. My sister, my daughter, and I went camping on Hawaii a few years ago (flying and then camping is a logistical challenge). My daughter and I did a camping road trip up to Washington state last year.

On a recent camping trip, the RV a few spots down had a big screen TV mounted to the outside of his RV. The light pollution from it was incredibly annoying.

As a kid we'd go camping every summer up at Lake Naciamento near Paso Robles, CA. My grandparents owned a lot on the lake so we could use the private campground and then we'd spend days waterskiing and fishing. I loved it.

When DH and I got together it was a disaster camping with him. He's got ADD and I'm such an OCD type that it was oil and water. We'd get to a campground and i'd want to get the tent set up during daylight and get the campfire started so it'd be ready to cook on, but he'd go wander off to explore and the kids would follow. I finally quit going camping with him the last time two of the kids didn't pack their air mattresses and I ended up giving up mine (he did too) and I went and slept in the car.

My mother and her DH bought a motorhome recently and decided to just GIVE it to us (it needed some minor repair) and DH and I were ecstatic, we could finally go to a lake again and go fish and explore (I can no longer tent camp due to disability) and we were making plans to store it, etc. Then they went and sold it out from under us. I was livid-we'd have gladly paid them what they got plus more if it was an issue of them getting money, But I think it was my mother deciding that it wouldn't be fair to the others if WE got it. A whole other story there-but so now our camping plans have been dashed. DH wants to rent an RV early fall so we might just do it-I'm actually excited about going camping again!

Neetsiepie, You can get a used travel trailer cheap. We sold our 23' travel trailer a few years ago for only $5000, that one had no issue and looked like new, it was 5-6 years old at the time. So you can find a nice one for a good price. You can also apply a RV loan for new/used RVs ( motorhomes, travel trailers) for up to 20 years I heard. Get one and go camping! :-) Some of the light weight travel trailers you can tow with a mini van or a SUV. Don't have to buy a tow truck. :-)

Finding your first campsite rattlesnake is a coming-of-age moment so many kids never get to have.

On a recent camping trip, the RV a few spots down had a big screen TV mounted to the outside of his RV. The light pollution from it was incredibly annoying.

I hear ya. I've been dismayed on more than one camping outing when, having selected the perfect campsite for our tents and setting up, along comes a ginormous "house on wheels" and parks right next door, generator cranking away all night long and destroying the peaceful vibe. Tent campers can be pretty opinionated and snobby when it comes to how RVers are viewed (and vice versa, I've discovered).

My folks recently bought an Airstream and are loving it. Dad always loved tent camping, but now that he's older he does enjoy the creature comforts. My mom certainly wants to be comfortable and never enjoyed sleeping in a tent. I can understand why one might want a travel trailer, but I personally can't see the appeal of going anywhere in one of those RV buses that's absolutely huge. They look like they'd be nerve-wracking to drive, to say the least, and most of them I see are towing a car as well. I'd rather just stay in a very nice hotel, and no doubt come out money ahead.

BUT - to each her own. There's really no "wrong way" to get out there and experience this country.

It's not snobby, it's just that the desiderata of wilderness campers are apparently 180 degrees opposite of the RV/trailer/car-camping crew and incompatible. The main reason I camp is to be in wilderness, where living is elemental and there is peace and quiet and close contact with nature, while doing some fishing and botanizing. Whatever the objectives of the RV/trailer/car folks are, they don't seem to be those, so my policy is to not go anywhere near a place where they are. My husband and I once, for some misguided reason, stopped at the Hodgdon Meadow campground overnight in Yosemite -- that was the total pits -- generator and stereo noise hell -- what's the point? Long hikes AWAY from roads and wilderness camping -- no motorized anything allowed :-) -- only for me. (I'm 62, by the way, and have terrible feet, but I still won't camp any other way.)

Claire, Here in NY 's campgrounds, campers are not allowed to use generators after 10:00pm and before 7:00am (quiet time). You could report them to the camp office/park cops next time. It should have the same rules in other states as well. That wasn't nice for them to do so. Sorry to hear that. Airstream Is the top of the line for travel trailers, just like Vespa in scooters. Good for your parents. Go camping with them, it can fit more than 2 people in there. If you don't like it, set up your tent, family camping is always fun! :-)

I told DH when I met him that my idea of roughing it was staying at a Red Roof Inn. I didn't want him having any illusions of me going camping. He goes on many car group jaunts and has a camper with a bathroom, kitchen, and bed but I can't stand the thought of being cooped up in it. I am claustrophobic and would die or wish I was dead if I had to spend a night in it.

summersrythym, we've been flirting with the idea of getting a travel trailer, but we kind of wanted to get a motorhome because it would just be get in and go, and we could take our 3 dogs-who currently can't all fit in our truck.

We definitely want to go out and it's on our plans. I'm slowly getting my DH to learn he can take a day off from his business once in a while and it won't hurt anything. One day at a time!

Holly-Kay, Do you still remember when you were a little girl, you looked up the sky tried to find shooting stars? We all have been there done that. The peak of the meteor shower is coming up in the middle of Aug, get out there with your RV and searching for the shooting stars again. You won't die, this time you'd be watching the shooting stars with your hubby the man you love for many moons since day one... .....may be bring a bottle of wine..... you will have a wonderful night at a great campsite, somewhere under the beautiful moonlight........ :-)

Glad to hear you're going to be a camper neetsiepie! Hope you find one soon. :-)

The peak of Perseid meteor shower is coming Aug 9th to 13th. A great time to camp! :-)

http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/perseid.html

....and Canadian CBC News is saying Aug 11-12th, if you missed by a day or two, it's not my fault. :-)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/perseid-meteor-shower-1.3699395

All campers, tent, RV, hotel campers get ready to pack your gear!

We backpacked for many years. Camping is starting to look good again as I am terrified of the idea of bed bugs in hotels, motels etc..