How did you get into camping?

[Paul Mayeux]

As a boy growing up my grandfather would tell me stories of how he and his brother and father would go camping for days in the Brazos river valley that would years later become Possum Kingdom lake in N. Texas. He told tales of
cutting cedar branches for bedding and finding old cabins and hermits living back in the wild. Around the time I began to drive, I read a book called "Goodbye to a River" and it told another story of a local author that took a two week canoe trip down the Brazos River from Possum Kingdom to Grandbury, TX. The imagery gave me the bug to go rough it. I didn't have a canoe but I did have an old Lincoln, and after equipping it with mud tires spent a lot of time exploring the piney woods of east Texas, fishing, hunting and camping out of the trunk of that old car. I was hooked.

In 92 I bought my first rv. I found a '77 Ford P/U with a 13' Huntsman slide in camper. I refurbished the camper and used it a lot, putting almost 100,000 miles on the rig. In 98 a friend traded me a '78 Coachmen 5th wheel for a metal building I was tearing down. It was great because it was a lot bigger than what I was used to but it had major leaks. I had always liked the Airstreams best because they weren't adorned with all the stupid looking graphics that are plastered all over the other brands. Plus I figured they wouldn't leak with the way they are constructed. (I was 50% right) So in 2002 we started looking for a used Airstream. While staying in Colorado for New Years 2003 we found our Overlander sitting in the snow with almost invisible sign that said For Sale. Since June of 2003 (when we got it on the road) we've pulled it close to 15,000 miles, almost all of them trouble free. The best night's sleep we've ever had continue to be in the Overlander. It's funny, we took Ann's mother to St. Louis a few weeks ago and she had never slept in an rv much less an Airstream. The first morning she woke up she said "I don't think I've ever slept so hard". Needless to say we look forward to many more years in the Overlander.

[Ken & Sally Smith]

First started camping at about 16 years old at Lake Shelbyville in Illinois. Loved it and stuck with it over the years. We feel there is still something advantagious about going different places on vacations, seeing different things, and living different experiences otherwise not possible, and still being in our own beds every night.

[RivetED]

I was a Cub Scout & stayed at the local 'Y' in the Gym, 1st night in a sleeping bag. Boy Scouts next, Explorer Scouts, Woodstock-'69, & then the U.S. Army-'71!

Now it's Airstream & no going back !!

[Cracker]

It seems like getting into camping was a real chore, or accident, for most of the folks preceding. For me, it was almost a natural progression. I started camping in my back yard when I was in my pre-teens, advanced to camping on the outer islands and backwoods of Florida when I was in my teens, spent many terrific camping trips with the Boy Scouts during this same period, and also enjoyed cruise-camping with small sailboats and powerboats. After college, and with a young family to boot, the company I worked for built a small folding camp trailer for the employees and that started a long period of camping with pop-up type campers. That saw us (---with a family of three kids) through three new Starcraft Pop-ups - with the last being a Starcraft Galaxy that we took on a 15,500 mile trip around the U.S. and Canada. The Galaxy was sold, after the tragic lost of my first wife in surgery - and the advent of a second marriage - and for several years I abandoned camping alltogether. Following a divorce, I acquired a small pop-up camper that could be towed by a Subaru Justy (----did I mention that I was broke after the second marriage????) and, subsequently, I re-married. My wife and I (---married 14 years now!) have now gone through yet another antique-type pop-up, a Coleman pop-up, an Award travel trailer, a 22' Winnebago motorhome, and, most recently, a 2000,30' Airstream Excella. Frankly, I thoroughly enjoy the Airstream and I hope it's the last RV (---and "wife!") in this evolution!

[Condoluminum]

I should have known early I would be more of an Airstream guy than a wilderness backpacker.. First camping around age 10 in back yard tent with extension cord out dining rom window... Helped with electric blanket and radio... My parents were motel people, and we took long road trips in cars and station wagons, but always slept where Dad could find good hot shower and comfy bed... Did some overnights in college, but never grew to enjoy cold tents, hard ground and cold water.

My wife and I tried a few tent camping events, and finally decided that we needed comforts of heat, lights, hot water, bathroom with shower and kitchen.. I was cub scout leader and Boy Scout Committee leader, and did few more tenting experriences, but never grew to enjoy roughing it.. That led to purchase of Nomad Weekender in 1989 (Tanks filled and batteries died at 45 hours..) with bunks for children and many happy trips around the US and Canada. Named unit "Casa de Cardboard" to remind folks that swinging from doors and banging things would lead to structural failure. After children graduated from college, camping with parents dropped on their priority list, so we finally indulged dream and found Airstream for two...
John McG

[klattu]

Had to be Cub Scouts.
Family camping was tents, probably based on $$$
Would not have it any other way !

In 1964 we moved up to a VW camper with a small pop-up.
I had the hammock type bed over the drivers seat.
See that oval skinny cabinet door...I used to squeeze inside there.
We only kept it one year...was to 'uppety' for us, back to tents.
Those heavy a$$ canvas Wedzells...whew.

Kinda miss tents, or at least look back fondly.

[volvophile]

First, I got to say thats a nice looking rig. But did you have to replace the curtains everytime you cooked breakfast?

I Didnt camp at all as a kid, my parents had a 27' sailboat so we'd spend weekends in there. Its like RV'ing but it moves around more.

Finaly got into Boy Scouts, and tent camping. This was in North-Western Oregon so camping congures up memorys of steamy fires, the smell of wet canvas, the feel of soggy socks, and the sound of our scoutmaster hooting as he strapped his prosthetic leg on in a 35 degree morning.

Did some more tent camping in college in doing Civil war Re-enactments (Canvas tents are miserable) then later fighting forest fires in Oregon. That was far less fun, but the food was much better. That cured me of camping for a few years untill I got married, and my wife likes to camp.

Our tents got progresivly larger becasue I have this rule about being able to stand up when putting my pants on. When we moved to Colorado and had our first kid, we graduated to a flip-pack, which is a pickup shell with a top that flips open over the cab and a tent pops up out of it. It was nice having a hard floor, permanant mattress and being up out of the critters. But it was still cold, and leaky. Also when laying in a tent on the top of the cab of a full size truck during a Rocky Mountain thunderstorm, you start to feel like youre in a frying pan.

I had my epiphany when my parents came up from Florida with thier 28 foot Dolphin class A, and we went boondocking with them. Them in the Dolphin, and us in the truck with the flip-pack. It started to monsoon shortly after we got set up, and then it dawned on me:
We arent huddled out there in that wet, miserable tent on the truck. Nooooo, Were LOUNGING in here, eating jiffy-pop and watching Herbie on the DVD player.

That started the search for an older (cheap), aluminum trailer that ended with our '63 Avion T-20. All of the plumbing was shot and all of the systems needed work, but the running gear was good, the floor solid and the body in good shape.
Fast Forward 2 years later to last month when boondocking at 11 mile resivoir. Its been a long day of hiking and canoeing with the kids. Were all snuggled down in our beds. The temperature drops down into the low 50's. As I hear the furnace click on, I look up at the rain drops hitting the windows and give a little smile before drifting back to sleep.
Aint the outdoors grand.

[empresley]

Another thread that compliments this subject.
Lots of sweet family stories.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161/before-i-airstreamed-28488.html

[HiHoAgRV]

My earilest memories of camping were flying into the EAA convention at Rockford Ill (before it was moved to Oshkosh) and camping under the wing of our Stinson. We did the same when it move to Oshkosh until we could no longer get a weeks worth of stuff into the plane without exceeding Gross Weight so we got a pop-up and drove. I took my wife for her first camping outing in a tent and, yes, it rained. That was probably one of the fondest memories of camping and she is still hooked! We migrated from tent, to popup to a really big nice class A. Katrina ate it and we now have the AS.

[The Flintstones]

One of my fondess memories was camping in Cachera (sp?) park in Colorado. My dad made a tent with just a sheet of clear plastic and some stakes, just a "lean-to" that we slept under and could see all the stars. We cut tree branches that he told us were to shake in the Bears faces if they came close to the tent. He and my mom did sleep on the outside of me and my brother. They did come into the park but kept close to the trash bins which had cement lids. I'll always remember that trip and it hooked me on camping ever since. Thru my high school years me and my friends would spend spring break camping on the Guadalupe river all week. Unfortunately that place has turned into girls gone wild party city, its sad.
hooked ever since
James

[Minnie's Mate]

My parents borrowed a tent from their friends when I was 5. They bought one from Sears shortly thereafter. When I was in the second grade they traded it for a pop-up tent camper and we camped from Georgia to California to visit my grand-mother. In high school my parents bought a Class-C and we used it maybe twice before using it to go to my grand-father's funeral in Oklahoma. My parents returned to tent camping and I stayed home after that.

I bought a tent to use with my older son in cub scouts a few years ago and my wife and I got the Airstream bug a couple of years after that. We bought our Safari last summer and camped in five states the first summer with our Airstream, all on weekends. We love Airstreaming, not just camping mind you! There is a difference.

[jcanavera]

It was a plain old matter of economics with us. We couldn't afford hotels, resorts or other more expensive travel. I had a '66 VW bus and we pulled the seats out of the middle to get the big flat floor so we had a place to sleep. My wife made curtains and off we went. At the time gas was around $.25 a gallon, and camping at the state park was $2.25 a night. We took all our food with us and had some coolers for the perishables and drinks. I bought a propane stove and a propane lantern. A large propane bottle was about $1.25. The skinny ones were about $1.00 or less. I was making about $125 a week at the time. Life was good. We had a lot of fun.

As we wanted more creature comforts we upgraded. First a big tent, then a small pop up camper, then a bigger camper, then our first travel trailer, then a bigger travel trailer, then our first Airstream Safari, and now the Classic. To say the least the economic justification went by the wayside once we got into the travel trailers.

Jack

[CombatMedic]

I had gotten started because my parents always took us when my bro and I were little kids. When we went somewhere we would camp instead of hotels. More money for the fun stuff that way. One year I remember we went to the rockies with my 2 older half brothers my uncle, mom, dad, me my brother and aunt. We all piled into one of those over sized vans from the late 70s or early 80s. It was cramped but fun.

[Foureagles]

Never knew much of anything else. I remember being a "papoose" on Mom's back during season-long walks through the Rockies. Dad carried the gun, half the food, and the tarp, and Mom carried the rest of the food, some cooking gear, and me. Older Sis (5-6 years old then) was pretty much on her own, and spent a lot of time gathering plants. We camped wherever we ran out of energy as long as it didn't leave us without water for more than a day or two.

Luckily, my beatnik (pre-hippie) parents weren't my sole inspiration. My Cherokee Grandpa taught me a lot about getting along in the world, and how it's the hawk that gives the rabbit its speed. He showed me that there was no more shame in killing & eating than in being killed & eaten, and that one was certainly preferrable to the other in the short term.

Once I got big enough to take care of myself (9 or 10 years old), I started investigating my own limits of survivability in solitary camps everywhere from snow caves at 60 below to desert dugouts at 120 above. As a teenager, I used to have friends drop me off up in the hills with no more gear than a pair of cutoff jeans and a knife. I'd wander around, spending most of my time ferreting-out plants to eat and then manage to kill a big critter. That act of violence let me settle down for a while and forget hand-to-mouth digging of plants, and this settling down is what I consider "camping". Maybe much the same was the opportunity our ancestors found that enabled them the luxury to invent art and think about silly things like "civilization".

When we haul our shiny contraptions behind our smoking trucks away from the teeming cities, we're doing something similar. We kill, whether roadside flora or soldiers in Iraq, in order to live. It's not easy to be comfortable with that, but it's possible. The tricky part is in trying to understand just how much our insulation by luxury bends our perception of reality.

}}}}

[wnew1130]

Below is a link to our story.

Carol & Art

[wnew1130]

Below is a link to our story.

Carol & Art

"Our Story"

[Caryl]

I can't remember not camping. Daddy and Mama were teachers and had two months off in the summer. Granddaddy ran a WWII surplus store and had all the gear in the world. We started in Army tents and scratchy wool sleeping bags and toured all over the West into the National Parks and Forests when I was just a little girl. We even had that old sticky GI bug juice that kept the mosquitoes away, ate your skin off and really, really stained your clothing.

The next step was a WWII Higgins fold out trailer. We painted it a pretty blue and pulled it everywhere with a Nash Rambler station wagon. My mother would bath us in one of the built-in bins that had a stopper on the bottom to let our the water. Later, when we were teens, there was a late 1950's or early 60's Shasta trailer and we traveled into the major cities of the US, saw the sights and returning to the trailer at night.

These were happy and exciting times for our family and the best learning experience we kids could ever have. Leaving the heat and dusty summer winds of Oklahoma for the Ponderosa Pine scent and cool breezes of the Rockies was just heaven. The Park Ranger talks and tours, the museums and historical (we called them hysterical) markers, swimming holes, gut-wrenching-heart-stopping-hand-clenching mountain roads, fires at night, cooking outside, eating on metal plates, scrambling over rocks, fishing, hiking--it was just great.

After college, I moved to the D.C. area, discovered Bluegrass music and started going to music festivals in a converted VW bus so I could take my banjo along to jam. Also, I backpacked on the Appalachian Trail with friends.

After Jerry and I married, we bought a Chevy Van which he lovingly converted to a camper complete with a pop top. We moved to Oregon and camped and traveled whenever we could. A move to NY state opened up the Adirondacks to us. We purchased land and built a wonderous little cabin. We based out of the cabin for hikes, skiing and canoe trips for many years. We still used that van until it rusted through and had to be junked. It lasted for about 25 years.

Now living in the Chicago area, we sold the ADK property and re thought our options. Jerry's love of motorcylces led us to a Basecamp purchase last spring. We enjoyed our 1.5 trips until it burned in the Great Chicago Airstream Fire of last spring. After the insurance money came in and we re-evaluated our wishes and needs, we purchased a 19' Bambi to accomodate my arthritis issues and Jerry's ability to work on the road. We took it to the Mississippi River up in Wisconsin for our maiden voyage and thought it was the just the best. To be able to "get out there" still, with my replaced hips and knees and discover more about the world and about myself is such a gift. And to do it with style! I am so totally Airstreamed hooked, I can't get over myself!

Caryl

[Fyrzowt]

I have camped for as long as I can remember, in one form or another. First tent camping in an old canvas military surplus tent. You probably never forget the smell of those old tents - not bad, just unforgettable.
When I was 8 yrs old my dad made a camper. He would make trips down to the local RV dealer and get ideas to incorporate and to see how they were constructed. It turned out very professional looking and well constructed, even for an SOB. It is partially pictured below at Wrights lake, CA in 1964, the year it was finished.
We used the camper for the family car (7 kids) as well as annual camping trips to the Sierras as well as other locations. I have many fond memories of those times. We also took 3 trips into the mid west in that camper in the late 60's/early 70's.
Dave

[moosetags]

I never camped as a kid. Our 4 boys were all in Boy Scouts (the two youngest are Eagles). I got started tent camping with them in Scouts. The boys and I made a couple of epic camping trip in our Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40 pulling a small utility trailer with our gear. I never did any more camping until we got the Airstream bug and bought Lucy last year. We love it.

[Saddletramp]

Before I was 6 yrs. old my father and uncle took me camping and taught me fly fishing in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. When I was 8, I got a real cowboy bed roll, which I was so proud of. I tied it on behind my saddle, rode out to a place out of sight of the house on our ranch and picketed my horse. I carried food for an evening meal and for breakfast the next morning in a flour sack tied around the saddle horn. By turning my saddle over and standing it on end, it became a chaise lounge when leaning back against the fleece underside, then for bed, turn it around and use it for a pillow. All I had for light was a candle in a glass, which the wind blew out too easily. The heavens were so spectaculer! Sadly the mountain lions are so thick in that ranch country today it would be too dangerous for a kid to do. My dog was my protector then.

Later we car camped in an umbrella tent for many years. When I moved to Switzerland we bought high quality back packing gear and carried everything on our backs. Our North Face tent only weighed 6 lbs. We hiked and camped in every season including snow and were never cold.

After returning to the U.S., we bought a new Westfalia VW bus camper. After 10 yrs. we traded it in on another new Westfalia Vanagon camper which still looks brand new. As we got older we began to appreciate more space and luxury so we bought a 25 ft. Classic. We became WBCCI life members and hope to get our money's worth out of it.


Saddletramp