Your Camping Year in review

[ForestCreature]

Kelly bumping up the favorite places to camp thread combined with Tracy's end of the season post got me thinking.  How did your  camping season go as a whole? Was it better  or worse than prior years?  Any high point to your season worth sharing?
 
 Our  season started in April and still isn't over. We haven't gotten in nearly as much camping as years past, but what camping we managed to squeeze in was great. Spent a few different weekend camping with friends from this and the PUX board. It's always a great time when we get together. Can't wait till next year.
 
 The highlight of our season would be the 10 days we camped and traveled the U.P.  with GeneF and his wife, they started their long journey around the country with us! Gene and Terry are fantastic travel companions & we had a blast hiking and just being together. The wildlife amused us for a few hours one evening, with the chipmunks making them selves at home climbing on my legs and lap! Then onto the side table helping themselves to our jar of nuts.  Did you know a chipmunk can get 6 large (macadamia, cashews, etc.)  nuts into it's cheeks!
 

[garym053]

Our camping season is over here. Getting the Cross Country Skis waxed now!
I would say the only disappointment to the season was no long term camping- My definition being more than 5 days, 4 nights!
We did get back into TENT camping more this year. Got over to Maine 4 times, which is more than usual. Still haven't been able to get to the Adirondacks!
Haven't tallied it up yet, but I would say the number of nights camping is pretty close to usual, but still missed going for that week lomng trip to the coast!

[byrdr1]

Marcy glad to see you here again..
Lets see year in review..
Feb. Last race at Rockingham NC Motorspeedway My son and I only no women!!!!
March Nothing
April- Ocean Lakes Myrtle Beach for easter break, 8 Families and friends.
May- Memorial day weekend Jordan Lake.Just us..Same week we found out Teresa's dad had terminal cancer. Needed this trip to get a grip on life..
June- Pigeon forge , TN for a week and watched it rain 4-1/2 days of 7 there.3 families
July-3rd weekend-Zooland campground, Asheboro, NC as T's dad seems fine these past two weeks. 2 families
August- Nothing, T's dad gets worse, Friday August 13th T's dad passed away.
September-Labor Day- Shallotte, NC KOA, 3 families plus T's MOM
October- this weekend RJ's Ranch for Halloween I with 20 other folks and family. 6 campsites/families& friends plus T's Mom
November. Darlington Race Track??guys only weekend
November- Thankgiving weekend 5 nights at Ocean Lakes for the holidays.5 families and friends
December planning to go to Ocean Lakes for New Years..?just US??
As you can see summer we were able to camp but very limited as to where we went after summer vacation..
This summer was hard on my family because of T's dad health and then his passing. My dad died 23 years ago.. so T's dad was like my own.. I really knew him longer as an adult than my own..
Best trip might have been Labor Day with T's MOM, she had never been camping before and hd a blast.. So much so she was looking at campers in the paper the next week.. We talked her out of that..She is 70 and she would nt want to travel allone so we said any time with us.
She is staying the PU at Thankgiving to give us more room in our TT.. T will pull it down to the beach and I get to set it up. but only up.. the rest of the stuff will happen at my TT.
so thats my recap..
Have a great weekend ya'll
randy

[debbiedee1957]

May- first trip of the year to Spring Gultch in PA.  We attended a Folk Festival there that weekend.  The weather was perfect.  It was great to hear the music all day & into the evening all over the campground.  Overall it was a good trip (other than the hill going to the restrooms, but I was warned)
June- Trip to Michigan where I am from to a family reunion...well it rained a lot had to use the heater every night, that was no fun and then the family thing wasn't like we had hoped due to the baby of the family being his spoiled rotten self, even at 38!!!  Actually it was a nightmare trip.  Albert says that he won't hold my family against me....now that is a good thing.  We decided not to even really count this as a camping trip.
August- We had a great trip to Hills Creek State Park in PA.  The weather was a bit on the cool side (it was that way all summer here) only rained one night & boy did it rain!  We went on a nice wagon ride in the Canyon, a great hike around the lake and Drew & Albert had a nice time Kayaking.
September- Hickory Run State Park, PA.  Voted the best trip weather wise & people wise...this was a COTOC trip (annual fall get together).  We had a great time, wished we would of been there longer than a weekend.
Our first trip of 2005 will be visiting the Zion, Bryce & Grand Canyon's in a rented RV...more to come

[campincrew]

Had a bad year.  We moved across country in March, and really concentrated on getting the new house set up correctly.  We were only able to get out 3 times, Nags Head NC, Washington D.C., and a local campground.  Next year, I hope to make up for it.

[mowalker]

This year we were only able to get one trip in and that was back in April to Ft. Wilderness.  We were lucky to meet Chasd60 and family there.  :p   That was the highlight of our year.
 
This summer had been to rainy and humid to get out and ruin any more camping equiptment.:swear:    Then the hurricaines came along:mad: .
 
Hopefully before it gets too cold we can get out one more time, but I'm not holding my breath:eyecrazy:
 
B

[Firefyter-Emt]

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[MtnCamper]

Our year was good, and not finished yet, We have traveled from Niagara Falls to Albuquerque NM. Spent 50 days or so in the camper, and covered over 6,200 miles. We have met many old friends, and made many new ones. Seen things, that I never thought we would see. It has been an amazing year, and glad I could share it all with my DW. If God is willing, and we are up to the task, I hope we can repeat it all again next year! Different destinations, same results.

I think I'm tired.

[cyclone]

The season is done???  (I love living in the South).  Things I learned in season 1 of the pop-up:

1.  What a relief to be off the ground!
2.  Drive-through sites are best.  Backing up is STILL not fun.  (and put that    
     #@*$ video camera away, Corey)
3.  The pu holds WAY more stuff than I thought it would.  (half of which has  
     not been used)
4.  I'm SO glad I finally listened to those of you who use a DO.  
5.  When heavy rain/wind is in the forecast, it's wise to NOT use the awning.
6.  Camping with PUT/PUX friends is the best!  Can't wait for the next one!
7.  TPUC is fun, too....and well-equipped.  Would have missed that Titans game without that satellite dish.  
8.  It really isn't necessary to have matching comforters for the bunk-ends, but it sure does look "nice".
9.  I think Santa needs to bring me a Bal.
10. I'm very glad that we have two more trips planned; both to TN state parks.

[ForestCreature]

Sounds like a mixed bag of seasons out there. Sorry to hear about your FIL
Randy. We took my Mother out a couple times this year also,after losing her DH. Her first time camping in many years. Now she's bugging us to get a bigger trailer , she was a trooper and stayed in a tent !
 
Jan I'm still waiting to see that infamous backing up video. Next time I'll try and get to the CG first. :p

[vjm1639]

We've had some terrific trips this year, just way fewer than we had hoped. We started our in March...a little cold, but that's ok with me! I was having severe cabin fever after all the snow we had been having.   We had a very busy camping season planned. We normally take 10 days around Memorial Day and 10 days around Columbus Day and were really looking forward to both trips in the PU this year.  Unfortunately...not knowing how quickly the campgrounds filled up, we waited too long to get reservations anywhere we wanted for Memorial Day so we ended up renting a house on the lake. ....lots of fun..but not camping.  We did get in several weekend and long weekend camping trips in between our quite rainy summer.  Trips to the Chesapeake, the Shenandoahs, and around the DC area.   We were looking so forward to the end of August when camping for us normally starts big time.  
 
Then the beginning of the end of our season...we had just all of a sudden totally had it with living in a townhouse---especially one I have owned for years before DH and I married...not one we picked out together.  We finally decided we'd start fixing up our house a little and see if we could sell it.....there went our fall camping trips...we spent weekends painting, fixing, selling, buying, and are in the final horribly stressful stages of both selling (with buyers we are having a bit of a problem with....) and buying (with terrific sellers and  hoping we don't lose the house we've fallen in love wiht in the end because of our buyers) and then on top of it all, the week we did contracts for both selling our house and buying a new one, finding out my dear mother in law has cancer...then the day she was supposed to start all her treatments she fell and broke her hip and had to go through hip surgery.   So....it's been one thing after another....too many highs and lows...  roller coasters were never my favorite ride .....Hopefully in a few weeks this house mess should be over...  I can't wait to be in the new place (Dear God PLEASE let it  happen) and once we're there I'm sure it will be worth all the hassels....all the cancelled camping trips..  Heck, finally, if I want to. I should be able to pop up my camper in a garage if I just want to camp in there!  LOL   Much better than parking it in a storage lot and never seeing it in between trips.  So.....the season may have ended way earlier for us than planned...the roller coaster ride isn't over yet...but, in the end maybe DH and I will have a place that we can call home together!

[Kelly]

but, in the end maybe DH and I will have a place that we can call home together!

Keeping your eye on the prize ... I like that.  I know how hard it is to create a home together.  Best wishes on that!

My season couldn't have been better.  (I'm in the north ~ it's over for me)  I started the season with some really wonderful friends and ended the season with some other really wonderful friends.  All people I met through PUT.

In between I took the kids to Glacier and we tent camped for 5 nights with my sister and her family.  We spent lots of time in the park and saw more waterfalls on that trip than any other I can think of!  

We got to camp with  my parents ~ the ones who planted the camping bug in me!  What a treat to be a part of 3 generations camping together.  The kids got to go fishing and (luckily) all caught their share of fish!

Last weekend was our last trip out and it couldn't have been better.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the scenery was breath-taking.  We spent the weekend in southern Minnesota ~ bluff country.  The days were warm and sunny and the evenings were clear and cool ... we sat by the fire and listened to the coyotes howl and the owls hoot.

All-in-all a most wonderous camping season. I added up the nights and I camped 34 nights this season ...

[Gone-Camping]

Season in Review???

I'm only 4 days into my biggest & longest camping trip of a life time! I'm more or less full timing for the next 2-3 months, perhaps longer if things work out!! I no longer have a home, I live in my Hybrid (ok...I admit a bit easier than a pu...) for the time being, and so far just loving it!!

[wiininkwe]

We did most of our camping on our own property with friends, and it was good to be able to get out for every holiday, and most of the regular weekends as well.  Of course then there was our week with Mr and Mrs Topcat7736 in New Jersey,  which was such a treat.   We're hoping to head someplace warm with our camper when DH's winter lay off comes, not sure what we'll find in Fla, but that's probably where we'll head out to.  After that, we'll just wait til spring.

T