Ideal campground is in the eye of the beholder

[McCampers]

So do you all feel like you have to have a fire to be camping as well?  I like a fire, but it isn't an absolute must.  I would prefer a fire though.

[MotherNature]

So do you all feel like you have to have a fire to be camping as well?  I like a fire, but it isn't an absolute must.  I would prefer a fire though.

We like a fire too.  Sometimes when we are at places that prohibit fires or when rain keeps us under our awning, we will put a small amount of wood chunks in the bbq (Weber Smokey Joe) and make a very teeny fire.  We only use the wood that's 'food grade' sold for barbecuing/smoking (the hickory or apple chips) since we do use that grill to make food as well & I'm paranoid about such things.

[MotherNature]

I think it depends also on what the park/surrounding area has to offer.

For example, we often camp at Delaware Seashore State Park.  The campground is little different from the setup at a Nascar infield (I've never been to one but from seeing on tv the campers are just as close, just this has full hookups (that's another subject I might comment on one of the other threads)) Anyway.  There aren't any trees or privacy except for the fact that the sites are aligned so that the door of your camper faces the back of the neighboring one.  You have a 12-foot wide 'yard' with a picnic table.  It's an understatement to say it feels crowded and cramped.

However, what we LOVE is that we can walk to the beach (where we spend 95% of our time), walk to the inlet to fish/look at the boats, etc. or just walk around the perimeter of the campground and look out over the marsh at the osprey nesting platforms and egrets.  This outweighs the claustrophobia.

Likewise with Assateague - we don't have a camper toilet or shower, so we use the public ones (a porta potti and porta shower with cold water only).  Both are usually in poor condition.  Camping right over the dune from the beach is worth it to us (and makes me extra thankful to be back home in my own bathroom!)

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder!  It's interesting to hear all the different opinions on this!

['tiredTeacher]

So do you all feel like you have to have a fire to be camping as well?  I like a fire, but it isn't an absolute must.  I would prefer a fire though.

I feel the same way. Fires perform a social function as a gathering place and a sign of welcome. In the winter, well, we keep one going all day. (In my tenting days, we kept one going all night using an automatic, gravity feed for adding logs.)
Also, as any camp chef knows, there's a big difference between a campfire and a cook fire.

[McCampers]

I'm hoping to have a fire at my camping Mother's Day Weekend.  I have a 4 foot roasting fork that I've only got to use once since I got it.  I can do enough mallow for 4 half bar smores at the same time.  Plus I don't have to get close enough to fry my face.  I can sit there in my folding chair and roast the mallow all nite!

[vjm1639]

This is why DH and I try to put pictures of campgrounds we visit on our website.  That way people can actually SEE what the campground looks like.  We don't like the crowded, stacked on top of each other campgrounds either.....we try to visit and get pictures of campgrounds in the areas we visit.  It's stopped us from making reservations at a couple of places we'd have ended up hating that came highly recommended.

[GeneF]

Have to chuckle a bit because I use to feel the same way about the big rigs, but now I am in the "tin can" crowd.

Four popups, one hybrid and now the tt.

Time marches on, camping needs and wants change, lifestyles change without you realizing it.

Snowbirding in a popup for three months might not be as comfortable as doing it in a tt or something else.

No, I am not flaming anyone about what their views are, just cautioning that you may find yourselves in a tin can or other type of RV as you go through the different stages of your lives.

DW and I are enjoying our Golden Age camping years in the tt.

Yes we have seen or almost seen the people in the big rigs pull in and disappear and we have also made some very good friends and enjoyed outside time with some of the big rig owners.  It is simply different strokes for different folks.

[Shredder]

Have to chuckle a bit because I use to feel the same way about the big rigs, but now I am in the "tin can" crowd.

Four popups, one hybrid and now the tt.QUOTE]

I see ya still hang out with the kool guys & gals here though.......Shredder

[GeneF]

Have to chuckle a bit because I use to feel the same way about the big rigs, but now I am in the "tin can" crowd.

Four popups, one hybrid and now the tt.QUOTE]

I see ya still hang out with the kool guys & gals here though.......Shredder

Shredder

I have been in this campground for so long, I forgot the way out.

[cyclone]

And, let me be the first to say:

Gene is one of the "kool kids" and we don't want him to leave!

[Shredder]

Shredder

I have been in this campground for so long, I forgot the way out.

 Kewl          :!

[CajunCamper]

Have to chuckle a bit because I use to feel the same way about the big rigs, but now I am in the "tin can" crowd.

Four popups, one hybrid and now the tt.

Time marches on, camping needs and wants change, lifestyles change without you realizing it.

Snowbirding in a popup for three months might not be as comfortable as doing it in a tt or something else.

No, I am not flaming anyone about what their views are, just cautioning that you may find yourselves in a tin can or other type of RV as you go through the different stages of your lives.

DW and I are enjoying our Golden Age camping years in the tt.

Yes we have seen or almost seen the people in the big rigs pull in and disappear and we have also made some very good friends and enjoyed outside time with some of the big rig owners.  It is simply different strokes for different folks.

Oh I'm with you GeneF and agree 100%. None of us know how our camping needs and styles will change over the years. But for us, right now, we camp to enjoy nature and the peace and quiet that comes along with camping in areas that the big rigs really can't get to. I also like to fish quiet waters or as we call it skinny water in my kayak where you don't find the 80 mph bass boats, ski boats and jet skis. I have nothing personal against those that enjoy fishing from a bass boat, I just don't want to be around them while I'm kayak fishing.

GeneF I have no doubt that if you and I were neighbors in a campground, we could get along great because I know that you have respect for all of your fellow campers and understand what someone camping in a tent or a pop up hopes to experience on a camping trip. But from my personal experience I stand a much better chance of enjoying my camping experience if I stay away from the big rigs.

Nothing personal.

CajunCamper

[GeneF]

Oh I'm with you GeneF and agree 100%. None of us know how our camping needs and styles will change over the years. But for us, right now, we camp to enjoy nature and the peace and quiet that comes along with camping in areas that the big rigs really can't get to. I also like to fish quiet waters or as we call it skinny water in my kayak where you don't find the 80 mph bass boats, ski boats and jet skis. I have nothing personal against those that enjoy fishing from a bass boat, I just don't want to be around them while I'm kayak fishing.

GeneF I have no doubt that if you and I were neighbors in a campground, we could get along great because I know that you have respect for all of your fellow campers and understand what someone camping in a tent or a pop up hopes to experience on a camping trip. But from my personal experience I stand a much better chance of enjoying my camping experience if I stay away from the big rigs.

Nothing personal.

CajunCamper

and no offense taken because I know what you mean.

As for the fishing, I love to flyfish and have been doing it for about 20 years.

As for the bass boat, in June, I will be heading up North to fish with two buddies for a week.  The three of us have been doing this for about 10 years.  I bring the trailer, another guy brings his boat (40 hp and about 16 feet) other guy does the dishes.  Pure heaven for a week.

In the local area, I enjoy fishing for trout and bass from my kayak.  We have several ponds that do not allow more than 6 hp motors.

I have also spent a few days with one of these guys flyfishing nor thern NH streams.

I know where you are coming from and have enjoyed some of those experiences myself.

As for the guys in the big rigs, I have a lot of respect for them also.  Because of the big rig guys, I have learned to surf fish and to crab plus some other things.  Yes, I have found the money guys and the guys and gals that are the same as dw and I.  Thoroughly enjoy their company.

I agree that some big riggers can be a pain but I have learned that many of them are as down to earth as dw and I.