JawJaw, I wasn't surprised at the "Holiday Inn" comments. LOL, actually I expected them. I've always been the "alien" of the family (actually I take after my dad, he liked the outdoors too. But he died when I was 23 so we never really had much time to enjoy each other as adults).

I've got a group of friends who like to camp and we go a few times a year. Our campsite always looks like the "pod people" have arrived since we all have those small dome tents. This "Sisters" group is just another outlet, a way to meet more great gals like the ones on this board.

And yes, I would LOVE to see one of those campers painted purple with a crown on top! LOL!

Dotsie, I understand the increase in RV sales, But I'm WAY too chicken to ride a motorcycle (THAT is what everybody else in my family is into. My brother, sister-in-law, cousin, uncle....). I told them they could ride to their heart's content, and I'd follow in my camper (with Taz as my co-pilot). The older I get, the better care I take of my mama's only daughter! ROFL....

I'll let you all know how the camping trip goes, I'm sure it's going to be great fun.

Whirlwind

So you have a camper, too? Is it like theirs? What do you do about YOU KNOW WHATing? Trees? Bushes? I'm serious, I want to know what you do when nature calls? I get up 3-4 times during the night. I can just see me meeting a pair of eyes in the dark while out camping...nu uh...

JJ

When I was in college, I went on a group camping trip in the spring that started out in beautiful weather but by nightfall, our little clutch of pup tents looked like Valley Forge under heavy snowfall. In the middle of the night I had to pee, didn't want to walk all the way to the outhouse, so I peed in bushes. Next morning, guess what. Yellow snow right outside the door of our tent.

Who did it? Not ME!!

JawJaw, I laughed out loud when I read your last post. Loud enough that my boss asked me what was so funny.

I "did" have a camper when I was married, a cute little 19 footer. But the ex got tired of it and wanted a new truck, so we sold it before we parted. Bad idea, wish I still had it.

To replace that one, I have been looking for the perfect little vintage Shasta for about 6 months now. Found one in New Mexico a couple of months ago, but when I called to inquire I was told it had been sold just two hours earlier. Sigh.

So in the meantime, I use my cute little dome tent and my big, fat, queen-sized air mattress and soft-as-fleece sleeping bags (every bit as comfortable as my bed at home, no joke).

The campers have bathrooms or porta potties, so no worries there. In the tent? Well, if you want the truth, here it is. I "take care of business" right before turning in for the night. We usually make "one last group trip" to the bathhouse for that purpose. But in the event that nature calls in the middle of the night, I have a small discreet sealed container in the tent, so no "hovering in the bushes in the dark" is necessary. If the discreet little container is used, the next morning it is placed in a cute little tote bag and I take it to the bathhouse to be emptied. And I don't have to encounter any "critters of the night." Doing "the hover" in the dark isn't any fun.

And yellow snow Dejavu? Hey, that could have been the big possum or raccoon that you heard wandering around your tent in the middle of the night.

LMAO....

I love camping!

Whirlwind

If you think about it......it would be hilarious to get a bunch of us together and go camping. Can you imagine? And I just bet if anything went wrong, me and dejavu would get blamed for it, am I right?

But.............it would be fun...for ONE night. Close to a Holiday Inn......or a Krispy Kreme Donut place....and Starbucks......an---what?

JJ

I've slept in the back of my van on several trips, but I'm not into the whole setting-the-tent-up thing. And hanging your food so the animals can't get it. And cooking over a fire. It all seems like WORK. Peeing in the bushes is the least of it!

This said and done, Whirlwind, have a great time! I'm glad you found a bunch of like-minded women.

The only time I've ever had to hang my food was when I was on a backpacking trip. Yes, I LOVE to go backpacking too. But camping in a park and backpacking in the wilderness are two very different activities.

When "the group" camps, we don't exactly rough in. After camp is set up, it's pretty cozy. Saturday night dinners are the best. Checkered tablecloth, candles on the table, tiki torches around the site, music on a CD player, spaghetti with homemade sauce, garlic cheese bread, salad, and of course, wine. We've done "the dinner" so many times, everybody has their own assignment. It isn't even discussed, we all just bring our contribution.

A couple of us have portable stoves to make things easier. Especially for breakfast when one person is cooking eggs/omelets and one is cooking gourmet "pepper spiced" bacon.

JawJaw, IF you ever want to camp for a night, just let me know. I've got enough equipment to outfit a small girl scout group. And maybe we could even have pizza delivered so there would be no cooking.

LOL...

Whirlwind

Oh cool! And you are in the South, too, right? Hey, I just have to know...have you ever encountered wild beast?
Like B-E-A-R-S? eeek! Or Snakes? There would be NO NEED for a bush or a tree if I did, I can tell you that sister!

JJ

My husband and I used to tent camp every summer. The last time we did it, we had just gotten to the site and set up camp. It was about dusk and we were sitting at the picnic table playing Yahtzee (he always beats me!).

We heard a noise and looked over towards the car, a mere 20 feet away. There was a bear reaching in through the partially opened window trying to get to our groceries. He got what he wanted and ambled away.

We checked out the car and there was slobber all over the seats, and the drivers side head rest was totally bent forward so the bear could reach the groceries. Well, that did it.

We had eaten in our tent before, and I just knew that the bear would be back that night to check out the great food smells from our tent while we were sleeping.

So, sorry hubby, but let's pack up!!! We packed up the entire camp and went to a motel. There, I discovered the joys of a comfy mattress, a nearby indoor potty, and breakfast out!

Needless to say, we have rarely camped since then. And I honestly think my hubby doesn't miss it either. This doesn't mean we avoid the great outdoors - we just enjoy our creature comforts without the wild creatures!

Kathy

OK, let me preface this by saying I'm the girl who actually "likes" all things to do with nature - including most animals/critters.

While camping in state parks, I've only been lucky enough to see deer (up close). Red Top Mountain State Park in Georgia is known for the deer population, and they are quite willing to wander through your campsite at any time of the day (or night).

The only bear I've encountered was on a backpacking trip, and we weren't set up in camp, but were on the trail. We heard it before we saw it (and it was a young bear, about 100 yards from us, up on a hillside). Needless to say, we put the "pedal to the metal" and hoofed it on out of there, because if the baby was there, it was guaranteed that mama wasn't far away.

Snakes? Sure, they're out there. But I've seen more of them in my yard at home than I've ever seen while backpacking. And I've never seen any at all in public campgrounds.

The only "critter invasion" in a public campground happened in the middle of the night one time. My friend Mike (who snores so badly we always make him sleep as far away from everyone else as possible) had set up his sleeping area in the middle of a clearing. It was a very nice night, so he wasn't in a tent. In the middle of the night he woke up and found out that he had placed his sleeping bag in the middle of a "major highway" of a sizeable grandaddy longlegs convention. That's the closest I've ever come to peeing in my pants, I laughed SO hard. Never before (or since) have I seen (or heard) a grown man pitch such a hissy fit. Well worth waking up in the middle of the night to witness that.

Whirlwind