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| Trees? Please? |
A wall of old camping gear stares at me every time
I do laundry. Covered with dust, it
reminds me of our very last camp out--a sad and memorable event.
Our church planned a big camp out, starting Friday
night to Sunday morning, with a big potluck on Saturday evening. One of the church ladies had a brochure on a
nearby camp site, which showed towering trees, people playing volley ball, kids
swimming, etc. It looked marvelous.
Talk about untruth-in-advertising. After checking in, we went to our assigned
spot. Where were the trees? Gone, all gone. In their places stood spindly plantings. The pool? Drained for repairs. The volley ball court? About ¼ mile, at the
far stretch of camp.
The saddest thing of all was the sewage back-up in
the only shower and toilet facilities. Four toilets, each backed up, with
toilet paper pieces covering the floor. Fortunately the campgrounds were
spotted with Spanky’s Porta-Potties, which were nearly full.
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Saturday night was about 90° and at dusk, the air
started to cool. We were each assigned
food to bring, which for us was salad thankfully.
The number of entrees was thin, but some cheerful
church lady brought a huge cauldron of her special recipe chicken stew. “You’ll just love this!” she exclaimed as she
ladled it out. My husband accepted his portion, while I passed it by, and
headed to the tray of cold cuts.
Most of the campers settled into their tents,
while others stayed up around the campfire, singing praise hymns, without ceasing.
Around 10 pm, my husband leaped up and ran out; I
could hear him retching in the brush. There were so many others doing the same. He returned
to the tent, saying “We’re leaving. Now.”
With Spanky’s Porta-Potties by now full to the brim, there were no other viable
options where to vomit or allow one to relieve one’s bowels.
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We gathered or grabbed valuables, leaving the tent
standing, and raced to our home, about thirty miles away. It was a rough night.
My husband returned early the next morning to pack
up the tent and sleeping bags. He said
many others had done to same.
Since then, we have converted from roughing it to
staying in a motel. Things change; the memories remain.
Oh my goodness! What a way to end one's camping life. That's pretty bad.
ReplyDeleteBad and sad. We had always loved camping, esp. with our children. Now that we are grandparents and want to give our gear away, we cannot get any takers.
DeleteBlah, that sounds awful. I hate camping even if it is good. Why sleep on the ground when there is a perfectly good bed at home, I say lol
ReplyDeleteOr a nice resort type hotel? It is time to move on.
DeleteHow awful! I cannot recall camping anywhere that was not decent, except maybe the campground in New England with the facilities and shower house on top of a hill. And that qualified as a problem because my sister and I could make each other laugh so easily it could be a challenge to get to the bathroom and not need a shower.
ReplyDeleteDarn those bladders! Have had the same experience, and would relish another one. Laugh on, I say. Laugh on.
DeleteCamping is exciting especially by the beach, in the sand dunes where they've buried lots of hoods..... just kidding LOL but seriously whats the rule? Extinguish campfires and never ever leave food lying about. You just never know whats lurking in the trees.
ReplyDeleteI will never know now. My blinders are on.
DeleteHate camping. Haven't done it since Girl Scouts. My family decided to go one year (I refused), and they stories they tell... Not as bad as yours, but not pleasant all the same.
ReplyDeleteWhen our kids were young, it was so much work to do for one single night of misery. Somehow I kept thinking it would improve.
DeleteWe camped often when I was a child. My father objected to crowds (which was anyone else) so facilities were never part of our camping equation. Small shovels and toilet paper. Squatting on thistles in the dark...
ReplyDeleteAir beds were for wussies.
I never warmed to the experience - but feel your pain, and hope that other memories are stronger than the pukeathon.
We camped on a tarmac near a beach. That would have been great, except it was next to San Onofre Nuclear power plant. The bathroom had warning what to do if a loud horn sounds. (Get the hell out!)
DeleteI prefer the conveniences of indoor plumbing. I can't believe we use to love tent camping so much. Roughing it now is having only one tv.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed evening.
Amen. We once went to a "dark" camp, which meant no electricity, a spigot for water, and one porta potty. Back in the woods, way back. I agree with the one TV thing
DeleteNever camped in a tent. Used to have a small travel trailer which we loved to move around with and saw lots of different places. Your story is pretty horrifying. I wonder what was in that chicken stew?
ReplyDeleteI suspect the chicken was left out too long, and food poisoning was the result. If we were driving from site to site, I would want a travel trailer as well.
DeleteSeems that chicken stew was special for all the wrong reasons.
ReplyDeleteSad about the lack of trees, but the toilet situation was despicable.
How could anyone managing a campground allow this to happen?
I've never been camping.
It seemed to me that the campground was going under financially. The manager was deluged with complaints, and gave the same answer "They should be here in an hour..."
DeleteThat seems terribly unpleasant. I stopped camping a couple years before we had our kids. They want to try out camping now. I told my husband to have fun. I'll be home alone.
ReplyDeleteIf you need any equipment, we have enough for about 15 to 20 people.
DeleteMy grown kids love camping and I don't know where they learned that. I camped out once, got eaten alive by chigger bugs (which laid eggs in between my toes) and have never wanted to do it again. My idea of roughing it is staying in a 3 star hotel.
ReplyDeleteChiggers? Eggs between toes? That was enough to put the bite into never camping out again.
DeleteWhy go for just 3 star?
Sell the camping gear on ebay.
ReplyDeleteWe are giving some of it away to a friend with kids, and the rest of it is up for grabs.
Delete