Roughing it on holiday, (you dont know what you are missing,.....!)

grahamg

Old codger
I am taking my once in a good while week away in the Yorkshire Dales, UK, an area of the country I've so far neglected, though I've been to the Lake District nearby many times, and visited other areas of Yorkshire often enough, (having once lived in the east of the county for a coupe of years).

My choice was to try to save my pennies, (/nickels), and camp out, or head for a B & B establishment, (previously having found farmhouse B & B's suited me best, and were fairly competitively priced, and camping out whilst the weather is fairly good won the day.

I've been derided many times for having this romantic notion of holidaying under canvas, an almost "back to nature" idea, and yet I do believe folks who dont try it simply dont realise they are missing out on things in life by going for comfort or high star ratings etc., etc.

Now I mustn't exaggerate here too much, there is a shower area, (if you choose to use it, only for wimps really!), and you can charge your mobile phone, (which again is great but even better is the fact there's no signal on the network I use for my main mobile phone, the one most people try to contact me on, so I'm unavailable for a good period each day now whilst I'm here, (not that I get many calls you understand! :sneaky::rolleyes::whistle: ).

There you are, I know appearances are important, or even all important these days, making the right impression, telling folks you know or work with how lavishly you've holidayed and all that, but there is another world out there, more basic, less self-obsessed, where you can be as my dear old dad used to say, "Mr. Nobody with a shilling/dime in your pocket"!
 

I've been tent camping plenty of times with the kids. It isn't my personal choice, now that I've done it, but the kids loved it. It's the tent part I didn't like, the rest was fun.

When we changed to a different location, in a state forest, we stopped tent camping and got a rustic cabin. I had read about the bear problem. It was true, and as a result I have a few bear stories. We bought a rough collie to take with us. Wonderful dog. Luckily, the cabin's windows had bear-proof screens on them. Other people still camped in tents, but the idea of coming "home" to find a bear in one's tent is not appealing. Even though the bears were habituated to humans, a few were not. Every time we were there (and we could have lived there, it was so lovely), men with "bear dogs" would come to chase the bears back into the mountains.
 
Why do people work so hard to have a comfortable home and spend their free time sleeping outdoors in the weeds? :unsure:
Mad I know, especially at my time of life, but already the camp site owner and wife have been very helpful and welcoming as you'd expect, but I think genuinely wanted to know how your day went, a a family of four just arrived, and the hubby is doing a long hill walk for charity tomorrow - 26 miles, with apparently thousands of others taking part, (unfortunately I'm otherwise engaged but may complete the kinds version of two and a half miles! :rolleyes::whistle: ).
 
In 1988, I had the summer free so I hiked the Wonderland Trail which is 93 miles (150 km) long and encircles Mount Rainier. It is a strenuous hike with lots of elevation gain and loss, through lowland forests and valleys and into high alpine and sub-alpine areas. With many side trips along the way, it took me a week to complete.

When I returned to my starting point, I was tempted to keep going and make the circuit again because I had enjoyed it so much the first time. It
was a wonderful experience
 
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The most fun I ever had in a tent was when it was raining, and I touched the tent side to watch the water drip in.

I was sharing a tent with my 4 kids ... enough said! They were so young when we first started camping that I bought a big tent.
I did that too, back in the day when everything was canvass material, but if I'm right here, I think you can get away with it a little under the more modern nylon tents, (I've been doing so anyway in my "nearly new four man tent", where I've not put up the second sleeping compartment to save a bit of space on the campsite as agreed with the very friendly owners and the rain is pooling a bit because its not being used as designed).

Why do I say "nearly new", well if I haven't explained already this is only the second time I've put this tent up, (having owned it for four years!), and did I struggle the first time when putting it up in a friends garden in Wiltshire, who luckily had been a girl guide in her day, so had some idea what to do when I did all the usual tricks of failing to read the instructions properly, and got the bracing struts/poles in the wrong order, (who knew there were two sizes???? :rolleyes: ).

The lady who arrived yesterday afternoon told me her husband put the tent up quickly without her help, and asked me why I'd not chosen to use my tent very often,...., a good question and she liked my answer "It was so traumatic the first time"!, and how it all went back in the bag/box at the end goodness knows, but it did impress my friend in Wiltshire and her mum who thought I'd fail miserably. :whistle::unsure:(n):giggle:
 
I had my first shower in 5 days? Does this count? I have been using outdoor toilets for the last 5 days too. Surely, this might be considered as "roughing it." LOL This is one biffy I used for 2 days. Free A/C for sure and lots of free mosquitoes too. LOL
 

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