Camping in the 21st Century
01/07/14 06:13
In the early days of automobile travel, a long road trip was a real adventure. There wasn’t a national highway system and roads often were of unpredictable quality. Tires were fragile and needing to patch several tires in a single day wasn’t uncommon. Fuel stations were few and far between, so finding gasoline was a challenge. Restrooms were behind the bushes alongside the road and overnight accommodations were wherever you decided to camp with whatever camping gear you brought with you. People often were forced to camp in inconvenient locations because of the limited range of their cars.
After the second world war, states and the nation put a great deal of investment and effort into developing and expanding the highway system. Service stations, with more amenities began to become common in every town and in several locations between towns. Auto courts and motels began to spring up. Our family’s summer place began as a park that was used as a campground and was developed into an auto court in the 1950’s. It had a series of small cabins that were sleeping rooms only, with a shared shower house. One owner before our family purchased the property added two burner propane hot plates for the convenience of guests. The cabins were unheated and poorly insulated. But they offered a bed to weary travelers. By the time our family purchased the property modern motels with private bathrooms were the norm and there were plenty of small properties around Montana with small (and often poorly constructed) cabins that were for sale.
Back in the 1970’s when Susan and I were traveling to and from Chicago to attend Seminary there was a 55 mph speed limit across the nation. That made Chicago a three-day and two-night trip from Montana. For the most part we stayed with relatives along the way, but occasionally we would take a slightly different route or break up the drive in a different fashion and find a campground. In those days we didn’t own a tent, but had some good tarps. One was used for a ground cloth and another to provide shelter for our sleeping bags. We cooked over an open fire and used the facilities provided by the campground, often only pit toilets.
The world has changed. There are still plenty of campgrounds in national forests without electricity and modern amenities and those who wish to get off of the highways and hike can still fine pristine camping places. But when we are trying to make lots of miles, it is easier to stay in modern campgrounds.
I remember back in the 1960’s when the first KOA was opened in Billings, Montana. At first it was nothing more than a shower house and a small office with a few camping supplies. The campsites had fire rings. Soon there was electricity and water available at each campsite. Then came sewer and upgraded electrical service, so trailers equipped with air conditioners could plug in. They began to sell propane, and offer games and other activities. Around that time, a neighbor just up the river decided to get in on the business. His home was at the end of a quarter mile gravel driveway that ran along the edge of a hay field. It was several miles off of the main highway. But he put up signs and had brochures printed and people began to discover his place. One of his big attractions was a couple of ponds that he stocked heavily with trout from the hatchery. This made it almost impossible not to catch a fish if you put any baited hook in the pond. He fed the fish regularly and we used to go out to throw fish pellets into the water and watch the fish rise. Pretty soon he had a large number of developed camp sites with water, electricity and sewer hookups for trailers and other recreational vehicles.
Traveling from Eastern Washington to Western Montana yesterday, we began to look for a campground for the evening. We had made no reservations, because we didn’t know exactly how far we would come. After stopping at several campgrounds, we got out our directory and started making phone calls. We finally got the last spot available in a large, modern camping resort. It is a KOA, but it is a far cry from Dave Drum’s first KOA alongside the Yellowstone River.
Our rather expensive parking place features a long pull-through gravel pad, perfectly leveled, with concrete sidewalks along both sides. There is a concrete pad with a picnic table, complete with an umbrella, an above ground fire pit with a screened cover, a two-person swing and a small patch of perfectly manicured grass on one side of the camper. On the other side are two places to connect sewer, a water source with two spigots and an electrical box with 50 amp and 30 amp circuits as well as additional plug ins for whatever one might want to connect. There is cable television provided at each campsite and wireless Internet service. The park features an ice cream shop, a swimming pool, a hot tub, small camping cabins not unlike the old auto courts, and deluxe cabins with private baths, heating, air conditioning and kitchens. There are multiple shower houses spread throughout the park for those who don’t have or who don’t want to use the facilities in their recreational vehicles. I’m thinking that the folks in the million-dollar motorhome that is towing a full-sized pickup behind parked next to us see our little trailer and think we’re roughing-it. They probably don’t mind the fee for parking here, which is about two thirds of what a motel room would cost for the night.
We’re not as comfortable with the high prices. We don’t need the amenities. And we’re a bit sad that one has to make reservations in order to stay in a campground these days. Part of the freedom of vacation travel for us is being able to stop where and when we want. But we travel with multiple cell phones. We have computers and cell phones and a GPS that can mark the route to campgrounds. We can learn to call early in the day and make reservations for the night’s stop.
Chances are, however, most of the time, we will seek routes away from the Interstate where the campgrounds aren’t called resorts and where they don’t fill up every night. We’re not exactly roughing it in our little camper, but we can do without the patio and cable television with no problem.
After the second world war, states and the nation put a great deal of investment and effort into developing and expanding the highway system. Service stations, with more amenities began to become common in every town and in several locations between towns. Auto courts and motels began to spring up. Our family’s summer place began as a park that was used as a campground and was developed into an auto court in the 1950’s. It had a series of small cabins that were sleeping rooms only, with a shared shower house. One owner before our family purchased the property added two burner propane hot plates for the convenience of guests. The cabins were unheated and poorly insulated. But they offered a bed to weary travelers. By the time our family purchased the property modern motels with private bathrooms were the norm and there were plenty of small properties around Montana with small (and often poorly constructed) cabins that were for sale.
Back in the 1970’s when Susan and I were traveling to and from Chicago to attend Seminary there was a 55 mph speed limit across the nation. That made Chicago a three-day and two-night trip from Montana. For the most part we stayed with relatives along the way, but occasionally we would take a slightly different route or break up the drive in a different fashion and find a campground. In those days we didn’t own a tent, but had some good tarps. One was used for a ground cloth and another to provide shelter for our sleeping bags. We cooked over an open fire and used the facilities provided by the campground, often only pit toilets.
The world has changed. There are still plenty of campgrounds in national forests without electricity and modern amenities and those who wish to get off of the highways and hike can still fine pristine camping places. But when we are trying to make lots of miles, it is easier to stay in modern campgrounds.
I remember back in the 1960’s when the first KOA was opened in Billings, Montana. At first it was nothing more than a shower house and a small office with a few camping supplies. The campsites had fire rings. Soon there was electricity and water available at each campsite. Then came sewer and upgraded electrical service, so trailers equipped with air conditioners could plug in. They began to sell propane, and offer games and other activities. Around that time, a neighbor just up the river decided to get in on the business. His home was at the end of a quarter mile gravel driveway that ran along the edge of a hay field. It was several miles off of the main highway. But he put up signs and had brochures printed and people began to discover his place. One of his big attractions was a couple of ponds that he stocked heavily with trout from the hatchery. This made it almost impossible not to catch a fish if you put any baited hook in the pond. He fed the fish regularly and we used to go out to throw fish pellets into the water and watch the fish rise. Pretty soon he had a large number of developed camp sites with water, electricity and sewer hookups for trailers and other recreational vehicles.
Traveling from Eastern Washington to Western Montana yesterday, we began to look for a campground for the evening. We had made no reservations, because we didn’t know exactly how far we would come. After stopping at several campgrounds, we got out our directory and started making phone calls. We finally got the last spot available in a large, modern camping resort. It is a KOA, but it is a far cry from Dave Drum’s first KOA alongside the Yellowstone River.
We’re not as comfortable with the high prices. We don’t need the amenities. And we’re a bit sad that one has to make reservations in order to stay in a campground these days. Part of the freedom of vacation travel for us is being able to stop where and when we want. But we travel with multiple cell phones. We have computers and cell phones and a GPS that can mark the route to campgrounds. We can learn to call early in the day and make reservations for the night’s stop.
Chances are, however, most of the time, we will seek routes away from the Interstate where the campgrounds aren’t called resorts and where they don’t fill up every night. We’re not exactly roughing it in our little camper, but we can do without the patio and cable television with no problem.