Category: Tent Campgrounds
Sally’s Revenge and the Bear that came to Dinner – Part 2
August 17, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
(Continued from “Sally’s Revenge and the Bear that came to Dinner,” Part 1) Well, that big pile of hair that Sally pulled out of the bag wasn’t a wig; which was my first guess. As both families stood around that first morning; deep in the forest in Matthew’s Arm Campground at beautiful Shenandoah National Park, I might have grumbled a bit. We had been waiting for forty-five minutes while Sally finished her morning preparations for taking a short hike on the Appalachian Trail. She primped, painted and brushed. But it was the amount of time and effort that she was taking with that huge mass of hair that she was pinning onto her head that finally got to me. “Is she ever going to be finished with that wig?” I whined (yes, I whined, but I was at my breaking point, okay?). It’s not a Wig; it’s a Fall!” my wife hissed, “And keep your voice down!” “Well,” I hissed back, “I’m going to go berserk if she decides that she needs a pedicure before we... [Read more...]
Camping in Brooklyn!
August 16, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 1 Comment
Okay, fellow campers, you know that camping is really going mainstream when a campground grows in Brooklyn!! Yes, that’s correct, there is now a campground in Brooklyn. I chuckled in disbelief when I was sitting at breakfast reading The Wall Street Journal last week. I was tired of reading about the world’s financial carnage, but an article by Barry Newman ignited my enthusiasm. The article is entitled ”A Campground Grows in Brooklyn, Bringing a New York Edge to Roughing It” and reports on the new campground at Floyd Bennett Field near Jamaica Bay. Floyd Bennett Field is on the National Register of Historic places–it was New York’s first municipal airport. The National Park Service recently added forty campsites. Most of the sites are for tent campers, but six are suitable for recreational vehicles. There are even fire rings, grills, and picnic tables at each site. I was born and raised on Long Island only a stone’s throw from Brooklyn.... [Read more...]
Sally’s Revenge and the Bear that came to Dinner – Part 1
August 8, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
Dateline: Late 1970’s, Shenandoah National Park, Matthew’s Arm Campground, Virginia Although this story didn’t just happen, I thought that you might appreciate it. It came up during a story telling evening around a campfire while we were in Moab, Utah. If you’ve been camping long enough, you’ll each have stories like this to tell. If you don’t, well you’re just not trying hard enough! BTW, since this story is a bit longer than my usual, I’ve broken it down into what will hopefully be two easy-to-absorb sections. I hope that you’ll enjoy them. *** After car-pooling to work in Manhattan for nearly a year, we were, in some ways, like an old married couple; finishing each other’s sentences and familiar with every like, dislike, and mood. One thing we learned about our likes was that we both enjoyed camping. And so Ted and I began hatching a plan to take our families camping together in the Shenandoah National Park. It all sounded great in the planning stage, but we should... [Read more...]
Another Quiet Escape in Wisconsin
July 31, 2011 by Diane Berry · 8 Comments
In a recent post, I profiled one of our favorite northwoods campgrounds, Anvil Lake Campground, a simple Forest Service campground located in Wisconsin in the Nicolet National Forest. However, our favorite such camping spot, also in the Nicolet is the beautiful Franklin Lake Campground a few miles away in essentially the same neck of the woods. It was to this lovely spot we first brought our son camping when he was barely six months old. It was Memorial Day weekend in 1992 and a frosty one at that. Temperatures plunged to freezing during the night and he slept in my sleeping bag with me in his snowsuit. In fact, he spent the entire weekend in that snowsuit. I think that early experience served him well as he is our child that most loves the out of doors, accompanies us on every camping or RV trip even at age 20 and, is an avid hiker and climber. As I write this we are preparing for our annual trip out west where we have planned to climb two more “Fourteeners” (peaks in excess of 14,000... [Read more...]
CAPE LOOKOUT NATIONAL SEASHORE – Home of one of North Carolina’s Historic Lighthouses
July 28, 2011 by Professor95 · 4 Comments
Monday was not a good beach day. The wind was blowing between 20 and 25 knots. Umbrellas were flying like kites and the fine, dry sand unaffected by the ocean’s waters cut into your body like thousands of little razors. We decided to hang around inside the camper. I finished my book by James Patterson, 4th of July, and started a second by Glenn Beck, The Overton Window. The first was an excellent paperback thriller with a surprise ending. The Overton Window is getting interesting but is more political than mysterious – both are great beach books. Tuesday was not much better weather wise. The wind had died down but the sky’s were overcast and numerous thunderboomers rolled overhead. We decided to hit an afternoon movie at the local cinema. We have not watched the first part of the current Harry Potter movie, so felt we should wait on viewing the second. The entire series has become way too complicated as it is. Zookeeper seemed like a good alternative. Boy was I ever... [Read more...]
A Quiet Escape in the Northwoods
July 24, 2011 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
When most people think about the northwoods of Wisconsin, the very popular vacation destination cities of Eagle River, Minoqua and Boulder Junction come to mind. They are vibrant exciting vacation spots and boast many full service RV parks and wonderful campgrounds with every amenity you could imagine; places such as the Hi-Pines Campground and Resort in Eagle River and the Patricia Lake RV Resort in Minoqua. These parks offer every accommodation one could hope for in an RV park including full hookups, cable wifi, supply stores, clubhouses and innumerable recreational activities. However, sometimes when we want to visit the northwoods, we are seeking a quiet escape to simply enjoy being out in nature. We also enjoy the challenge of dry camping for periods of time; kind of a test for us as to how minimalist we can be in terms of power, propane and water consumption. At those times, it is the simple Forest Serviced campgrounds in the located in the Nicolet National Forest to which we retire. One... [Read more...]
Camping and RV’ing Support American Jobs (Opinion-Editorial Submission)
July 21, 2011 by Professor95 · 1 Comment
Jobs, jobs and more jobs. That is what this Country needs right now to get us out of the economic slump. Any time unemployment rises, our economy suffers. While all of our politicians keep trumping ideas and probable solutions for putting Americans back to work, none has addressed the positive impact the ownership and use of recreational vehicles has on our economy. RV’ers contribute to the employment of hundreds of thousands of American workers. It is estimated that for every RV built, sold and used by families in the USA, two full-time jobs are created or sustained. There are at least 8 million (8,000,000) American households that own at least one RV. We also annually visit many of the 13,000 privately owned RV parks and 1,600 public facilities that cater to RV’s – many more can be counted if we include tent campers. It all begins with the manufacture of RV and camping components from raw materials. We need steel, aluminum, fiberglass, lumber, plastics and rubber... [Read more...]
Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: Montana’s Whitefish RV Park: “Keep it secret! ”
July 16, 2011 by Patti F. · 8 Comments
Watch video of Whitefish RV Park http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dwv7aMXxdk “Keep it secret!” I had just told our awesome neighbors at the Whitefish RV Park I was writing a blog for Woodall’s about Whitefish RV…they begged me not to. And I confess that selfishly…I’m torn. Whitefish RV Park is one of those jewels that once discovered, everyone fears the next guy will discover it, too…and the next guy, and the next guy, until the mine is empty. Lucky for you, ethics prevailed over selfishness, so I now present to you, Whitefish RV Park, Whitefish, Montana. Ta dah! Not only is it idyllic, but it’s our very first home as we begin our full time RVing life, so we’re especially thrilled. Wow. What a place. Jeff and Susie Jensen, the owners, don’t do “adequate.” They do great. Being an an RV rookie (hence, the title of my blog), I don’t have many RV parks with which to compare, but I have read billions of RV park reviews and talked with as many experienced RVers.... [Read more...]
Balancing Teens and Nature Thanks To KOA
June 26, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 3 Comments
Last summer, we had the opportunity to rediscover the Kampgrounds of America, also known as KOAs. We were visiting Yellowstone National Park and during the first part of our stay, we camped at Madison Campground right in the park. Madison was lovely, but it lacked amenities such as water and electrical hookups. And, there weren’t even showers at the campground itself. This, of course, didn’t go over too well with our teenage daughter. After a few days, the steam was starting to emerge. It was definitely time to shift gears. So, when we decided to change our itinerary and stay a little longer, we opted to stay at the lovely Yellowstone Park KOA. We hadn’t stayed at a KOA in years, but this one is organized, immaculate, and beautifully maintained. The bathrooms were clean and the little shop offered lots of conveniences such as milk, bread, ice, and even homemade fudge. There was a playground and a coffee stand. A little café served pancakes in the morning. There was WiFi... [Read more...]
Alaska Is The Must-See Destination
June 26, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · Leave a Comment
I was poking around the Woodall’s site this morning and was very happy to see that Alaska is listed as the June Must-See Destination for Woodall’s. You can read the full story for yourself, but I am happy to be able to offer my own tidbits because I lived in Alaska about five years ago. Fortunately, we were able to camp extensively throughout the state while living there. We can assure you that it takes a lot of organization and planning when traveling and camping throughout America’s Last Frontier. When we did so, our children were about 11, 8, and 3 years of age. With our travel trailer in tow, we traveled all the way to Denali National Park for Father’s Day weekend that year. We camped on the Kenai Peninsula along the Russian River on July 4th. And, we spent numerous weekends overlooking Resurrection Bay at a municipal campground in Seward. Thankfully, I had lots of wonderful neighbors who camped with us or gave us tips and advice for navigating the... [Read more...]
