For the most part, fulltime RVers are pretty darned patriotic people. But a lot of us still dread the Independence Day holiday every year. Not because we don’t like small town parades and fireworks, but because we know that everybody with a tent, trailer, bus or motorhome will be filling up RV parks from coast to coast.
We learned during our first summer on the road that if we are not comfortably ensconced in an RV park by at least Wednesday of the weeks of the Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day holidays, chances are that we might not find a place to stay, and would be celebrating the holiday at Camp Wal-Mart.
So we’ve been comfortably parked at the Morgan Hill Thousand Trails preserve since Monday, and the place is really starting to fill up with holiday campers. In case you don’t know it yet, there is a difference between campers and RVers.
We spent most of yesterday just watching what I call the Holiday Hula. What? You’ve never heard of the Holiday Hula? That’s the dance weekend campers do as they drive through a campground looking for just the right campsite.
All day long there was an endless parade of RVs, mostly small travel trailers and fifth wheels, cruising up and down the campground’s roads, stopping here and there to scope out an RV site, and then driving on, searching for one just a little bit better.
Of course, here the sites are all basically about the same. You have two choices – in the trees or out in the open. And since it looks like all of the shaded sites have already been taken, that leaves just the sites out in the open, in the area where we are parked.
Still, we see one rig after another stopping while they check out a site, and then driving on. Sometimes they decide that what they have already seen is better than what they found next, for whatever reason, and they come back. If they’re lucky, somebody else hasn’t snatched the site already, and it’s still available.
But the fun isn’t over yet. If I had a camcorder, I could put together an entire segment of America’s Funniest Videos just filming people trying to park and hook up to the campground utilities. Oh, the things we have seen!
One guy took six or seven tries to get his trailer into a pull-through site, another tried to back in, rather than going around to pull through, and ended up almost sideways in the camp site. Where is Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School when we need him?
I walked down to the trash dumpster, and along the way I saw one travel trailer that had a spare tire under the hitch instead of a jack or stabilizer; another fellow was hooking up a green garden hose to the water bib; and another was on his roof, with a tripod mounted portable TV dish anchored down by bungee cords, trying to find a satellite. I was tempted to ask him why he didn’t just put it on the ground like everybody else, but I was afraid he’d try to explain it to me.
And what’s a holiday at a campground without kids? LOTS of kids! Kids of every size. Small kids, big kids, loud kids, and louder kids. And even some pretty nice kids too. Or a least I thought so when a couple of boys were playing ball and stopped as I walked past, until I heard one tell the other “Hold on so you don’t hit that old guy.” Smart alec kids!
At least we shouldn’t have any smoky campfires to contend with, due the the area’s high fire danger.
But what the heck, it’s a holiday weekend. Campers have to have fun too. And by Monday night most of them will be gone, and life can return to normal.
Bad Nick wants nothing to do with the holiday crowds, so he stayed inside yesterday, writing a new Bad Nick Blog titled Justice Isn’t Just Blind, She’s Stupid Too! Check it out and leave a comment.
Thought For The Day – If we quit voting, will they go away?
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So true. We are at a membership campground for 10 days, just so we could be here over the holiday. The place is suppose to be full this weekend and they have over 600 sites. A coach pulled in next to us late yesterday and before he even hooked up, was knocking on our door wanting to know if he could have our fire ring. It is not that he did not have one, he just thought it would be nice to have two. It may be a long weekend.
Besides the kids, do not forget all the pets running free and making lots of noise.
We tell people we don’t have to watch TV for laughs all we have to do is look out the window. You are so right about watching others. We just watched a couple park near us. Obviously newbees. They had a truck and trailer. It took about 30 minutes for them to decide where to put the trailer. He couldn’t get it into the first site and then he finally got it into the second site he tried. She was ineffectual with signals. When they finally started to set up it took at least another 30 minutes. Everything was brand new. She went into the trailer and put on a special jacket which had a bug hood and gloves attached. But she had on open toed sandels. I guess the bugs only bite about the head and hands and never on the feet. He had a level and made sure the trailer was level from every angle. All this was funny. Please note we laugh at ourselves too. When we first started we must have been a sight for the experienced RVers to watch.
And yes, we don’t like holidays either. It just makes it harder for us to get a spot. All the CAMPERS come out to camp. We are living in the RV so there is a definite difference to what they want to do (campfires, kids running loose, boats, ATVs, bikes) etc) compared to what we want to do (find a place to park and enjoy living our lives). Still always interesting to watch them do their thing!!!!!!!!!!
We learned our lesson early to be in a campground early before a holiday. Made our reservations for our site here at Granite Hill Campground in Gettysburg last February.
Yesterday as I walked around the park, I saw a Class C back into a site which wasn’t level at all. So they decided to drive the front wheels up onto 4 blocks of wood. Small chunks of 2×4 pieces of wood. The wood kept sliding around and the people were getting frustrated. I would have laughed if I hadn’t been worried about someone getting hurt.
Yes, there are lots of kids. How about a pool full of them playing “Marco Polo”. That will give you nightmares..lol BUT isn’t it wonderful watching them having fun, riding their bikes, walking without cell phones, playing ball, etc.
Yesterday in the pool I made a new friend. A ten year old girl who had no one to play with yet asked me if I had any kids. When I told her that my kids were grown and I was retired she asked if she could swim with me. We had quite a nice chat. Her name is Lexi but she really wanted her name to be Claire. When I told her my name was Claire, she smiled and said “Cool”.
Campgrounds are special places whether you are a weekender or a full timer.
You are right about the difference between campers & rver’s. We always try to be at a post or lodge in a small town or city for the holiday’s. The city folk are out in the boonies making noise.
We all don’t like the extra crowds or noise on holidays. But, isn’t it a nice change of pace! We just go with it and really enjoy the different personalities.
We hunker down for the holidays also. Currently in Montana near Glacier NP. Besides watching all of the “camper” antics, I do enjoy seeing all the different types of rvs and campers that show up. Everything from restored oldes to “antiques” that should be retired as well as homemade campers. I ask them about their rv which usually starts an interesting conversation. Currently there’s one of those GMC mh’s parked a few doors down from us. It appears to be in great shape so I’m looking forward to talking to the owner. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a peek inside.
We’re in a private campground in Southaven, MS. Half empty. Campground where I worked during the winter in Florida is mostly empty this weekend as well. Guess it’s where you are that determines the crowds.
WE are staying in Bishop, CA at the fair grounds. Full hookups, $20 a night and out of about 50 sites we are the only ones here. We often stay at fair grounds in California as it is usually cheaper than a lot of other places.
Even better – leave the country and you won’t have to contend with July 4 weekend at all. We are in Newfoundland. Canada Day (July 1) was pretty tame in the small towns with only a hundred people or fewer.
Larry and Joyce Space
Both campgrounds here at Fort Worden State Park in WA are full this weekend. At least one Saturday afternoon wedding was held up on Artillery Hill (!) and they are having the reception in a building about 25 yards from our front door. Hope they’re enjoying it a lot but finish before our bedtime. We’ll see what the fireworks show brings tomorrow night.