Now it is fall, and this is my favorite time to camp. I am finding that all of our state campsites that accommodate RV's are full. I didn't really understand it until I did some digging into the RV lifestyle.
Obviously, some folks take to RV for the travel, but what is happening in a big way in the USA is that seniors are moving into RV's as a kind of affordable downgrade. Sure, I can understand that. The economy has hit seniors hard.
What I don't like seeing, though is our public campgrounds turning into cheap rental space for RV living and that is what we are starting to see.
National and state forest campgrounds no longer look like campgrounds. They look like parking lots for enormous buses. They take the "Forest" out of the forest. Several of the public campgrounds I like to go to are closed for the season to go through major "upgrades". "Upgrade" specifically means converting rustic tent campsites to RV accessible sites by adding 50 amp electric and concrete pads. Sorry, but 50 amp electrical hookups, concrete pads, and bilge discharge stations are not what I go to forests to see. The sight of rows of big RV rigs crowding out the scenery of our beautiful natural forests is quite frankly grotesque. This generation of seniors are the same generation that was screaming for pollution controls, air quality standards, and natural preservation. Now, it is "to helll with everybody else, I want mine first".
What is happening is that folks who are down-sizing to living in RV's are just rotating from one park to the next to avoid the two-week rule. Our public campgrounds which were intended for campers and families are turning into RV slums for people looking for low-rent places to park their rigs. You no longer get to enjoy the peace and quiet because it is all too often drowned out by the churning of an RV generator.
I think this comes at a great price to the intent of our state and national forests and campgrounds. I strongly believe that RV's should be in RV parks complete with asphalt and electricity and sewage bilge vacuums, etc.
Our state and national forests should be preserved for the natural beauty for which they were designed and intended.
Obviously, some folks take to RV for the travel, but what is happening in a big way in the USA is that seniors are moving into RV's as a kind of affordable downgrade. Sure, I can understand that. The economy has hit seniors hard.
What I don't like seeing, though is our public campgrounds turning into cheap rental space for RV living and that is what we are starting to see.
National and state forest campgrounds no longer look like campgrounds. They look like parking lots for enormous buses. They take the "Forest" out of the forest. Several of the public campgrounds I like to go to are closed for the season to go through major "upgrades". "Upgrade" specifically means converting rustic tent campsites to RV accessible sites by adding 50 amp electric and concrete pads. Sorry, but 50 amp electrical hookups, concrete pads, and bilge discharge stations are not what I go to forests to see. The sight of rows of big RV rigs crowding out the scenery of our beautiful natural forests is quite frankly grotesque. This generation of seniors are the same generation that was screaming for pollution controls, air quality standards, and natural preservation. Now, it is "to helll with everybody else, I want mine first".
What is happening is that folks who are down-sizing to living in RV's are just rotating from one park to the next to avoid the two-week rule. Our public campgrounds which were intended for campers and families are turning into RV slums for people looking for low-rent places to park their rigs. You no longer get to enjoy the peace and quiet because it is all too often drowned out by the churning of an RV generator.
I think this comes at a great price to the intent of our state and national forests and campgrounds. I strongly believe that RV's should be in RV parks complete with asphalt and electricity and sewage bilge vacuums, etc.
Our state and national forests should be preserved for the natural beauty for which they were designed and intended.
Comment