Camping/Outdoors....

Posted by: Whirlwind

Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 01:53 AM

OK, I wasn't sure where to post this.

Does anybody watch the travel channel? Does anybody like to camp? Has anyone seen the show profiling the group "Sisters on the Fly?" A group of women (members nationwide) who camp and flyfish and just generally enjoy the outdoors?

Well, if there are any like-minded boomer women out there, check out www.sistersonthefly.com. I joined this organization today and there is a weekend event coming up in Georgia, in October. A weekend to camp with a little horseback riding thrown in. Not sure if I want to do the fly fishing (although when I was younger I loved to fish, so I'll probably give it another "go".)

I'm purposely looking for a new things to get involved in now, since my "posse" (group of friends) has evolved lately. I've always loved anything to do with the outdoors (especially camping and hiking and the like). And there is nothing like a fun bunch of women. Gal pals are the best!

Anyway, I just thought this was worth posting.

Whirlwind
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 02:49 AM

I love what they are doing. I wish I had the money to join that caravan! What fun those ladies must have. I hope you get to do this Whirlwind. Keep us informed. I would love the fishing,and the hiking, but give me a Holiday Inn at night. Unless of course I had one of those cute trailers like they have on the site. I could have a ball decorating that, couldn't I? And I don't do horses...I'm terrified of them. But love to fish.

JJ
Posted by: Dancing Dolphin

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 03:53 AM

They sound like they are having fun, however, I am no longer a camper. Relaxation for me does not include waking up at 2am, unzipping the sleeping bag, wiggling out and unzipping the tent flap, finding the flashlight, then tromping out to the outhouse, only to find I forgot to bring my kleenex with me since they ran out of toilet paper. Oh, and dropping the flashlight into the toilet is another good memory.

Give me a soft bed and bathroom within 15 feet and I'm a happy camper!

Kathy
Posted by: Lola

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 06:23 AM

I would love to go camping and roughing in out. However, as one grows older, the "ladies room" has become my refuge. I'll check in for the night at the Holiday Inn with the few others.
Posted by: Edelweiss

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 07:49 AM

I love watching the travel channel. The tougher the area, the wilder the wilderness, the harsher the climate, the more I snuggle into my favourite chair and think…oh it's so good to be home.
I'm with JJ , Kathy and Lola; outdoors is fine; but a comfy bed at night is a necessity for me.
Posted by: Eagle Heart

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 09:50 AM

I used to do a lot of camping in my younger days. Working at a residential summer camp for kids for eight summers, much of my summers were spent canoeing to campsites, cooking over campfires and sleeping out in tents...nice on starry, starry nights, but even more fun in the pouring rain...NOT! (One night it rained so hard that everyone in our tent found ourselves floating out the tent door in our soggy sleeping bags - took us about 4 days to dry those things out!)

Hubby and I tried it a few years ago, but the bathroom was too far away...having to trudge the equivalent of two blocks several times during the night took all the fun out of it! (And there were no woods to pee in, what kind of camping was that?!!) Now give me a warm, comfy, bathroom-equipped RV and I could probably enjoy that better.
Posted by: dejavu

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 01:41 PM

My best friend and I used to go camping with her folks a lot when we were teenagers. Oh man, those were great trips. Her folks had a pop-up camper, but half the time, my friend and I slept in her dad's Buick. And oh, the boys we met camping....

My husband and I have talked about camping, although yes, we would probably do the RV thing. These days, we need a good mattress!
Posted by: Edelweiss

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 05:02 PM

Eagle Heart, that's so funny; "floating out of your tents."
We had a similar experience. We took our young boys (at that time) on a bike/camping tour. It rained the entire week. We set up our tents on soggy fields, between coughing cows, and croaking frogs. I sat straight as a candle in my sleeping bag, trying to avoid touching the mud around me, and listened to all the night noises including Hubby's snoring.
The boys thought the tour was an adventure, Hubby loved the nature stuff, and I ended up with rings under my eyes that I have to this very day.
Posted by: Dotsie

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/22/06 08:29 PM

Whirlwind, good for you for being a joiner at this stage of the game. I can't wait to hear about it.

There was an article in our local paper today about the increased number of fisherwomen which I thought was very cool.

I've also read several articles about boomers causing a rise in RV sales. Also, Harley sales are booming due to boomers and the old midlife crisis.
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/23/06 02:24 AM

Whirlwind, although we all just answered you with "give me a Holiday Inn" type answer, I think it's actually a fun thing your doing and I meant it when I said I would love to have one of those travel trailers like they're showing on the web site. Can't you just see one of those with a crown on top? Painted purple and goldish colors? Wuhooo!

Anyway, if you're going on that upcoming trip, please do come back and let us know how it was. I bet you're going to say you had a ball!

JJ
Posted by: Whirlwind

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/23/06 12:01 PM

JawJaw, I wasn't surprised at the "Holiday Inn" comments. LOL, actually I expected them. I've always been the "alien" of the family (actually I take after my dad, he liked the outdoors too. But he died when I was 23 so we never really had much time to enjoy each other as adults).

I've got a group of friends who like to camp and we go a few times a year. Our campsite always looks like the "pod people" have arrived since we all have those small dome tents. This "Sisters" group is just another outlet, a way to meet more great gals like the ones on this board.

And yes, I would LOVE to see one of those campers painted purple with a crown on top! LOL!

Dotsie, I understand the increase in RV sales, But I'm WAY too chicken to ride a motorcycle (THAT is what everybody else in my family is into. My brother, sister-in-law, cousin, uncle....). I told them they could ride to their heart's content, and I'd follow in my camper (with Taz as my co-pilot). The older I get, the better care I take of my mama's only daughter! ROFL....

I'll let you all know how the camping trip goes, I'm sure it's going to be great fun.

Whirlwind
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/23/06 05:28 PM

So you have a camper, too? Is it like theirs? What do you do about YOU KNOW WHATing? Trees? Bushes? I'm serious, I want to know what you do when nature calls? I get up 3-4 times during the night. I can just see me meeting a pair of eyes in the dark while out camping...nu uh...

JJ
Posted by: dejavu

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/23/06 06:34 PM

When I was in college, I went on a group camping trip in the spring that started out in beautiful weather but by nightfall, our little clutch of pup tents looked like Valley Forge under heavy snowfall. In the middle of the night I had to pee, didn't want to walk all the way to the outhouse, so I peed in bushes. Next morning, guess what. Yellow snow right outside the door of our tent.

Who did it? Not ME!!
Posted by: Whirlwind

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/24/06 02:04 AM

JawJaw, I laughed out loud when I read your last post. Loud enough that my boss asked me what was so funny.

I "did" have a camper when I was married, a cute little 19 footer. But the ex got tired of it and wanted a new truck, so we sold it before we parted. Bad idea, wish I still had it.

To replace that one, I have been looking for the perfect little vintage Shasta for about 6 months now. Found one in New Mexico a couple of months ago, but when I called to inquire I was told it had been sold just two hours earlier. Sigh.

So in the meantime, I use my cute little dome tent and my big, fat, queen-sized air mattress and soft-as-fleece sleeping bags (every bit as comfortable as my bed at home, no joke).

The campers have bathrooms or porta potties, so no worries there. In the tent? Well, if you want the truth, here it is. I "take care of business" right before turning in for the night. We usually make "one last group trip" to the bathhouse for that purpose. But in the event that nature calls in the middle of the night, I have a small discreet sealed container in the tent, so no "hovering in the bushes in the dark" is necessary. If the discreet little container is used, the next morning it is placed in a cute little tote bag and I take it to the bathhouse to be emptied. And I don't have to encounter any "critters of the night." Doing "the hover" in the dark isn't any fun.

And yellow snow Dejavu? Hey, that could have been the big possum or raccoon that you heard wandering around your tent in the middle of the night.

LMAO....

I love camping!

Whirlwind
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/24/06 02:56 AM

If you think about it......it would be hilarious to get a bunch of us together and go camping. Can you imagine? And I just bet if anything went wrong, me and dejavu would get blamed for it, am I right?

But.............it would be fun...for ONE night. Close to a Holiday Inn......or a Krispy Kreme Donut place....and Starbucks......an---what?

JJ
Posted by: meredithbead

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/24/06 04:03 AM

I've slept in the back of my van on several trips, but I'm not into the whole setting-the-tent-up thing. And hanging your food so the animals can't get it. And cooking over a fire. It all seems like WORK. Peeing in the bushes is the least of it!

This said and done, Whirlwind, have a great time! I'm glad you found a bunch of like-minded women.
Posted by: Whirlwind

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/24/06 11:43 AM

The only time I've ever had to hang my food was when I was on a backpacking trip. Yes, I LOVE to go backpacking too. But camping in a park and backpacking in the wilderness are two very different activities.

When "the group" camps, we don't exactly rough in. After camp is set up, it's pretty cozy. Saturday night dinners are the best. Checkered tablecloth, candles on the table, tiki torches around the site, music on a CD player, spaghetti with homemade sauce, garlic cheese bread, salad, and of course, wine. We've done "the dinner" so many times, everybody has their own assignment. It isn't even discussed, we all just bring our contribution.

A couple of us have portable stoves to make things easier. Especially for breakfast when one person is cooking eggs/omelets and one is cooking gourmet "pepper spiced" bacon.

JawJaw, IF you ever want to camp for a night, just let me know. I've got enough equipment to outfit a small girl scout group. And maybe we could even have pizza delivered so there would be no cooking.

LOL...

Whirlwind
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/24/06 11:56 AM

Oh cool! And you are in the South, too, right? Hey, I just have to know...have you ever encountered wild beast?
Like B-E-A-R-S? eeek! Or Snakes? There would be NO NEED for a bush or a tree if I did, I can tell you that sister!

JJ
Posted by: Dancing Dolphin

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/24/06 02:24 PM

My husband and I used to tent camp every summer. The last time we did it, we had just gotten to the site and set up camp. It was about dusk and we were sitting at the picnic table playing Yahtzee (he always beats me!).

We heard a noise and looked over towards the car, a mere 20 feet away. There was a bear reaching in through the partially opened window trying to get to our groceries. He got what he wanted and ambled away.

We checked out the car and there was slobber all over the seats, and the drivers side head rest was totally bent forward so the bear could reach the groceries. Well, that did it.

We had eaten in our tent before, and I just knew that the bear would be back that night to check out the great food smells from our tent while we were sleeping.

So, sorry hubby, but let's pack up!!! We packed up the entire camp and went to a motel. There, I discovered the joys of a comfy mattress, a nearby indoor potty, and breakfast out!

Needless to say, we have rarely camped since then. And I honestly think my hubby doesn't miss it either. This doesn't mean we avoid the great outdoors - we just enjoy our creature comforts without the wild creatures!

Kathy
Posted by: Whirlwind

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/25/06 02:53 AM

OK, let me preface this by saying I'm the girl who actually "likes" all things to do with nature - including most animals/critters.

While camping in state parks, I've only been lucky enough to see deer (up close). Red Top Mountain State Park in Georgia is known for the deer population, and they are quite willing to wander through your campsite at any time of the day (or night).

The only bear I've encountered was on a backpacking trip, and we weren't set up in camp, but were on the trail. We heard it before we saw it (and it was a young bear, about 100 yards from us, up on a hillside). Needless to say, we put the "pedal to the metal" and hoofed it on out of there, because if the baby was there, it was guaranteed that mama wasn't far away.

Snakes? Sure, they're out there. But I've seen more of them in my yard at home than I've ever seen while backpacking. And I've never seen any at all in public campgrounds.

The only "critter invasion" in a public campground happened in the middle of the night one time. My friend Mike (who snores so badly we always make him sleep as far away from everyone else as possible) had set up his sleeping area in the middle of a clearing. It was a very nice night, so he wasn't in a tent. In the middle of the night he woke up and found out that he had placed his sleeping bag in the middle of a "major highway" of a sizeable grandaddy longlegs convention. That's the closest I've ever come to peeing in my pants, I laughed SO hard. Never before (or since) have I seen (or heard) a grown man pitch such a hissy fit. Well worth waking up in the middle of the night to witness that.

Whirlwind
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/25/06 03:00 AM

How funny Whirlwind! Course in the middle of the night, Mike had no way of knowing they were only Grandaddy Long Legs, right? Girl, I can tell you right now that if I felt something crawling on me in the dark, ONE of us would be dead and deaf. Dead from trying to run fast enough to leave my skin, and deaf because of all of the screaming. Now if I ever saw a snake up close and personal, you'd STILL be looking for me...

JJ
Posted by: chatty lady

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/25/06 03:28 AM

Camping out, roughing it, no way, no how...Not this lady! Did travel across country in a motor home and that was inconvenient enough but fun. But other than that, forget about it!! Not placing my ample bottom near any bushes or the ground and at night yet, what are you thinking? My idea of roughing it is when the shower is to small in the motor home....
Posted by: Cookie

Re: Camping/Outdoors.... - 08/25/06 01:43 PM

LOL! My sentiments exactly, Chatty!! I like all of the creature comforts of home. You are a lady after my own heart....animals, food, and a flushing toliet!