strange happenings or doins at your campground

[k0wtz]

ok I got to thinking of funny strange things happening in our stays at campgrounds. I wonder if some of you have experienced this?

Ours

One time we were tenting in outer banks of N.C. we had our tent set-up and starting to enjoy things, a young couple pulls up they were on their honeymoon first night, real romatantic. Anyway due to the wind I helped them set-up the guys wife was beautiful model beautiful guy was sort of nerdy. Oh well we went to be our normal 9pm. Got up the next morning tent was gone! I supposed that didn't work out too well!

Second last fall about the same type deal at the troutfishing park. This time we in our 13f Scamper they had some sort of strange looking tent. We got a big rain get up the next morning they were gone I looked over and saw this tarp. It wasn't a tarp they had left their whole tent it was collapsed and rods and all just laying there I guess some one got a free tent!

Another time at the same park a guy comes up with a big t@b trailer using his can-am motorcycle to pull it. I thought that was awesome but maybe a little strange.

so go ahead and post your interesting stories I want to hear them!

bob

[Kenton]

Up in Franklin at a campground. A young couple with a Kia Soul pull up with a large older tent trailer hooked up. Probably was overloaded, which might had been fine if they were local but they had taken it at least a few hundred miles since they were from Virginia.
After a lot of yelling, getting out and looking and multiple in and outs such they finally get it backed into the spot. I had offered to guide but the lady said they were fine.
After they get in the spot the guy cranks up the trailer and pulls the beds out. She gets inside I guess to put the inside hoops up for the beds. All of a sudden the rear of the trailer is tilted over to the ground and she is yelling. He did not have the stabilizers down yet just the front jack. I come over and help him lift it so she can crawl off the bed. Later I notice they were missing the refrigerator vent on the side and he was taping a garbage bag over it. I bring over some window screen and wide tape and give it to him and let him know it needs ventilation if they were using it which they were. Next, someone had changed the plug end out so they could not hook up power as the large twist lock they had did not match the power box. It was not a trailer twist lock. He came over and knocked on our door and asked if I knew how to get power. Luckily I had a 20 amp plug used with a generator so I can leave the Progressive EMS on. I remove the wire inside tying the neutral and ground together and replaced the odd plug. I had handed it to him and he said he did not know how to replace it. He did not any tools either. 20 amp was fine as it was cooler so they did not need the air.
A few hours go by and they seem settled in. I am stepping out of our trailer when I noticed the whole tent camper violently shaking. I stare for a second then hear the grunting. OK I was young once but hopefully was not that obvious.
They were there a day and a half and ended up leaving early as she did not like camping and was letting him know it constantly. No way to ignore it because she was loud. Him hooking up was interesting too.
I really wanted to walk over and help but my wife said let them be.
I imagine that was their one and only camping trip.

[k0wtz]

I too have seen some of this stuff not to your extent I have hear the loud vocal yelling a arguing at times not to your extreme. anyway you had a fun filled day probably too calm when they left you.

last year we did have a bunch with their first time camping with an old apache that was fun watching that!

bob

[Kenton]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

I too have seen some of this stuff not to your extent I have hear the loud vocal yelling a arguing at times not to your extreme. anyway you had a fun filled day probably too calm when they left you.

last year we did have a bunch with their first time camping with an old apache that was fun watching that!

bob

If they kept at it after awhile it would have been easy. I remember our first time camping together. I had purchased a larger tent and it was the first time using it. It was very windy and I had never assembled a large tent before. Mine were always the smaller dome style.
I did not cuss, out loud. Luckily after awhile putting it together became easy.

[Jon in AZ]

This is a favorite memory. I have shared it before, so apologies to those who have already endured it...

Many years ago I was tent camping in Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona, AZ. An early winter storm brought rain, sleet, snow, fog and wind in alternating waves. I donned a cheap plastic rain parka, unloaded gear, and began to set up my tent. About the time my feet started to get wet and my fingers numb, a largish rental motorhome pulled into the site next to me. Jacks went down, lights came on, a generator fired up, a TV screen flickered through the closed blinds, but no humans appeared. I was torn between jealousy and contempt as I wrestled with my tent in the cold dampness.

I finally got everything settled, a warm sleeping bag laid out ready inside the dry tent and a kettle of water heating on the stove for a cup of cocoa. During a lull in the rain I pulled some dry wood out of the back of the truck and got a cheerful fire going. Hot chocolate in hand I warmed my extremities, resentment giving way to a certain smugness. I was a "real" camper... Then the door of the motorhome opened.

One man stepped out… etched in memory: country club attire, cigar in one hand, martini in the other, early 40's, immaculately groomed and professional-looking. He sauntered over to the fire and we exchanged greetings. Turned out he was a junior executive with a Boston-based corporation just finishing a 6-month temporary assignment in Phoenix. Before returning to Boston, he decided to take his family on a tour of the state. We chatted about his work, and my work among Native Americans. We talked about where he had been and great places to visit in the state. We shook hands and he went back inside. They pulled out early the next morning, wife and daughter apparently never having set foot outside the motorhome.

A campfire is a great equalizer.

[k0wtz]

jon I love your post sort of like a 60k camper and 5k camper well me that is what I want and have. yes there seems to be contempt for the little guy but I have seen it and had it happen one day you may be king the next nothing!


Our first camping expedition to texas I set up our new tent to get experience. loaded it back up we got to amerillo tx got the tent out no supports I had left them at home!

life is good on the road

bob

[Kenton]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

jon I love your post sort of like a 60k camper and 5k camper well me that is what I want and have. yes there seems to be contempt for the little guy but I have seen it and had it happen one day you may be king the next nothing!


Our first camping expedition to texas I set up our new tent to get experience. loaded it back up we got to amerillo tx got the tent out no supports I had left them at home!

life is good on the road

bob

If we are picking on ourselves here's one.
We went up to Townsend back in the early 80's and set up at a place that had creek side camping. It started raining hard so we retired to the tent for the evening. Around 2am I woke to a wet sleeping bag. The tent had about 4 inches of water inside. Looking out I can see the creek has now covered most of the area. Luckily our car was parked further up so it was in the clear. We grabbed as much as we could while the water was rising and went to the car and moved it up to the road. By then the water was several feet deep and moving so I did not attempt to go back to the tent. By morning our tent and several others and anything in them were gone.
Never did find the tent or sleeping bags. 2 RV's that were parked down by us were damaged as water had flowed through them, one moved sideways and was pointed towards the water. Never did find out how they moved it. We had pounded on one door as we knew they were inside but no one came out. In the morning the guy was saying he wished he had as they had 2 feet of water inside for awhile.

[David Tilston]

We were at Dinosaur Provincial Park in southern Alberta:
https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/dinosaur-pp/
If you go to the website, you can see that it is almost a desert. When we were going to bed, I put the Coleman propane stove under the Trillium, in case it rained. Boy did it rain. In the morning I heard rushing water. Our camp site had four to five inches, (10 to 15cm) of water running through it. Our fold up camp chairs were nowhere to be seen. The Coleman stove was buried in silt. It never worked again. It turns out that our camp site was in the middle of a drainage feature. It felt a bit like we were on a boat. We did not get the worst of it though. Further down hill, where things got flatter, there were tent campers that woke up floating on their air mattress.
The camp ranger said we were, "lucky" to get that experience. It only rains like that once in thirty years.

[Thom Rowland]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

ok I got to thinking of funny strange things happening in our stays at campgrounds. I wonder if some of you have experienced this?

so go ahead and post your interesting stories I want to hear them!
bob

We were boondocking in Bears Ears National Monument in Utah (before it was ripped apart) at Comb Wash. We drove over to Valley of the Gods to check out a camping site. There was a Toyota truck camper (with Swiss license plates) in the area we planning on camping in. We came back a couple of days later and the truck was still there but it was a large area with plenty of room so we set up camp about a 100 yards away. The weather was cool and windy. We were there a couple of days with no activity at the other camper. It is not uncommon for backpackers to park and hike in to a more remote area. The weather warmed up and the wind diminished. We noticed a lot of flies around the Toyota and tried looking in the truck but could not see anything. We decided to call the Forest Service and have the Rangers check it out. They could not come but sent the County Sheriff. Next thing that happened, a detective from the Sheriff's office showed up. They broke the drivers door window opened the truck and found the 72 year old owner dead on the floor. He had been in the U.S. Over a year, well past his visa. The last photo on his camera (5 days earlier) was of his camper in the exact spot where it was. The Sheriffs called the fire department to help remove the body. They entered with full face oxygen masks to avoid the smell. The Sheriff told us he appeared to have died of natural causes, no evidence of foul play. We now refer to this as Dead Swiss Guy Point. First time (and hopefully the last) we ever camped with a dead person.
In the bottom photo, the truck in the background on the far right is where the dead Swiss was.

[DavidG]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

I too have seen some of this stuff not to your extent I have hear the loud vocal yelling a arguing at times not to your extreme. anyway you had a fun filled day probably too calm when they left you.

last year we did have a bunch with their first time camping with an old apache that was fun watching that!

bob

__________________________________________________ ___

Camping with an old Apache might be a problem, especially if you are a cute young Apache ! ( M or F ) [ You can substitute Brit, Irishman, Viking, German, etc. ] DG

[Barbe]

This didn't happen to me but to two of my friends. Leonard (a musician, an extroverted tall man with a white beard, a wild history & quirky sense of humor) and Jack (a short, quiet, gentle minister). Both were Veterans. They met at the hospital where we all worked & became the best of friends even though it appeared to be an odd combination, they balanced each other. They loved to go camping & trout fishing in the back country areas of West Virginia. Sadly Leonard passed away in 2017 and Jack performed the service for his best friend. During the eulogy, Jack related a few of the adventures they shared camping. This is one of them. They were in a remote section of Cranberry Glades, they'd selected an isolated section to set up camp & were there for a couple of days when an SUV with an out of state licence pulled up one afternoon and set up camp nearby. The two men had all new equipment, looked like young 'business' types and their conversation was easily overheard as they continuously disparaged the area and the 'hillbilly locals'. This didn't set well with Leonard, so he quietly got up, went to his pickup, retrieved his guitar, sat by the fire and began playing 'Dueling Banjos". Jack said the newcomers packed everything and left so he and Leonard had an enjoyable week camping and fishing.

[Dave Fish]

It so strange but it fits two of the previous posts. We were doing a road trip a were in a campground in Townsend (1st connection). Just after dinner, people started gathering next door, with their instruments. Some new one another, others were strangers. Pretty quickly, they were all playing good ole country music. It was amazing how they picked up on each other and played so well together.

One lady was getting tired of playing the base, showed a younger gal how to play it and in about 5 minutes, the younger one was playing it like she had played it all her life.

They spent a couple hours a pick'n and a grin'n. We really enjoyed listening in.

[David B.]

We were camping in a SEARS tent camper with an add-a-room zipped onto the main rear entrence unit. We were visiting with our neighbor friends at the campfire while our two children slept inside. When it was time to turn in, we discovered a pair of skunks were rummaging around inside the add-a-room. We did not want to startle them, so we stayed out for about another hour. We crepted quietly toward the entrance and did not see them at first, but then noticed that they had curled up under the slide out bed of the main unit. We then very quietly, slowly went inside and hoped for the best.....the next morning they were gone without a trace or whiff.
Another time we were camping with friends and cooking over the camp fire, when two skunks came into camp, driving us inside our Scamp only to peer helplessly out the window as the pair poked around the fire looking for food. I thought they would catch their tails on fire, as they were walking upon the rocks that ringed the fire. They lost interest after about half an hour, so we were able to get back outdoors and enjoy the evening.
Happy Trails
Dave & Paula

[k0wtz]

david you were so lucky I don't know what I would have done. wow!

bob

[k0wtz]

our first trip we ended up in the badlands there was a big storm came everyone was ordered to the bathrooms. while there a big wind came blew a womans tent away. we never did find it she left homeless!

bob

[Gilda]

Wow! What great stories! Keep them coming! Here's one of ours.

My DH and I camped in our 2011 Scamp 13' in British Columbia. When we arrive in the campground, on a weekday, we thought it a bit strange that we were, pretty much, the only ones staying there. It was a semi-rustic campground with outhouses and no "Campground Host" nor park ranger. Other than being one of the few campers, nothing was strange. Come very early in the morning, maybe 2 am, we heard loud blasts in the distance that we surmised were gunshots! Yikes! What do we do? There were no other campers nor officials. At the time we had no cell phones. Well, we just decided to cower in our trailer and hope for the best. Fortunately, no harm befell us. The next day we did find a ranger and reported the incident. He said they knew of the gunshots and had not yet been able to find and apprehend the perpetrator. That might have explained why no one was in the campground.

Well....as we left the campground ready to travel to our next, hopefully uneventful site, we noticed that the ranger and others were clearly readying for a large event to take place in the campground that day. The ranger told us that the "Teddybear Brigade" (or some similar title) was arriving that weekend. Essentially a huge, nationwide, bikers' club (motorcycles, NOT bicycles) was to descend on the campground momentarily! As we left we saw waves of motorcyclists heading toward the campground while we traveled in the opposite direction. Each bike had at least one Teddy Bear riding in the front or back! What a sight to see the "tough guys" with their Teddy Bears. As it turns out the event was a fundraiser for sick children in hospitals. They, not only, were raising money but were going to give the children the teddy bears.

Knowing the whole story warmed my heart and demonstrated to me that "you cannot judge a book by it's cover".

[charlsara]

We were camping at Bodega Bay on Lake Champlain in New York. We cooked a nice dinner on the grill and sat down to eat just as the sun was going down over the lake. I was sitting with my back to the lake. I moved over on my wife's side so I could enjoy the sunset. All at once the table overturned and we were on the ground with our feet in the air and vittles all over us. The neighbors came running. When they saw the ketchup all over me they thought I was badly wounded. Only my pride. The manager said it had happened before.

[k0wtz]

dumb picnic tables been close but not done it yet!!

bob

[Wayne Collins]

That's the "FUN" of camping. to be surprised by the unexpected, and at times, weird happenings.

[sjpeach]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know how enjoyable all your stories were. Thanks so much,
SJ Peach