Holiday Camping

We just returned from a campout this past Memorial Day weekend where we camped in a campground at a state park. This park was located on a very large lake and the state operated three separate campgrounds along the lake with a total of about 1,200 campsites, each one of them rented. Usually on holiday weekends we tend to backpack into the backcountry so that we may avoid the crowds as much as possible. However, this time we opted for the crowds because we wanted to join some friends who wanted to camp at the lake.


The weather was forecast to be perfect, and it was. We had a good campsite compared to many of the others, and we were able to set it up to take full advantage of the area we were provided. The trouble began when our neighbors across the street decided that their campsite was not large enough for their dogs to relieve themselves on and decided that our campsite was much better suited for this purpose. Mind you, their campsite was a lot larger than ours, and their dogs just happened to be about the size of a football.


I don’t know, I suppose our two tents on the site and the sunshade and the tarp just didn’t make much of an impression. After all, they roared in with two buses that had several slide outs on both sides and pulling fancy European sports cars. Not to mention all the brightly colored party lights, flags, carpet at the entrance to the buses, fancy stainless steel grills, recliners, motorcycles, and jet skis. They even brought a fancy lighted post to put out front that had their name on it, looked like a miniature street light, painted sissy white.


I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I am at home I don’t let my dog cross the street to do his business in the neighbor’s yard and, since I obviously have good neighbors, they don’t allow their dog to come to my house to do his business. When we got home I went across the street to thank my neighbor for being such a good neighbor over the years; he probably still thinks I’m a little off.


Anyhow, about the fourth or fifth time the camping neighbors strolled into my site with the footballs on legs to take care of business something just came over me. I promise alcohol was not involved, at least on my side. I really don’t remember all that happened but I do remember feeling warm and beads of sweat developing on my forehead. I think I mentioned something about my football kicking talents and that I could probably clear the bus with the little brown dog, the other one looked a little heavy. I’m almost certain I made some remarks about their ancestors, especially their mothers. I also have a nasty habit of getting in someone’s face and making remarks that may be considered insulting to one’s masculinity, so that probably happened too. Anyhow, it was over pretty quickly, I don’t remember the offending party saying the first word in rebuttal. I do remember asking if they behaved this way at home.


I hate to say it, but I have had some experience with these types of people before. So, after dark, I raided the boss’s cooking supplies and gathered a great big container of pepper, which I sprinkled all over the offended area of my campsite. Sure enough, they tried to sneak the furry footballs over for a late night break. A couple of sniffs and the dogs went sneezing and snorting back across the street.


On Saturday morning we paddled around the lake and fished a little, leaving the lake when the big boats and skiers woke up. We returned to our campsite and were treated to a ruckus like I have never heard on a camping trip. Somewhere behind us and near the sites on the side of the hill, several dogs were barking with enthusiasm. It sounded like an all out dog brawl. After about an hour of it, I decided to walk over and see what was going on. A lady was sitting out in her chair in a site across from the offending sites. When I stopped she asked if I had ever heard such irritating and nonstop noise. She advised the two sites across from her had two dogs each and the owners had left the dogs behind while they went boating on the lake. The camp ranger stopped and advised he had attempted to locate the offending campers, but had not succeeded. He apologized for the inconvenience and agreed that it was a shame that two campsites could ruin an outing for the remaining 40 campsites in this immediate area. These four dogs tried to out bark each other from 10 am to close to 4 pm. The lady across from the campsites with the dogs packed up about 2 pm and went home.


On Sunday morning we were awakened not by the sounds of birds singing, or squirrels talking, or crows crowing, of crickets chirping, or any other of the sounds of nature one would look forward to on a camping trip. We were awakened by the sounds of dogs barking. There was some good news though, when we crawled out of the tent we noticed the party across the street from us was all packed up and ready to leave. At least we wouldn’t have dogs using our site for a restroom anymore! Oh happy days! And they were. The ranger convinced the two sites with the four dogs to carry the dogs on the boat that day so we didn’t have that noise to listen to either. But all good things must come to an end.


At about 2 pm another group of campers pulled up to the site across the street from us. The group consisted of two couples; one had a kid about 6 years old. The other group had a small white dog. Immediately upon exiting the car, the small white dog crossed the street into our campsite and began barking at us. One of the females in the group yelled over to us in a squeaky childish voice that Maxi wouldn’t bite and only wanted some attention. Well, Maxi had come to the right place at the right time. I lunged at the dog and done my best imitation of a big dog on the attack. That Maxi could really move, he was across the street and under it’s owners feet in a flash. I yelled back across the street that I agreed, all the dog needed was a little attention.


When the ranger came by to register this new party, I could tell they were complaining about the attention I gave to Maxi by all the pointing toward my campsite that was going on. I could also tell the ranger was educating them about the rules of the campground in regards to pets. Dogs were supposed to kept on a leash not longer than 6 feet at all times. The campers scrambled around in the car and finally found something they could use as a leash. The ranger walked back toward his truck, waved at me, then hopped in the truck and drove off.


We saw one group kicked out of the campground over dogs. As they were setting up, their dog chased some people who were walking by on the road. These people complained to the ranger and the ranger visited the campsite and the offending dog was put on a leash. As soon as the ranger drove off, these campers took the leash off the dog. Guess they figured the rules just didn’t apply to them, or, they just couldn’t stand to have poochie on a leash. Just a short time later, a kid on a bicycle rode by and the dog chased the kid, put a real scare in him. The kid cried all the way back to his campsite and his parents called the ranger. When the ranger came out, he ejected the offending campers from the park. Luckily for them, they had not finished unloading or setting up, so, they didn’t have that much to do to pack up and go.


Now I hope you don’t get the wrong impression of us after reading this story. We love dogs. Our kids love dogs and have dogs. Our parents have dogs. We have a dog. I have owned a dog from the time I was 14 to the present. I have always had big dogs like shepherds, collies, and retrievers. We currently have a Labrador. My daughter also has a Labrador and my son has a Yorkie. Our parents have Boxers. I’m glad I didn’t carry my dog on this trip, he would have eaten Maxi.


We made arrangements for someone to keep our dog while we went camping because we knew everyone might not enjoy our dog as much as we do. We understood that the campsites could be close and people would be in tents and not shielded from noise. These people may not be amused if my dog started barking at the birds in the trees. They may not be amused by my dog chasing squirrels through the campsites. We knew these other campers might not be understanding when my dog disregarded property lines and crossed into their campsite, uninvited. Also, I don’t like to put my dog on a 6-foot leash for an entire weekend. He stayed at home and had the entire back yard to himself. I know he was happier there.


You see, we truly did start out on this camping trip with an attitude of trying to get along with others.


Bottom line; when you are camping with or near others, leave poochie at home.