by Phyllis McCrossin
The rhythm of summer.
This is our first summer staying in a seasonal campground. In the past we have bartered parking on a friend’s property in exchange for work on said property – be it lawn care, outbuilding repair, clearing brush – whatever needs to be done. King does the lion’s share of the work.
There are a couple of reasons for our change this year – both having to do with the Coronavirus.
The first is, the friend we were going to help out falls into the “high risk” category for COVID-19. He was reticent to having two people who had been traveling across the continent stay on his farm. The second is we rely on state park campgrounds for emptying our black water tanks (that’s sewage for the uninformed).
For the cost of a state park sticker pass and $10 per visit, we could empty our tanks on a weekly basis. State park campgrounds have been closed since last fall and campgrounds are not slated to open until June 22. Two months without sewer is quite a long time.
The campground where we are staying for the summer has water, electric and a dump station. It has everything we need. It is adjacent to the Kal-Haven Trail, and if I were so inclined I could ride my bike to South Haven. So far I have not felt the urge.
It’s a new campground, having opened just four years ago. The couple who run the place have two very small children. Being the grandmotherly type, it is very difficult for me not to scoop them up whenever I see them and give them grandmotherly hugs. I don’t for two reasons — Stranger Danger and COVID-19.
This type of camping is rather new to us. Generally, when we are on the road, we opt for the less expensive places. That is to say, we don’t stay in your typical retirement RV parks. Some of our favorite places are back in the mountains or in desert valleys. No running water. No electric. No sewer. We pack it in and pack it out. Cost is anywhere between free and $14 a night. When check in near our daughter in San Diego, we stay at a San Diego County Park, opting for the less expensive electric and water only hookup. Stays are limited to 21 days.
Our preferred lifestyle is called “boondocking.” There are entire websites, books and Facebook pages dedicated to it. One of our favorite places to boondock is a site in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park in southern California. Besides regular campgrounds,there are several dispersed campgrounds. Pull in, drive down a two-track until you find a “site” you like (none are marked) and set up camp.
Two springs ago we were boondocking there during a lunar eclipse. The view was spectacular until I decided the noises behind me were either wild creatures or zombie vampires. I high-tailed it back to the trailer. I’ve got to stop reading those paranormal romance novels.
Things are a little tamer in this campground.
Across the driveway is a young couple with three young children. I’ve enjoyed watching the kids ride their bikes around and play some sort of fanciful hide and seek game complete with imaginary guns and some sort of magical lasso. They run barefoot through the campground – even across the gravel drives.
My favorite is the child who wears the tutu. I’ve not seen her in anything else. They arrived Saturday and I’m guessing will be here for the week. Their campsite was empty all day, so one would assume Mom and Dad work somewhere and the kids went to daycare. This evening their campsite is beehive of activity. I miss those days with our kids.
There is a definite rhythm to the campground. It is empty and quite during the week. King and I wonder if that will change as summer wears on, but nothing about this summer is going to be normal so we just observe and comment to one another, like a retired couple with nothing better to do. On Thursday one or two trailers will pull in and set up camp.
Fridays are busy with people coming in throughout the day, and a few more campers will pull in Saturday. By Sunday, things start emptying out, with the last few stragglers leaving Monday morning. By Tuesday King and I have the campground to ourselves again.
It’s a quiet, steady life.
