It sure didn't look like it this weekend at Lathrop State Park. As we cleaned the fire rings in our 103 camp sites, we found a huge amount of only partially burned logs. We didn't have much wind or rain over the weekend, so our only guess is that the campers this weekend don't have fires very often and they didn't know how to get a really good fire going.
They also didn't have any idea how much wood they would use over the weekend. Since we not only clean out the fire rings, but also pick up all the unburned wood people leave in their sites, we did a lot of lifting in addition to all the shoveling John did cleaning out the ashes.
Just look at this dump truck load. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see unburned wood on the left and the partially burned wood and ashes in the middle.
In addition to all the split firewood the campers didn't use, would you look at the chunks of un-split wood? How on earth do people think that will burn? At times, we see people put a six-foot log in the fire and find it won't burn. And campers often bring old two by fours and other used wood from home. Then they leave it for us to pick up.
In addition to the usual glass, aluminum and plastic in the fire rings, we also found some new litter today. It included a baby bottle, a collapsing fork, and a aluminum wire grill. Do they forget these things or decide they are too dirty to use again. I imagine one family was driving down the road with a fussy toddler and wondered what happened to the bottle.
Each weekend, the personality of the campers changes. Since the school year is about to get in gear, we didn't see many families with school-age children this weekend. They will be out again in force for one more summer camping trip over Labor Day. I wonder if the people camping this weekend were out for the first time this summer. They realized summer was almost over and they had to use the camper or tent at least once.
What will next weekend be like? We can only wait and see.
Since we left Casa Grande Ruins on April 6, we have stayed in 25 campgrounds in 15 states, plus one parking lot in New York. The campgrounds are all over the map. In late April I wrote about Potters Creek Corps of Engineers campground in Texas, saying how much we loved it--large sites, good electric hookup, quiet, in touch with nature. Not all campgrounds have those attributes. In the past nearly three months we have had only one site where the neighbors were noisy at night and interfered with our sleep. And they were a group of middle-aged women! Now we are finding the campgrounds filled with children and people building campfires in the evening. Yuk. We hate the smell of smoke and prefer to be surrounded by old fogies like ourselves if we have to be among a lot of people. I like to sleep with a window next to my bed open at night. The only things that prevent that are bright lights shining in my eyes and campfire smoke. However, these families and children have all been quiet at my bedtime. To escape campfires, we have to seek out city campgrounds or areas with fire bans. If we work during the summer months, we don't have to deal with families and children. But we do like traveling sometimes and in many parts of the country that means we have to be out in the summer. So what is really important? Strong, reliable electricity so we know our appliances won't be damaged by low voltage; 50-amp hookups, if possible; sites large enough to open our awning if we want; quiet neighbors; and, finally, clean restrooms. We don't use them a lot, but when we do, we want to find them clean. It is great to see children riding their bikes and enjoying camping. But unless they are our grandchildren, we would rather be somewhere with less activity. We do remember that only adults have caused a noise problem. It really is our problem, not the other people's. If they would just stop building campfires!
