Human beings are a product of nature, and while people live urban lives in cities and towns, many people enjoy going back to their natural roots from time to time. And with the vast, varied wilderness of North America, Americans and Canadians have plenty of options for an outdoor adventure. The wilds offer chances for camping, tourism with attractive features, kayaking on creeks, hunting, fishing, and even rock climbing and rappel lining. A family vacation may involve taking a tent, pop-up camper, or even an RV to a nearby camp such as a Carter Caves campground in Kentucky. Carter Caves cabins may be available in this particular site for guests uninterested in setting up their own camping, while other tourists may make use of a Carter Caves campground. How might this work out?
Americans and Vacations
Most American employees, some 96% of them, agree that going on a vacation is important to them. After all, it is a fine chance to unwind and have a good time away from the stress and monotony of working life, and many Americans like to take trips that put them further than 50 miles away from home. Some vacations involve staying at a hotel or motel for the trip, especially while visiting a faraway city or flying to another state for a wedding. In other cases, a person is visiting the wilderness, and they may have the expertise and interest in going camping. Either way, around 62% of all Americans took a vacation away from their homes in 2017, according to a Gallup poll. Americans young and old alike enjoy the “great outdoors,” as many call them, but visiting should be done the right way. This varies from renting a spot at a campground like Carter Caves campgrounds to setting up a tent in the middle of the woods. Carter Caves campground or otherwise, how can this be done?
A Campground
Unlike a roomy clearing in a forest, a campground is a commercially owned plot of land that is designed by human hands to be safe and convenient for campers. Even a small campground will have some basic features that make camping easier and more intuitive for campers, such as designated and numbered lots. In fact, a campground is sort of like a parking lot in this way, except each “lot” has room for a tent as well as the camper’s car or pickup truck. A camping lot will have a gravel or pavement driveway for the vehicle, and of course ample room for the tent itself. This ground will be fairly flat and level so the tent is more comfortable to set up and lay down in. A camping lot may also have a metal grill for cooking, a bench and table for meals, and it may even have a pre-made fire ring. This includes rocks in a ring and possibly a hollow old car wheel to safely contain a fire. There will be room for fire logs in there too.
Some campgrounds may be large and have even more features. They may have water spigots at each lot, not to mention electric utilities for RVs and pop-up campers too. A larger campground may offer a public bathroom and set of showers, and even a small swimming pool and a combined gift shop and supplies shop for the guests. Campgrounds will appear on maps and will be easy to find from the nearby roads. A campsite is in the wilds, but it doesn’t have to be remote and secluded.
What might a camper need? For a party with basic needs, they will need a sturdy nylon or fabric tent that is large enough to house everyone. Tents range in size and shape, and even how they are supported. Some involve threading flexible tubes through them, for example, and some tents house just one person while others may accommodate four. Sleeping bags, a camp stove, matches, a flashlight, seasonal clothing, cookware, a spool of yarn, a medical supplies kit, and more may be brought along to a trip. Outdoor expedition clothing may include hiking boots (tough, comfortable, and waterproof), a jacket if needed, a backpack, a compass and map, a hat, and snacks and water may be brought along too, not to mention binoculars for observing wildlife.