Am I a control freak? It’s quite possible. But I have my reasons. To me, planning and anticipation of a camping trip are major parts of the fun. The happiness doesn’t just happen once you get camp set up. There is all the preparatory actions, such as:
- Who wants to go camping?
- When should we go?
- Where should we go?
- What site should we reserve (if sites are reservable)?
- How should we set up the campsite?
Now most of us will wait until we get there to figure out where to put the various elements of camp. Even if you have just a backpack and a tarp, you have to make some decisions on were to set up your camp.
If you have The Tiny, a kitchen and dining pavilion, a family tent, and two vehicles, more decisions must me made. In this case, I scoped out the campground in advance. As we made our reservations for a holiday weekend just a week in advance, we had a limited number of sites to choose from. But the site we chose was absolutely perfect for our needs. It was smack dab in-between the restroom and a playground. For the adults and kids involved, that is like a custom-made site. For others, it would not be so perfect, seeing as how it’s in the middle of everything rather than facing the woods.
To help my friends envision the setup and thus extend the enjoyment of the planning process, I found the site on Google Maps and sketched in a potential set up for camp. I have an image of a village around a campfire. And because we are so much in the middle of the campground, having our various tents and trailer facing will give provide us with a sense of our own private space. Of course, private space is not the point of camping. It’s more about living in a community (your own camp) within a larger community (the campground).
I may be controlling, but in my mind, it’s a good kind of control. 🙂