Camping was once the providence of Boy Scouts, retirees, and a subspecies of adventurer that thrived on bugs, dirt and primative bathrooms. Ah yesteryear. Now, camping and road tripping are hot, hot, hot. Thank you Covid, Instagram, and Influencers. Alas, best kept secrets, like basically living in National Parks all summer for a fraction of what your apartment costs to live in, do not remain secrets forever. (see In the Zion's Den)
You can read more about what’s changed out there at Drivin’ & Vibin’s blog post.
It’s fair to say, we’re not deliriously happy about this at Ramble On’s World Headquarters either. It makes it a whole lot harder to get out there at all, much less have those very Zen moments that we are all chasing in our travel daydreams.
Still, as Kyle and Olivia point out in their post, it can still be done, just with a bit less spontaneity (and possibly sans free stops at Walmart). Perspective helps too. By the time the 1950s ended, the carefree Grand Tour of Europe with cheap train fares and $5 pensions in the shadow of the Coliseum were already a thing of the past. Millions of backpackers were about to trample Europe in their Birkenstocks for the next six decades. And yet, Europe remains astounding. We adjust.
And, if you’re going to travel (as opposed to go on a pampered vacation on a cruise ship or all-inclusive resort – which is also wonderful and something I recommend you do to recover from your travels) you should consider that the word travel comes from the word travail (meaning: painful or laborious effort). It’s not supposed to be easy. No pain, no gain. Likewise the word “Adventure” (meaning: an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity). Hazardous, but fun, once rightly considered.
Ramble On is here to help. Not by encouraging even more people to light out on the road necessarily, but by helping those that want to go do so in a way that makes it work better for them and for everyone else. Coming soon to the blog will be more resources such as this post about the different camping options out there.
Our goal is to help you learn from, and laugh at, our mistakes, which we make a great many of, not knowing that there are actually useful blogs like this one out there.
So, with that, let’s ramble!
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