July 5, 2009
So we got to Spokane Friday. We were in for a surprise. We soon realized that we had been under a misperception of what camping is. Or, perhaps to be more precise, we discovered that we really didn’t have a full grasp of kamping. We’re at a KOA campground and their slogan--which seems to be plastered all over everything--is “remember, it’s not camping, it’s kamping.” We found the place and Bill went in to register. He came out with our campsite number and we went there. It was grass--a welcome change from the dirt and rocks that we had at the last place. But there was no shade at all. This was the case for many sites--a few had a scraggly tree that would provide some shade at some times of the day. We had a bush growing up against the fence. There was enough shade to place the cooler there. OK, then, it is what it is. We now understand that while camping, one may expect some level of nature actually in the campsite itself, when kamping, trees are apparently some kind of bonus that those places lucky enough to be tree-rich use as a way to advertise. The reason we decided to stay in this particular place was that most places do not take reservations for tent sites and we were concerned about being able to find a spot over a holiday weekend. This place solved that problem. It would be hot and we would have preferred shade, but we would deal with it. After putting up the tents and getting what we’d need out of the truck, we went to use the restroom. I walked into a stall and found it filthy and apparently clogged. It remained this way for a couple of days. Bill told me that the one available stall in one of the men’s rooms was the same way. Fortunately, there was another restroom, but there were many tent campers this weekend, many of them male, so I am not sure the facilities were adequate. Then we tried to find the place on our map (which we got when we signed in) where we could plug in our computers and connect to the internet. We’d used the wifi connection earlier, but we needed the electrical outlet as well at this point. We didn’t see it so we asked the young women behind the counter in the store where we could plug in our computers to recharge our batteries. They seemed puzzled. “There are plugs in the store,” one of them said. I just sort of looked at them. I mentioned that it said there was a place to plug in shown on the map. She brightened. “Oh, you want to PLUG IN,” she exclaimed, removing a yellow modem connector cord from someplace underneath the counter. I declined her offer, repeating that I needed to charge my battery. They suggested the Starbucks a few miles away. I left it alone for the night and the next day charged my battery in the car as we were driving into Spokane.
The real fun, though, occurred when we were sleeping. Suddenly we were jolted into wakefulness by a train horn screaming and the earth shaking underneath us--the train was a few feet away rumbling down the tracks. It was 4 a.m. Festive. We hit the jackpot this morning as the scene repeated itself at 3, 5, and 7 a.m. Can’t wait to see how many we get to experience tonight! Needless to say, this is not conducive to a good night’s sleep.
I will say that there is coffee in the morning and the people seem friendly enough. The whole thing is just kind of strange. I used to camp with an aunt and cousin as a kid in their Skamper (there’s that “k” again) and I just don’t remember it being like some sort of kamping suburbia. There were trees. There was green space. And there just seemed to be space in general. There is a lot to observe in these places and some ideas are bubbling around in my head about what it all means. It is rather odd to be in the tent listening to people’s air conditioning, TVs, and vacuum cleaners running.
One guy has his TV outside in his “yard.” I was puzzling about why he might do this and it occurred to me that maybe he couldn’t fit it into its appointed spot inside the RV. It’s kind of big. Yesterday the Direct TV guy was there hooking him up. Now every time we go by his spot, he has the TV on. Other people avoid the whole TV installation problem by carrying around their satellite dish. I am not sure why they do these things. If you consider what they pay for the house-on-wheels to begin with, then add in gas, insurance, and upkeep, it’s already pretty expensive. Then add the site fees, TV fees (and in the case of the guy above, installation of Direct TV) and whatever else they have to pay for and I am wondering why they don’t just go to a motel or something. It’s not like they’re out there enjoying nature or anything. If anyone has any experience with this kind of thing and can offer any insight, I’d really be very interested in what you have to say!
It’s been in the 90s since we got here, but comfortable at night. Last I heard it was supposed to cool off some. I hope it does. And we will see what the train schedule is for early tomorrow morning!
