It's seemed crowded to me for years, as well, which is why I often advocate midweek trips for folks seeking "peace and quiet" (other than after 10 PM, which even then is an iffy proposition at times due to other less "nature-oriented" campers.)
I know bicycling is seeing a huge uptick in participation, at least here in San Antonio, compared to years past and I think it's a combination of the rising gas prices and people just getting fed up with the illusion of reality beamed at us 24/7 on TV. People want to get out and BE and DO and ENJOY without so much artificial stuff thrown their way.
That said, we always have our cellphones with us and I enjoyed including our family and online contacts in our trip by sending photos taken at the park directly to Flickr (Me:
Flickr: Ageekgal's Photostream & Justin:
Flickr: IFlySkyhawks' Photostream ) and Twitter.com (Me:
Twitter / ageekgal & Justin:
Twitter / bikegeek ).
We're geeks, though, so technology is in our blood. We don't talk on the phone while walking down a trial, play games on it or whatnot while at parks; the phone is a way to share the experience with others, especially family.
Always kinda makes me sad to see a family with kids at a campsite and the first thing the adults start doing is blasting the music. Those kids aren't going to have an appreciation for natural quiet--birdsong, cicadas in the summer, water flowing in the distance, wind rustling through the tree canopy above, etc.
All this talk reminds me Justin and I need to get our next one night camping trip scheduled. Sara is still actively teething so we're hoping that is over by the time the next trip comes around (at least a lull, I mean) so she'll have a better shot at making it through the night. We had to evacuate her at 3 AM last time due to her teething making her a literal unhappy camper, but we all had a nice trip nonetheless.