TexasCamper_01

We were at Lake Tawakoni SP two weeks ago and it was very crowded (full). They were having a fishing tournament that weekend and I thought maybe it was only crowded because of that. The next weekend some friends of ours were going to go there but did not make reservations (he thought she was going to and she thought he was going to) and they were already booked. Luckily he drove down early in the afternoon as he was going to set up and then come back and get the kids after school and when his wife got home go back down there around 6:00pm as it is only forty minutes away. Anyway they were able to get a spot for their pop up at Lake Bob Sandlin SP. While at Tawakoni and Bob Sandlin, they talked to the rangers and both places said that they have been unusually more crowded than normal. I was talking to my wife about this and suggested that maybe with the cost of gas getting so high and everything else following it that more people are realizing that camping really is a pretty cheap form of entertainment and that they don't have the need to drive so far to go on family trips. I know when we started camping as a family it started out as just something to do since I had done it all of my life. Looking back now though it is much more than that. When we go camping it is quality time with the whole family. It is getting away from the hustle and bustle of things (not to mention tv, computer, cell phones, and all those other things that distract personal family time together). Right now my kids are still young, the oldest being eight. But even when they get older and want to go riding their bikes around or hiking without mom and dad they will still have to come back to the trailer to eat or at least sleep and even that will be quality. Have any of you noticed more people (camping) at the parks lately? If so what do you think may be the reason? Do you think gas prices may have something to do with it?

Turn Key

To be honest, I've found the parks crowded for years, at least on the weekends. Spring in Texas is primo camping time and getting a weekend site sans reservations is going to be dicey at best. This is why we like our work schedule. We go during the week and have the parks pretty much to ourselves.

Happy Camping!

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Shannon

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.

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Troop198

Parks are always busy now through June on weekends, your competing with campers, boy scouts, girl scouts and cub scouts. There were 115 total for family scout camping last weekend at Ray Roberts :no: but they were well behaved

Memorial weekend is a busy place every year, we made resies for Cooper Lake a month ago for that weekend.

Palo Duro has lots of spots this weekend we are in Amarillo and were there for the day, pictures next week.

srds

And when schools out it's going to get a little more crowded.

srds :cool:
Have Fun

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To Camp or Not to Camp -Lets go Camping- Have Fun