GrandmaM: I'll camp by you and your grandkids anytime! Wish there were more of you. Welcome to the site! Cheers
Curbside - Steer clear of my 'stuff' and you're ok. Walk under my awning, and I'm going to give you the eye, because you're obviously up to no good. Backside - Don't touch my hoses and don't trip over my 30 amp and I probably won't care. Stop to chat - Come on over and let's chat. I'll talk all day about my rig, your rig, the campground, the town we're in, football, fishing, golf, grilling, beer, kids, whatever... but stopping to talk to a fellow camper isn't cutting through. Personally, I cut through the outskirts of a site the other day, but I only did it when no one was around because I didn't want to intrude on the family at the site, and I gave the site as wide a berth as I could given the terrain and foliage. I would never walk across someone's hot dog stick, carpet, or pic nic table. That's just rude.
Been reading all the remarks on this topic. Many of you said it is rude to go through the campsite of someone else. Some of you have said you will give them "the eye". The question I want to ask is, If someone does come through your campsite uninvited, would you tell them to stop coming through your site? B)
QUOTE(Skymessenger @ Aug 9 2010, 09:54 PM) [snapback]23427[/snapback] Been reading all the remarks on this topic. Many of you said it is rude to go through the campsite of someone else. Some of you have said you will give them "the eye". The question I want to ask is, If someone does come through your campsite uninvited, would you tell them to stop coming through your site? B) Depends on what they're doing. Cutting through to the bath house, trying to beat the rain back to their own site, dropping off fresh baked goods - I'm fine. Skulking through, looking shady, but not actually touching anything or moving between the pic-nic table and the rig, they get the eye. Come in and sit in my chair, eat my porridge, etc... then I will have to say something.
I'm new to this site & new to camping having only recently purchased my TT & only 20 camping nites so far. I have had people walk through my site & wondered if this should concern me. I wasn't thrilled to see them do so & decided I wouldn't do that myself & risk causing others feel that way. Glad to read everyone's comments on the subject.
QUOTE(Skymessenger @ Aug 9 2010, 09:54 PM) [snapback]23427[/snapback] Been reading all the remarks on this topic. Many of you said it is rude to go through the campsite of someone else. Some of you have said you will give them "the eye". The question I want to ask is, If someone does come through your campsite uninvited, would you tell them to stop coming through your site? B) Depends. Last week there was a trail from the river that ended up in our site. People apologized when they got there, even to the point of turning around to go back - I waved them through, and they didn't do it again. When some kids (who didn't apologize the first time) came through a second time, I pointed out that we had a big dog who can sometimes be territorial - that stopped them.
I have no problem asking people to keep off my site. Something along the lines of, Can you do me a favor and don't walk through my site, usually works. That and a 120 lb black lab, that lets me know if someones coming. At my seasonal site, I have known my neighbors for quite sometime now. If I go next door, I just walk around the back of my trailer. There is a pathway there. If I go two doors down, I will walk out to the street and down. I won't cut through 2 sites. That is just me respecting someones property. If it is right or wrong that way, I don't know. I understand a seasonal sites is different than a weekend or a vacation. It's more like neighbors at home. Anywhere else, I will strike up a conversation from the road or the campsites edge. I think of myself as a friendly camper. I have been known to throw the bull around a bit. Just ask my DW. Then see what happens. I will do the same from my site. If someone starts talking to me from the road, I will go out and talk to them and probably invite them in. After that it is a matter of going to your new friends site, calling out his or her name, to let them know you are there. If they answer walk in. All that has worked for me. I have made a lot of friends camping.
I camp with dogs, and the biggest reason I don't like folks walking in my camp space is the dogs see it as theirs and bark ("bark! bark! bark! stranger come to kill us all! bark! bark!") so I have to interrupt my vacation to calm the dogs down "hush! Nobody is here to kill us!". On the rare occasion the stranger is still around when the dogs are done barking I tend to say something like "please stop wondering through my camp space, you didn't pay for it, and I don't like having to settle the dogs down six times during dinner". Sometimes they take it well, sometimes not. (and for the record I don't cut onto other people's camp sites, and I never let my dogs do business in other people's camp sites -- my goal is to get it done in my camp site, or the dog area)
QUOTE(pourme @ Aug 11 2010, 06:46 PM) [snapback]23478[/snapback] I'm new to this site & new to camping having only recently purchased my TT & only 20 camping nites so far. Welcome and enjoy the camping for years to come!
Personally, I would never consider it acceptable to cut through another camper's site with the exception of when I am camping with a group. We taught our girls to never cut through a site as well. On the other hand (you have different fingers) one thing I find all too rarely in a campground is a marked path from one row to the other, especially going to the restroom/shower facilities or the camp store. Is it just me or would this tend to solve much of the problem?
I like edcornflake's philosophy. I tell my kid not to cross through occupied sites while he plays. If the restroom is a long walk ask before you cross someone's site if they are there, if they are not just stick to the edge and don't walk near their stuff. Stay far away from the sites with dogs, period. Empty sites are fair game for shortcuts. I was recently at a campground where the people fenced off their site(s) with the big heavy duty 2" yellow come-a-longs and caution tape, to keep everyone out. Seriously people if you are that crabby why even leave home? But then again my my opinion of anal retentive hermit type territorial cronies is kind of skewed. My neighbor never let us kids set foot in his perfectly manicured chemlawned putting green of a yard. Now I am living in his house and my horse is my favorite lawn ornament. (tee hee hee) Just be a nice neighbor, permanent or temporary.
I try to stay out of campsites as much as possible. On a recent trip to Yellowstone, though several of the well established "paths" and hiking trails "dumped" the waker directly into a campsite. In cases like this, I try to give whatever the camping venue is (tent, trailer, etc.) a wide birth, trying to give them as much privacy as possible. Most who are near these unintended walkways seemed understanding. Also, when walking my dogs, I try to get them to the dog walking area as quickly as possible. Sometimes though their bowels may not last that long, and in these cases, I clean it up as descetely as possible. Please understand that the alternative is much worse.
I'm sure this has been said numerous times throughout this thread, but I don't want anyone walking through my campsite and I'm definitely not walking through anyone's site. When you set up your camp it becomes your personal space with your personal belongings scattered about. I don't want anyone invading my personal space where I have set up a temporary living situation. It would be like having someone walk through my living room (and for the record, if someone walked through my backyard I would absolutely take issue with it - it's called trespassing). Plus, if I'm camping in a remote, primitive location, it would seem like an invasion of my privacy as well.
How is someone supposed to distinguish between a friendly but lazy camper and a criminal? I err on the side of caution and personal safety. I'm a big city girl and a victim-of-crime survivor who gets VERY paranoid at people who get too close in my personal space, and I have a dog who was trained to feel the same way. Feel free to walk through my site if you want to be (at least) ferociously barked at by a dog who is trained to consider uninvited intruders not in my company to be enemies. I do not expect my dog to know the difference between stranger danger going through his backyard or climbing through his window from an oblivious but well-meaning camper going through the campsite that I have paid for, and I make no apologies. And, if I have children with me or if I'm changing my clothes and something like this happens, rest assured you will be lucky to get off with just a dirty look and not a piece of my mind. I have not felt inclined to complain to a park host about this behavior. In the past it has been a one-time occurrence by various campers that thankfully got the hint the first time. Regarding dogs, I religiously pick up after my dog. At dog runs, I always pick up my dog's "stuff" as well as another dog whose parents left their "stuff" behind. I call it the "leave-it-better-than-you-found-it" poopy policy. Therefore, please don't let pets do their business on my campsite regardless of whether you pick it up or if it's "only" #1. That is beyond rude.
