I live right across the river from Detroit Michigan. Lived in the Detroit area for 4 years after marrying my DW, then the crime got way out of hand, so we moved over here for safety of our kids. There is some nice places to camp here. But they book up solid as soon as they start taking reservations back in late winter. Sites are also about double the price as they are in Michigan. We really like Tahqaminah Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We'd love to go there this year again, but being near an election, on 'high terrorist alert' the border is hard to cross, I've seen them empty cars loaded with camping gear and leave it for the driver to put back in. Something I don't want to go through.
Last Monday it was near 90, then dropped to the 50's on Tuesday. It's slowly creeping back up again. We haven't really planned any trips yet, other than to Bass Pro Shop to get more gear.
We have a 33' 87 Coachman that we leave at a campground all year long. Last summer we (me and my boys) built a 33' x 8' deck with a roof (guess you could call it a porch) that we use just about every weekend from April to November. But with gas going up every day it looks as though we won't be going up EVERY weekend. 65 bucks to fill wifes SUV plus all the driving we do while we are up there. So we are looking at getting back into tenting as a off weekend. My grandchildren and nephew LOVED it when we took them out tenting a couple of years ago. So it is a cost factor as well as variety. We would tent within 50 miles of home.
Now it is only Me, The Wife, and my dog. Thank God!
A Bad Day Camping, Is ALWAYS Better Than A Good Day At Work!
Jtbeck, Nancy Peolosi PROMISED us in 2006 that if we'd elect the Democrats the majority party, they had a common-sense plan to reduce the high cost of gasoline ($ 2.35/gallon). I'm still waiting. BTW, as a scientist I don't consider methane and carbon dioxide to be pollutants, since I emit them myself. And if you consider the test-well estimate of 1 million barrels per day output of ANWR to be a "drop in the bucket", what do you think the Florida coast oil the Cubans are about to slant drill from us amounts to? ;-)
Shhhh. Don't pass the word that political posts about the high cost of fuel found their way into Tent Camping (there's a sticky in General RVing, BTW). I'll catch holy heck from my fellow mods and forum administrators if this gets out of hand.
So far, it's been good, and I'll let things continue as long as it stays that way. Let's just keep it as civil as it is now.
Popups are truly the forgotten secret of the RV world. Ours is 24 feet open, has two king size beds, a couch, dinette, kitchen, portipotti, furnace, running water... As equipped, ours is 2,7xx# loaded and tows nicely behind our Honda minivan. Best of all, we get 19 mpg WHEN TOWING (interstates). A Suburban probably gets that when NOT towing.
It takes some work to setup a minivan to tow a larger popup (custom brake wiring, wdh, tranny cooler) but it is worth it. ALMOST everything I loved about tent camping and almost none of what I hated.
The only downside is that it doesn't tow behind a canoe well or fit into my backpack. So I still have the trusty tent gear for truly remote getaways. But if I'm staying at a CG with car access, you betcha I'm bringing the pup.
Sarah and Annie will be running the camp without me this year. I want to see what a Michigan MBA's are worth up here. Greg is on his way home from Afghan so we will see each other in the airport before I leave. I'm outta here to Iceland in a couple of days.
Wolf
Home 56.16°N -96.9°W ~ Wall 12 man and Eureka 6 man Egyptian cotton tent ~ Winter S/V Porque No 7.25°N -80.8°W //Mitakuye oyasin!
Sorry it took me so long to respond, I've been tent camping! Had a great time. Even got to go see the Reds beat the Braves with a sweet extra-inning homer. Ball park hot dogs, beer and a win. It doesn't get much better! It could cost a little less. Remember when Major League Baseball games used to be affordable? Those days are long gone.
As for gas prices, don't get me wrong. I'm not defending the the Dems or rooting for the Republicans. I can't stand either party. I think no matter what label you put on it, corruption and incompetence is still corruption and incompetence. And, no I don't think a vanity candidate like a Ralph Nader would change anything either. A viable third party would be nice, but I just can't see it happening in my lifetime.
Also, I wouldn't put too much stock in promises made by any of them in order to get elected. I think the best we can hope for from this shower of morons is to not trigger a thermo-nuclear war.
All I'm saying is that it takes the cooperation of both sides of the aisle to get anything done. Plus, they can't do anything if it gets vetoed by the president, unless they've got a super-majority that can override a veto. That won't happen as long as the majority margin is so thin.
I have no problem with blaming Congress, but given the present circumstances and makeup of the congress, I don't think I could pin anything on one party or the other. It's just a simple question of math. If the numbers aren't there in sufficient quantity, then nothing gets done. And IF they did do something to cause gas prices to go up (which I wouldn't put past them), then it was done in collusion with the Republicans. There's just not enough of a majority for them to do it any other way.
As I stated in another post, I'm a "throw the bums out" kind of person. It couldn't get much worse starting with all rookies.
Also, I didn't know the Cubans were getting ready to slant drill. That bites. The Chinese are sitting off our shores drilling already. I swear, I'm getting closer and closer to being an Isolationist. We're so busy trying to be the world's police force that we're not policing our own best interests at home. It's nuts.
LLeopold,
I truly don't think that anyone on this board would get out of hand even over politics. This is such a civil place to be! That's why I keep coming back.
Plus, tplife69 and I are basically on the same page. I'm just blaming MORE members of congress.
Anyway, I hope everyone had as great a weekend as I did!
Me (69), DW (69), DD (95), DS (00), DS (01) and 1 camping toy fox terrier (08)
95 Fleetwood Utah, 02 Ford Explorer Limited (V8)
mpfireman wrote: You can probably pull a Pop-Up and only get 1 to 2 MPG difference in milage. My old Suburban never knew it was back there when in tow.
Very true. That's what I am finding with our small camper. Hardly puts a dent in my MPG.
Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0 (Folding Tent Camper) only 900 lbs!
M GO BLUE wrote: You spent all that money on a new RV in the past and now just let is sit because gas is ~ $1.00more per gallon this year than last year?...which may I add is an extra $20/fill-up...ti each his own I guess
It's only "sitting there" until I can find someone to buy it from me. Also, it wasn't "all that money on a new RV" it was an old used RV I bought for under $6,000. The cost of buying new tags for it each year, the cost of insurance and the cost of the gas and the payments on the thing are just to much of an expense for something we use less than 6 times a year when a tent is just as much, maybe more. When we go camping it's to spend time outside anyways- the rv and the tent are perty much just used at bedtime.
89 malibu cobra. Old and crusty, but ton's of fun!
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