Staying Safe While Camping

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when camping.  Don’t be lulled into thinking that just because you’re in a tent, cabin, or are RV camping in a private campground or RV park a few miles out of town that you’re safe, and that the laws of your nature don’t apply to you!

Camping history is full of stories about bears getting into bird feeders, coolers, and tents.  These encounters are generally a young bear, newly kicked out of the den because mom now has a new cub, and who now has to fend for himself.  They quickly learn to associate campers with an easy meal.  The teenage equivalent of a McDonald’s drive-thru.

The food source can be campers who leave food on their campsite picnic table that can be right up under the awning of the RV, unburned food scraps in a fire pit, or forgetting to put the cooler away, a bag of garbage they failed to take to the dumpster before nightfall, bird feeders they have out, and even grease from a BBQ grill or dumped from a fryer.

These simple things can attract bears.  And the last thing you want is you, your children, spouse, or pets having a face to face meeting with a bruin.  While attacks by black bears are rare, they can happen and it’s important to remember that you’re in their territory.  They were here, in the woodlots of Pennsylvania, long before RVs and campers were. 

As their guest, we need to make sure we’re doing our part to not cause them the heartache of being trapped out and relocated.  It isn’t fair to the animals.      

So please follow these simple safety tips when you are camping to ensure your safety.

1. Never, ever allow your children to take food in their tents.  If the children are sleeping in a tent, they need to eat at the picnic table, or in the RV.  Never, ever, never take food in the tent. 
2. Never leave food out on your picnic table, especially overnight.  Put the cooler in the RV or trunk.  You become a McD’s dive thru, remember?  It’ll entice them to come right into your campsite for that easy meal.
3. Never place food scraps in the campfire.  All food scraps need to go into the garbage bag and to the dumpster every evening.  Cooking oil from fryers needs to cool, and then go back in the bottles it came out of and placed in the dumpster.  Never dump oil in the campground.  
4. Take the garbage to the dumpster each night before retiring.  Never leave garbage out overnight.  A bag of garbage will attract, skunks, raccoons, bears, opossums, dogs, etc. that can quickly turn a fun, family outing into a bad experience.  Not only will they make a mess, but they’ll be back, and they become ever more aggressive to get their meal.  That can place your family at risk of being bitten by a raccoon, skunk, bear, dog, etc.
5. Never try to feed or entice bears or other critters.  While they may be cute to see at a distance, they aren’t cute if they bite you and you have to go through a series of very painful rabies shots. 
6. If you see fresh bear skat while hiking, make sure you talk to your friends loudly or if you’re alone talk to the bears loudly or sing a song loudly, keep your head up, and be on the lookout for the bear.  If you encounter a bear, give it lots of room, and keep your distance.  Never run from one. Back away from the situation if you can.  And try to keep yourself positioned so you’re never between a sow and her cub.  That can be very dangerous.
7. Don’t forget that you need to know how to identify snakes too.  You could encounter them while hiking, camping, fishing, etc.  Make sure, like bears, you watch where you’re walking, and know your venomous snakes from non-venomous snakes.  Never play with snakes.  Even a non-poisonous snake bite can be nasty and require medical attention.
8. Make sure you know your surroundings and keep your pets leashed.  Small animals like cats and dogs can and do become prey for coyotes.    
9. And last, but certainly not least, know your plants.  Teach your children the old adage “leaves of three, leave it be”.  Watch for and stay out of poison ivy, poison sumac, and other plants that can cause very uncomfortable skin rashes.       

The best way to have a safe and fun camping adventure it to remember that the outdoors can have hazards that can be difficult to navigate if you forget that you’re a guest in the great outdoors!  So have fun, but be smart and stay safe!

By Robyn Chilson

Affordable Vacations Despite High Gas Prices!

In May 2007, the gas prices were at about $3.23 per gallon.  This year, prices are at almost $1.00 more per gallon.  But even at a $1.00 more per gallon, what does that mean to your travel budget for camping?  If your tow vehicle or motor home gets 10 miles to a gallon of gas or diesel, and you take a 50 mile trip, your total trip cost increase will be only $10.00 more!  If your tow vehicle gets better mileage, your cost increases will be even less!  

High gasoline prices historically cause Americans to make modifications to their travel plans but generally won’t cause them to cancel. So, here are some tips on how to still have a great summer and not let the price of gas ruin your vacation. 

Cook & eat at the campsite or RV!  Cooking over the fire is a favorite of campers and RV’ers, but even if cooking on the fire isn’t your thing, cooking and eating at your RV will help you save enough money on your vacation to pay for the gas price increase and allow you to afford the same vacation you took last year. 

Stay in a Cabin!  Not owning an RV isn’t the end of your camping experiences especially if tent camping is out of the question for you.  Most campgrounds have cabins that provide non-RV owners a fun camping experience at a very affordable rate.  The cabins are about the price of a hotel stay, but they have a wide range of amenities.  Camping cabins can be very basic (just beds and a table); kitchenette cabins provide the ability to cook indoors; and deluxe full service cabins have multiple rooms, kitchens, and bathroom facilities.  You can drive the vehicle that gets the best mileage, cook at the campground over the campfire to save money on meals, and enjoy a fun and affordable vacation with your family.    

Take only one vehicle to the campground or on vacation!  Coordinate schedules and carpool!  It saves you gas and reduces consumption!  Reducing consumption makes the price go down.  If everyone would lower consumption, our high fuel prices would come down.

Stay Closer to Home.  Rethinking your vacation location may pay back big dividends!  Save the cost of travel fuel by RVing and camping closer to home.  Not only do you save money on gas and wear and tear on your RV but you also spend less time traveling and more time having fun with your family!

Stay Longer once you get there.  Instead of making four, 2-day camping trips with the RV this summer, make three (3), 3-day stays.  You get an extra day of camping in, and the travel expense for only 3 trips!  It saves you money on the gas and again uses less gas, but that’s not all many campgrounds offer lower prices during the week.  So not only do you save with less travel but you also save on the stay costs too!

Become a Seasonal for the summer at your favorite campground!  To really save money on fuel and get the maximum use of your RV this summer, why not park the RV for the whole summer?  It’s a great way to think locally and act globally, and it’s a great way for your family to enjoy camping every weekend at the most affordable rate.  It maximizes your family’s enjoyment and minimizes the cost.  Most families can camp for the whole summer for less then a one-week vacation at Disney or at the seashore!

You don’t have to spend all that money on fuel to still enjoy a great vacation!  You can plan a great vacation by utilizing any one or more of these tips!  And, there are so many fun things to do and see right here in NW PA, you don’t have to go a long way to get away!

By Robyn S. Chilson

Robyn & Tim Chilson, CPO, Own and Operate Meadville KOA Campground in Meadville, PA.  You can contact her at 814-789-3251.