Who Should Go Camping, RVing and/or OHVing?

Who Should Go Camping, RVing and/or OHVing? The simplest answer to this question is: everyone, at least anyone who has an interest in doing so. It is particularly advantageous for young families as it provides opportunities for a lot of true quality time for parents and children to share experiences a little or no cost. However, it is not unusual for retirees to begin their RVing experience long after all the kids have left home. Camping offers something for just about everyone. Even physical disabilities do not prevent people from enjoying camping, RVing and OHVing. In fact, OHVs, especially ATVs, provide extended mobility for many wheel chair bound folks. I know a wheel chair bound parapalegic who is an ATV rider and strong OHV activist. A properly equipped RV can be a very comfortable way for older people and those with disabilities to travel and enjoy the great outdoors.

Young families. I have a special interest in seeing young families get started. We got a late start with some of our kids, but most of them grew up camping. My oldest son was about 10 when we first started RVing and dirt biking. The youngest came along about 4 years later. By then our brood numbered 6, including 4 boys and 2 girls. With a 14-year age difference it was difficult to find activities that were appealing to everyone -- except camping and dirt biking. Everyone always enjoyed that! It was good to start them out young. How young? Well, as we added to our family, they started camping with us as babies, often riding in a carrier on Mom's back and started riding their own dirt bikes before they were in kindergarten. Our youngest son rode 13 miles of a 26 mile Poker Run on a 50cc dirt bike when he was still a month shy of his 4th birthday -- and wanted to go further. Our camping and dirt biking outings allowed a bonding for the family I think we wouldn't have gotten any other way. Camping and OHVing also provide numerous "teaching moments", beginning with responsibility for taking care of their own equipment and gear and extending to personal achievements like conquering a difficult trail or climbing a steep hill and beyond, to exercising teamwork with the family and with fellow riders and various impromptu science and astronomy lessons. Not to mention developing their own camping skills. My oldest daughter, who started riding when she was about 5, went on to race Women's Desert Expert in southern California for several years and for most races she chose to be on her own. She set up her own camp, did her own camp cooking, and even did her own "wrenching" to maintain her bike. This same girl ran a Grand Prix on her dirt bike one Saturday morning and competed favorably in a city-wide beauty contest that afternoon. No one watching her perform a complex piano solo at the pageant would have guessed she spent the morning racing her dirt bike.  She also brought home the #1 plate in Women's Motocross in Los Angeles in 2001.

Established families. Enlisting the cooperation and interest of older kids in camping may be more of challenge to start with, but is still doable and very much rewarding. The more exciting and adventurous you can make your outings, the easier it will be to capture the attention of today's teenagers who are highly focused on electronic lives such as cell phones, video games, texting, and virtual online relationships. In many ways it will be a good way to help round out their development to get their noses out of their electronic world and help them develop useful skills in the physical world. Camping is a VERY physical activity. Your own enthusiasm will be a primary force in inspiring your family. If you are lukewarm or intimidated yourself, your kids will respond to and reflect your ambivalence. Find something you can be passionate about: OHVing, hiking, fishing, hunting, canoeing, bird watching, visiting historical or geological sites or experimenting with pioneer and survival activities. Most kids (and adults) are fascinated with fire. Learn how to build a fire without using matches. Not only is it kind of fun, it is a good survival skill to have. My grown son was visibly impressed when I used flint and steel to start our campfire on a recent tent camping excursion.   Explore other survival techniques, such as building a shelter or finding food and water. Just make sure that, whatever you choose to do, you are genuinely interested in doing it. Then seek information and training to build your skills and enable you to share them with your family. Camping, RVing, and OHVing all provide many wonderful "teaching moments".

Older couples. Just because you've filed for social security doesn't mean you have to sit home in the rocker the rest of your life! In fact, sitting in the rocker may shorten your life! Many couples don't get around to starting their camping or RVing lifestyle until retirement. By then, many people prefer RVing to tent camping because of the comforts and conveniences RVs have to offer, but if you are in good health and have a craving for authentic outdoors experiences, go ahead and give tent camping a try. There is certainly no upper age limit, as long as you feel physically able to handle it. My grandfather always said "A man will rust out quicker than he'll wear out". More recently I've adopted the attitude I saw on a T-shirt: "You don't stop riding because you get old; you get old because you stop riding." Camping and RVing as a couple can sometimes restore some of the spontaneity and intimacy of the life a couple initially shared before having children. On the other hand, taking your kids or grand kids along on your trips can also be rewarding and enjoyable and recall some of your own youthful enthusiasm for life. And don't be afraid to explore options for OHVing if you find that appealing. ATVs and side-by-sides have given us a range of choices that greatly expands the options available to those of us who may not be as physically active as we once were. Off road motorcycles are a little more challenging, so if you have any interest in riding s dirt bike, start as soon as you can so you'll already have the skills. Age doesn't have to stop you from having a good time. I have an associate who is well into his 70s and still organizes and personally leads two week-long dirt bike rides in Mexico every year. You don't stop (riding, camping) because you get old; you get old because you stop (riding/camping).

Who should begin Camping, RVIng, and/or OHVing? YOU!