Friday July 8, 2005

Dear Visitor:

Well, on July 3^rd, CNN reported that there are fewer people camping in and visiting our National Forests and Camp Grounds. My first reaction is fantastic, I can now go camp without people being next to me and making my camping trip less than optimal.

Yeah, some times a side of me is not so nice. However, my second reaction was with sadness. People would rather play video games, watch TV, or take a cruise. This is all leading to the decline in usage of these areas.

So, why be sad if I want to have a wide open space to myself? The answer is the environmentalists are taking usable land (even for camping) away from people. The government already outsources the care and maintenance of the camp grounds due to budget cuts. If numbers continue to stay low or even become lower, we will lose more of the usable land. Budgets will be cut completely.

Sure, I don't want the bums who get drunk, have their TVs up loud, throw trash all over the camp site, etc. out there. But, I do want such places to available to myself, my wife, my children, and whoever else is wanting to use it and take care of it.

Make sure to take a book, a few card games, a camera and some binoculars. They will help the experience be more rich. Also, consider foil dinners and dutch oven cooking. Camping is great and I love it. Please use, but don't abuse, our great outdoors!

Sincerely, Trever Adams