OUTDOOR CAMPING

Article by Mark Feuring - September 14, 2009 With adventure there are many stories of achievement in the journey of outdoor life. The correlations to finding one’s self identity both in adolescence and adulthood take place when traveling. Those rewards from vanishing points around exploration lead to a better self when a person steps outward past daily routines. Today, many people guide arenas of adventure on local and distant pieces of property. Traveling on vacation becomes a form of “family getaway.” Erik Erickson is a psychologist from the 1960s and 1970s who is a leader still today in the field of study. He developed theories for all ages of growth and development concerning the doctrine of people’s ways and means. Erickson’s eight stages of the self satisfy the old and young. Working things for younger generations was part of being an elder with Erickson and social theories of the self were the heart of adolescent ideas concerning his beliefs. Getting out or getting away is described in Time Magazines article “The Outdoors: Pampered Campers where “Who needs it? Not the sons of the pioneers.” When we make the bed and roll up our sleeping bags, hang the towels up to dry, is it the inner child in us that makes us complete these tasks? Do people who travel need the best and biggest camping gear the market can find? I am sure they thought of that when making bus campers in the 1960s. When people travel some might say, “Grab the sink” when thinking of camping gear and equipment. One of the most exciting things about travel is the ideas of cooking out. When a family travels on vacation, dining out may be one of the most highly filled quality times with the group. Young kids often help out on the family picnic probably more than in the kitchens at home. Kids can find cooking and barbequing quite enjoyable and actually a place to learn in the outdoors when it comes to preparing a meal. Actually, around the campsite is a place to watch elders like mom and dad share responsibilities. Trailer or motor homes enable people to stay near the campfire at night and share stories while in the wilderness. Situations such as stacking plates in the same old cupboard at home next to the most familiar cups and plates fly away on a campout. Erickson believed that guilt was a characteristic of the old and the young. He mentioned, as one of the leading psychologists in his field, that shame and doubt carry with the youth or adolescent through transitions. Do those traits spill away like pouring water when an adult or a child takes a vacation? Well yes, with adventure we are leaving a small part of ourselves behind with time? Sometimes people travel and never want to leave the adventure behind. In many homes the most important piece of hardware is the television. Satellite dishes on RV units dither in many state parks. What a tool for adolescent development when thinking of the television and media in the wilderness outdoors. Swimming pools in state parks are elite as compared to swimming in the creek or river for recreation while on a campout. In the Time article: Pampered Campers, the reference to swimming in a pool in Florida and camping in a twenty-seven foot long bus camper was the top-notch way to travel. Back to the camper to shower and clean up as the family might not be lost on a deserted island but actually in Disneyland. Learning how to clean and bathe outside the daily routine shows spirit of survival. Bringing the heart of one’s self becomes the spirit of something new or never seen. That form of adolescent behavior becomes a better arena of awareness than the adventure itself. To dig deeper into the ideas of adolescence and outdoor adventure, maybe it’s the fresh air or insight into the hearth of warm and cold that makes us feel and act young. Walking, talking and not hearing man-made echoes can cleanse the soul. Today, modern equipment is nothing to laugh at when it comes to daily lifestyles to keep up while enjoying nature. Adolescent ways and means of independence revolve around traveling. The Boy Scouts and YMCA youth groups helped me gain independence. With less than four out of ten campers using tents as compared to RV units, there is a no spending gap on setups of what one can achieve in the lifestyle equipment. As always, we use our senses to interpret information when experiencing the American adventure. We hopefully can take something with us when we explore and return to familiar ground. Learning what type of equipment motivates people has become part of meeting your neighbors when camping.