Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (Full Version)

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jlf1961 -> Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/7/2013 9:28:46 PM)

First there was Disco, the worst form of music to ever torture the ears of hard core rock and rollers...
Then there was Milli Vinilli.
Then there was a period of hope, until....
Reality tv hit the airwaves.

All signs of the coming collapse of American society.

Now there are the following products, the final nail in the American culture...

The AC Boot, this is a device that allows you to cut a hole in your tent so that while you are camping you can have Air Conditioning while camping.

Have the outdoorsmen of this country gotten so soft that they need a frigging AC in their tent?

BTW, running around in a freaking multi million dollar RV is not camping. The same is true for some of these luxury 'camping trailers.

Next is the Frywell Instastart Portable Deep Fryer some one mind telling me what the hell is wrong with a dutch oven over a fire, filled with lard or shortening to deep fry cat fish and hushpuppies in?

Legitimate camp cooking equipment, cast iron skillet, a medium sized sauce pan, a cast iron dutch oven, and to serve food, porcelain plates and cups, plain stainless flatware, use your pocket knife to cut your meat (the same one you gut fish with) and a porcelain percolator to make coffee.

"Glamping" Tents aka luxury tents, the tent version of a five star hotel. Fully equipped with "rustic" beds, furniture, solid floors. By the way, these accommodations will cost you $395 a night.

What happened to tents made out of canvas or when I got older, rip proof nylon, a sleeping bag, minimal cooking utensils, NO FUCKING AIR CONDITIONERS, cooking over a camp fire or a Coleman stove, remember the liquid fuel you poured into a tank, then pumped up the pressure to light the burners? A Coleman lantern.

Not to mention the heat or cold depending on the season, the bugs like mosquitoes and no-see-ems, ants, all those nice bugs out to sting, bite or otherwise challenge your enjoyment of the experience.

And that one rock that always seemed to end up under the tent right under where you had your sleeping bag.

Those rain storms that seemed to brew up out of nothing after weeks of no rain that soaked the entire camp site.

What I ask has happened to the American outdoors man?



Marini -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/7/2013 9:32:49 PM)

quote:

Then there was Milli Vinilli.


now you have gone and done it buster, I love disco.

Milli Vanilli- Don't you know its true

I still liked milli vanilli even after I found out they were frauds.

Don't try and besmirch disco, buddy.
Many of us, had some of the best days of our misspent youth while enjoying disco music.

Also, I hated going caomping as a child.
I considered it almost a sign of abuse, I remember sleeping in some damn sleeping bag on the ground, wondering why the camp counselor got to sleep surrounded by netting.
Lying there as a child wondering if some animal would attack me if I managed to go to sleep.

If I go camping by choice/damn it I want to go glamping.

Also, I enjoy a few reality t.v. shows. {Can't wait to watch Survivor tomorrow night}.

lol

<---Mari, hopelessly lost in the 80s and fucking loving every minute of it.
[;)]



theshytype -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/7/2013 9:57:40 PM)

I don't know much about disco but definitely agree with the reality tv crap.
And Paranormal Activity movies.

As far as the camping, I'm with you! To me, it's not camping if you need to use the electrical offered at some camp sites.
Marshmallows are roasted on sticks found.
Everything is cooked over the fire.
If I wanted it to feel like home, I would have stayed home. The complete simplicity of camping is what makes it enjoyable.
And the time we woke up to a flooded tent probably wouldn't have been near as memorable without the flooding.



MasterCaneman -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/7/2013 10:55:19 PM)

A plastic tarp, a sleeping bag, some paracord, and a few odds and ends that fit in a pack. Back in high school, me and my idiot friends would take a bus up to the head of one of the canyons and hike up a few miles, make camp, and have a great time. Couple of guys didn't even have sleeping bags, just bedrolls made from what was around their house.

Couldn't have a fire-drought area and fire restrictions-but we got around it with those wee candle lanterns, either store-bought or homemade from baby food jars. Put a couple together in a cluster and you "sorta" had a fire. If a ranger or sheriff got close, they were easy to put out quick. Got cold, but we had the fires of youth burning in our veins.

And Everclear and Kool-Ade. We did it so we could party without the local yokels hassling us on the streets when we wanted to get high. At first we tried hauling beer up, but it was a major pain to carry what turned out to be cheap, warm, 3.2 beer. A hip bottle could last a looooong time (1 cap is about equal to one shot of 'normal' booze). Yeah, we had our priorities...



jlf1961 -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/7/2013 11:58:48 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Marini

quote:

Then there was Milli Vinilli.


now you have gone and done it buster, I love disco.

Milli Vanilli- Don't you know its true

I still liked milli vanilli even after I found out they were frauds.

Don't try and besmirch disco, buddy.
Many of us, had some of the best days of our misspent youth while enjoying disco music.

Also, I hated going caomping as a child.
I considered it almost a sign of abuse, I remember sleeping in some damn sleeping bag on the ground, wondering why the camp counselor got to sleep surrounded by netting.
Lying there as a child wondering if some animal would attack me if I managed to go to sleep.

If I go camping by choice/damn it I want to go glamping.

Also, I enjoy a few reality t.v. shows. {Can't wait to watch Survivor tomorrow night}.

lol

<---Mari, hopelessly lost in the 80s and fucking loving every minute of it.
[;)]



I have done many card readings over the years, talked to a few spiritualists, been involved in a few seances and used a Ouija Board and the answer is always the same, Disco was a tool of Satan and his demons to corrupt the youth and twenty somethings of the era.

Now as for camping, the kind of camping I truly enjoy involves a horse, pack horse, parking truck and trailer at ranger station and trail riding as far back into the park to the "primitive" camp areas. Basically the camping areas that have the disclaimer "Park Staff cannot guarantee your safety.



erieangel -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 12:11:34 AM)

I'm with Mari, loved disco...and still do, at times.

Camping, though is another matter. It was one my family's summer vacations, until I started sleep walking. We did it tent style, too. A big canvas tent that slept 5. As soon as my stepfather got his vacation, the station wagon was packed up with clothes, food and other supplies, tent and sleeping bags tied to the top of the car and away we went on our adventures. We went to parks all over PA and NY. Then I started sleep walking. IN MY SLEEPING BAG!!! That was the end of the family camping trips. But for some reason my mom started sending me to summer camp. Not my sisters, just me.




Duskypearls -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 6:10:29 AM)

Both funny and sad, jlf. It's not hard to see you're a good, old-fashioned, hardcore camper!! That's how I like to do it.



Duskypearls -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 6:14:21 AM)

"Got cold, but we had the fires of youth burning in our veins."

Wow, that's a beautiful sentence, MasterC!

Ever think of being a writer?



Duskypearls -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 6:16:49 AM)

"Now as for camping, the kind of camping I truly enjoy involves a horse, pack horse, parking truck and trailer at ranger station and trail riding as far back into the park to the "primitive" camp areas. Basically the camping areas that have the disclaimer "Park Staff cannot guarantee your safety."

How I'd LOVE to have that experience!!



PeonForHer -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 6:51:34 AM)

quote:

Legitimate camp cooking equipment, cast iron skillet, a medium sized sauce pan, a cast iron dutch oven, and to serve food, porcelain plates and cups, plain stainless flatware, use your pocket knife to cut your meat (the same one you gut fish with) and a porcelain percolator to make coffee.


Ah. You don't carry everything on your back, then. Me, I've even got so fanatical at times at cutting down weight that I've cut off the stems of disposable razor blades. The pages of paperback books that I've already read turn into fire lighters. And everything becomes multi-purpose: I take a frisbee instead of a dinner plate, for instance. Pens have needles inserted into them. Dental floss doubles as strong thread (and also imparts a pleasing minty aroma to whatever you just mended with it).

Got to say, though, some of the old camp gear is really outmoded. The old torches and lamps can't compare with the modern LED ones.



Hillwilliam -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 7:07:26 AM)

I remember spending 9 days floating a river in Alaska with 5 others.

The outfitter forgot our tents and we didn't notice until the plane had taken off.

We spent 8 nights under a big assed blue tarp.

THAT'S freakin' camping.



PeonForHer -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 7:19:05 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

I remember spending 9 days floating a river in Alaska with 5 others.

The outfitter forgot our tents and we didn't notice until the plane had taken off.

We spent 8 nights under a big assed blue tarp.

THAT'S freakin' camping.


You call that camping? That's luxury. I've done that, in the Antarctic, wearing only swimming trunks and army boots. We had to eat rocks and penguins' entrails for breakfast.



MrRodgers -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 7:31:38 AM)

Well, whatever the music, Disco ranked up there in getting me laid. Camping...ditto.

Reality TV is as often...unreal, like how does the 'film crew' eat ?

Yes, much of what we do outside our homes for entertainment and pleasure, we make sure to be taken care of in enjoying our entertainment and pleasure.



DesFIP -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 8:50:34 AM)

An air conditioner, so no mosquitoes. That makes plenty of sense to me.

He camps, I don't.

One of the reasons my grandmother married my grandfather was that her in-laws, with whom they lived, had indoor plumbing. I see no reason to undo three generations of hard work.



MasterCaneman -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 9:03:29 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Duskypearls

"Got cold, but we had the fires of youth burning in our veins."

Wow, that's a beautiful sentence, MasterC!

Ever think of being a writer?


I've toyed around with the idea for some time now. Here's a link to one of my 'throwaway pieces' I posted right here: Kept. Warning, excessive verbiage ahead.

Weren't we talking about camping? Maybe I should write something about that. [;)]



MasterCaneman -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 9:08:17 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: PeonForHer

quote:

Legitimate camp cooking equipment, cast iron skillet, a medium sized sauce pan, a cast iron dutch oven, and to serve food, porcelain plates and cups, plain stainless flatware, use your pocket knife to cut your meat (the same one you gut fish with) and a porcelain percolator to make coffee.


Ah. You don't carry everything on your back, then. Me, I've even got so fanatical at times at cutting down weight that I've cut off the stems of disposable razor blades. The pages of paperback books that I've already read turn into fire lighters. And everything becomes multi-purpose: I take a frisbee instead of a dinner plate, for instance. Pens have needles inserted into them. Dental floss doubles as strong thread (and also imparts a pleasing minty aroma to whatever you just mended with it).

Got to say, though, some of the old camp gear is really outmoded. The old torches and lamps can't compare with the modern LED ones.


Dental floss also makes great stitches. It's sterile enough for a short time, and the docs like it because it's easy to remove. I use unflavored exclusively just in case. Don't ask me how I know this. And I'm with you on cutting down on the weight issue. Backpacks have this unusual tendency to gain weight with every mile.



calamitysandra -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 11:27:23 AM)

I am honest, I never liked camping. Just not my thing, I am a friend of indoor plumbing. Preferably in a private bathroom.

My sons however, like it.

I am not sure if this tent on this campground is to be considered glamping, but it works very well as a compromise for us.



FunCouple5280 -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 2:15:58 PM)

The AC is rank BS. People like that ought to be hung. Why? How do you power it? A genset, a stinking loud annoying outdoor nuisance. They really ought to be banned in the woods. If you want to enjoy the outdoors, enjoy the outdoors. Otherwise, stay in your back yard. Those damn generators ruin it for everyone else. You can't hear the birds of smell the pines. Besides I can't think of anything more brown than running an AC in an uninsulated tent. I backpacked the Grand Canyon last year in 105 heat. Slept bare ass on top of a sheet and a pad, with no rain fly on the tent. slept fine, didn't need no damn AC. I just wanted a tent cause of rattlers and scorpions. If it rained on me, I would have considered it a blessing.

This is a close second to assholes who get drunk and play loud music after dark with their car stereos. While car camping is a little whussy to begin with, respect people who don't share in you opinion that the music of nature is all you want to hear, or just friggin sleep.

People who use AC aren't outdoorsmen, that is a mischaracterization JLF. They are just people who want to look like they camp.

If you want to hang out in an RV park fine by me. There is a reason they call it RVing not camping.

quote:

Next is the Frywell Instastart Portable Deep Fryer some one mind telling me what the hell is wrong with a dutch oven over a fire, filled with lard or shortening to deep fry cat fish and hushpuppies in?


Lot's is wrong, if you don't know what you are doing, we are talking grease fire. If it is safer than I agree with it. Beside, last year, fires were outlawed in CO, the state was a tinderbox burning itself away


I do agree, nothing beats cast iron, but I agree with that even at home :)

quote:

What happened to tents made out of canvas or when I got older, rip proof nylon, a sleeping bag, minimal cooking utensils, NO FUCKING AIR CONDITIONERS, cooking over a camp fire or a Coleman stove, remember the liquid fuel you poured into a tank, then pumped up the pressure to light the burners? A Coleman lantern.


Canvas sucks, and it heavy as hell. Now the lanterns, Well I have gone LED, they don't melt nylon and start fires like oldschool lanterns. However, if I am backpacking the only thing I have is a headlamp and a small emergency light.

quote:

What I ask has happened to the American outdoors man?


They are still around. Many of us you won't see. Hardcore ultralight backpackers etc, are so far away from cars and other stuff we appear invisible. I have been on dozens of backpacking trips where I averaged 2 human sightings a week. Saw more bears than that. And that is only a 90min drive out of a majo metro area.

This is why in some ways I 'ok' with some glamping. If they don't mind relegating themselves to crappy, no view, crowded pay camping sites then so be it.



dcnovice -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 5:29:52 PM)

FR

I'm with DesFip, Sandra, and the ever-quotable Fran:

[image]http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/9909/images/quote.gif[/image]



OsideGirl -> RE: Alright, now I have proof that the American Culture is going to hell in a handbasket. (5/8/2013 5:32:13 PM)

Camping is a hotel without room service.



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