Campground Etiquette

Okay, I must weigh in on terrible campground noise.  I was amazed to have my choice of campsites on which to pitch my tent at the West Point Round Pond Recreation area on a perfect summer weekend before pod and when I was still an Army Nurse.  Exhausted from packing AND driving AND dealing with an autistic 10 year old and setting up camp and making dinner, I finally sank into the air mattress with a full belly, a glass of wine or two under my belt, and an empty bladder.  Suddenly the ground shook with bedrock conducted explosions. And again.  And again, but no evidence of a thunderstorm.  Unbeknownst to me, the nearby national guard post was conducting night fire heavy artillery practice until daybreak. When I figured out it was only cannon fire, it didn't help.  I wondered how long my nylon tent fabric would resist an artillery shell if a weekend warrior made a math mistake.  Note to self-verify that there is no night fire practice scheduled before camping in a military campground! I did manage to sleep after terror fatigue.  The next morning the camp director assured me that they fired into the other side of the mountain, explaining why the ground shook so.  My daughter mentioned the next morning that there had been quite a thunderstorm but it hadn't bothered her!  And yes, I know, "artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be an ungentlemanly brawl".

Hartwick Pines State Park in MI is close to Camp Grayling, the largest National Guard training center in the US. Not close enough for the noise to keep you awake, but sometimes the tracers can make a great light show at night.

I found a solution to the dog poop problem in campgrounds.  It came to me one morning while making breakfast.  I cooked some bacon and did not have a container for the grease.  About that time I noticed my neighbors dog circling our hot tub, looking for a place to take a dump.  I went after him with the skillet in my hand and decided to pour some of the bacon grease on its poop.  Sure enough, an hour or so later, the dog returned to find out what smelled so good.  Once found, he inhaled the whole pile and took it away himself.

So, when I go camping, I take a squeeze bottle full of bacon fat mixed with a little vegetable oil to keep it liquid and squirt a little on any dog poop I see.  The next dog that comes along takes care of it.  I call it Poop-B-Gone and truly believe I could market it.

You must feed your dogs the good stuff!

This attack on dogs increases the biohazard to all of us with dogs. Please find another way to deal with your justifiable anger. I walk my 80 pound greyhound with a swinging, full baggie. There are terrible consequences of living with diseased animals. If you encourage stool ingestion by a species, you spread diseases your dog could catch as easily as licking his own paws. Then you get it. We campers must live cleanly and courtessy to stay healthy and live long. As a military officer in the Army Nurse Corps, I preached hygiene. I cover other scat as I hike.