Thread: OKLAHOMA GEEZER CAMP # 1 (New Camp)

There goes the neighborhood !!

with about 65 years experience at it. That doesn’t make my rules right for anyone but me – YMMV.

Camping is different things for different folks. I have a modern 34 ft RV and enjoy it, but that’s not camping to me. It’s RV’ing. Staying in a cabin can be enjoyable, but it’s not camping to me. Over the years I’ve done about any and all types of camping but not usually just to camp. It was normally to be able to enjoy the outdoors while hunting or fishing. I’ve camped with scouts as a youth; backpacked into mountainous wilderness areas for extended elk, bighorn sheep and deer hunting trips; tent camped at high altitude in below zero weather; and set up many comfortable fishing camps. That doesn’t even include 20+ years in the Army and surviving the weather all over the world (sometimes with just a poncho.)

Comfort. The purpose of the Geezer camps will be fishing, of course. However, one of the most important things will be comfort. If you are not comfortable you are going to be thinking about going home. Most of my most enjoyable fishing camps have been almost a week long. I won’t even set up a camp for just overnight. In a comfortable camp I can fish on my schedule as long as I want each day and still enjoy the outdoors when I’m not in my boat or float tube. Part of comfort is having decent facilities where you are camping. I enjoy camping in remote locations but, for the most part, you will want some amenities near your camp site. In Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas I usually prefer to camp at a COE campground when on a fishing trip. They normally have decent boat ramps and many of them are in nice locations on a lake. I usually avoid the larger campgrounds in favor of a more pristine location. Another benefit of the COE sites is they offer the Geezer discount rates. Usually, you will have a nice location for your tent, a table and grill and suitable places for a controlled campfire. Most will have water and electricity, although neither of those is required for a good camp. You can haul your own water and most modern trolling motors with last a few days with decent batteries. I long ago invested in a small portable generator for the week long trips to places without electricity. I rarely use it for anything other than charging my boat batteries. Probably, the most important item you will need for being comfortable is a decent…..

Tent. There are all types from very cheap to very expensive. Cost is less important than function. I have camped in very comfortable tents made from nylon and from canvas. The most critical thing about a tent is that it should be watertight and able to handle the Oklahoma winds. Many times, after a rough weather night, I have awakened to find others I have camped with sitting in their vehicles after their tent collapsed during the night from the wind or rain. There is nothing more uncomfortable than that. Unless….it is also having their air mattress deflate. To me it is comforting and even enjoyable to sleep thru a storm high and dry (and warm.) I have a couple of tents I use and they are not extremely large. I don’t share a tent except for an occasional grandkid. When Ike was here he always slept in the tent with me but he was a better companion than most humans. My wife doesn’t go with me unless the RV is used. I do set up a tent comfortably (for me.) The first rule of mine is to get up off the ground. I sleep on a cot with some sort of mattress (not air), a sleeping bag (type determined by the time of the year), a pillow and small comforter. I also have a camp chair, a small table and battery lantern in the tent. I can get pretty comfortable set up like that. I also believe you need a canopy or tarp set up outside the tent to get under on a wet day. You don’t want to be confined to the tent if it’s drizzling and you are not fishing. A small heater in the tent is good for cold, damp days and nights. It could be propane of electric if that’s available. (Don’t forget a long extension cord) It keeps everything dried out. For fishing all you need is a good rain suit and maybe umbrella.

Meals. This can be very complicated or simple. I’ve developed a few rules over the years. I do not get up and fix a big breakfast. My normal thing will be to have coffee and a doughnut (or one of Merle’s super cinnamon rolls.) Then, I go fishing. Since I’m camped at the lake I don’t need to take a bunch of food in the boat with me. I prefer to fish till sometime around midday and then return to camp for my big meal of the day. If the fishing is real good forget the meal. This allows me to clean everything up in daylight and not leave a mess around camp. My big meal may be anything from a hearty breakfast type meal to a steak or whatever I want. Sometimes I even take a power nap (siesta) before returning to the water. When I return to the camp site in the evening I usually just have something like a brat and a soda or beer around the campfire. It simplifies the cooking and cleaning this way for me.

Personal Hygiene. The facilities that are available in the campground also have a lot to do with your comfort. The Army taught me the importance of personal hygiene around places where a lot of people frequent. I almost never take a shower in a public shower facility. Most are germ-ridden and some are downright nasty. I keep a wash basin and can get in my tent and privately clean up (a GI bath) and feel much better than taking a shower. That goes double for rest rooms. There are a few campgrounds with clean flush toilets but I rarely find them where I want to be. There are all sorts of personal toilet items that can be used and that’s what I do. They range from simple and cheap items to porta potty type gizmos. You can google and find most of them or look at a Bass Pro or Cabelas catalog. I use an item the Army has had extensive experience with (PETT) and it works for me. Some of the one holers in campgrounds are nothing less than disgusting. I would rather be a bear than use them.

As I earlier said, the purpose of the Geezer camps is fishing. What I do allows me to have a relaxed, enjoyable fishing trip regardless of how well the fish are biting. You need not to be a Geezer to attend. Everyone is welcome – it’s just called that because most of you guys (and gals) that are not yet retired will not be able to stay as long. I hope to see you at Sardis in April and at others later.

Floyd