DUMP STATION DUMMIES
Don't you just love it when you get behind someone at the dump station and have to wait sometimes as long as 25 minutes because they HAVEN'T A CLUE! These are the people that stepped on the gas in the campground loop so they could get ahead of you in line! How difficult is it to hook up a hose pull the levers unhook the hose and leave? It's not rocket science!

ANOTHER PET PEEVE: CAMPGROUND WALKERS AND GAWKERS
Every campground has 'em. Just as you get settled into your campsite you glance over your shoulder and see a couple walking their dogs with their necks fully twisted around kind of like an owl or that girl in the exorcist. Are we really that interesting folks? Or do you have nothing else going on? Sit back and then the parade begins. The rubber neckers & the dog walkers, It doesn't matter that there are 20 miles of great hiking trails in the area. These folks never step a foot on them. They just go round and round and round. Hey I didn't come here to look at everyone else!

Happy New Year. Now Clean up after your dog would you?

ANOTHER PET PEEVE! And by this I mean your PET (or yappers they are called!) They chase the wildlife away, they are noisy, "BUT AREN'T THEY SOOOO darned cute!" Increasingly I've been noticing a behavior which leaves me nonplussed: I see little plastic bags of dogshit deposited by trailheads and along the trail. WHAT are these people thinking???? They take the trouble to pick up their animals poop but I guess it's too disgusting to take it to the nearest trash bin. If you are not going to dispose of it properly why not just leave the dog at home. Now you've got a stinking plastic bag fermenting which will take YEARS to decompose. I really don't see the rational in this kind of behavior. Guess that says something about the LACK of these dog owners mental abilities.

There's one thing I especially hate about fulltime life: LAUNDROMATS!!!!!! How many dirty disgusting laundromats have you been in? Why isn't there a website dedicated to nice shiny new laundromats? Even my Garmin Nuvi lacks a category titled: laundromats. It's AWFUL to pick one out of the phonebook and find oneself in a BAD PART OF TOWN. And I ain't talking about Leroy Brown. These guys will send shivers down your spine and make you hold one to your cellphone with "911" on the quick dial.

And there's the horrible thoughts that go through my head as I throw my clothes into the dryer: is it possible to get lice from this? What about those high levels of E-coli in wet laundry? I use bleach but I'm worried about the other guy! And did the establishment even bother to clean out the lint traps because it SURE IS TAKING A LONG TIME for my clothes to dry!!!!!! Oh how I hate laundry day!

Maybe I should invest in a wardrobe of quick-dry synthetic fibers and break down and build one of those stupid plastic pipe laundry racks on the back of my rig. Or better yet maybe I won't even do laundry. I'll just become another crusty, stinking curmudgeon!

IT'S EASIER TO WRITE ABOUT PET PEEVES so here goes: Why is it some Rvers feel a need to decorate their campsite with outdoor statues,plants, flags, patio furniture and all those other accoutrements that distract fellow campers from their natural surrounding? Some campgrounds take on a "Barnum Bailey" atmosphere. If this is the kind of home you want (And yes, I know that some people will say but this IS my home!) My reply is this: Maybe you should have stayed in a real house. This is the kind of thing I'm trying to escape by being an rv'er. I would much prefer to gaze upon the natural beauty of our world than have it cluttered with a bunch of cheap manmade crap!
(artwork by Jamie Treadwell at the Opera Gallery NY)

SORRY FOLKS BUT THIS CAMPGROUND AIN'T A TRUCK STOP!!!

Don't get me wrong - I don't have a problem with big rigs but COME ON! Doesn't there come a time when you draw a line in the sand? This rig has been parked here for a week and looks nothing short of an 18 wheel tractor/trailer. What's up with this? In the same vein what about those fivers that are being towed by what looks like the front half of a semi. Are these wannabe truckers or maybe they are truckers. What's next? Is somebody gonna zoom down from the skies and park a space shuttle in here? I mean we are talking EXTREMES here. Wouldn't these folks be more at home camping at a FlyingJ? Let's get real.

THE BLUE BOY BLUES

Have you ever been hanging out in your campsite and seen some guy driving slowly by dragging one of those blue boys behind? Then here they come a 2nd time and then a 3rd time and then a 4th time! My God! Wouldn't it be easier and little bit less messy to just hitch up and drive down to the dump station? I mean really folks! I've seen some of these guys drive by 4 or 5 times in an afternoon. I couldn't help worrying that the durned thing would come unhitched and cause a toxic spill near my campsite. I guess some of those guys revert back to that age when you like to play with the stuff! DON'T THEY HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO! Makes me think of a certain song by the Doobie brothers!