Parker County Today September 2017 | Page 82

our view: GLAMPING The Original Ford Expedition M 80 y wife and I have recently discovered camping. In truth, what we do is not really camping. Camping, back when I was growing up, usually involved a tent of some kind, a sleeping bag, maybe a small Coleman stove if we were lucky, the bathroom was the woods, certainly there was no shower of any kind. It was all done for the love of the outdoors, primitive, no comforts of home, just you and nature. And that was fine when I was a kid. My back didn’t hurt if I slept on the ground. I didn’t worry about being cold and wet, actually to my knowledge, fire ants didn’t live in the U.S. back then (try pitching your tent on a fire ant bed today). In fact, you had to be a construction genius to put a tent together years ago, too many poles, and you could kill yourself with the hatchet used to pound the stakes in the ground. Back then, you needed an alcohol test before you used one of those hatchets, especially if you were trying to do it at dusk or in the dark, you could flat cut your hand off. Also, I wasn’t married in those days. So, camping for my wife and me has changed dramatically, from yesteryear. In fact, there is a name for it ... . GLAMPING ... Glamorous camping, which is, satisfying the love for the outdoors, and being able to include the desire for great food, superb adult beverages, a comfortable bed, to be warm in the winter and cool in the BY MARK BROWN