While recently walking around in a nice wooded public campground, I noticed a couple of annoying uses for fire rings. First, some had unburned tree trunks in them the size of the WashingtonMonument. Like..That’s gonna burn before you leave after the weekend trip! Secondly, some of the fire rings had trash and junk in them. Things like broken beer bottles, aluminum cans, diapers, half eaten food, gum wrappers, and assorted paper and plastic products. I was wondering why some campers do that. Is it:
1-Don’t have a clue that glass and cans won’t burn?
2-Too lazy to walk 25 feet to the trash can?
3-The diaper is on the wrong bottom?
4-All of the above?
It’s unfortunate that some have the “It’s all about me” attitude with no thought for the next camper who uses the site or the poor host who has to clean up after them.
Racerguy said
09:49 AM Aug 10, 2009
I know I will be in the minority on this but I would prefere no fire rings at all. That being said I have noticed the same thing and I think you hit the nail on the head .People just don't seem to think of any one but them selves.
Happytrails said
09:49 AM Aug 10, 2009
AMEN!!! We have been the poor host that has had to clean up after those inconsiderate campers. It just makes me furious. A fire ring is NOT a trash can. I think # 2 and the fact that somebody else will clean up after me mindset kicks in. Good campers don't do that.
Roz said
11:34 AM Aug 10, 2009
Now you hit on a pet peeve!
As camphost in an upscale private CG on the coast of Maine, I often cleaned worse than was even mentioned above.
TXRVr, There is a number 5, and I think it covers all of your 4 - "I simply do not care, its your job!"
Racerguy, The reason CGs place fire rings in a site is to control where fires are built and to contain their size and the coals. We had campers move the fire rings, although rules plainly prohibited their being moved. Then we had to return the fire ring to its original place and clean the ground so no trace of their fire was left.
HappyTrails, your answer was very close. The fact people do not really care covers them all.
Best story- A couple had left a thirty-minute cleanup job in the firering. They called saying they had lost a car key with integral remote that cost $150. Yep, I found the key, we packaged it up along with of their trash from the fire ring and returned it all with a note stating, "Here is your car key you left. We also thought you would want these other items you left."
Their name was added to the "Not Allowed Back List".
Charles
RodnReal said
11:49 AM Aug 10, 2009
There is always someone who will leave a mess behind. While camping recently in South Texas, we arrived to find trash in the fire ring and cigarette butts, 100's of them all over the place, none of which made their way into the fire ring. I took the time to pick up every single one of them because I didn't want to camp amongst them.
There is such as thing as a curtious smoker. Heck use an empty beer/soda can at least.
Some people are just pigs.
RANT off.
Connie
-- Edited by RodnReal on Monday 10th of August 2009 11:50:29 AM
-- Edited by RodnReal on Monday 10th of August 2009 11:51:02 AM
Speedhitch said
01:21 PM Aug 10, 2009
Roz hit the nail on the head here....I will have to say in our (Fulltimers) defense...we are some of the most site minded folks left in the Campgrounds. Weekenders that frequent campgrounds once a year could care less on how they leave it. Being that we are at so many campsites and appreciate the appearance of a clean site...we have a tendency to leave them much neater than most. Like Connie... Sherri and I will pick up someone elses mess so we don't have to look at it. We leave there with our mess cleaned up so the next camper will not have to do it. I guess it is just part of the lifestyle to look after the CAMPGROUND PIGS.
thebearII said
01:47 PM Aug 10, 2009
It all begins at home.....
These are the same folks who were allowed to jump on the furniture, rough house indoors, ride bicycles and skateboards on the sidewalks, throw rocks at vacant buildings... in general not taught to respect other folks property or follow rules.
Rules don't mean anything to them, they've been conditioned by years of meaningless or non-existent discipline.
Johnnie don't do that, I said don't do that, if I have to tell you one more time don't do that you'll be sorry....Johnnie don't do that....oh I give up go to your room. Johnnie goes to his room equipped with all of the latest in video and audio toys and games.
When he gets in his room, Johnnie texts to his buddy down the street, "It worked again, the old bag made me go to my room...LOL" and then he suggests "Let's meet on line and play Deadly Pursuit Car Chase and kill us some cops", "It will be cool, see-ya there".
News report a few months later- Johnnie was arrested today for aggravated assault on a police officer..... when interviewed, his mother said she couldn't understand what went wrong. Johnnie was always a good boy.
princess tonya said
06:10 PM Aug 10, 2009
Bear that is right on. That is exactly what we are trying to avoid. There have been several instances where I have banned my children from playing with other kids because of parenting issues. I am very strict with my kids, but they are not the ones in the restaurant climbing on the chairs and running up and down the aisle. Now my 3-year old is a little different, she is autistic, so she does bounce on the booth seat, but it's either that or she's going to be screaming. But she is getting better as we do more therapy.
I want to make sure they learn to respect others and others property.
rjenkins said
09:03 PM Aug 10, 2009
I love your story Roz about sending back the car keys and ALL the other junk they left behind. Reminds me of what I occasionally do with junk mail and if we all did it, junk mail would stop almost immediately. In all the junk maill you get, there are always some that have self addressed, postage paid return address. I get all the junk mail for a day or two, rip it up, and stuff it in that return envelope with a note "I received your junk, now you received mine". I'm sure that it didn't change the world but it sure let me feel better and in fact, I receive less junk mail than most people I know!!!!
Roz said
06:49 AM Aug 11, 2009
rjenkins,
Bet your junk you sent back was not as odoriferous as what accompanied the costly car key/remote entry. It was also sent on the slow truck so as to ripen well.
-- Edited by Roz on Tuesday 11th of August 2009 06:49:44 AM
Sandra said
07:09 AM Aug 11, 2009
When we arrived here in Lindsay, Ontario yesterday our fire ring was loaded with coffee cups and miscellaneous other items. There is also a trash can on the site. Shortly after we arrived the maintenance guy came around and shoveled out the fire ring thank goodness. I maintain that kids today are thrown up not brought up and those people have now reached the adult stage and are carrying on throwing up their own children.
I put this in a class with people who don't pick up after their pets.
I'm just getting to be a cranky old lady! LOL!
Tylersamma said
06:49 PM Aug 11, 2009
This has always been an irritant to me, even when I was the weekend camper. But now we have a new puppy who sniffs out the smallest of small pieces of ??????? Some of this can be quite harmful to an animal, but every single campsite we have been in since getting her 3 months ago has had this crap, and of course she will find it before we do!
GENECOP said
03:24 PM Aug 12, 2009
Unfortunately many people are inconsiderate slobs and we have to share the planet with them. Gene
dewwood said
03:46 PM Aug 13, 2009
This is not about fire rings but here goes. Last weekend we were in a state park which allows pets but with well defined rules about walking and cleaning up after. Well I look over at the public water faucet/hydrant and here are our neighbors washing their three dogs right at the hydrant. What do you do or say? They are camped right next to us and we were going to be gone all day the next day so did not want to make them mad and retaliate buy doing something to our trailer while we were gone. What do you do in this type of a situation? We did not have to use the hydrant but the tent campers that were there were using it. Fortunately this was Sunday night so many had left the campground but it was very unsettling.
GENECOP said
04:05 PM Aug 13, 2009
Unfortunately these are examples of the inconsiderate slobs i was talking about, As you noted, the situation did not affect you directly, so in light of your concerns about retaliation ignoring them was the right move. That being said, dropping by the office and letting the managment know what was going on might have been an option. G
TrishsTravco said
06:51 PM Aug 16, 2009
princess tonya wrote:There have been several instances where I have banned my children from playing with other kids because of parenting issues.
I am very strict with my kids...
I want to make sure they learn to respect others and others property.
Woah.. sounds like my dad. Which is good.
It's not difficult to show your offspring how to respect themselves then, by extension, they'll respect others and others' property.
When I was a kid, my job was raking the lot before we set up and raking it after we tore down.
While recently walking around in a nice wooded public campground, I noticed a couple of annoying uses for fire rings. First, some had unburned tree trunks in them the size of the WashingtonMonument. Like..That’s gonna burn before you leave after the weekend trip! Secondly, some of the fire rings had trash and junk in them. Things like broken beer bottles, aluminum cans, diapers, half eaten food, gum wrappers, and assorted paper and plastic products. I was wondering why some campers do that. Is it:
1- Don’t have a clue that glass and cans won’t burn?
2- Too lazy to walk 25 feet to the trash can?
3- The diaper is on the wrong bottom?
4- All of the above?
It’s unfortunate that some have the “It’s all about me” attitude with no thought for the next camper who uses the site or the poor host who has to clean up after them.
Now you hit on a pet peeve!
As camphost in an upscale private CG on the coast of Maine, I often cleaned worse than was even mentioned above.
TXRVr, There is a number 5, and I think it covers all of your 4 - "I simply do not care, its your job!"
Racerguy, The reason CGs place fire rings in a site is to control where fires are built and to contain their size and the coals. We had campers move the fire rings, although rules plainly prohibited their being moved. Then we had to return the fire ring to its original place and clean the ground so no trace of their fire was left.
HappyTrails, your answer was very close. The fact people do not really care covers them all.
Best story- A couple had left a thirty-minute cleanup job in the firering. They called saying they had lost a car key with integral remote that cost $150. Yep, I found the key, we packaged it up along with of their trash from the fire ring and returned it all with a note stating, "Here is your car key you left. We also thought you would want these other items you left."
Their name was added to the "Not Allowed Back List".
Charles
There is such as thing as a curtious smoker. Heck use an empty beer/soda can at least.
Some people are just pigs.
RANT off.
Connie
-- Edited by RodnReal on Monday 10th of August 2009 11:50:29 AM
-- Edited by RodnReal on Monday 10th of August 2009 11:51:02 AM
I am very strict with my kids, but they are not the ones in the restaurant climbing on the chairs and running up and down the aisle. Now my 3-year old is a little different, she is autistic, so she does bounce on the booth seat, but it's either that or she's going to be screaming. But she is getting better as we do more therapy.
I want to make sure they learn to respect others and others property.
In all the junk maill you get, there are always some that have self addressed, postage paid return address. I get all the junk mail for a day or two, rip it up, and stuff it in that return envelope with a note "I received your junk, now you received mine".
I'm sure that it didn't change the world but it sure let me feel better and in fact, I receive less junk mail than most people I know!!!!
rjenkins,
Bet your junk you sent back was not as odoriferous as what accompanied the costly car key/remote entry. It was also sent on the slow truck so as to ripen well.
-- Edited by Roz on Tuesday 11th of August 2009 06:49:44 AM
It's not difficult to show your offspring how to respect themselves then, by extension, they'll respect others and others' property.
When I was a kid, my job was raking the lot before we set up and raking it after we tore down.