Wisconsin Forums

[AJE]

Are you a tent camper? There is something about being separated from the night and the great outdoors by a flimpsy little piece of canvas which makes one very aware of their surroundings.



Story One:

My family loved to tour the American west. As children we found ourselves experiencing the great outdoors and the sites of America from our home away from home: a tent. Unfortunately, unlike home, snacking on chips in bed is a dangerous thing to do. After a long, 16 hour road trip we hauled into Theodore Roosevelt National Park. just as the last rays of daylight was fading away. My sister, brother and I were really cranky from the loooooooooong car ride so we weren't thinking sanitation when we brought chips into the tent for a quick bedtime snack. In the middle of the night, mother nature decided we needed to empty our bladders. We woke Mom because the outhouse was quite a walk from the campsite and well, you know it was dark and we were little. The full moon gave us a great deal of light in which to trundle to the smelly building. Shortly after leaving the tent, however, we were shocked to discover we were being followed by a skunk. It was rather unsettling because no matter what speed we assumed, the skunk kept up with us. It was not without quite a bit of anxiety that we left the stinky outhouse because the skunk had really been acting strange and kept hanging around. It took about 20 minutes before it seemed to move on. As we tried to sneak back to the tent, the skunk again tailed us all the way. We unzipped the tent and dove inside in one fluid motion waking up dad in the process who then decided to leave the skunk alone rather than risk a stinky shower or a deadly bite. In bear country, Rangers tell campers not to take food and drinks into tents. We have expanded this precaution to anywhere skunks might reside.