RV Pirates

[rvannie23]

Not sure what's worse, ants or those darn lady bugs.  I was at an RV show last weekend, and there were ladybugs in a brand new coach.

Funny you should mention that. I have been hosting about 4 ladybugs in my camper lately. NO clue where they are coming from. They seem to come and go at will too. This is the first year I've had them. Better than ants though, they don't sting or buzz or eat my food and are pretty to look at. Weird how they get into campers.

 

[sunflowers]

Hi, This is my first post,  I found this forum whilst looking for tips and advice for our upcoming RV trip in the US. I have been a little curious about campsite safety, particularly because we are travelling with children. This thread has been great at putting my mind at rest but BEARS?????? I mean, really, how worried do I need to be about them??????? I have never seen a bear in my life and would probably pass out if I did! Thank you.

 

[Bill N]

The only Pirates you will find are in Pittsburgh and they play pretty good baseball but the Cardinals keep them in check so no worries.    LOL

Bill

 

[UTTransplant]

Hi, This is my first post,  I found this forum whilst looking for tips and advice for our upcoming RV trip in the US. I have been a little curious about campsite safety, particularly because we are travelling with children. This thread has been great at putting my mind at rest but BEARS?????? I mean, really, how worried do I need to be about them??????? I have never seen a bear in my life and would probably pass out if I did! Thank you.

If you never camp where the bears are, you don't need to worry! Since we and the bears like the same places, we actually do meet up occasionally. That includes northern Minnesota, the Colorado mountains, Wyoming, Montana, etc. Actually, you don't need to be afraid of them, but you do need to put away all your food and cooking gear whenever you are away from your campsite. Places that have bears post signs telling you about them. They also generally have information about the rules for the area. Follow the rules and you won't have any problems.

I hesitate to scare you, but the story is just too funny. We were at Glacier Basin campground in Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a really big campground (200+ sites), and it is full almost all the time. Lots of signs posted that there was a bear frequenting the campground and what precautions we should take. One evening I saw a ranger walking slowly through the campground, and stopping just outside the backside of the restroom. At this campground they have sinks to put your dishwashing water and food scraps down, mostly for tenters. I took another look, and there was a bear looking all around the sink! He then visited another camper sink with the ranger tailing along behind. I later asked the ranger what was up, and she said she was just making sure no one bothered the bear. We were there the next evening too, and the bear repeated the process. It was just an adolescent black bear, and not a big threat to anyone. It was a bit surprising to see it in such a busy campground though! Most bears I have seen have been in pretty remote areas.

 

[SeilerBird]

Bears are 90% vegetarians. They really are not interested in eating you. There are only two situations in which bears are dangerous. Do not come in between a mother and her cubs. She will get pissed off. Do not run in the woods. Wild animals consider a running being as a challenge. I am a wildlife photographer and I spent 10 years full timing mainly in the National Parks. I have spent hundreds of hours in the woods and I have ran into dozens of bears. They usually completely ignored me while I was photographing them. I am not afraid of them in the least. I respect them, hell yeah. I don't try and stand next to them and pose for a photo, but I fear the tourists a lot more than I would ever fear a bear.

 

[Larry N.]

Nice pix, Tom.

 

[sunflowers]

Thank you for that reassurance! I guess it is more the fact that Bears are not part of life over here and we only see the bad stuff on the TV. We are RV'ing in NY, Washington and Niagra so I am presuming we won't see any!

 

[gwcowgill]

We saw a bear in upstate New York several years ago, and we see them here in Florida quite frequently in the middle of the state. So far I haven't seen any bear where we live but I have seen deer on the golf course here. I don't know of any state that doesn't have a bear population. We never worry about the bears when camping and follow the basic rules when camping in bear country. Get the kids out and have fun. We started our children camping when they were still in diapers.

 

[hoddinron]

Glad to see that we haven't been only lucky in having good experiences in Campgrounds of all sorts all over the USA.

99% of the folks you meet are kindred spirits and good hearted folks.

I did have one bad experience in a Fort Custer State Park in Battle Creek Michigan, though.  I was sleeping in a tent near my van which had a boat attached, ready to make a quick get-a-way the next day for Canada.  In the middle of the night I heard a lot of air escaping like from a tire.  Next morning I found that my right rear tire was punctured by a knife, and was ruined.  Took most of the day to replace the tire with a new one.  The ranger said it was unusual, but that there were some "Road Crews" staying in the campground and they were a rough group.  Maybe they resented that I was off on vacation and they had to work?

Ron

 

[kdbgoat]

I don't know of any state that doesn't have a bear population.

Delaware. Once in a while we get a bear travel into New Castle County from PA, but there's not a native population here.

 

[sunflowers]

You've all got me intrigued now! We go past Allegany State Park on our return to New York so might stop by for a couple of hours and see if we can spot one. Reading the websites it seems sightings are quite frequent (won't be getting out of the RV though)!!

 

[SeilerBird]

Actually there are a few states that are bearless:

http://geology.com/stories/13/bear-areas/

 

[gwcowgill]

Actually there are a few states that are bearless:

http://geology.com/stories/13/bear-areas/

Tom, looking at that map I am seeing some inaccuracies already as the East Coast of Florida is now starting to see bear and I believe the Black Hills are also seeing bear. Bear populations are on the rise as well as deer and hog populations.

 

[SeilerBird]

Tom, looking at that map I am seeing some inaccuracies already as the East Coast of Florida is now starting to see bear and I believe the Black Hills are also seeing bear. Bear populations are on the rise as well as deer and hog populations.

You are probably right Glen. Bears are mobile and they do get around. Especially if they eat all of their favorite food in one area (tourists). ;D

 

[Old_Crow]

I was quite surprised last year to learn that the North Kaibab National Forest outside of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon doesn't have any bears.  They say the plateau doesn't have enough water to support bears.
My wife and I were out in thewoods with the  Jeep and thought we saw one, but it turned out to be a burned out Ponderosa pine stump.  We got a laugh out of that.

 

[SeilerBird]

I was quite surprised last year to learn that the North Kaibab National Forest outside of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon doesn't have any bears.  They say the plateau doesn't have enough water to support bears.
My wife and I were out in thewoods with the  Jeep and thought we saw one, but it turned out to be a burned out Ponderosa pine stump.  We got a laugh out of that.

Yes, that is a desert and not a lot of bears live in deserts. As a bird photographer I have had hundreds of false sightings, thinking some bird was perched and it turned out to be a leaf. They are called leaf birds.

 

[gwcowgill]

Yes, that is a desert and not a lot of bears live in deserts. As a bird photographer I have had hundreds of false sightings, thinking some bird was perched and it turned out to be a leaf. They are called leaf birds.

And I thought I was the only one seeing things. :-\ :-\ :-\

 

[Old_Crow]

Confusing the north rim from the south rim, Tom.  North rim is at 8000'+(our campground is 8800').  Ponderosa pine, aspen, white fir and blue spruce forest.  However there isn't much free water, just some small stock tanks scattered though the forest.  No water crossings for the Jeep, no fishing, and no kayaking.  Just birds, deer(yuge ones), and bison.

 

[SeilerBird]

Confusing the north rim from the south rim, Tom.  North rim is at 8000'+(our campground is 8800').  Ponderosa pine, aspen, white fir and blue spruce forest.  However there isn't much free water, just some small stock tanks scattered though the forest.  No water crossings for the Jeep, no fishing, and no kayaking.  Just birds, deer(yuge ones), and bison.

Nope, the North Rim is surrounded by desert on all sides making it difficult for bears to show up.

 

[Gods Country]

Thank you for that reassurance! I guess it is more the fact that Bears are not part of life over here and we only see the bad stuff on the TV. We are RV'ing in NY, Washington and Niagra so I am presuming we won't see any!

I would be far more concerned about two legged animals over bears.
Just saying. ;D