Staff writer
Each weekend some tents can be found among the recreational vehicles at Marion Reservoir and Marion County Park and Lake.
Tents and RVs have proponents, and they have reasons for their choice.
Thad and Janie Meierhoff of Marion got their start camping in a tent that eight people could comfortably fit in. They eventually bought a trailer, which they have since replaced with a newer one, and there is no going back to a tent.
“I’d quit camping if I had to do that,” Thad Meieroff said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the only way to do it.”
Camping with their tent was fun, but it always left him tired, he said. Putting up and taking down the tent took time and energy away from relaxing activities like fishing.
“It’s so nice just hooking up to that camper and going,” he said.
“It’s just like living at home,” Janie Meierhoff said.
Meierhoff’s trailer is air conditioned and holds a queen-size bed, sofa, kitchenette, and satellite television.
It also gives more protection in a storm, she said. Their tent left them vulnerable to rain.
“You just get so sopping wet,” she said.
Some people prefer tents.
“Myself, I prefer a tent,” Jaing David of Wichita said.
She has taken her family camping six consecutive weekends, she said. A camper would be convenient, but it would take away from the experience.
“To actually feel like I’m camping, I have to have a tent and a bonfire,” David said. “As long as it doesn’t hail, you’re all right.”
She suggested young parents should take their children camping with a tent. Children will do and remember more if they get away from television and air conditioning, she said.
She will not rule out the possibility of eventually having a camper.
“Maybe when I get older, and sleeping on an air mattress makes my back sore.