ntsqd
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OK, so its been, like 30 seconds and I've refreshed this tab thrice. What happened next?
Another Campground Incident – What Would You Do?
- Thread starter ski3pin
- Start date
OP
OP
I'm laughing so hard, it's hard to type. Thanks!ntsqd said:
The end of the story is coming.
Smokecreek1
Smokecreek1
Hurry up with ending Ski, or my morning dog walk may be a run so I can get back and find out what happened, but I like the generator solution, now if I only had one to use!
Smoke
Smoke
OP
OP
Continuing.................................
I do not like confrontations. Who in their right mind does? But I have been around awhile and had my share. Here’s what I believe I’ve learned thus far.
First I look at the big picture. A friend taught me to always ask the question “Is this hill worth dying over?” In this case, absolutely not. This incident is a tiny tiny blimp in the big scheme.
I also know it is not my job to teach people lessons. Revenge or getting even is childish and beneath us.
Rules of Engagement –
Take a deep breath. Always be civil, respectful, and do not use profanity. Show no emotion. Be quietly firm. Keep to the issue. Never threaten and never disclose your game plan, always leave them guessing what you may do or are capable of doing. Remember the flight or fight response. Always give somebody a way out. Do not back anybody or anything into a corner. Do not get backed into a corner yourself.
I do not like confrontations. Who in their right mind does? But I have been around awhile and had my share. Here’s what I believe I’ve learned thus far.
First I look at the big picture. A friend taught me to always ask the question “Is this hill worth dying over?” In this case, absolutely not. This incident is a tiny tiny blimp in the big scheme.
I also know it is not my job to teach people lessons. Revenge or getting even is childish and beneath us.
Rules of Engagement –
Take a deep breath. Always be civil, respectful, and do not use profanity. Show no emotion. Be quietly firm. Keep to the issue. Never threaten and never disclose your game plan, always leave them guessing what you may do or are capable of doing. Remember the flight or fight response. Always give somebody a way out. Do not back anybody or anything into a corner. Do not get backed into a corner yourself.
and??????
OP
OP
and??????
Here it is -
After daytime highs in the eighties, it was quite a difference to have the lows around 24° so we actually slept in a bit. The Lady reached down around 5:30 and clicked the thermostat into action, the furnace came to life and soon the camper was warm and we were stretching and wiggling up in our berth. I checked outside. They were still there.
I doubt anybody reading this, if you were the invaders, had honestly made a mistake (very doubtful in this case), took over someone’s campsite, had a confrontation where you likely angered someone you know nothing about, had not even seen - would you have hung around to see what would happen in the morning? My education is continuing. There apparently are people that utterly clueless.
It was a cold, still, quiet morning when I exited the camper around 6:15. Yes, we slept in but sun does not hit the campground until 8:30. I walked directly to the tent, grabbed the top and shook it until noises came from inside. I said, “Good morning. It is time to leave.” I made a trip to the outhouse. I returned. There was no movement or sound from the tent. I opened the truck and got our chairs. I set them up right next to the tent. I walked over to the camper and checked on the Lady, busy with her morning rituals. I walked around their vehicle and made note of its make and license number. I walked back to the tent. I shook it again until there were voices. I said, “Again, it is morning. It is time to leave.”
English was their language of choice the night before. This morning they spoke in what could have been a Russian dialect, I am hardly knowledgeable about languages and ethnic background and race should have no bearing on this incident. I did kind of enjoy the fast inclusions of “Amerininiskis” in their heated conversation. A woman was the first to exit. Bedding, equipment, etc. was thrown out the tent. She made a lot of muttered talk but nothing directly at me. I calmly stood and watched. Items were shuttled to the car. The Lady exited the camper with our morning coffee and surveyed the scene. She calmly asked me, “Are you going over to get the host?”
“No,” I replied. “There is a better way.”
Their pace quickened dramatically. In no longer than five minutes they and all their gear was in the car. The Lady and I were standing on the pavement as they backed out. I expected them to back right up against us and then roar away in a sign of defiance. They did not. The woman did say a few words that did not need translation.
I honestly believe this was the first time these people had ever not gotten their way. I am still quite puzzled by the incident. It was so outside what I would consider acceptable behavior.
A friend has compared this to a busy city setting where people blatantly enter your hotel room and take over that extra bed you are not using. Bottom line - however we can safely do it, we cannot reward bad behavior. If they had gotten away with it without some consequence - and I think getting their butts up and out of there before sunrise was a good consequence - they would only do this again.
So, that is what we did.
We did our morning walk with our hot Peets coffee, enjoyed the quiet campground morning, and got ready for the day’s adventure.
Here it is -
After daytime highs in the eighties, it was quite a difference to have the lows around 24° so we actually slept in a bit. The Lady reached down around 5:30 and clicked the thermostat into action, the furnace came to life and soon the camper was warm and we were stretching and wiggling up in our berth. I checked outside. They were still there.
I doubt anybody reading this, if you were the invaders, had honestly made a mistake (very doubtful in this case), took over someone’s campsite, had a confrontation where you likely angered someone you know nothing about, had not even seen - would you have hung around to see what would happen in the morning? My education is continuing. There apparently are people that utterly clueless.
It was a cold, still, quiet morning when I exited the camper around 6:15. Yes, we slept in but sun does not hit the campground until 8:30. I walked directly to the tent, grabbed the top and shook it until noises came from inside. I said, “Good morning. It is time to leave.” I made a trip to the outhouse. I returned. There was no movement or sound from the tent. I opened the truck and got our chairs. I set them up right next to the tent. I walked over to the camper and checked on the Lady, busy with her morning rituals. I walked around their vehicle and made note of its make and license number. I walked back to the tent. I shook it again until there were voices. I said, “Again, it is morning. It is time to leave.”
English was their language of choice the night before. This morning they spoke in what could have been a Russian dialect, I am hardly knowledgeable about languages and ethnic background and race should have no bearing on this incident. I did kind of enjoy the fast inclusions of “Amerininiskis” in their heated conversation. A woman was the first to exit. Bedding, equipment, etc. was thrown out the tent. She made a lot of muttered talk but nothing directly at me. I calmly stood and watched. Items were shuttled to the car. The Lady exited the camper with our morning coffee and surveyed the scene. She calmly asked me, “Are you going over to get the host?”
“No,” I replied. “There is a better way.”
Their pace quickened dramatically. In no longer than five minutes they and all their gear was in the car. The Lady and I were standing on the pavement as they backed out. I expected them to back right up against us and then roar away in a sign of defiance. They did not. The woman did say a few words that did not need translation.
I honestly believe this was the first time these people had ever not gotten their way. I am still quite puzzled by the incident. It was so outside what I would consider acceptable behavior.
A friend has compared this to a busy city setting where people blatantly enter your hotel room and take over that extra bed you are not using. Bottom line - however we can safely do it, we cannot reward bad behavior. If they had gotten away with it without some consequence - and I think getting their butts up and out of there before sunrise was a good consequence - they would only do this again.
So, that is what we did.
We did our morning walk with our hot Peets coffee, enjoyed the quiet campground morning, and got ready for the day’s adventure.
chnlisle
Post Master
I need to camp with you guys and the Magellan's. I'll live longer.
Smokecreek1
Smokecreek1
You are probably right Ski, you and the lady did the right thing; these people are not worth getting into a fight over. They don't understand or care about the rules a good camper (or anyone else) lives by, and education attempt probably will not work either. It would have been nice to do more than just shake the tent pole and you probably thought about it, but you would probably needed the camp host or an LEO standing there when you did it, in case they came out shooting or doing something stupid that stupid people do. Why ruin the first cup of coffee anyway. Still been nice thou to give the tent pole a extra hard shove.
Smoke
Smoke
billharr
Senior Member
I love a happy ending
N'kwala
Geezelle
Sorry you folks had this experience.
My first thought was, "Pinnacles CG full in January?" But now I remember that they close off a bunch of the sites in winter.
I also remember that some of the sites are kinda ambiguous re which table belongs where, and could cause confusion if someone came in after dark, but from your description that doesn't seem to be the case. It sounds like people were just being pushy jerks.
I know there are employees living onsite in Pinnacles, but I'm not sure that they're CG hosts. I know you can't register with them late, although there is sign-in stuff at the entry for late registration. I thought they just worked in the store. I'd want to have clarified their roles before I went to complain about anything, because some unpleasant types would take issue with a complaint and I'd want to be very sure I had a backup.
Taking photos is a real good idea. I've yet to do it, but certainly shall in the future if I need to.
I like the way you handled it. Sure is annoying. I camp a fair amount in campgrounds for one reason and another. Haven't had too many problems, but I have had both noisy campers and a couple who came in late and loudly, left food as well as a small ratbag of a dog outside their camper in a bear-infested area thrown out of Canadian National Park CGs. Felt very happy about both, but had to wait for morning in both cases.
My first thought was, "Pinnacles CG full in January?" But now I remember that they close off a bunch of the sites in winter.
I also remember that some of the sites are kinda ambiguous re which table belongs where, and could cause confusion if someone came in after dark, but from your description that doesn't seem to be the case. It sounds like people were just being pushy jerks.
I know there are employees living onsite in Pinnacles, but I'm not sure that they're CG hosts. I know you can't register with them late, although there is sign-in stuff at the entry for late registration. I thought they just worked in the store. I'd want to have clarified their roles before I went to complain about anything, because some unpleasant types would take issue with a complaint and I'd want to be very sure I had a backup.
Taking photos is a real good idea. I've yet to do it, but certainly shall in the future if I need to.
I like the way you handled it. Sure is annoying. I camp a fair amount in campgrounds for one reason and another. Haven't had too many problems, but I have had both noisy campers and a couple who came in late and loudly, left food as well as a small ratbag of a dog outside their camper in a bear-infested area thrown out of Canadian National Park CGs. Felt very happy about both, but had to wait for morning in both cases.
takesiteasy
Senior Member
Sounds like a good outcome. Well done.
OP
OP
Smoke, my shaking of their tent was not timid in anyway. There was no mistake it instantly got their attention.
Rub it in Mr Sage.I am still reading this whole post so I haven't responded to the topic.Wandering Sagebrush said:
But one could see the humor in the "squeaky door,no clothes" part,had that happened as in the DV story.
Frank
The quote comes to mind,"he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day"....from the movie "the great race"Tony Curtis,Jack Lemon.ski3pin said:
I am still reading so excuse the tidbits of responses.
Frank
Now to give my 2$ worth .Ski I think you did the right thing.It doesn't pay to get too bold with this type.Remember they might have a violent nature,guns or such.In today's world who knows.
Glad it worked out.We would have gone the same route.
OK enough of the confrontations issues,how were the Pinnacles?
You are in my country,we love the Pinnacles,but I know in the winter a lot of the campsites are not open and the ones that are have blurry lines,but that's no excuse for your experience.
Glad all turned out OK.
Frank.
Glad it worked out.We would have gone the same route.
OK enough of the confrontations issues,how were the Pinnacles?
You are in my country,we love the Pinnacles,but I know in the winter a lot of the campsites are not open and the ones that are have blurry lines,but that's no excuse for your experience.
Glad all turned out OK.
Frank.
OP
OP
Actually this is not out of line. Many years ago I purchased and read this book that is still in our bookcase - In the Gravest Extreme - the author pointedly writes about the importance of putting/having your pants on in preparation for any kind of confrontation.Wandering Sagebrush said:
OP
OP
That may of felt really good to do and I know this is in jest but in confrontations it is extremely important for us not to push the legal boundaries. This could have the possibility of being charged with assault if you were not directly repelling an attack.Taku said:
Smokecreek1
Smokecreek1
I think you are right on that Ski-that's why as good as it may have felt, let a LEO take any heavy duty action-a little hint may help tho--. Still remember the day on the Merced, one of our rec planners told some guy doing some mining that the area was closed to mining. The guy picked up the rec planner and threw him out in the river. By the next day every LEO (fed and state) and fed on the river was looking for him, got him too and he was charged with assault on a federal officer. We were always told to say yes to the bad guys, what ever, and walk away and let the cops come in a be cops! It was not much protection but if they mess with you, they will catch them and their ass will be grass! But again, most LEO's I worked with informed me my job was to take the first round while he/she got their gun out of the holster-cop humor!ski3pin said:
Smoke
