The Business of Work Camping: Get outside for National Great Outdoors Month

By Sam Suva

June is National Great Outdoors Month, and I cannot think of a better way to enjoy the Great Outdoors than in our RV life and work camping.

What are the obstacles to being outdoors? We get comfortable in our houses – plenty of things to do in a house and no end of entertainment choices, right? Watch television, clean or organize the laundry room or the garage, play a card game on the cell phone. We walk to our vehicles, we roll down our windows at the mail box and the drive through for our coffee and walk to our jobs in buildings. We might feel the sunlight on our arms as we drive to work, pick up the grandkids or close the window shade.

For a change, let’s hook up that camper and enjoy a long weekend or even a week in June, camping and enjoying creation. In a camper, those comforts are still there but the outside is so much more noticeable! Think about it. Every seat is on an outside wall, every raindrop is clearly heard on the roof and the sunshine gleams through every window and even warms the RV walls! It is a constant reminder of the glory and wonder of the outdoors whether safe and snug in, or out of, our RVs.

As I sit writing this article in my motorhome, I feel the calling to get outside. I sometimes write on the deck bench or on the patio chair, listening to the birds nesting in the tree on our campsite or watching the salamanders scurry across the deck to find cooler, moist spaces. We have walked down lovely trails on property, up tall hills and lowland swamps, through thick brush and into wide clearings with towering, magnificent trees circling all around. The first time I experienced sunlit Spanish Moss in a tree was both incredible and humbling.

At the campsite the Gerbera daisies are in full bloom, the knockout roses are just beginning to feel the heat, the maple trees are in bloom, the palm trees are gently swaying and the banana trees are luxuriant and full!

For those of us who work camp, we are especially privileged. We walk to work in trees back lit and bathed in sunlight. We see the squirrels scurrying to find food, stopping to notice us and then quickly darting away. Birds fly by at spectacular speeds, bringing noisy nestlings a tasty treat.

We commute in golf carts and UTVs; we gather on the grass, on outdoor patios and in folding camping chairs; and we take in the smells and the sights of nature. We visit, not on the phone but in person, outdoors. Most campers enjoy conversation, catching up on the news of the campground and the best way to do that is by simply driving our golf cart next to the fire pit and saying hello to the folks.

The Great Outdoors – experience them every day by work camping. Every day is a brand-new experience, every sunrise divine, every sunset a work of art – welcoming us, encouraging us to look around, to find the next, “Oh, look at that!” or “Isn’t that wonderful!”

See you suntanned in the Great Outdoors,

Sam

Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments below or contact me at samsuvarv(at)gmail.com .

Sam Suva and his wife are work campers. They began work camping more than 10 years ago and have spent a lot of time working as they traveled. In this new weekly feature, they will share their experiences with you, with an emphasis on how to incorporate work camping into a full time RV lifestyle.

Read more articles about Work Camping.