Engine House

Despite the vast entertainment and luxury that can be found in urban environments, many of us long to escape, to get away, to a more peaceful and natural setting. There is something in us that can be satisfied only by a raw experience with the strength and tranquility of nature. Exploration and adventure are inescapable aspects of human imagination. Indeed, we long to travel the world, see new sights and overcome challenges, but we are restricted by our affection for comfort. This is why camping exists.

Camping is a diluted simulation of primal existence. Depending on the age and taste of the participants, the comfort level of a camping experience can range greatly.

To some, camping is a way to escape the grasp of technology and tedium. Hoping to renew their spirit, these hardy folk tend to employ tents and sleeping bags rather than more inviting facilities. The grass is their floor, the trees are their walls and a nearby bush is their lavatory. A flint-lit flame guides them by night, enchanting and entrancing with gaze lost deep in the flicker.

For young people, camping is as much an escape from society as it is from sobriety. Often unable to recall the origin of various bruises and swellings, the young camper is usually too intoxicated to be concerned with sleeping arrangements or niceties.

After years of hard work and stress, camping can be an attractive lifestyle choice for the aged. They are often observed piloting enormous bus-like vessels, known as recreational vehicles, down the highway. RVs vary in size and complexity; they can be as large as a log cabin and are extravagantly furnished. Satellite television and leather upholstery ensure that these campers must never endure a moment of silence or discomfort. An RV attempts to combine the transportation capabilities of an automobile with the habitability of a house. Unfortunately, when combining these two, the RV’s inventors decided that the exterior must be painted with a design that does not resemble an automobile or a house. It usually has strange arcs and waves splashed across a beige background. Whatever your opinion of this design, if somebody asked you to paint their house or their car, you wouldn’t choose something like this:

Now it’s obvious that sleeping in a king size bed while watching television could hardly be considered camping. At some point camping loses its essence, ceases to be camping and becomes something else. Thick-skinned pioneers may say that it ends when you bring shelter or matches, some say electricity or plumbing ruins all of the fun, while others contend that sleeping in anything bigger than a tent is the stake in the ground. Whatever the case, it’s clear that there is a camping chasm between survivalists and seniors.

By now you’re probably thinking that there should be a word to describe this comfort-coated camping, and you’re right.