VW Camp? What is it?

Well, since about 1995 (or there-abouts) some friends and I started going on camping trips together. A few of them had old Volkswagens to camp in. After a few years, more people were invited, and more Volkswagens showed up. Eventually, we named our campout 'VolksKamp'.

Things got pretty crazy there for awhile as the annual campout turned into an annual party. I think the most people we ever had together was probably around 50, I would guess. That was around 1998, I think. Those days are kinda blurry to me...

But, as fate would have it, people moved on and away and what-not, and VolksKamp began to die down to just a few of the die-hards. And, as I find myself getting older, that suits me just fine. I can't (or don't want to) party like that anymore. It hurts too much.

I was able to take that bus in the photo to ONE camp before it died. It sat in my yard for a year or two while I hurried around and didn't work on it. The town I live in wanted me to renew its license and insure it or get rid of it or pay a fine. So one of my friends made a shrine (storage shed) out of it and parked it at the back of their property -- next to the steep hillside -- under the trees -- .... I did pull the motor, but now I'm asking myself, "Why?" I haven't got another VW since. Besides, the motor needs rebuilt. It might not even be any good. So here I am, with a broken motor, and no shell.

The saddest part of the whole thing --- For the last couple of years, '04 and '05, there hasn't been a single VW at VolksKamp.

I mean VW Camp. I won't be calling it VolksKamp anymore since I found out there's a group of white supremists using that term for one of their events. So let there be no mistake! Not I, nor any of my friends, are affiliated with that kind of trash in any way, shape, or form!! Racism is stupid and illogical, and should not be tolerated.

Have a nice day.

So... Does VW Camp still happen?

It lingers on. A bunch of us got older, married, kids.... you know how it goes. It's tough to juggle everything around a schedule. But some still manage. As long as two or three of us go up for a weekend each year, the tradition will stay alive, and VW Camp will live on. Hopefully, someday, we'll have Volkswagens to take to camp again.