That helped my 8 year old daughter when she got lost on the weekend of Father's Day. She was riding her bike around our small loop while we were busy packing up. We got so busy that we didn't realize until 10 minutes later that she had not circled back around for quite some time. Little did we know that she had taken a way to another loop and gotten lost. Easy to do when there are over 500 sites in the campground! It was such a scary time for us and her (my poor 10 year old was in such hysteics over her sister being lost that she was on the verge of hyperventilating). She was gone for over and hour and even though park rangers were all over looking for her, you were our angel that weekend.
We learned a lot that weekend. First of all, our kids must know their site number. They must also have the walkie talkies attached to their bikes while they are riding. They are also not allowed to ride alone anymore. I don't care how small our loop is. No more riding alone.
I wish I had gotten your name, but I was such a wreck and just so happy to see dd that I didn't even think about it.
NOW. To the idiot woman that decided to just hand my dd a map of the campground and say "Here. Maybe this will help." and walk away when DD came up to your site crying and telling you that she was lost:
You should be ashamed of yourself! Any adult should know better! You could have simply called the park ranger. When we finally reunited with dd, the map was soaking wet from dd crying trying to understand the map. Maybe you will read this and learn something.
Me: 31, DH: 33, DD: 10, DD: 8
2001 Ford Expedition
2001 Honda Odyssey
2003 K-Z Coyote 23
Thank HEAVEN for people who are Saints and see a situation and move
quickly to help!
I know if it had been my daughter I would have been just like you and probably forgotten in the frenzy also, but I'm sure the lady knows
how totally grateful you are!
We certainly live in different and strange times, who in their right mind would give a child a map and send her on her way, good grief people, ever read the story of the good samaritan? I think as campers (and GS members especially) we need to keep a watch out for each other, it doesnt take much usually to help when someone is in need, especially a child..
I'm so glad that this one has a happy ending, because so many dont.
God Bless you and your entire family..
Buffy America-Land That I Love
Hubby, Wife and Daughter (U. S. Navy Hospital Corpsman)
2006 Suzuki Boulevard M109
2002 Honda VTX1800C
2000 Kawasaki Ninja 600
1999 Ford F350 Dually
2005 K-Z New Vision 36KX2 Toyhauler
As fulltimers for 9 years we have seen many children wandering alone around the campground. It always troubles us that the parents are taking their child's safety for granted in a campground.
Just a week ago a lovely young girl was walking around the relatively empty campground alone waving hello to passing cars and eventually walked up to us at our campfire, sat atop our nearby picnic table, and proceeded to talk to us. Within 5 minutes she had volunteered what area she was camping in, who she was with, how old she was, how old her younger sister was, that her father was there with his girlfriend, etc., etc.
It was getting dark and we asked her if she shouldn't be heading back to her site. She said no, that she didn't care if her father was worried or not. Just about then a car approached which was her father coming to look for her.
I shudder to think what possibly could have happened to this girl had she happened upon "bad" people rather than us...
If a child ever came up to us saying he or she was lost, we would immediately call a ranger or the campground office or 911 and keep her in the open in plain sight so that no accusations could ever be made. One can't be too careful nowadays...
Dennis and Cindy Henderson
fulltiming, currently at Crabtree Meadows, milepost 339 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina
Just a couple weeks before that particular camping trip, a friend and fellow camper and I were talking about how we tend to let our guards down at campgrounds. Our loop we were in was really small and I didn't think twice about letting dd ride her bike around the loop. I have since changed my tune.
When we realized that dd was lost (after riding in our car through all the loops yelling for her and not finding her), I began to panic. That's when we went straight to the Ranger station. I can't commend them enough either. They immediately sprang into action sending al their rangers out to look for her, they locked the front gate and looked in all vehicles leaving the park. DH stayed at our site in case DD came back and I drove around looking for the lost daughter. The rangers kept going back to our site to reassure Dh that DD would be found.
It was getting dark and we asked her if she shouldn't be heading back to her site. She said no, that she didn't care if her father was worried or not. Just about then a car approached which was her father coming to look for her.
I shudder to think what possibly could have happened to this girl had she happened upon "bad" people rather than us...
Good points Denise....I'm wondering though...if she was trying to stay away from some bad people....sometimes those types of conversations are warning signs of parental abuse.
I watched the program the other day where the daughter was cut out of her tent and stolen by a serial killer in montana back in the 70's..Not saying this to scare anyone, but I do think that to many people take their childrens safety for granted..(not saying this against you niki, I probably would have done the same thing as you did), I'm not just talking about campgrounds, talking about anywhere..
I have seen some really lax security in some of the campgrounds we have stayed at and I dont think just because someone boasts of a secure campground that people should assume it is.. anyone can walk through the woods and around the guard houses very easily..
My kids think I'm a big spoilsport because I don't let them run loose all over the CG like all the other kids they see. But, that's ok. I'd rather have them irritated than hurt, or worse.
I'm constantly amazed at the way parents will totally abdicate their responsibilities as soon as they hit a CG. It's horrifying to think what could happen to an unattended child.
I don't know that I would go as far as to call it neglect, but certainly it's a clear indicator of stupidity and laziness.
Me (69), DW (69), DD (95), DS (00), DS (01) and 1 camping toy fox terrier (08)
95 Fleetwood Utah, 02 Ford Explorer Limited (V8)
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