My first experience with RV’s was back in the late sixties or early seventies. Campgrounds were still popping up everywhere. My father was a clown and loved to be nice to everyone, so when he bought 27 acres of land south of Pueblo, Colorado he decided it would be a great place to put a campground, and it was the perfect spot. It was located just off of I-25 and easy access. We had a lot of business (more than the KOA down the road). The reason could have been because this campground charged nothing for camping except for 25 cents a night for electricity. (If you wanted it.) We had a lot of folks from all walks of life. The ones I remember most was: The man who designed and had on a trailer the ever famous “Bat mobile”; there was also a man transporting a “James Bond Vehicle”; Mr.McCullogh (The chainsaw company owner) was there for a couple of days; and then we had some long termers, The swimming pool builders from Florida, they had to buy winter coats so they could stay, they stayed more than a year with us in their camper.
My grandma had a gift shop which made her a little money. My dad set up what he called “Klown Town Kitty” (Klown Town was the name of our campground). We didn’t have any amenities like KOA but what would you expect for free even back then. Dads Free Camping was a hit we had more customer than KOA. KOA had fancy restrooms, we had outhouses (A-frame shaped). Dad told us one time over the period of one summer we made more than the KOA did. We had a few of those people who did not want to pay or who just wanted a good nights rest to begin their journeys again. It was really fun. We had a petting zoo sort of with Bobcats, Raccoons, Skunks, Porcupines, (we caught these in the wild when it was legal). We even had some domestic pets like rabbits, chickens, etc. Did I mention we also had a pet coyote? She was a gift to my dad from a friend. We even had go-carts that you could ride for $1.00 for 5 laps on a very big dirt track. They were good times and good memories.
Dad became a Good Sam Club Member after owning the campground and in the 80’s mom and him took to the road in their RV. Now my wife and I are Lifetime Good Sam Club Members, have an R.V and should soon be full-timers, along with our granddaughter and our Yorkie we call “Little Bit”. I hope I didn’t bore anybody, there are many more memories of our campground days but I don’t have enough time or typing skills to tell them now but maybe some day I will be able to tell more about it and maybe I can have some more from my travels. We may even meet someday at a campground where I might be able to share them with you. Happy Travels Friends and be safe.
Submitted by Terry Jones of Auburn, KS as a part of the RV Centennial Celebration “Share Your Favorite RV Memory” contest.
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