I have 4g here, man! That's the reason I put camping in quotations in my first post. I'm certainly not roughing it. However, that is the term used to describe what I'm doing. I got pizza delivered two days ago, just had to take the boat 3 miles to meet the delivery guy at the marina.
I used to do the kind of camping where we'd go to places only reachable by 4X4. Great times. We'd go days without seeing or even hearing other humans. Also had to shit in holes, except that one year when we brought lumber and a seat and built a throne in the bush, complete with a beautiful lake/mountain view and beer cans in the trees to shoot BBs at. We were full on excited to shit in the woods. Nowadays, we take trailers and motorhomes to nearby campgrounds and do day trips to the places we used to rough it. I regret nothing. Last year, we brought guitars, amps, keyboards, V-drums and even lights out to a secluded campground. Nearest neighbours were a two minute drive away so we cranked it, and it was awesome. One of the many things I'm looking forward to doing again this summer. One thing I've greatly appreciated since I was little is living half a day's trip from some of the greatest mountains on earth. Always thought it's a similar feeling to growing up near the ocean.
Its funny to me how I've only seen one black bear in the wild here in Minnesota after all the time I've spent in the woods and it was just a couple months ago too- a cub sprinting across the trail in front of me like a big black dog. I had a canoe on my shoulders and could just gasp and yelp WHOA BEAR! after I got over the shock. Regarding camping, I like the wilderness and lack of other people. Waking up and being in it. Leaving your phone and stuff in the truck and just worrying about having firewood and fish. You can't have those with a hotel that happens to be near a national park or something. I feel lucky- I was 8 years old on my first canoeing trip with my dad and brother and next year will be the 20th anniversary of that trip. It was something I always anticipated as I grew up and packing makes me giddy like the night before Christmas. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is easily my favorite place in the world, so far. I'll do the car camping trips where you're around other people in a campground and it can be fun too, but in comparison it's like you're just going through the motions of sleeping in a tent and cooking over a fire rather than really getting a wilderness experience. I've been on trips where it rained continuously and you were wet and chilled unless you were in the tent, but other aspects still make up for it. We'll see how I feel in a decade or once I'm old, I dunno, but until then I'd rather be in the woods.
Seriously, don't fuck with tigers. Even if you have an elephant and they don't. Spoiler: spoiler: a little blood, also you may not look at your cat the same way