At the beginning of the year, some people’s instant reaction to my upcoming camping trip was, “Isn’t that dangerous?” I’d shrug. “Maybe.”
So far, I’ve found people to be good. When I parked on the side of the road to take pictures in Iowa in March, two or three people stopped to ask if I was okay. When snowflakes swirled in the air in Tennessee, an RV-er next to me offered his portable heater, plugged into his extension cord. [I didn’t take him up on it, since the tent and practically everything inside of it is plastic and probably highly flammable, but it was nice of him to offer.] In New York, my campground neighbor said I could use his picnic table, since my site didn’t have one. Other campers in neighboring sites along the way have made comments like, “If you need anything, you know where to find me!” and “I don’t have much, but what’s mine is yours.” How nice is that?
If someone finds out I’m traveling alone, more than anything, it seems like they are looking out for me. After chatting, they are sure to wish me safe travels and warm me about “people out there.” Luckily, so far, they are the People Out There!
If anyone reading this is putting off traveling out of fear, I would suggest a trial run. Take your dream for a test drive. For example, camp at a state park near where you live for a night or a weekend and see how it goes. Then build from there.