Tiny Trailer Glamping: A Personal Definition

Jennifer Tipping photo, Bow Lake, Banff National Park, AB, Tiny Trailer Owner Profile

Glamping is a combination of camping and glamour. The word is common in the camping world, especially for those who view "glamorous camping" as a business opportunity.

During the last year as Green Goddess Glamping has established its place in the tiny trailer and camping world, I've added my two bits toward defining the concept of glamping.

Glamping, for me, is having the equipment, skills, and perspective which allow us to have an enriching interaction with nature. For me, what can be more glamorous than nature, as epitomized in Jennifer Tipping's photo that begins this article? Camping--or living--in this grandeur, finding our place in the larger scheme of things, can have an uplifting effect on our lives. Glamping, for me, is a means to provide ourselves the opportunity to feel so comfortable in nature that we can forget our small selves, our worries and pressures, and connect to the grander rhythms of the world. The organizing power of nature that maintains the planets in their orbits is also present in the forces that have polished those small stones upon which Jennifer stands in Bow Lake, Banff National Park. We stand in the waters of life, just as Jennifer stands in the waters of Bow Lake. Large or small, we are part and parcel of the world.

Doug Pollard photo. "Evening shower heading into Northeastern California." Travelogues

Roads connect one place to another. Whether the road is a freeway or the Pacific Crest Trail, there exist both the journey and the destination. We have to consider one more aspect, though, not just the road and the destination, but the one who travels the road. We are sojourners on the road of life, temporarily residing in place to place as we travel. I say let us glamp that road, bringing with us the tools and materials we need in order to have a fulfilling journey. Then we can relax and enjoy the view--views of both outer and inner beauty. In fact, the ability to see and appreciate outer beauty has its origin within us. However, life being connected, outer beauty can inspire and initiate, can prompt the appreciation of beauty within ourselves.

The Navajo "Night Chant" prayer of the Blessing Way describes the harmonious and nurturing relationship possible with the world, as seen in the following excerpt:

Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me. 

I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.

I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me.

I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.

I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.

I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.

In beauty all day long may I walk.

Through the returning seasons, may I walk.

On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.

With dew about my feet, may I walk.

With beauty before me may I walk.

With beauty behind me may I walk.

With beauty below me may I walk.

With beauty above me may I walk.

With beauty all around me may I walk.

Cass Beach photo. Tails of Wanderlust Owner Profile

I have added a new page tab, "Glamping," to Green Goddess Glamping, collecting all the articles I've written about glamping. Many of the articles listed might seem prosaic, such as the first I wrote: "How the Green Goddess Glamps," in which I consider what those things are we need to bring with us when we camp to feel comfortable and at home. John Muir's glamping was bringing a blanket, a loaf of bread, and his journal. He usually traveled by shanks' mare. Most of us, though, travel with a bit more. Beauty cannot be considered without the one who perceives.

As we've noticed in our camping travels, the "glamp-o-meter" can be dialed up considerably higher than Muir's standard. We all need to find our comfort zone in order to relax and enjoy. Whether camping allows us to find quietness and joy within ourselves, in the world around us, or both within and without, may we find that joy--and radiate and give joy. If we travel alone in the world (and glamp to the beat of a different drummer), that doesn't mean that we are obliged to feel lonely or isolated. Self-sufficiency has its own glamour. (See "Traveling Solo: Being Alone Is Not the Same Thing As Being Lonely")

Becky Schade photo. Owner Profile

The glamping articles I've written include considerations of equipment, camping rigs, procedures, and other furbelows and gewgaws. They are like pieces of a puzzle to a beautiful wilderness scene. Assembly required--and once assembled, therein lies the unity, and that unity is beautiful. Glamping is camping that surrounds us with beauty, positive and uplifting. Glamping is not only finding beauty; it is also being its source. "With beauty all around us may we walk."

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(Note: As the content for Green Goddess Glamping evolves, sometimes content focus will dictate that articles will be posted on some Facebook groups and not others. Articles on Dutch oven cooking, portable toilets, or bicycle day rides, for instance, could find posts in different groups. The best way to ensure that you are receiving all articles is to subscribe to follow this blog by email notifications.)