Friends Don’t Let Friends Listen to the Wrong Radio Station

Imagine being trapped in a sonic hell-hole, with no escape possible until the sun rises in the morning.  That about sums up my Friday night at a local campground.

Late Wednesday afternoon when I realized I would have a 24-hour period from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon that wouldn't require me at work, I decided a camping trip was in order.  After consulting with the boss (my wife) I called to make a reservation.  I was told the campsite was full, but that the now-closed-for-the-winter sites would be available on a walk-up basis.

That meant I'd be at the gate Friday morning when they opened the gate, ready to grab a site before they were gone.  After dealing with tire rot Thursday when retrieving the camper, I successfully hooked up the camper and went about my Friday work duties.  Those duties would keep me out until close to midnight Friday night.

By the time the Temple High School football game that I was calling on the radio was done and I'd stopped by the house to shower, it was 11:45.  All I wanted was to relax, drink a beverage, and unwind after a long stretch without any time to do so.  What I came back to find was a camper site that looked like it had been abandoned in a zombie apocalypse, with the outside lights on, chairs still in a semi-circle, and (here's the bad part) music cranked up.

Not only was this outdoor speaker still blasting, it was blasting a competing radio station (of course I won't say which).  It was apparent by the state of the outdoor lights and chair situation, they weren't waking back up until morning.  That meant my peaceful night with a beer and some tunes was ruined.  Completely.

I was stuck in a music hell-hole, and the only outlet to vent was Facebook.  My brother saw my post and put out a great suggestion... I thought.  He suggested I go over and unplug their camper.  I thought about it.  Hard.  I also thought about just flipping the breaker at the plug-in location so it would look accidental.

Ultimately, I just gave up and went to bed.  I was worried the occupants of the RV in question would be a "shoot-first, ask questions later" kind of people.  Once I tried to go to sleep I realized I'd have to close the windows and turn on the A/C to drown out the noise.

The next morning when I got up early to walk the dogs the music was still playing.  That was the moment I came closest to breaking.  As I tried to open my eyes and face the day I'm still forced to listen to music I wouldn't play to torture my worst enemy.  Luckily, the party people next door weren't awake by the time I had to leave to go to work or they might have received a less-than-pleasant greeting.  My real worry was that anything I said or did could be considered abuse of the elderly.

By the time I got back from work I had calmed down and the music was gone.  For the remainder of the weekend I don't believe I saw them once.  It turned out to be beautiful for the rest of Saturday and a cooler Sunday morning had me hiding under a blankie while enjoying my coffee.

After putting the camper back in storage and going back to work for a few hours, I took my son, Logan, out for a nature hike.  He'd been asking if we could hike on the trails at Miller Springs all weekend, and we spent the rest of the beautiful Sunday afternoon hiking.

A great weekend, all in all, considering the hell that was Friday night.  Remember, friends don't let friends listen to terrible radio stations, and friends definitely don't let friends pass out with terrible radio stations still blasting into the camper of their main competitor.  Only you can prevent bad radio from ruining camping trips.