Last night, Fawn, Jade, Nanuq and I decided to go for a walk around the Millenium Trail. On the drive there, we were listenting to CBC radio. They were doing a segment on the RVs parked in the Whitehorse Walmart's parking lot. We decided to check it out.
I could see it from the top of Two-Mile Hill. It looked like a giant RV sales lot. The Walmart parking lot isn't small, but it was pretty much full of RVs.
I got to wondering, other than the price (free), why would so many people park their RVs in a parking lot? Is it the social aspect of being surrounded by other parking lot campers? Is it the convenience of knowing that you can buy a cheap couch or garden supplies any time you want? I figured that it's got to be the Wilderness Tolerance Threshold, the WTT.
I believe that everyone has a Wilderness Tolerance Threshold. People from the city can only stand so much wilderness before they feel an incredible urge to get back to the city. The folks around Fort Liard have a name for that feeing. They call it being "bushed". So, after days and days of driving through beautiful mountains with only the ocassional community or gas bar, these city-slickers in their mobile houses get an urge to be surrounded by concrete and people. Hence, the Walmart parking lot.
I am afflicted by the converse threshold, the Urban Tolerance Threshold (UTT). When I'm in a city too long, I need to get out. I would be quite content, I think, just staying in the bush. I've got that feeling now, so to get a little dose of wildlife, I'm going to go for a bike ride (though I would much rather be on a multi-day hiking or canoeing trip).
So, here's the deal, RV travellers, I'll leave the Walmart parking lot for you and you leave the bush for me.
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