SETPUCC
Southeast Texas Pop-Up Campers Club

What do we do on campouts? (Or... What is a normal campout like?)

We "do" pretty much whatever we want on campouts. There is no set schedule. Usually, a group of people will get together and go on hikes or bike rides. Others play games. Many sit around the campfire and talk. Others take (much needed) naps. You can often find a few campers reading their favorite novel. The kids ride their bikes, play ball, look for special treasures, climb trees, just about anything their minds can come up with. It is wonderful to see how the children make friends so quickly. Since we attempt to get campsites all together, the kids are not limited to their own campsite, but play in the SETPUCC campsites. Each of the adults helps to watch over the children. The children look forward to each campout to see their "camping friends"!

While there is no set schedule during the campout, one of the things that we traditionally do is have a potluck supper. We usually have the potluck on Saturday either Saturday at noon or around 5:30pm, depending upon the daylight available. Each family is asked to bring one covered dish. It can be anything and any size. Some examples include fruit, macaroni and cheese, casseroles, BBQ, hamburgers, cake, cookies or anything that you enjoy. Several of the families bring their 'pop up' tables to a central campsite and they are used to hold the food. Dinner is buffet style. Each family brings their own plate, eating utensils, drinks, and chairs. There is a lot of food, and we tend to munch on it through the evening. Sometimes we just sit around the fire and talk while other times we play family friendly games (ice breakers) or occasionally a guitarist shows off their music abilities.

Most of our campouts are conducted on two-day weekends with most (but not all) campers taking all or part of Friday off. The scouts typically go to the campground on Friday morning of the campout to reserve the sites for everyone else. The rest of the group gathers during Friday at their own pace. We try to have a four-day "rally" once per year where we travel to a more distant campground.

What is a "Scout" and what do they do? (Or, how are the campsites chosen?)

A Scout is a camper who agrees to make some of the arrangements for a specific campout. While each family is responsible for making their site reservations and paying all appropriate fees, the Scouts try to reserve campsites in the same area in order to facilitate club activities. On the day that the campout is to begin, the Scout arrives at the campground before 8:00am to choose a group of sites for the club. They take into consideration any needs or desires expressed by the attending members. Once they choose the correct number of sites, signs are placed on each site to reserve them. Then the Scout goes to the Campground's Office and gives the Park Host/Ranger the reservations numbers for the members. The Scout then places signs on the park roads to help guide the SETPUCC campers to the selected sites. The Scout has a very important role in securing the site early so that SETPUCC will have adjacent sites. As families arrive, they can choose from the reserved sites on a first come first serve basis. Any person that wants to camp with the group that does not send reservation information to the Scout will not have a site reserved with the group, but are welcome to come and get as close as possible. If you would like to "check out" the club, please feel free to camp at the same time we do, and introduce yourself. We are sure you will be pleasantly surprised that there are no "clicks" or prejudices in the group. We just love to camp...especially with other good popup camping people!