i hear america singing

 

The thing I love about camping in the United States is its efficiency – how everything we bring on the trip comes with a careful purpose. From the headlamps to the sing-a-longs, the bug spray to the marshmallows, everything is there to create a precise American experience.

But all this meticulous curating arrives to the woods against the untamed freedom of the American wilderness! The canyons, the falls, and the forests! The purple mountain majesties! The spacious skies!

Something about that contrast of order against liberty feels like the very essence of America itself: militant and laissez-faire, abstinent and indulgent, conservative and liberal. That range is exactly why, to me, every good and total American is a camper at heart.

These images all come from the DOCUMERICA Project (1971-1977) – a project by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that funded freelance photographers to document Americans’ use of the environment.

 

Leaving Their "Travel-Trailer" on the Side of the Road, This Retired Couple From California Stops to Fish Off the Embankment at Spanish Harbor Key. Trailers Like This Are Highly Popular with Visitors to the Florida Keys.

Beach at Little Duck Key. Camping Is Popular Throughout the Keys, and Many Have Large Commercial Facilities. These Do Not Yet Exist at Little Duck, But Camping and Trailers Are Permitted.

Hikers Terry Mcgaw and Glen Denny on the Trail to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, 05/1972

Camping in the Maze, a Remote and Rugged Region in the Heart of the Canyonlands. Because It Seldom Rains, Tents Are Not Necessary. Firewood Is Dry and Plentiful. Ekker Butte Rises in the Background, 05/1972

Beach at Little Duck Key. Camping Is Popular Throughout the Keys, and Many Have Large Commercial Facilities. These Do Not Yet Exist at Little Duck, But Camping and Trailers Are Permitted.

American Dreams at Little Duck Key. Commercial Camping Sites and Travel Trailer Courts Have Sprung Up Throughout the Keys. Even on the Smaller Keys Like Little Duck, Where No Facilities Have Yet Been Constructed, Camping Is Permitted by Local Authorities.

Camping beside the Rio Frio, 06/1972

Ruts Left by Off - Road Vehicles in Violation of Park Rules. The Desert Surface Is Fragile; These Tracks Hasten Erosion. Devils Dune Area, Needles Section, 05/1972

Campers at Garner State Park, 07/1972

Campground in Arches National Park, 05/1972

A Retired Couple From California Stop to Fish Off Embankment at Spanish Harbor Key. Travel-Trailers of the Kind Owned by This Couple Are Highly Popular Among Visitors to the Keys.

At Bahia Honda State Park, on Bahia Honda Key.

Beach at Little Duck Key. Camping Is Popular Throughout the Keys, and Many Have Large Commercial Facilities. These Do Not Yet Exist at Little Duck, But Camping and Trailers Are Permitted.

 

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