My photograph of our yurt in Big Sur’s Treebones Resort.

Glamping – n – blend of glamorous + camping; a form of camping in which participants enjoy physical comforts associated with more luxurious types of vacations.

When Carol and I were first married, the Boy Scout in me decided to take my city-slicker bride on a camping trip.  I had won a tent and all the appropriate gear from an employer sponsored contest and figured I was going to show my wife the wonders of camping in the wild.

We arrived to our northern Michigan campsite and I am quite certain that I dazzled her with my camp-setting prowess.  That night we built a fire, roasted hot dogs, and enjoyed the camper’s pièce de résistance:  S’mores.

Little did I know that throughout the whole night she would be terrified of every crackling stick and ruffled leaf.   Furthermore, when she awoke to shower in the morning she found a massive black and blue spot on her derrière,

With all of this being just a bit much for her, she then proclaimed, “from now on, camping for us is a Holiday Inn instead of the Ritz-Carlton”.

Sadly, this was the end of our camping experiences and my sister inherited all my prized camping gear.

Fast forward 25 years…

See that tent (above) perched upon a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean?  We just slept in that baby.  It’s called a yurt.  Best of all, Mrs. Roaming Boomers loved it!  Yaaaaay!

Here’s Carol relaxing inside our Treebones Resort yurt.  No bruising of the derrière found here!

So why is glamping becoming so popular?  Well, American’s love to get in touch with nature.  This is proven with the incredible popularity of our National Parks.

With glamping, we get to get out into nature without leaving behind all of the amenities of our also loved AAA Five-Diamond resorts.  We get to re-live our Boy Scout camping experiences and marry them to our baby boomer desire for pampering, luxury, and fine dining.  The difference here is that the turn-down service might include a little packet of insect repellent along with your traditional dark chocolates.

You might call it a cross between Boy Scout camp and the Four Seasons.

From the viewpoint of the developer, it is significantly less expensive to build a glamping resort than the hundreds of millions required to build a typical 5-Star resort.  Furthermore, glamping is likely to offer your guests a more memorable experience because the concept is fairly new and you are helping them get back to nature.

I look forward to seeing how this trend develops over the coming years.

Glamping is now in our blood and we want more!

Check out some of these other glamping sites that are on our “wanna go list”.

The Resort at Paws Up – Montana

Carol has already given me the nod on this incredible glamping spot.  The Resort at Paws Up features:

• In-suite bathroom with an operable ventilated skylight offering an option of an open-air shower
• Wood flooring
• Electricity, cooling fans and heat
• Exterior deck with Adirondack chairs
• Camping butler
• Daily housekeeping and nightly turndown service
• and…believe it or not…a S’mores sommelier.

Sinya on Lone Man Creek – Texas

How about a luxury, safari style retreat?  Sinya on Lone Man Creek is situated high atop a ridge overlooking Lone Man Creek in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.  It features an in-suite bathroom complete with a century-old claw foot bathtub, a kitchenette, a unique heating and cooling system, and with its treetop views it is dripping with romance.

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort – British Columbia

The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort outpost deluxe guest tents are roomy, great white canvas prospector-style quarters built on discreetly-situated raised wooden platforms. Tents are connected by cedar boardwalks, and are hidden under a canopy of the rainforest along the water’s edge or perched “Swiss Family Robinson style” amongst the hillside trees.

Eleven deluxe tents offer a choice of one queen or two single Adirondak-style beds with lush down duvets. Thermostat controlled propane wood stoves, antique dressers and tea tables, opulent rugs, oil lamps, heirloom china and silver accessories, and an abundance of candles.

Off-site generators send hot water to private showers and sinks, and provide electrical power for essential comforts like electric light, hairdryers and wireless internet to both guest and suite tents. For environmental sensitivity, modern composting toilets, set in charming cedar outbuildings, rest anonymously behind each tent.

Sign me up!  Look at this!

Serengeti Migration Camp – Tanzania

Now, if you really want to do this right, then you head to the Serengeti Migration Camp.

Check out their description:

“Hidden among the rocky outcrops or kopjes of the vast, internationally renowned Serengeti plains is a camp that exudes a decadence reminiscent of old Africa. The Serengeti, is synonymous with low impact high action game viewing in a landscape untouched since the dawn of time.

Richly furnished throughout, the camp provides a haven of sumptuous indulgence among the raw splendor of the surrounding bush.  It’s spacious tents have been carefully placed to provide privacy and blend into nature’s architecture, overlooking the Grumeti River and its resident hippos. Surrounded by a 360 degree verandah deck and with a capacious, 45 square metre, internal floor space, each guest tent is a private sanctuary.

The split level lounge, cigar bar, restaurant, sundecks and swimming pool are perched among the outcrops and overlook the vast and rugged landscapes that are home to the world’s greatest mammal migration.”

It’s #1 in East Africa on the Conde Naste Reader’s Choice and we like it.  What do you think?  Resident hippos sound fun.  Right?

Well, as you can see this isn’t Boy Scout camping.

But,  I am very pleased to announce that my beloved bride is now excited about camping.

Well, to be more accurate, she is excited about glamping.

How about you?  Do you see any glamping in your future?

Check out Go Glamping to find glamping sites from $40/night to many hundreds/night.