Krazy Kamping!

[BarbarianQueen]

Woo hoo!  After 5 years we finally get to camp!  We'll be there opening weekend, coming Friday noon, staying till Monday - Can't wait!

I've scoured the forum and read all the TREMENDOUSLY helpful material, even remember much of it from the old forum.  Despite that, here's a few, ummm, unique questions for those camping veterans.

While we don't want to intrude into any "clan" gathering, we would very much like to be around "the action".  Could someone tell us where the party will be? 
Also, somewhere were the folks won't mind me taking a shower outside the tent with our homemade, fired heated shower gadget...sans clothing (or most of it). 

Despite our desire to be where the rum, er, "fun" is, we do like to go to faire early, and will eventually try to get some sleep.  If we camp in the "party areas", will that be impossible?  Or, will people eventually settle down enough to  catch some Z's?  I don't mean deathly quiet, but maybe not ten generators going, singing, fighting, screaming, drumming, 'boinking", etc. all through the night.  We typicall try to sleep around 1-2am

Any advice or suggestions out there?

[MacLaren]

I didn't have any troubles last year. It was my first experience camping myself. Avoid the drum circle, though; it is noisy until the wee hours. join up with McLotofus, and you're probably golden for somewhat early rest.

JMO

[LadyJessica]

I can usually get some sleep around 1 or 2 and even though I'm a light sleeper I can usually sleep through the night until the sunrise wakes me up.  If you're a really light sleeper some earplugs should work just fine.

[Zaubon]

...
While we don't want to intrude into any "clan" gathering, we would very much like to be around "the action".  Could someone tell us where the party will be? 
Also, somewhere were the folks won't mind me taking a shower outside the tent with our homemade, fired heated shower gadget...sans clothing (or most of it). 

...

The campers at TRF are an extremely open and open minded bunch. At most camps if you just walk up and say hi, you'll be invited in and probably offered a drink of some sort and probably a bite of something. The few that aren't that open generally aren't rude, but will make it clear that they are having a private party. Just move along to the next group and you will have a great time. Even most of the people that are members of established groups "Go Walkabout" and visit a fair number of other camps for variety and to see friends (some of which they are meeting for the first time ).
I have heard complaints about nude floggings outside of children's tents. Even I think that is going a little too far, but if you half way try to be discreet, stepping in and out of a shower is not going to offend. It's an open area and nearly everyone recognizes that you can't have the privacy that you have at home.

...
Despite our desire to be where the rum, er, "fun" is, we do like to go to faire early, and will eventually try to get some sleep.  If we camp in the "party areas", will that be impossible?  Or, will people eventually settle down enough to  catch some Z's?  I don't mean deathly quiet, but maybe not ten generators going, singing, fighting, screaming, drumming, 'boinking", etc. all through the night.  We typicall try to sleep around 1-2am

Since I get up around 05:00 to start cooking breakfast I need my sleep too (and I'm a fairly light sleeper). Camping on row 8, I will normally be awoken a couple times during the night, but I can usually just roll over and go back to sleep. I only had one incident that was a problem last year with some ravers that wanted to crank their stereo all the way up around 03:00. It didn't last too long until somebody (not me) made it clear that the volume wasn't acceptable at that time.
Come on out, keep and open mind and have fun. The great experience will far outweigh any negatives.

[Chandler]

I'm a fairly light sleeper, and I always sleep in the tent, but I never have any problems falling to sleep either night.

Then again, it's usually fairly late and I'm usually several drinks down by the time I try...

[Element of Air]

The only good place I know of is right off the road in Rows 6-8 due to me being bias. I have not camped any where else other than Safe Haven and well, camping is my favorite part of Fair. I hope you find a great spot and enjoy every minute of it. Fair is not Fair without the Camping.

[brier patch charlie]

Well, it's not to loud over on the back 40 were I camp. But I'm not a light sleeper, you could roll a flash bang into my tent and never wake me up. But like Z said don't expect to have the privacy that you would have at home.

[RenRobin]

Ladylyn,
we usually fashion a makeshift shower room with a couple of tarps and trees or tent poles and rope...

There is always a party at Camp McLotofus, the people here from the forum, and since you posted and all are a member if I have this all correct. There is a map with a grid and it has where everyone's camp is usually set up.

http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php?topic=981.0

[*Teach*]

Campers are pretty darn common and someday I am gonna be bringing one there myself
totally kosher

*as kosher as sharing rum with Teach*

[Macintyre]

campers are cool, but it's always polite to park your ride closer to the street.  1.  it makes it easier to get out when you want to leave and 2.   it makes more room others to set up camp too.

[ScoutColt]

as for parties, Green Flame camps out on the fringes of things, but we're throwing our big "all welcome" party on saturday starting at 9. And if you end up not finding a place to camp or just want to, let me know. We can save space etc for any and all!

[Lady Laura]

I camp along the wash in back around row I-10 and 11 and let me tell ya, it is now a haven for ravers.  They seem to like to have the uncleared trees and scrub brush up against their backs.  Good idea too, because I might have been tempted to ambush them and string a few of them up.  They kept me up last year until 5:00 a.m.  They also are known to off-road along the wash and back up into the scrub brush.  If you are a light sleeper, I would definitely suggest a better area.

Oh, and I camp right by brier patch charlie when we actually make the same weekends.  He's gotta sleep like the dead if that madness doesn't wake him up!

Also know that it's WAY crazier on the most popular weekends to attend, i.e., opening, All Hallows, the weekend before Thanksgiving....

[*Teach*]

The Loki Challenge will be around 9ish in Gnomeland... around row 3
Come watch me win!

*may even have rum with my loki*

[LadyJessica]

*cough* You mean watch me win. 

[ScoutColt]

The green flames party is "come as ya like". Alot come in garb, some come in mundies. We have our own shirts we'll be wearing for easy identification and security purposes. :-)

And we camp back near the rogues at the new four way crossroads. No ravers there yet, and we've been trying to proposition some of the better groups to relocate that direction so as to build our own community that we can hedge out such rabble and escape the idiots that swarm to the bonfire, tearing all in their paths to shreds.

[Captain Kilian]

I'm all for the groups relocating near the rogues...since that's were we live - easier stumbling for me!

[ScoutColt]

Yah. We've got a small gap between us and yall, but we're only about 100 feet away at the crossroads on the same side. It'd be nice to be able to assure content camping for at least a good chunk of us. Traveling in packs always seems to work best, so why not camp in packs.

[mpullen]

Once I get the Gnomes area staked out (hopefully Thursday evening if we can get in before dark, but Friday morning if not), I'll cruise over to visit everyone.