Cheating in no reservation campgrounds?

[booster]

Maybe my paranoia, or lack of faith in seeing ethical behavior in folks, is showing, but there seems to be something weird going on in the Zion Campground we are staying in.

It is a first come, first served, and is kind of hectic from 7:00am till about 11: when checkout is, which is very normal. What is abnormal is that we see a lot of vehicles coming in and pulling into a spot that already has a tag in place when they have not ever been her before, that we have seen, and the site is totally empty. Several were tagged for 2-3 days before tha people showed. We had been assuming that they got in really early before we were awake, and then left again, without setting anything up (really not likely for near 10 units in 2 days just by us, though). This morning, the same thing happened to 5 sites around us, with one of them being a very, very noisy Dodge diesel pickup which would have been impossible to not hear, sleeping or not. They pulled into a tagged spot, got out , and wandered around like they had never been there before, moving the truck around, etc.

It almost appears like ther is someone coming in very early and tagging all theses spots for later to arrive people. 3 groups showed up after dark last night for sites that were tagged and empty all day. They were all together, it appeared, and foreign tourists, so maybe a tour company did it for them?

If there is an underground "reservation" system going on, it sure puts the rest of us at a disadvantage to get a spot. Dozens of folks are turned away here every day, as it is full very early.

Has anyone heard of this going on, or noticed it?

[mkguitar]

Unfair especially if someone is running a business out of it.

we do alot of our stuff midweek to avoid the crowds and "awesome diesel tuner" asshats.
( our question: "is it a race motor or is the muffler broken")
the same folks who will party all night and then yell at kids in the morning for playing..and signal their departure with a scattering of trash and doing donuts on the atv.

( maybe I hate people)


We do have a Pal near Golden Co., who will drag his trailer up to a no reserve/ no fee area midweek to hold a spot for the weekend.
The way they see it is otherwise locals can;t get access to local campgrounds.
it's really popular with college kids- who if diluted by locals and families and maybe more in control

mike

[eric1514]

Do the tags look official? Do they have NPS logo on them or are they just a piece of paper?

[mlts22]

I learned to avoid the popular campgrounds and parks on holidays just for the above reason. A good amount of college students are out to party until they are unconscious from alcohol poisoning, and barring a SWAT team hauling them off, they will do just that.

Weekdays, especially in Texas winter months, are a lot more serene. School is in session, most partying adults are at their jobs, and there is far less tolerance of childish antics than on weekends.

[booster]

Originally Posted by eric1514

Do the tags look official? Do they have NPS logo on them or are they just a piece of paper?

Tags are the tearoff of the self registration form so easy to get, and pay for by a third party. They do have the right plate number on them, it would appear, as they pass the host look arounds, so it would have to be completely set up ahead of time. It sure does sound llike business.

[eric1514]

Ask the host what's going on. The only times I've been to Zion I had reservations.

[Bruceper]

awesome diesel tuner asshat

I owe you for that statement, because I will now use it as my own and claim ownership in my parts

[BobB]

" awesome diesel tuner asshat"

Had to look that one up, but now I know what it means - have seen it but never knew its name

My brother-in-law works in diesel truck services and pointed it out to me once. His comment was along the lines of " let him do that for awhile and watch the look he gets on his face when the repair bill arrives". I guess its not so good a practice for diesel engines, which are expensive to fix.

[mlts22]

I live an area that simply calls the types "coal rollers" because they de-tune the engines so they can have them belch black smoke. Of course, if the Texas DPS gets wind of it, they will rip the registration sticker right off the windshield and force the vehicle to be towed to a mechanic.