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 With the summer travel season quickly coming to an end, I’m leaving this weekend for my second camping trip of the summer. The constant news this summer about “staycations” (one of the very worst combination words ever) and how the recession is affecting travel made me curious if camping was included in the budget-friendly vacation trends of the summer. It seems like the obvious fit – there are campgrounds within a 50-mile radius of nearly everywhere – and camping is an extremely affordable method of travel. If you have a tent, a blanket and a cooler to store your hot dogs and beer, you’re basically set. You can even camp in the back of a truck, or under a tarp! With a flashlight to find the bathroom in the night and some bug spray, you’re completely packed. And what better way to relax than set yourself down in a woods, with nothing to do besides hike or read a book, listening to the sound of the crickets?

So, was camping a trend this summer? Yes, but not as big as one might think. Most budget-friendly vacation guides promote cheap flights and hotels to travelers instead of the great outdoors. Of course, there are tons of articles about the Obamas visiting the Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, but I’m willing to bet they were sleeping in the best lodges there. There were special promotions at some of the national parks for reduced entry fees and even a free weekend, but nothing specifically related to camping. But most surprising, an article in last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal about a new micro trend – “glamping.” (This is a word that makes staycation look almost poetic. Glamping?)

That’s right, glamorous camping… Defined as an “updated and upscale” visit to the outdoors, glampers may go places like “wilderness resorts,” equip their $100,000 RVs with satellite dishes, flat panel TVs, waterbeds and a traveling chef to make their outdoor experience more comfortable. To me, this sounds like a good way to make camping a lot more difficult and ruin the simplicity of this American pastime.

If the economy continues to be poor through next summer, promoting camping seems like the obvious way to bring tourist dollars back into a state. Instead of marketing cheap flights and cheap hotels, why not bring back a more basic form of travel? Call it what you will, camping has been around for ages, and now seems like a great time to celebrate it.

If money is tight, do you still prefer a resort, or would you consider camping a fun, low-cost, back-to-basics trip? Let me know – I’ll be in the woods, making s’mores.