First Time Camper Alert!!

I know people think I am absolutely crazy for pretending my van is like some kind of RV, and I am some kind of experienced camper, who knows what I'm doing!  Hah!  Well, I am not an experienced camper.  In fact I have purposefully avoided it my entire life, like it was some kind of disease or something.  I hated the idea of camping, mostly because I hated not being able to take a shower or use a "real" toilet to do my business.  And sleeping on the ground...in a tent?  No thank you!  Call me a girl, a wuss, or just plain silly, but that's just the way I am.
However, in making my plans to visit Phoenix, I was thinking of ways to save money and started looking at RV parks and campsites.  I guess somewhere between the time I was a child and now, someone got a clue and started installing bathrooms and showers at campsites.  Who knew?!  So I found myself considering the possibility of actually going camping.  The idea of experiencing the beauty of the mountains of Arizona, instead of just looking at them from a distance was really appealing, and would offer me a good idea of places I could go if I wanted to escape the city for a day, or venture out for some hiking.
So after I unloaded my van off the back of the U-Haul truck, I set out on this journey of mine, equipped with no real knowledge of how to camp, or what I would encounter along the way.  One thing I expected was dirty bathroom facilities.  Another think I expected to see where a lot of people sitting around their campfires singing lame campfire songs.  I know this sounds ridiculous, but like I said, I really did not go camping a lot as a child.  The few times I did were with summer camp and church, so I didn't really have a whole lot to go on.
My first night in Phoenix, I stayed at a hotel, and after 3 nights of doing the same, across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, I was starting to have some incling as to why there is a bed bug epidemic sweeping across this country.  I didn't get any, but I don't like obvious signs that my room is not being cleaned like it should.  I also don't like sleeping under blankets I KNOW have not been washed for who knows how long.  I was ready to be sleeping in my own blankets, and be able to come and go as I wanted.
My first night camping was spent at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park, which is located East of Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was quite a drive, and my GPS didn't recognize the address for the park, so it took some time getting there.  I finally pulled in just as the sun was setting.  Ideally, it would have been nice to get there during the day and be able to see the campsite and get the van all ready for the night.  It just didn't work out that way.
So here I was with a van full of stuff, not organized the correct way for the camping situation, an air mattress that hadn't been blown up yet and two dogs trying to stay out of the way.  It was not working well!!  I finally got everything situated, but in the process had let in about a million moths, mosquitos, and other flying bugs into my van.  They all congregated on the ceiling, and I was spraying lavender oil on them to try and kill them.  It didn't work.  Next try was the static guard aerosol can.  It was worth a try.  No luck.
Note to self.  When going camping BRING SOME BUG SPRAY!!!  Duh...
The bug massacre that followed can still be seen on the ceiling of my van.  There was no way I was sleeping with mosquitos!
I had conveniently parked in a campsite directly in front of the bathrooms.  I knew I was going to wake up at least once in the middle of the night and didn't want my hike to the bathrooms to be a long one.  I was pleasantly surprised with what I found there.  The bathrooms were extremely clean!  There was a separate bathroom for the toilets and sink (which also had an electrical outlet), and the showers.  There were two showers, but they were each in their separate bathroom, which a deadbolt lock on the door, and a little bench outside the shower stall where you could put your things.  The water was HOT!  Too hot really, but I wasn't complaining.  It was way better than a cold shower!  It was so nice.  I got ready as I would any morning in my own house, with everything I needed to start my day.
The only thing that kind of freaked me out was an animal (who never showed himself) rustling around the bushes of my campsite.  Kind of freaky, but I just kept myself and the dogs away from that area.  It was probably just a jackrabbit.  I had seen a few earlier in the evening at the park, but I suppose it could've been a snake.  I didn't want to find out either way!

Second note to self.  Stop opening and closing the doors!
The next day was spent in Phoenix, mostly around North Mountain and Glendale, looking at apartments.  I think I visited 8 apartments that day.  It was a productive day, with 3 apartments yielding possibilities.  That night I wanted to stay at White Tank Mountain Regional Park, which was west of Peoria.  It was another drive out to the mountains, but this time on the opposite side of the city.  The drive was beautiful, with farmland preceding the mountainous skyline.  Again, I managed to make it there right at sunset.  But this time the van was prepared so I wouldn't be letting in a million bugs.  I wasn't prepared for the warning I saw posted at the entry gate.
"MOUNTAIN LION SIGHTING, please keep watch over all pets and small children, and do not approach the mountain lions."  Greeeeeeeat.  Well, that was something I wasn't really prepared for.  I seriously considered heading back, but thought I would be okay as long as I was close to the bathrooms again I would be pretty safe.  No such luck this time!
The bathrooms were up a little incline from all of the campsites, and had these windy trails leading to them, which one could easily get lost trying to remember which path to take.  I was totally freaked out!  I fed the dogs quickly, and contemplated running to the bathroom.  Not a good idea.  Rocks were sticking out of the ground, just begging for me to trip on them.  It was best to walk quickly and just use my....OH CRAP!  I DON'T HAVE A FLASHLIGHT!!!
Third note to self.  When going camping bring a flashlight, stupid!!  Duh...
The closest thing I had was my cell phone, which wasn't all that bright.  I must've looked like a complete idiot, waving my cell phone around me, singing "I'm just passing through.  Please don't eat me.  I'm just walking.  Please don't hurt.  Animals, just stay where you are.  Just keep walking.  Just keep walking."  I was terrified I was going to have this face to face encounter with a mountain lion.  It didn't happen, but it could have!  Okay, the chances of that actually happening are slim to none, but I was stilled freaked out of my mind!
The other horrible thing about that night was that it stayed really hot all through the night.  It was still 88 degrees at 4:00am.  I kept turning on the car, running the air conditioning until it cooled off, then turning the car off, sleeping a few more hours until it was uncomfortably hot again, and repeating the whole process.  Finally, at about 4:00am the temperature started to drop, so for the last few hours it was only the mid-seventies with a nice breeze.  It was way more comfortable and I was able to open the windows and sleep until the same came up.  Not exactly the best night's sleep.
The bathrooms were not as nice as the first night's stay.  The bathroom and one shower stall were in the same building, but it was still very clean and totally served it's purpose.
Those were my two days of camping in my car.  All in all I was very impressed with the campsites, the friendliness and attention shown by the parks and recreation staff and visitor's center staff.  The campers were all respectful, and very friendly, as well as quiet during the night. 
I was just proud of myself for not getting eaten by an animal, and surviving camping for the first time by myself with two dogs.  Not bad for a first time camper.  Maybe next time will even go better.
After camping for two nights I now see the appeal of having an RV.  I might just have to get one for myself someday...as long as it has a shower and a toilet, of course! :)