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Southern Tier Life // ISSUE 06
Summer is one of my favorite seasons. It signified freedom, adventure, and tons of fun in the sun. In the late 1980s and early 90s, summer also meant Watkins Glen NASCAR racing and camping on the infield in the “Esses”. For three or four years, I camped with my best friend’s family – The Woods – who had an annual ritual of meeting up with extended family, longtime friends, and racing fanatics for three days of rumbling engines and raucous partying. I was best friends with the youngest daughter of this well-known Irish-Italian family from Elmira and, while we weren’t all that interested in the actual races, for a few years the NASCAR races at Watkins Glen was a summer event not to be missed! Those days were WILD! I mean, not as insane as The Bog days of legendary race camping lore, but still pretty crazy for a young girl just entering adulthood. While me and my girlfriends were always well-protected, it was quite a heady experience filled with lots of libations, laughter, and unexpected adventures on the inner fields of Watkins Glen International.
Vibing w/Cat White
field to sing and dance to live music before heading back to our campsite (or someone else’s) for more drinking and laughing around a crackling fire. Although, Watkins Glen isn’t too far away from Elmira, it always felt like a completely different world to me. That laid back, languid vibe typical of “lake life”. For being such a small town, there’s a lot to do in and around Watkins Glen. For those less interested in the races, they could visit Finger Lakes wineries and craft breweries, check out the ducks waddling along the lakeshores, work up an appetite hiking the Gorge, hitch a ride on a schooner and sail the cool lake waters, or just spend the day checking out the unique local
Despite the Bacchanalian atmosphere and raging libidos, camping at the Glen during the races was really about camaraderie and cars. We’d spend our days floating from our campsite to the stands to catch time trials to the sales trailers, which had something for everyone. In the evenings, we’d gather in the small inner
Me and my racing at The Glen Camping Crew.
