USUAL
Courtesy Allen McNeill (MCNEILL); courtesy Brian Turner (TURNER).
POLITICS ASIDE A surprising tradition among N.C. legislators finds them on common ground by BILLY WARDEN photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN
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f politics seem more than ever like a savage and sinister jungle, a hilltop patch carved out of a swaying forest in east Raleigh may just offer reason for hope. For years, the campsite at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, just south of Carter-Finley Stadium, has quietly hosted a small group of legislators. They come from cities and hamlets far outside of Raleigh, called to the capital to conduct the ‘people’s business’ when the General Assembly is in session—sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes for months. They come in SUVs pulling travel trailers and in self-contained touring coaches. They are Republicans and Democrats;
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conservatives, moderates and progressives. But while they’re here what matters most is that they are campers, reveling in the things that light up campers everywhere. As voracious outdoorsman and Republican president Theodore Roosevelt put it, “There is a delight in the hardy life of the open.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his Democratic cousin and fellow POTUS, echoed, “Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” Given these endorsements, where better to escape the machinations of politics than in the arms of Mother Nature? “You see so many people at the legislative building. You handle 10,000 things per day. It’s one thing after another. The
“When you camp next to somebody, before you leave you know the names of their kids and grandkids.” —Sen. Jim Davis
