Having grown up in New Mexico with an outdoorsman father, I thought getting in a homemade bedroll (usually surplus Army blankets, etc.) and rolling up in a tarp on the ground in the Gila Wilderness was normal. As a young adult I (and my wife when I got married) progressed through a couple of tents and then a Westfalia VW camper. Since we always used primitive areas I still considered this camping. Nowadays, as full-timers with all the modern amenities, I don't call ourselves campers... I just say, "We are RVers."
Rob