Living in a permanent home, one doesn’t think about having to tell friends or family where you are under normal everyday circumstances. Your house doesn’t move. If you’re not home for a while, you’ll eventually return, so there is usually no need for anyone to worry. However, when your home has wheels and changes locations frequently, if not daily, if something were to happen to you would anyone know where to look for you – or even if to look for you?

Looking like a trashed toy, a camper lies smashed against a tree after flash flooding at the Albert Pike Camp Grounds washed it down stream near Caddo Gap, Ark. Friday, June 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Brian Chilson)

This morning, floodwaters that rose as swiftly as 8 feet an hour tore through a campground an Arkansas, carrying away tents and overturning RVs as campers slept. At least 16 people were killed, and dozens more are missing and feared dead. Read the full story.

This tragedy reminded us that often as we travel we don’t ‘check in’ with anyone. Do you? As much as we enjoy being independent, it’s important that someone you trust has some idea of where you’re headed or where you’re at, just in case the unthinkable happens. The world is a crazy place. Be it criminals, a medical emergency, an accident on the road, or a natural disaster such as the one campers experienced at Albert Pike Campground, you just never know what might happen.

As we think about the victims and their families on this sad day, we’re going to use this tragedy as a reminder to make sure a friend or family member always knows where we are – just in case. We hope you will too.