The edge of civilisation

We live in a very civilised part of the world. But, as I was reminded last weekend when we went camping to celebrate my son's birthday (his idea!), we can very quickly drive to small communities living right on the edge of civilisation. There, you can get a small sense of what the world used to be like before people came along. I find it a humbling experience to see just how thin is this veneer that we call "civilisation".