No, we haven’t given up camping. Just got back from a 9 day trip in the Nevada desert. We rang in the New Year on this trip, meaning we were camping on the last day of 2015 and the first day of 2016, which is something we have done for 13 consecutive years.
Over the years I have noticed that many campers stop using their campers in the fall and go through a seemingly torturous and time consuming process called winterizing. Basically they are taking the camper out of commission, mothballing it – akin to the Navy decommissioning a ship. And during the following spring or early summer the camper owner re-commissions their camper. Wow, all that money spent to purchase a camper and then mothballing it for 6 months a year?
I just finished winterizing our camper.
I am not big on campfires. I build a campfire on less than 5% of our camping trips. I haven’t built a fire on a backpacking trip since 1971.
But there is something special between our species and campfires…
Taking a camera on a backpacking trip can be a heavy burden, as I discussed in Backpacking with a Camera. But nowadays I take a camera on some of my trips so I can share them with my family, since I usually hike alone.
In June of 2012 Sony released a compact camera named the RX100. In December of the same year, Joyce bought me one for Christmas.
CLICK A THUMBNAIL TO VIEW THE FULL SIZE PICTURE. YOU CAN SCROLL THROUGH THE FULL SIZED PICTURES BY MOVING YOUR CURSOR TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT EDGE NEAR THE CENTER AND PRESSING THE ARROW, OR TAPPING THE EDGE (MOBILE DEVICES).
I will be 65 years old in a few months, and apparently don’t know the proper way to hang a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom.
I was enlightened on the subject this past weekend on a camping trip. The source of this awakening wasn’t a roll of toilet paper, but a roll of paper towels. For years we have used a countertop paper towel holder in our campers, which made sense because our tent trailers didn’t have kitchen cabinets due to the fact the roof has to be lowered when traveling. Our current travel trailer has less counter space than our 2006 Niagara tent trailer did, so I suggested to Joyce we buy one of those holders that mount to the bottom of the kitchen cabinet. She agreed, but it took her several weeks to locate one that met her specifications, whatever those were. She did not entrust the paper towel rack procurement process to me, because she knows I would have gone on Amazon and bought the cheapest item available, via my thought process that cost triumphs aesthetics.
Last week we had such a good time camping in the mountains and enjoying perfect weather, we decided to go back again this weekend. Nothing extraordinary to report. The usual hiking and camping stuff.
Some people might find it helpful to read about the strategies, planning, and activities we engage in when it comes to camping. Much of this can possibly be used for other pursuits also.
Continue reading Camping Strategies, Planning and Activities
It was a fabulous weekend.
Nomads move for various reasons. Pastoral nomads move their flocks for better range. Environmental nomads move for environmental reasons, usually for seasonal weather changes. For thousands of years, the native population of the desert where we live moved up canyons and into the surrounding mountains in the summer to avoid the heat.
Part 2 of my 4 part article for PopUp Times came out last month. I am late posting this… been busy!
For more about the article,disclaimers, and how you can get it click here.