Fortunately,
this was small hail.
However,
it still sounds scary when you’re in an aluminum travel trailer or tent.
While
we were aware of the chance for a severe thunderstorm,
this
storm still took us by surprise.
It
blew in suddenly, about two hours before sunset,
while
Kristal was doing rabbit playtime and chores in the tent.
She
didn’t have any choice except to wait for a break in the weather
before
bringing the rabbits and herself into the trailer.
We interrupt this renovation to bring you another trip!
Yes, folks, we’ve done it again and took our trailer up North before completing
all our projects. This time we were gone for a grand total of five weeks.
The catalyst for our latest adventure was our younger
daughter’s college graduation. We ended up staying north for more than a month
because she wanted us to help her relocate to another apartment. (She has no
immediate plans to return to Texas.)
There have been delays to our renovation schedule for
various reasons, including bad weather. However, we’ve been fortunate not to
lose anything during the flooding events which have now occurred in the Houston
area for two spring seasons in a row. Not being able to complete work on the
trailer is a minor annoyance compared to what others have been through
recently. However, getting it out of town was a minor miracle, and that was
just the beginning.
Some people who come into RV ownership are those like us
who already have experience with camping and/or long-distance travel. Vintage
RV ownership adds another dimension to the endeavor which can be fun, but
despite the public’s fondness for calling this particular past-time “Glamping”,
that darling camper isn’t a perfect bubble of protection from all that is
unpleasant. We’ll be the first to admit we enjoy looking at other peoples’
pretty pictures of their RVs and the places they’ve been to. Yes, our trailer,
as an Airstream, is already considered a Glamper. We went to some neat places
ourselves during our last trip, and will share a few pictures in upcoming
posts. But this trip also included bugs; cold, stormy weather; hot, sunny days;
lots of wind; and dirt. We often found ourselves wondering who invented the
word “Glamping”. Had they ever camped? We didn’t think so after cleaning up
muddy prints off our new floor after one of many rain storms we experienced.
A frequent newbie question we often see on forums is, “I
would like to own RV (__). Where do I start?” Being honest with yourself about
your budget is always a good place. There are some other things you should ask
yourself, too. What is your motivation for wanting an RV in the first place?
How often will you get to use it, and how far do you plan to travel with it? Do
you have practical experience which will allow to you to enjoy your new
acquisition with confidence? (1. Preventing emergencies. 2. Dealing with
emergencies when help isn’t close.) Last, but not least. Are you willing to do
some real work while you’re on vacation?
Yes, RV ownership involves real work. For the vintage
crowd, restoration/renovation will have plenty of non-glamorous projects which
will need to be addressed before you get to the fun stuff, like decorating.
Once the projects are completed, there will be ongoing maintenance if you want
to keep your baby in tip-top shape. That maintenance will also include your auxiliary
equipment which helps keep you safe while traveling, or provides electricity
when you don’t have shore power (Sway-control/weight distribution hitches,
generators and/or solar system.) Long-distance traveling and being gone for
several weeks could mean you’ll be working on your RV while on the road. Karl
needed to add some grease to our sway-prevention hitch after windy
wear-and-tear and some bad roads. Then the original air conditioner decided to
get finicky. Fortunately, there really wasn’t anything wrong with it other than
a few years of dirt.
Bringing the “comforts of home” with you generates work
as well. Meals to cook, dishes to wash, cleaning house… If you travel with children,
pets, or both, there will be plenty of cleaning. Oh! Don’t forget the laundry. Stay
away from home long enough, and you will have to figure out where clothing and
bedding will get washed, not to mention when it will fit into your travel
schedule.
How much stuff you have with you will determine how long
it takes to set up and break down camp. Hitching up to your trailer involves
making doubly sure all connections are secure and all signals working properly
before you hit the road, every single time. Staying somewhere only one or two
nights? Take our advice. Don’t unhitch unless you have to, but do make sure you
unplug the 7-way cord from the tow vehicle while stopped overnight (and remember
to plug it back in again before leaving.)
Travelers of all kinds are vulnerable to the weather,
including RVers. If your home can be destroyed by a disaster, your vehicle and
RV certainly could. Even a weekend trip does not excuse you from keeping a
close eye on weather conditions. Pay attention to, and heed, all advisories. Weather
isn’t just a concern when you’re staying somewhere. It affects you while on the
road, too. (Stormy weather from Texas well into the Great Plains states delayed
leaving on our last trip by 4 days. Our daughter was getting concerned we might
not be there for her graduation.) Remember the wind mentioned earlier? It not
only makes being outside at your campsite less than pleasant, crosswinds with
big gusts will provide plenty of white-knuckle driving. Heavy rain and/or hail,
flooding, poor visibility, tornado warnings, icy conditions, extreme drought
and fire hazards… are also good reasons not to be on the road or visiting a
particular area. So be prepared to adjust your plans. Mother Nature doesn’t
care if you have a schedule or bucket list.
If
you have travel with a trailer whose interior storage space is not yet
completed,
you will
be living out of a suitcase.
It
isn’t the end of the world, but does make it a bit trickier to pack for a
longer trip.
We
used a 50/50 rule for both cold and warm weather.
Still,
there were some things we wished had been packed since the weather
turned
unpleasant for more than 2 weeks.
Kristal
got tired of having cold, wet athletic shoes so she ordered the water-proof
shoes
and had
them sent to our daughter’s address.
When
you keep your extremities warm and dry, life is far more pleasant.
Just
make sure you have a back-up plan in case you forgot something,
or didn’t
have it in the first place.
We were
traveling in May, and it was difficult to find cold weather necessities in
stores.
The
internet can be your oyster as long as you have the means to access it,
and a
physical address where items can be shipped.
When making those lists of items you want to bring, don’t
forget the necessities, like first aid kits for various bites/other injuries and
bug repellants. Get vet records for the pets and make sure they have the
appropriate insect deterrents. Most of us know flying, biting insects are just
a part of life regardless of where you live. Creepy, crawly blood suckers are
another matter. Urban dwellers may not be acquainted with some of those, like
ticks. Also, wildlife encounters, even with smaller critters, can have bad
consequences. Take time to make sure everyone in your party learns to use a
little common sense, including your children. And never assume you are staying
in an area where proper supervision of everyone isn’t necessary.
In addition to being a home for wildlife, tall grass and
heavy underbrush are prime tick country, but even if you stay out of those
areas, you may find them invading your campsite. They’re especially active in
late spring and early summer. Lyme Disease is no joke.
Even though we came prepared, we still had to deal with a
tick invasion right after we arrived in South Dakota. A hot day brought them
out in droves. A last tick check at bedtime had us feeling pretty safe when we
went to sleep. Until Kristal scratched her head at 4 a.m. and found a tick in
her hair. Four out of 5 dogs had ticks too. (The topical we use on our dogs at
home doesn’t include tick protection. We got an oral preventive from our vet
before we left, but had to wait a week to give it since the topical had just
been applied. Once the oral kicked in, it worked like a charm.) We ended up
going into town for more Permethrin for the camp site and kept at least a
couple of bottles on hand for the remainder of our trip. Everything inside and outside the trailer was treated. .
Enjoy the wildlife sightings. Just make sure you aren’t
feeding the animals, deliberately or unintentionally. It’s a dangerous thing to
do for a variety of reasons. Being tired after a long day of traveling doesn’t
excuse you from securing all food, including the vittles for your pets. When we
began the return journey home, our first stop was a state park in Nebraska.
Traveling with 5 dogs means feeding one at a time, not in confined spaces. By
the time everyone was fed and treated to a long walk around the park, we were
exhausted. The pet food containers were still sitting on the picnic table. Surely,
they were OK for one night. Wrong, wrong, wrong! The fact that they were left
out caused Kristal a somewhat sleepless night. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore
and got up to check on them. Two dark shadows ran away from our campsite, and
she found the dog food container on the ground with its lid lying almost a foot
away. She’s fairly certain the uninvited dinner guests were raccoons. You may
be picturing a certain movie, “The Great
Outdoors”, right now. She did too. When you do something stupid, or get
lazy, finding some humor never hurts. Still, getting more dog food isn’t that
easy if you feed a brand which isn’t widely available. (Kristal’s rabbits came
on this trip too. Their food, easily found at a feed store, wasn’t touched. Raccoons,
being omnivores, could have chosen either way. Of course, being prime
opportunists, they went for the expensive dog food.)
Also be aware there are some critters you may not want to
meet unintentionally. Kristal encountered a snake in the grass (literally)
during our return home. It was in mowed grass, less than 2 feet from a road.
She was walking one of the dogs and came very close to stepping on it. If it
hadn’t reared its head, she wouldn’t have seen it. The snake didn’t seem
terribly large. However, it was hard to tell. It appeared to be coiled up in a
depression under the grass. What concerned Kristal was the possibility it was a
rattlesnake. The shape of the head made her a bit worried, but she wasn’t going
to get any closer for a positive ID. This is one of those occasions when you’re
better off making an assumption. Stumble upon a snake? Unless you’re a true
expert, just assume it’s poisonous. Stay calm and carefully back off. We were
at a lake in Oklahoma, and the nearest town was very small. It’s doubtful the
emergency services to deal with a poisonous snake bite were available there.
Rattlesnakes in particular have a very large range in North America, though
each region will have more than one species of poisonous reptile. We were at a
modern Army Corp campground with some of the trappings of civilization – paved
roads and campsites, electricity, flush toilets and hot showers. The snake
encounter was a good reminder for us that tragedies can occur anywhere and a
certain amount of vigilance is always a good idea. When you start taking things
too much for granted, you’re more likely to have a bad experience.
You can still call RV travel “Glamping” if you wish. When
you find the courage to act on them, dreams are often the catalyst for
launching us on new adventures. But being able to find enjoyment in those
adventures, even when they’re less than perfect, is a true gift. Just add a
healthy dose of reality to your fantasies, and someday you’ll have a lifetime
of special memories to cherish.
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