Tag: RV Life

Q&A: Pondering the journey so far

I thought you’d enjoy these answers, which are mostly to questions that I am asking myself, one month after leaving Maine. To write an honest and accurate book, it’s crucial to record thoughts and feelings as they grow and emerge during the course of a journey. So, here we go!

Unpacking some of my gifts in my parents’ apartment in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

What new gear and gadgets did you purchase for the trip?

I acquired most of the “big” stuff (generator, solar panel and charge controller, ramp system for unloading the generator without killing myself, and all of the water, sewer, and electrical gear) last spring and early summer. I lived in the RV for several months in Maine last summer, off grid, and got to know and use it all. New for this journey were my Oru Lake kayak and a number of Christmas and birthday gifts: a new camp table, tea kettle (so I can cook in my one saucepan), toaster to use over a gas burner, and an immersion blender. I remember my Grandma Searls having a toaster like that, but hers looked like a tent and mine is flat with a heat diffuser on the bottom side. It works great! Thanks, Megan and Jacob and Taylor and Lizzy, for all the gifts!

Oh, my goodness, here’s Millie experiencing her first snow a few days ago.

What aspects of the trip have been harder or easier than you anticipated?

Let’s start with things I thought would be difficult but haven’t been. Hitching up the truck to the trailer and the whole process of camp set up and take down. My personal method is to keep hopping in and out to line up the ball with the hitch receiver and it’s gone great. I use a paper checklist for everything and check it faithfully, so as not to drive off with the stabilizer jacks down or anything else catastrophic. For the record, backing up into a site or for an unplanned turnaround also involves this hopping in and out, but it has proven to be every bit as difficult as I anticipated.

Another winner has been campground friendships, as I wrote about yesterday. At the crowded campground in Virginia last spring, people mostly seemed to be in large friend groups, and I had many a lonely evening. So, to discover Don and Joan and Al in North Carolina was a true blessing.

Lastly, my Verizon hotspot and cell phone plan (about $81 per month) has been fast and reliable so far, a necessity for efficient writing.

What’s been harder? Staying warm! I don’t need to tell any of you that we have been riding roller coaster waves of record cold. I bet I have at least five warm weather articles of clothing with me for every one cold weather garment. Thankfully, I brought an old wool Army blanket that belonged to Chris that has saved me many a night. Yes, I have a very efficient propane heater but a finite supply of propane and battery life (when not hooked up to electric). Last evening was the first comfortable one to linger by the campfire and read.

I am running over budget for fuel and camping costs, but this price found yesterday helped!

So, what have you been reading so far?

An ongoing read is The Rise and Reign of Mammals: A New History from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us. (Megan always teases me about how long my book titles are. Here’s a rival!). This was a Christmas gift, too, and is engaging and successful in making a mammoth topic understandable to a non-paleontologist. I’ve already devoured Nevada Barr’s Winter Study, also a gift, and have mixed feelings about reading more of her terrifying and suspenseful mysteries set in national parks while camping alone!

I met Nimblewill Nomad at the 2019 International Appalachian Trail meeting and, for some reason, never got around to reading his book. Perhaps it was meant to be enjoyed around the campfire on this winter journey, as I may even end up walking some of the same trails.

Please send along any questions you may have for future Q&A posts, and congratulations if you spotted the pun!

Farewell snow, hello North Carolina

The Uwharrie National Forest offered excellent kayaking, hiking, and warm campground friendships at the start of my winter-long RV journey.

You have all been exceedingly patient in waiting for the full NC story, which will be covered in the next several posts. This was the first true camping stay of the trip, chosen for its convenience for a visit to my dad’s first cousin Janet in Graham, NC. I arrived on January 5, 2024, two days after my 62nd birthday. I had been eagerly anticipating this milestone, the magic age for purchasing a Senior Lifetime America the Beautiful pass.

Running from the snow and toward the Uwharrie National Forest headquarters before Friday closing time, I made it. After a marathon 484-mile drive, with my pass in hand, I set up in the Arrowhead Campground on Site #31 (first come, first serve so it was mine for up to 14 days). There was an electric hookup and a thankfully sturdy (more on that later!) stone shower house.

The Uwharrie National Forest is in Piedmont North Carolina, east of Charlotte.

At the campground, I found the community I had been promised. Don, the campground host, lives out his philosophy of making the world a better place, one camper at a time. He, and fellow campers Joan and Al, even bought my books! Joan, an AT section hiker who is well on her way to finishing, read as far as chapter 12 in Upwards, and it was fun to be able to answer her questions about my NFCT thru-paddle around the campfire.

How fortunate that Don was my first campground host! He finessed my trailer into a better spot for me, treated me to an El Dorado cheeseburger with onion rings, and stood next to my truck yesterday in the freezing cold and miraculously got it to start when it hadn’t earlier.
Me, with Al and Joan…a fun surprise was unexpectedly meeting them and their dog Missy, during my hike on the Dark Mt. trail!
Looking out from the shelter of the shower house during a downpour with a tornado warning!
My Arrowhead campsite (#31) was paved, fairly level, and very wide, with an electric hookup.
Looking toward the lake at sunset, with a glimpse of the lake through the trees.

My new origami kayak

Introducing the new, lightweight, folding Oru Kayak that’s joining me on my winter RV travels in the South

At first, I planned to bring my 13-foot solo canoe along on this winter’s RV travels. The more I thought about it, though, the more I wished for a more compact boat. Well, it doesn’t get much more compact than a folding kayak. Folded up, it resembles a suitcase, complete with handle. It fits easily inside the truck’s back seat area. You can even fly with it as luggage!

My Lake model Oru Kayak at Maine’s Biscay Pond after its first short outing

Made in the USA, Oru kayaks come with a 3-year warranty. The material they are made of reminds me of post office mail tubs. The 5-mm, double-layered, polypropylene sheet is not flat. The bow and stern are partially shaped and have small hard plastic caps. The boat comes with pre-marked fold lines, but getting it assembled the first time was not an easy task. Even now, considerable effort and force are needed to pop the folds in and out.

Awfully chilly on my bare feet getting in and out on a Maine lake on December 15th!

As I travel South, the waters will be warmer and the excursions longer. My kayak, the Lake model, is the newest, lightest (18 pounds), and plainest of the Oru kayaks. It is easy to carry, ensuring that I will use it often.

There are still uncertainties ahead. How will it track and handle in wind and waves? Will it always feel as stable as it did when I hopped in the first time? Dare I paddle it where there are alligators? All this and more will be answered in the coming days and months.

To learn more, look for my column, “View from the River,” in the upcoming February issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. It’s all about the boat.