Traveling Tuesday: Iowa In Less Than A Weekend

 

 

After much digging, I found the notes from our Iowa camping trip, the cord for my camera (!) so I could add pictures, and we're off.

From My Notes  7/18/20

Revelation. Abandoning Scamp Dreaming.  New crush=a Class C Camper.

Driveable.  No towing, hooking, unhooking. No needing a vehicle that is in good shape to pull it.  Self Contained is the word.

We went to the camper rental place yesterday and looked at three RVs, two twenty two foot campers, and one thirty foot camper.  Wow. Wow.

At another place we looked at a Minnie Winnie which sounded good, but it was old and beat up and reminded me of the 40 year old Scamp we previously rented.  https://librariandoa.wordpress.com/2019/07/09/traveling-tuesday-the-scamp/

 Our weekend trip is a trial of:

Driving/maneuvering ease.

Using hookups including releasing gray and black water.

Beagle travel viability.

Comfort

Cooking

Storage

Shower/Toilet comfort/use

Mr. DOA advised we should think of sundown at that time of year (late September), and be sure to be at the campground between 5:30 and 6 that first night.  

Travel Plan

I wanted a campground near the Buddy Holly things in Clearwater Iowa, as we always wanted to see it. Also in the area The Shrine of The Grotto of the Redemption.  I have all these old black and white photos of it from my mom, and I wanted to see it in person.

We stayed at Oakwood RV Park the first night.  Nice RV Park.  Seemed quiet, I noted, except for a few dogs. Then, at 6:43 am, gunshots.  It turns out there's a firing range nearby.  They start early.

 

Other notes 9/26/20

We're getting 8 miles per gallon with the RV.

It was windy and the whole thing was swaying.

There were lots of weird, inexplicable noises from all over the camper.

The slideout (our bed and wardrobe access) would not operate unless you turned the air conditioning off.

Lots of heated discussion about the water heater between us.  How does the water get to the heater.  We filled the water tank to 2/3 full.  Showers, pictured as somewhat luxurious, were still the infamous "sailor's shower" where you turn the water on, get wet, turn it off while you soap up, then on again to rinse off as quickly as you can.

The Buddy Holly Crash site was down a dirt road.  There is a small memorial by the road, then you'd walk further in.  Very windy.  It was a narrow road with another vehicle behind us, so we didn't want to stay too long.  Also, someone coming back from the trek out to the crash site told us "there's nothing there".

In town, we had quite a bit of trouble maneuvering to find a place to park and see features such as the Surf Ballroom where everyone played the night before the fatal plane crash.

The Grotto of the Redemption!  What a fantastical place.  Built by a priest from stones, it's amazing.

https://www.westbendgrotto.com/research/history/

 

Our sightseeing on Saturday took more time than we guessed, and we were off to our next campground, The Amana Colonies.  I thought it was a bit further into the state and it would give us a feel for the camper on the road and the historic towns sounded fun.

Top advice:  Bring your Rand McNally Road Atlas (we did) and look at it. We used the GPS for the quickest route.  We ended up driving miles and miles on dirt roads. Slow going.  Listening to rocks plinking under the campers brand new 2020 undercarriage.  Thinking this thing costs over 100,000 and we don't want to have to repair it.  White knuckle stuff.  If we had looked at the Rand McNally's larger map, we could have gone around by interstate and avoided all of that time.

The Amana Colony campground was a huge open field.  The owners and all of the people in campers around us were nice.  There's once reason to camp for sure, people are so friendly and helpful.

It being a bit late when we got there, I wanted to just settle in and make Hobo Pizzas, which I love.  The wind, however, was not accommodating.  We never got a chance to use the awning that the camper had.

We thought, after settling in, we could walk into town.  A staffer pointed us in the direction he said would get us there.  We walked quite a ways, trying to follow his directions, getting lost in this cornfield and that cornfield.  We were so grumpy when we got back.  Again, if you had, say, an adorable little Scamp, you could just put it in place for the evening and drive around to your destination.  It is true, as reader Kaye George pointed out, you would likely just tow a small car and use that if you were in love with the big guy campers, so you had some mobility.

Certainly not practical for this trip.

We ended up just slinking off towards home after breakfast the next morning, pretty discouraged.  It turns out the Amana Colony town was completely in the opposite direction from the one we were given.  

Again, from my notes:

Long list of undesirable things about the Jayco:

Slide out--pain in the @#$.  Can't access your clothes once its in if you spill something on yourself (which I did).  Vehicle must be parked, full stop, on level ground and in park to open it.  It sounds wheezy like it's not going to work at all.

Bed not too comfy. Expected.

Kitchen.  Zero counter space to put coffee pot or toaster on. Only a single outlet in the entire kitchen/dining area. Right by the door and by sink so you need to set your pot or toaster on a breadboard to use it.

 

AC loud and mostly cools kitchen/dining room.

Beyond nice to have a toilet and shower, but the sailor's shower is a PITA.  You must use the thin biodegradable toilet paper provided (two rolls).

Gas stove with a horrible delicate glass cover that rattles. Smaller fry pan tried to slide all over while I was cooking, iron skillet was fine.

Curtain to provide privacy attached with velcro to four small buttons the size of a dime.  Drops off pretty easily.

It's a traveling apartment building.

Too self contained a vehicle.  You literally can't get away from it.

Super difficult to park even briefly.

A behemoth, high maintenance.

Another great camping experience.  I have to say I was put off the idea of campers for awhile, but I'm back and ready to Scamp.  

See you in 2023.

Scamp Dreaming

Quite a few years ago, my husband, son and I borrowed my in-laws Scamp Trailer for a trip east to Wisconsin's House on the Rock, Circus World Museum,  and Wisconsin Dells. 

Those attractions were spectacular, and the entire trip was more fun and cozy for our having our own little home right with us.  We could bring anything we needed along to make the trip easier with a small child.

The only drawback was that this particular model had bunk beds and our son of course wanted to sleep on the top bunk.  I'm certain we tried to provide a barrier to keep him safely in place, but at about 3 am he fell out of the top bunk.  Uninjured, but it scared us all.  Bottom bunk after that with extra precautions!

I had always wanted to camp in a trailer, and by this time we had tired of tent camping, mostly for the cold, uncomfortable sleeping situation.

Although we loved the trip and the Scamp, for some reason we never borrowed it again.  All these years, though, I've pictured us traveling along with our Scamp.  Anywhere we want to go, taking our own time, cozy with our own little place.

My spouse has always been completely resistant to the idea, until recently, something cracked in his Grinchy little self. 

We decided we would like to try Road Trips as vacations rather than going by air, with all of the hassles and limitations involved.  Specifically, we thought following Route 66 from Chicago to California would be a great adventure. 

You might recall the old TV series Route 66 with Martin Milner and George Maharis.  I only recall it vaguely, but I liked the idea of just traveling along this fascinating route.

With an actual trip in mind, and thinking of the time involved and cost of hotels and restaurants, he began to consider the Scamp an option.  We both started researching different aspects of ownership and traveling without hotel stays.

For me, the eternal list maker, this opened a world of possibilities.   What to pack, how to store it most efficiently.  Recipes for cooking over a campfire! 

One of my favorite parts of any trip is making my packing list, with an emphasis in recent years on packing light.  Dreaming of making the most of storage space in a tiny camper, yet having everything you need to be self sufficient....I have been having the best time writing and revising my lists.

Dream With Me!

In our dreams, we're getting a 13 foot Scamp (the size my in-laws had).  There are two layouts available for this size.   One has the bunks up front, but that is wasted space for my husband and I.  We like layout 2 with a bathroom up front.

Note one of the blogs in my roll is called Happy Loves Rosie.  She had her own "vintage" 1952 camper which she decorated so charmingly.

Isn't it so sumptuous?  The vintage/retro decorations, the fabrics, the colors!  See how nicely that afghan fits in.  More motivation for me to work on my crochet projects in waiting.

Although she sold her caravan, (trailer for us non-UK sorts though caravan sounds more romantic), she is featuring the work of others who are refurbishing campers on her blog.  Read and dream!

With this sort of vision in my tiny head, as I was researching I came upon the concept of Glamping.  This is essentially bringing some glamor and bling to camping.  Decorating your camper with real style.  Even if we never get a camper, I am in love, and I'm going to look at pictures of adorable campers in a semi-dream state just forever.

From the Public Facebook Group  Glampers on the Loose

From the Facebook page Casita Divas & Other Fiberglass Eggs:

From the Facebook page Oh A Glamping and A Camping We Will Go:

From the Happy Hour Glampers Facebook page:

Back to my own modest Scamp Dream

We are going to rent a 16 ft Scamp this summer to see if we really like Scamping.  Assuming we love it, we would get our own baby and think of how to personalize it just starting out.

As you can see from the visions above, you can reupholster the seats in any fabric you'd like.  Upholstery isn't quite in my skillset yet so I'd pick the blue shade of upholstery from the factory.

My little sister said she'd make me new curtains if we get one. So I'd like some in a complimentary blue shade, perhaps something blue and white since many of the surfaces are white (I'm dead set against the "deluxe package" which adds wood to most surfaces, and somehow reminds me uncomfortably of a coffin.  Not what I'm looking for!)

We're going for the vinyl floor which seems much easier to clean than brown (ugh) carpet.  Add a cozy rug to that surface.

Add some decorative pillows for comfort and charm.

Make sure the bedding is a nice match, even though it is only out at night.  Inviting is the theme!

http://www.scamptrailers.com/