My brother and I helped (mostly watched) our dad build a tent camper out of plywood and canvas back in the 60s. He showed us that we could travel all over and have all sorts of adventures. We went to Disneyland, Expo '67 and everywhere in between while we grew up.
Then when DH and I got married in '77 he fell right into the adventure and for our honeymoon we traveled across country from MD to CO with a '67 Shasta trailer (think ice box and no bathroom) pulled by our '65 Mustang. We did get the stares as we drove down the highways.
Here's a shot (sorry it's blurry) of the rig:
We have camped and traveled ever since - with the kids in our '74 Scotty trailer and now that it's just us again with our '90 Award.
Our first camping trip with the kids in the Scotty that we bought for $800 - the camper was almost paid for when we went to Niagara Falls for a week. :C
Then when DH and I got married in '77 he fell right into the adventure and for our honeymoon we traveled across country from MD to CO with a '67 Shasta trailer (think ice box and no bathroom) pulled by our '65 Mustang. We did get the stares as we drove down the highways.
Here's a shot (sorry it's blurry) of the rig:
We have camped and traveled ever since - with the kids in our '74 Scotty trailer and now that it's just us again with our '90 Award.
Our first camping trip with the kids in the Scotty that we bought for $800 - the camper was almost paid for when we went to Niagara Falls for a week. :C
Fireballsocal wrote:
My Dad started me off backbacking when I was a youngster, not even carrying my own sleeping bag. 5 miles up into the National forest and then the weekend was filled with finding waterfalls, carving initials into trees, and finding and sometimes catching the local wildlife. I vividly remember tent camping there, cooking over a small gas stove and washing the dishes in the stream with a crushed piece of yucca as soap, like the Indians washed their dishes. ;)All the trips were followed by a ride in the back of the truck home, stinking to high heaven
In my early twenties, I got heavily into off-road motorcycle riding and a bit of racing. As the trips moved further away, I started staying out multiple days and sleeping on an air mattress in the back of the truck. I'd mostly keep sandwich stuff in the cooler but would barbeque occasionally. Those trips were followed by a long drive home where, you guessed it, I was stinking to high heaven.
I bought my first RV in my late twenties. It was a used Casita Liberty dlx, followed up by a used Lance 990 truck camper, followed by a used Hi-lo 22T, and then after 5 years without an RV, I recently bought a used Lance 1880 travel trailer. I have been a bit spoiled by the refrigeration, the warm furnace and cool air conditioning but no way do I miss sleeping on rocks nor stinking to high heaven. The very first shower you take in your own RV after a day of riding is just about worth the price of admission.
As an aside, I recently found out I am from a long line of campers. Here are my Grandparents in this undated picture taken somewhere in New England.
A very early hybrid!
My Dad started me off backbacking when I was a youngster, not even carrying my own sleeping bag. 5 miles up into the National forest and then the weekend was filled with finding waterfalls, carving initials into trees, and finding and sometimes catching the local wildlife. I vividly remember tent camping there, cooking over a small gas stove and washing the dishes in the stream with a crushed piece of yucca as soap, like the Indians washed their dishes. ;)All the trips were followed by a ride in the back of the truck home, stinking to high heaven
In my early twenties, I got heavily into off-road motorcycle riding and a bit of racing. As the trips moved further away, I started staying out multiple days and sleeping on an air mattress in the back of the truck. I'd mostly keep sandwich stuff in the cooler but would barbeque occasionally. Those trips were followed by a long drive home where, you guessed it, I was stinking to high heaven.
I bought my first RV in my late twenties. It was a used Casita Liberty dlx, followed up by a used Lance 990 truck camper, followed by a used Hi-lo 22T, and then after 5 years without an RV, I recently bought a used Lance 1880 travel trailer. I have been a bit spoiled by the refrigeration, the warm furnace and cool air conditioning but no way do I miss sleeping on rocks nor stinking to high heaven. The very first shower you take in your own RV after a day of riding is just about worth the price of admission.
As an aside, I recently found out I am from a long line of campers. Here are my Grandparents in this undated picture taken somewhere in New England.
In my early twenties, I got heavily into off-road motorcycle riding and a bit of racing. As the trips moved further away, I started staying out multiple days and sleeping on an air mattress in the back of the truck. I'd mostly keep sandwich stuff in the cooler but would barbeque occasionally. Those trips were followed by a long drive home where, you guessed it, I was stinking to high heaven.
I bought my first RV in my late twenties. It was a used Casita Liberty dlx, followed up by a used Lance 990 truck camper, followed by a used Hi-lo 22T, and then after 5 years without an RV, I recently bought a used Lance 1880 travel trailer. I have been a bit spoiled by the refrigeration, the warm furnace and cool air conditioning but no way do I miss sleeping on rocks nor stinking to high heaven. The very first shower you take in your own RV after a day of riding is just about worth the price of admission.
As an aside, I recently found out I am from a long line of campers. Here are my Grandparents in this undated picture taken somewhere in New England.
