#CamperLife Trial Runs Part 1 and 2

We just finished our second of two shake-down trips to test out our camper's systems after a winter in storage, and to try out some recently purchased equipment. The first weekend was at Laurel Hill State Park and the second was at Hyner Run State Park. These are two places that we love and know very well, so it was fun to see some familiar sights and faces. We've been going up to Hyner Run in the spring for many years and the same mother-daughter camp host team is always there. Laurel Hill is our go-to spot for a quick weekend getaway since it's only about an hour from where we park our camper. There were days of nice weather on both trips, but it's not particularly warm yet, and we had rain or snow on both trips. At Laurel Hill we had full hookups and flushed and sanitized the tanks, watched a movie on our dvd player and baked cake in our convection oven. At Hyner, we had no hookups, but there is a water spigot in the park where we could fill up our fresh water tank. The solar panels worked great to keep our batteries charged up, even camped in a hemlock grove in a holler, as we were. The waste tanks were pretty full by day 4, though. We could have stretched it to another night, but only if we were really careful and nobody took a shower. The propane tank powered the furnace, water heater and refrigerator without problems. We did have a spare tank with us, but didn't need it. I don't think we'll carry an extra tank when we drive to California, but we need a way of reliably measuring what is left. M just found a scale you can use, which should be pretty accurate. Still, if we were in a sunny place, I think it would be pretty easy to keep the fridge going on battery setting if we had our solar panels set up. 

Space is tight in the rPod. We all fit, but everything must be carefully evaluated for volume and weight. We got some synthetic down blankets to replace the piles of fleece we had before. I moved the dishes to a lower shelf so the kids can reliably help with washing and putting away. I got a new puzzle and a special felt roll-up puzzle keeper. Books and art supplies will be our downfall...the kids somehow always sneak in 5 or 6 enormous hardcover books AFTER we've already checked their bags. (And insert a mental note that Max always needs at least twice the number of pants as the other kids.) I took the freezer insert out of the refrigerator. It doesn't really hold that much anyway, and it's so much easier to store tall things like milk without it. Who needs ice? Haha. 

Sometimes the less you bring, the easier it is for the kids to entertain themselves. When we went to Hyner, we had no power...no video games, no tv, no endless supply of eBooks on an iPad. The kids went fishing, reread the few books they brought, played Uno, went hunting for wildflowers and played hide and go seek. We all went to bed at the same time and M read out loud from his book. I forgot to bring paper so they carefully tore out pieces from Max's notebook when they all wanted to draw. There were three big chunks of stump that the boys dragged around to make obstacle courses. It's actually nice to have a small amount of stuff. Dishes don't take long when you only have five plates and one pot. 

We are getting better at working through the "pain points." For instance, travel days go much better if we stop for an hour for every two-three hours of driving. Playing a podcast or audiobook while everyone gets dressed keeps it calmer during the chaos that happens when we open up 5 suitcases at once (and it's totally crazy until we can get everything stuffed back into the underbed storage). We need to find some way to tame the shoes.