Home on Wheels

Eco

That's what we call our RV. You can see a picture of Eco to the right, and more detail on her own page at the top. She's an 18' micro-light travel trailer, and we have had her since July of 2008. In that time, we have been on several trips with her, and have been modifying her for more extended use.

See, I grew up camping, mainly in the woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Boy Scouts and all. And in my early 20's, I took an extended solo camping trip around the west. So after Anja and I married, I wanted to get her involved in something I enjoy so much. She had never been tent camping before, and I quickly got her hooked on the great outdoors. Most of it.

Several years ago, we bought all kinds of camping gear. OK, I bought the stuff. I love gadgets, and I especially love gadgets designed for things I like to do. New lightweight tent. Sleeping bags. Cooking gear. Boots. All the cool stuff I thought you needed to enjoy the outdoors.

We headed up to Sequoia National Forest, and spent a weekend. See Sequoia Hangover for that particular episode of hilarity. A month later we took our youngest son Dylan with us. Had a blast, went hiking, saw deer wander right into our campsite, had a bear snuffle around our tents at night, saw tons of stars sitting around the campfire. But there was a problem. An age-old problem. Old age.

Our backs just couldn't take the abuse of sleeping on the ground. We had fun, but we never really relaxed. Everything ached, and everything felt dirty. This bothers Anja more than me since I am a guy, but I was sort of miserable too, and I couldn't figure out why.

On the trip home from Sequoia, Anja got to daydreaming about being able to camp more comfortably, and the possibility of getting a boat. Her daydreaming usually involves talking things out. My son and I quickly disabused her of this notion, both of us realizing how much work and money a boat can be. As the discussion wound down on that subject, she spotted an RV. And then she noticed all kinds of them being pulled, driven, towed, and everything short of flown, down the highway that holiday weekend. I could smell the gears turning and burning in her head, my back started to ache like the living room was going to be rearranged again, and my wallet suddenly felt a whole bunch lighter.

2 weeks later we were driving off with Eco. We didn't know the first thing about RVs, but we have learned more than I ever thought possible, and have had some great times. Our trips to Zion, Sedona, and Yellowstone have been some of the best times we have had, and we always look forward to the next trip in Eco.

When we lived in the north part of San Diego, we stored Eco at a lot that was close by, but had some restrictions about hours they were open. We like to leave for a trip early in the morning, and they were only open from 7-7. So often we had to wait around to get Eco, then spend time hitching up. This would seriously cut into the plans for the trip. And we had to plan to make it back into town with enough time to drop her off before they closed. And they were also closed on holidays, which was a major pain, since that is when most people have vacation. Sure it was cheap, but once we downsized and moved closer to work (see earlier post), it became a hassle to drive all the way up north to get Eco, especially for short trips. So, didn't take her out for months at a time. She sat idle, unused, a little lonely I think.

We finally decided to move her closer to home. Now she is in a 24-hour a day lot 10 minutes from home. A bit more expensive, but much easier for us to get to. And planning our next trip seems so much easier. We can pick her up any time we want and hit the road. We can stop by and check in on her. She sits out in the hot sun all day, never complaining, just waiting for our next adventure together.

The drawback? As we have used her more and more, for longer periods than a weekend, we have come to the realization that Eco needed some adjusting. For that ongoing saga, check out Eco's very own page at the top of the blog here. And for the legendary trips she has mostly been a part of, see Adventures up there too.