We arrived around 4PM on Friday and chose a campsite. The pickings were pretty slim not because the campground was crowded but because the campsites were so poor. They were small. The pull ins were in terrible condition and we had trouble finding one that was somewhat level and in good enough shape for me to be willing to back Frostbite into. We eventually decided on one that was in semi-good shape, close to the playground, and semi-close to the restrooms.
Of course, I only realized AFTER setting Frostbite up that the @$%^ water was AGAIN too far away from my water hose to reach. This water hookup was actually meant to be shared by two campsites. We didn't have any neighbors and the camp host told us that he would get a Y connection for us if neighbors did arrive but it was still an unnecessary pain. Another night with no water.
Also, my hope that the lift cables would magically retain their adjustments after being removed and put back on last week was dashed when I realized that the front left lift pole still had a couple of inches to be raised to full height. I'll have to crawl underneath the camper next week and try to adjust the cables.
The pad for the camper was very short. The bunk end end went over the concrete picnic table a couple of feet. And also, of course, the stupid safety bar jammed while trying to raise the camper. I slid underneath on the rocks and lined the bar up the with lift cable and the roof raised fine. Man, I wish I could devise a way to fix that!
Frostbite set up at the campsite
The site was not level either. Not even close to level actually. I rolled Frostbite on a 1/2 inch board and then added a piece of 2x4 on top of that and she still wasn't level. It was close enough for government work though and made me vow to get a BAL leveler before the next camping trip.
The weekend was not without damage either. My wife put her knee through the door side bench while trying to put the curtains up. It wasn't really her fault. Inspecting the damage, I realized just how flimsy the lid to the storage area actually was. The wood didn't crack, it just broke the plastic (yes, plastic!) hinges that held the lid on and pulled out a support brace. I could fix it fairly easy and will try to make it even stronger after the fix but, for this weekend anyway, it would mean another camp-out where we just get to use one side of the dinette. This time, though, we get to use the short one that I fixed from the last camping trip. Oh, the joy.
More serious damage was done while trying to break Frostbite down on Sunday. The outside table hooks onto the camper by sliding into a piece of metal nailed to the side. It was difficult to slide in and it was almost impossible to get it to slide out at the end of the weekend. I beat and tugged on it and managed to bend it up pretty good. I'm not even sure if I can repair the connections good enough to use again so I may have to devise a completely new way of attaching the table to the outside. I do like having the table outside so just leaving it off isn't really an option.
We ate that the park restaurant on Friday night and I was shocked by a $15 seafood buffet. It was pretty good but not $15 good. We ordered water to drink with the meal and vowed to pack food for Friday nights on future trips.
Saturday morning we fried up some bacon, scrambled some eggs, and toasted some bread all on Frostbites galley stove. It was wonderful. After that we went into town a bit and visited with my friend Tom and his mother. They had some pizza delivered and my wife, hell-bent on a weekend of destruction, broke one of their plates before we left.
After the visit, we hit Wal-Mart. Determined to actually use the sink in Frostbite, I picked up a 50ft water hose (actually one of the last two they had in the store) and a 7gal water container that I planned to use for gray water.
Back at the campsite the hose worked fine and the tank collected the gray water perfectly. I heated up a pot of water on the stove and washed dishes for the first time in Frostbite.
We were much better organized this trip and had most if not all things we need for camping. My daughter exclaimed at one point "This is the best camping trip ever!" Now, we've only had 2 camping trips so far so she doesn't have much to compare with but she did seem to have fun and we had some great campfire time together as a family on Saturday night. My wife seemed to especially enjoy the evening. Believe it or not, the evening was exactly as we imagined last fall when we started thinking about getting a camper.
That afternoon, my daughter met a friend she called Steve.
My daughter holding Steve
Also on Saturday afternoon, we drove and walked around the park a bit. My daughter especially liked collecting shells around the lake. I snapped a picture of the park Inn from across the lake. I'm no photographer but this one accidentally turned out pretty good.
As I mentioned earlier, the weather was great for the weekend and on Saturday morning we opened all the windows on Frostbite. We left them open all day and all night and yes, we actually turned off the AC. With such perfect camping weather, I wonder why the campground was so sparsely populated. There were two large 5th wheels, three or four tent campers, and a single small travel trailer camper. No other popups. Where were all the campers? This is a fairly big tourist area with the lakes and there were numerous private RV parks and campgrounds we passed on the way in. Surely camping season is not over for everyone.
Heck, for us, it has just started.
We made it home around 2pm on Sunday. We raised the garage and were treated to the smell of rotted food and a puddle of nasty water around the freezer we keep in the garage. The circuit breaker had popped over the weekend and everything inside had thawed and was ruined. We spent the next hour cleaning up the floor and the inside of the freezer. All of the food had to be thrown away. The large bag of fish that my sister's boyfriend gave us was the primary source of the smell and nasty water.
I'm not sure why the circuit breaker clicked off. The freezer is pretty old and could be on it's last legs but we cleaned it up anyway and I plugged it back in empty to test it out and see if it continues to work.
My next few posts here will address the damage to Frostbite I need to fix before the next trip in October. I'll also need to order a BAL leveler before the next trip because the boards I used to somewhat level the camper are still at Paris Landing since I stupidly drove off and left them where they sat.
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