Last week I blogged about my shooting experience at Devils Tower in Wyoming. Perhaps it seemed a little random to be at that particular location. Devils Tower National Monument is in a remote corner of the state. I suspect that most people who visit there are on their way to some other location and make a short stopover to see the tower. That was the situation for us. We were on our way to Minnesota and Devils Tower happened to be almost exactly the midway point. Why Minnesota? Virginia and I have been looking forward to my retirement for several years. One of the key components is having a travel trailer to allow us to visit all the National Parks and many of the various State Parks in between. For years we’ve used a popup tent trailer when we’ve journeyed out with our children. Now the children are grown and gone and we would like a little more comfort. The downside to a popup is the work involved with getting to your bed. At every location there is 30 minutes to an hour of setting up. We want a trailer that we can park with the bed ready for us to crash into. The tent trailer didn’t offer much insulation from the weather and that limited our camping season. We want to camp year-round and have some protection from the cold, wet, and wind. Our preference is to stay in National and State Parks. Sometimes those campgrounds can get a little noisy with dogs barking, generators whirring, and children playing. A hard wall unit gives us more privacy from the outside world. We’ve been looking into different models for about two years. We immediately gravitated to the sleek fiberglass trailers made by Scamp, Casita, Escape, etc. We studied the different plans meticulously and talked to different salesmen. We went to Quartzite, Arizona in February because there was a fiberglass camper roundup. We wanted to see the different styles and walk inside them. I’m a little tall, 6’2” and I needed to see if I could stand up inside and then also fit into the bed. For two years we’ve stewed over this purchase.
Worn out from three hard days of driving, we spent two nights at Badlands National Park on our way home. The campground in the park was full, but just outside the park, in the town of Interior, we found a nice campground with easy access to the park.
Two weeks ago, our salesman at Scamp called to tell us that they had a 16’ unit in the floorplan of our choice; ready to go. Normally, once you place your order, there is an 8-10 month waiting period for the trailer to be manufactured. This particular trailer was done up for a photo shoot for the new brochure coming out at the end of the year. Jim called to ask if we were interested in buying this one, ready to go. Things came together easily at the bank, and before we knew it, we put down our $500.00 deposit, rearranged our schedules and we were on the road to Minnesota to pick up our new trailer at the Scamp factory in Backus.
The name Badlands conjures up thoughts of an uninhabitable wasteland, void of life. That is unless you happen upon it during the full bloom of the summer wildflowers. Crossing the great prairies of the US, we witnessed miles of grassland interspersed with vast stretches of brilliant colored wildflowers.
It was a quick trip. We drove 10-12 hours each day. I can’t do the long drives like I used to when I was much younger. I have little desire to see America at 70mph through the window of my Toyota 4Runner along the Interstates of the US. At most, I want to put a cap of 300-400 miles/drive and preferably travel the backroads where I can more truly see the land and the people. I didn’t have that choice this week. We did overnight an extra day at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It was a good rest and a beautiful time of the year to see that park.
The greatest advantage to traveling the backroads of America is happening upon the curiosities that escape the view along Interstate routes. Passing through Alliance, Nebraska we discovered Carhenge where a local farmer decided to recreate an American version of ancient construction.
Carhenge: As interesting a stop as one could imagine of manmade origin.
Set amidst miles and miles of cornfields: Carhenge
Six months ago, I made a reservation for a one week stay at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We were planning to use the tent trailer. Now, with the new Scamp, we have an opportunity to break into a more refined style of trailer camping. We leave Sunday afternoon. We’ll overnight in southern Utah for a visit at the in-laws, and then on Monday, make our way to the park. My draw to the Grand Canyon in late July is with the hopes of seeing seasonal monsoonal moisture pass over the canyon, hopefully at sunset. With a little luck, we’ll have some terrific storms with lightning and lots of awesome clouds. Happy travels everyone.