Of all our tangible assets, the one I will likely miss the most during the mission is our little Scamp trailer named Betty Lou. Over the past three years, Betty Lou has been our special retreat. She allowed us an escape in a world locked down by a pandemic. In a crowded home with four families, we could escape and find quiet and peace. It was a sad day when we put her into semi-permanent storage, to await our return in 2024.

The tricky thing with a Scamp is that they are slightly too tall to fit into a conventional garage with a seven-foot opening. Trevor (my son) and I took the wheels off and lowered the axil down to car dollies. We placed boards on the car dollies so that the brake drums were just an inch above the driveway. Sadly, the trailer still would not fit through the opening. We then decided to remove the brake drums, which meant cutting the electrical wires. Without the brake drums, the axil could drop another few inches. With the help of a few neighbors, we pushed it into the garage opening. Our neighbors, upon eyeballing the situation did not think we would clear the garage door header. With about ½” to spare, Betty Lou slid into place and is safely at rest until our return in two years.

Hold your breath while we squeeze the Scamp into the garage with 1/2” to spare.

When we interviewed with our bishop to serve a mission, one of the concerns he expressed was the question of how well we could get along being together 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Often, couples find it a struggle, after a lifetime career and raising children, to find out if they are still compatible. Most of the problems that couples face on a mission is their own marital relationship. Living in the Scamp for the last three years taught us that not only could we “get along”, but we could also thrive in our own company. The Scamp provides about 70 square feet of living space, not including our outdoor living area when weather permits. In that tight of an environment, there is no room to pout or sulk. We tackled problems face to face and worked through our disagreements. Those instances were rare, and problems were usually resolved long before a heated discussion erupted.

Betty Lou is our ticket to fulfilling one of our lifetime dreams, of seeing America via the backroads and byways. We have a goal of seeing all the national parks that can be reached by driving. Along the way, we’ll also visit state parks and historic sites. We’ve enjoyed flower festivals, desert rendezvous in the winter, visited family and friends along the way, and farmers’ markets and craft fairs too numerous to mention. The Scamp allowed us to learn new skills, how to care for ourselves in remote and primitive surroundings, and how to be independent of social media in an otherwise overly connected world. From the doorstep of our mobile home, we witnessed sunsets and sunrises in mountains and deserts, thunderstorms and snowstorms, winter’s cold and summer’s heat.

Virginia cooks breakfast one winter morning in Zion National Park. Notice the difference in size between our rig and our neighbors.

When lock-down started in 2020, we began traveling through the western states. Throughout 2020, 21, and into 2022, we spent a month each in the following states: Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and New Mexico. We traveled to California several times and overall, spent several months in that state. Life was slow and not always busy with sightseeing, driving, or making camp. The best days were spent doing nothing more than sitting in camp reading books, playing games, watching British murder mysteries, and talking. I did a lot of writing during that time, not only in maintaining my journal, but also finishing my memoirs as a stage lighting designer, now published. I also made a boatload of photographs during our months on the road. On our travel days, we tried to stay away from the interstates and drive mostly on the blue and red highways. The Scamp has small tires, and I don’t like to exceed 65 mph anyway. We enjoy seeing rural America, all the unique vistas over each rise of the road and every bend of the highway. We see things most travelers miss nowadays.

Nestled into the rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Perhaps our favorite day of the week while traveling is Sunday. We try to stay put over the weekend and not be on the road Sundays. Because of the pandemic, we could usually stream our church meeting from home if we had cell service. I learned that my faith and my religion are not dependent on a building structure to worship in. I could fully practice my faith from remote wilderness locations and sometimes feel even closer to my Heavenly Father. After church, we would go for walks, study our scriptures together, take naps, play Five Crowns (our favorite card game), and check in with each of our six kids.

Betty Lou, named after my mother, Betty Lou Wales.

Lastly, our Scamp, Betty Lou, was named after my mother (it was Virginia’s idea). Every time I walk past her and see her name, I think of Mom. Mom suffered great turbulence in her life, much of it beyond her ability to control. Throughout my young adulthood, I carried a deep anger because of our family situation. My parents divorced while I was a young teenager. I hated divorce, and I hated even more the causes that lead to a family breakup. It took many years, and countless experiences of my own to learn that none of us are perfect individuals, and that we all have weaknesses. It was unfair to expect perfection from my parents without taking the time to walk around in their shoes for a while. I would never choose to wear Mom’s shoes, mine are hard enough to wear at times. Over the years of raising my own kids, I’ve learned to have compassion and empathy. It is still tough for me at times. Part of my daily prayer is that I might learn to have, and exercise charity. The Scamp, Betty Lou, is a symbol and a reminder of all the good I have in life, my heritage, and our dreams for many happy travels in the future. When I was little, and afraid at night, Mom would sit by my bed and sing me to sleep with By the Light of the Silvery Moon. That’s one of my favorite settings while camping, seeing the Scamp parked in the wilderness by the light of a silvery moon. Happy trails everyone.