Vixen - The Beginning - Week 1

Making the Leap to Full Time RV'ers

The day had come. We were finally ready to hit the road as full-time RV'ers. All arrangements had been made. Mementoes, gear and favorite furniture stowed in the 10 x 10 storage unit. Lots of trips to the "Recycling Center". A few items sold on the Interwebs. We were ready...

We had decided on a bit of a north trip to start this latest Adventure in our lives. Up into the state of our births, PA for a while, then a trek into Maine to visit Acadia in the fall. We were not sure what the weather would bring us, but we were committed to taking each day as it is given. Living closer to the natural world, subject to temperature fluctuations, rain, sun, what have you.

Vixen, our 28' travel trailer would be our refuge from the weather. Our new home on wheels. Everything we would need to live out here is carried in her or the back of the truck. We don't need much. Backpacking has taught us that.

Our first weeks would be a full mixture of camping styles. Boondocking, RV park, Solar, Shore power, parking lot overnights. We would run the gamut, and learn a lot during this phase.

Below are my log entries from the first phase of our new life, "The Beginning".

Piney Mountain

The Daily Logs

Day 1 9/14 Mon - Travel Day - Piney Mountain, Michaux State Forest Depart 11:11 Arrive Piney Mtn 13:34 81 miles

Morning came and we finished those last few things and were ready to hit the road. We drove out of the driveway and headed north. There was a minor slowdown on the beltway due to a brush fire or something and the rest of the drive was nice.

We arrived at the parking lot up on Piney Mountain and went to check the field. There was only one other camper in the field And they were packing up. We found a good spot and backed the trailer into it. We set up and relaxed, taking a short walk as we waited for Dilly to show up. Eventually he did and set up his tent.

We had burgers for dinner, made a quick fire and waited for the Steelers game. We had ok signal up on the mountain, but when I attached the two small antennas for the MiFi, it worked much better. We were able to watch the good game and drank a lot of beers. I didn't get to bed until midnight.

Day 2 9/15 Tue - Travel Day - Site S5, Delaware State Forest
Up 0613. Temp: 43 Wx: calm, cool, clear
Depart 11:41
Arrive S5 15:20
167 miles

I slept in until a little after 6. Did the morning routine and checked emails and stuff. Everyone else eventually got up and we had bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Around 1000, Dilly and I headed out. We parked his truck down in the park and I drove him to Boiling Springs. I headed back and we finished up the departure checklist and started off.

Dilly ready to hike some AT

The drive wasn't bad at all and we decided to skip the stop at Loves for a break and had enough gas to make it to the campsite. The GPS took us a weird way, but we were able to find the site easily. We pulled in and looked around to figure out where to put the trailer. After some maneuvering we had the trailer facing east and relatively level. Once again we set up camp. This time for a week.

Site S5, Laurel Run Rd, Delaware State Forest

Signal was spotty here and I wasn't able to do much. There were no ota tv channels coming in at all. We took a short walk, then took a ride to check out the other campsites and go into town to find the Walmart, seeing three turkeys along the way. We found a Weis first and got some groceries. As we were looking for gas we found the Walmart and their gas was very cheap.

Back at camp, we made dinner of chicken and rice and a salad. I fired up the MiFi and got great signal. We watched Big Brother and then headed to bed.

Nice creek

Day 3 9/16 Wed - Delaware State Forest
Up 0445. Temp 41. Wx calm, cold, clear
Batt: 84% @ 0825
Tanks: F-2/3, B-E, G1-E, G2-E

A cold, dewy morning led to a beautiful day. We took walks up and down the road, seeing some bears that were up in a tree. Next we headed to the Pecks Pond picnic area to get some water. We circled around first and then parked and asked some sawyers where the faucet was. I asked for a couple of their logs and scored six.

We drove back to pass through Promised Land State Park and stopped at the beach area to check it out and got a map of the park. Back at camp, we relaxed and kept the fire going. Making quesadillas for lunch and LoGear cooked some fish and rice for her dinner. Back in the trailer with darkness and cooling and we watched a show then headed to the warm blankets of the bed.

Day 4 9/17 Thu - Delaware State Forest
Up 0345. Temp 45. Wx calm, cold, some clouds
Batt: 77% @ 0400
Tanks: F-F, B-E, G1-E, G2-E

It was another cool morning and we saw the bears again on our morning walk. Same place, scampering down the tree and running off.

After breakfast, we went out for a hike. We found a trail near the bridge and on our way there, we once again saw the bears. Later, I sent an email to the Forest office for their information, just to see if they were interested.

Bear in a tree

We walked the trail and came to the road and then followed the roads back to camp. Ginger was a trooper, but the four mile plus hike took its toll on her. She is limping around a little now.

Girl is worn out

Later in the day we got in contact with Dilly and decided to meet him at the Walmart down in town after I did some needed shopping. All the chores done and Dilly arrived, we returned to camp for a nice dinner of parm pork chops, zucchini and stuffing. We had a fire going and you could tell it was a little warmer this night.

Day 5 9/18 Fri - Delaware State Forest
Up 0500. Temp 57. Wx: calm, warm, overcast
Batt: 84% @0520
Tanks: F-F, B-1/3, G 1&2-E

I was hot in bed and had to strip off my sweatshirt and shirt before getting up. Definitely starting off warmer this morning. The day is pleasant. Overcast with a light wind, but not cold.

LoGear took a bike ride and Dilly headed into town to get his phone screen fixed. Later I took the bike ride and checked out the other camp sites and a nice pond LoGear saw.

Pond

We went back up to the pond in the truck and hung out there where Dilly fished for about 5 minutes and I gathered some good wood I had spotted on the bike ride. We had spaghetti for dinner and a good fire later.

Day 6 9/19 Sat - Delaware State Forest
Up 0545 . Temp 36. Wx: calm, cold, clear
Batt: 84% @ 0545
Tanks: F-2/3, B-1/3, G 1&2-E

It seemed that the solar panels where doing their best, so I thought maybe they needed a quick cleaning. They didn't look bad, but I cleaned them anyway.

Campsite from the roof, where the magic happens

We drove over to Promised Land State Park, checked out the campsite, which looks a little tight, then took a little hike, and saw some turkeys. Next we went to the beach and Dilly took a shower while LoGear called her father and Ginger and I took a short walk.

Promised Land Lake

Back at camp, we cooked up some chicken thighs for dinner once again enjoying a fire until it got cold out, then retiring into the trailer for some talk and drink.

Day 7 9/20 Sun - Delaware State Forest
Up 0500. Temp 35. Wx: calm, cold, clear
Batt: 94% @ 0500
Tanks: F-1/3, B-1/3, G 1&2-E

There was frost in camp in the morning, but we warmed up later. We watched the Steelers game in the trailer and got a win.

Tonight will be left overs, mac and cheese and a salad. Dinner was good and the chill started setting in as soon as the sun fell behind the tree line. We retired into the trailer and listened to music for awhile and I headed to bed early.