CAMPOLOGY

There are just so many beautiful natural treasures one can embrace in a month. After hiking dozens of mountains, relaxing under countless palm trees and biking miles of trails… there becomes a time to break from the natural wonders of the south, and reach out to human tourist hot spots.

It’s tourist time !

Our folding bikes fill the gap between no bike at all… and a performance machine. They are great, however more than anything they frankly stir a lust that can’t be fully scratched with only 24” wheels. Truly bigger is better!

I love my performance roady. Perfectly sized, comfortable for long rides, and nimble on the asphalt. I can bop out 50 kilometres before breakfast and return with a smile on my face.

Some husbands may fly their wives on a plane to Paris for a romantic dinner, some may whisk them away by car for a leisurely meal in the Laurentian's…..well the Campologist took me in a rowboat to Mexico for Lunch !

While staying at Big Bend National Park, the campologist suggested we have a long overdue lunch date. Usually our travel m.o. includes healthy lunches made in the trailer, and occasional lunches out. I felt excited about a lunch date! “Where are we going?”… I asked… to which he replied “Mexico” !

We have been spending way too much time living in the relative comfort of concrete RV parks. Joshua Tree National Park came at the right time.

I refer to this park as a highbred… it has multi-functions and targets many different types of campers and visitors. It’s a wonderful blend of car camping, wilderness experiences, eco-education and human history. We loved it.

I like camping, all types of camping. Until recently I never knew concrete camping could be so fun.

Camping can be defined as “a holiday in a mobile shelter that is not your regular residence”. This can include tents, tarps, trailers and motor homes… heck it even includes a cardboard box. However before I can appropriately discuss my newfound appreciation for the “slabs”… let’s give an overview of the 3 types of camping.

Pick up new trailer - check ✔️… rig tested - check ✔️… unpack gear - check ✔️… destination selected ⁇ - still very unclear!

We definitely are living the good life on the Californian coast. The weather is near perfect, we need for nothing, and have have no commitments. Yet we are still NOT stress-free!

A Christmas in the desert is so very strange for a northerner!

NO iconic scenes of snow covered forests, NO Jack Frost’s artistic stylings on our home windows, NO winter parka’s, NO egg nog around the fireplace… nothing seems quit right!

Spending Christmas in the desert is all wrong for me. The warm, dry climate just don’t match the short days for my hard wired internal climate cycles! Short days to me are for the winter… and winter means snow!

We are finally in California… the “Eureka” state. We are lov’in it!

It’s been a long time coming and a huge haul to get here. However it’s absolutely worth it… so far!

The state itself is an economic powerhouse and her eco-systems are some of the most diverse in the world. In the first few days, we have experienced ocean surf, mountains, rain forests, deserts, giant old growth red wood trees… and the best hot tamales I have ever enjoyed.

It’s late in the day and we have only 4 hours until the sun sets.

We are finally on the road with our shiny new trailer… the “Escape Pod”.

It’s taken many numbers to get to this point… 8 months of tweaking our trailer’s custom order, a 4,500 kilometres road trip across the continent, 50 hours of driving, 6 states, 5 camp sites, 4 old friends and relatives visited, 3 hotels, an undisclosed bag of cash, much angst yet even more smiles. To describe the process as a challenge would be understated.

Finally the NEW trailer is delivered.

Like rookie parents we are a little awe struck and overwhelmed. There is so much to learn and discover when you first get a new trailer. Where are all the plugs, cords, boggles, do-dads and thing-a-gigs… and likely more important… where does all that bio-waste go!.

Exciting times… we have a new baby on the way.

About 9 months ago we never expected this. Tracy and I were passively searching for our next new and “best” camp trailer ever when we stumbled upon Escape Trailers of Chilliwack British Columbia. These sweet fibreglass-shelled puppies were relatively small, yet seemed to have all we wanted and more importantly … needed. We had already crossed the continent twice before in 2 other trailers, so by now, we were experienced RV’ers. Our mobile camping stylings were stabilizing…. we knew what we wanted.

We sold our beloved camp trailer “Betty” for Maple Syrup … absolutely true!

Betty was a dear friend. She always kept us warm, dry and safe.  Wherever we travelled, her sleek aluminum shell gave us sound protection from the elements. Her solid aluminum frame was light, and strong and provided us with timeless confidence.