As a child we spent the summers at our cabin on Priest Lake. While we had beds on the sleeping porch and a cast-iron cookstove, we pumped buckets of water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning, stepped out to the outhouse (a double-seater!) for duties, read or played cards by kerosene lantern in the evenings, and bathed in the lake.
My sisters and I enjoyed the rustic living although Mom with the 5 of us and Dad off to summer school probably disliked the roughness. In the fall we moved back to town and I know she relished the luxuries of indoor plumbing, running water, and electricity.
Later in life, Lynn and I camped out under the stars with no shelter, just warm sleeping bags with rocks underneath to keep us pleasantly uncomfortable. There are few things more glorious than a quiet evening with twinkling stars and a bright moon. In time we moved up to a tent.
While it was warmer and protected us from the elements, the starry array vanished as we climbed inside. Rocks still found their way below our sleeping pads, but the little aches became irrelevant. A memorable tent adventure followed our treacherous hike through rattlesnake country north of Winnemucca.
Arriving at our destination after dark we settled next to a roaring creek. As a result, these slithering sneaks remained unseen and unheard as we scurried in, zipped the flap, and anxiously awaited a sunrise escape.
In time we advanced to the back of our caravan camper set atop “New White”, our pick-up With a soft mattress pad, windows for fresh air and a door for safety, we could drive about anywhere, unload gear, and partake of a new camping realm. When we drove to Alaska in 2011, we had planned to alternate nights with the camper and indoor lodging, but the national parks of the US and Canada are too perfect and so we took advantage of campgrounds as we made our way north and back again.
Clean and comfy, we met all sorts of interesting people who added valuable advice about sights to see plus visitors like a grizzly bear in Denali and beavers, deer, and black bears throughout the trip. Because many spots had showers and laundromats and service stations offered them as well, we survived, along with intermittent “bucket baths”.
A motorhome came next. With every convenience imaginable we traveled many miles in this mobile lodging. I loved fixing sandwiches as we bumped along dirt roads and traversed mountains. The drawback, of course, is lousy gas mileage.
We are accustomed to deadheading to a destination with few stops and after a good night’s sleep, proceeding to the next spot. With the motorhome, staying put a day or two is essential to the pocketbook. Since we have always traveled with a dog or two, this vehicle offered space for good napping and all pets have appreciated the wide dashboard for snoozing as well as keeping an eye on the road and passing cars and trucks.
Last year, after much research and many questions, we purchased a travel trailer. With its weight relationship to the pulling power of “New White”, we discovered one for sale in Carson City with a slide out to make our living space larger and a Murphy bed serving as sleeping quarters that flipped up to expose a comfortable couch. Refrigerator, stove, convection oven, and a TV plus a shower with wonderful hot water rounded out key features.
We headed out for our first trip Labor Day. An easy drive from here to Austin and up Austin Summit, we then turned onto a gravel road. The first smooth 15 miles soon became rough and rocky as we lurched our way to the camp area.
As we proudly prepared to enter and check out the inside, the wonderful slide out had other ideas. After much pushing, pulling, adjusting, and, hmmm, swearing?, it emerged to allow entry to the bathroom and to put down the bed. There are always kinks in a maiden voyage.
This year’s initial outing led us to Wild Horse. A state park, the set-up is perfect with a variety of sites with trees, a shaded table, and fire-ring plus hot showers if water dips low. Snow covered mountains surrounded us, geese honked, ducks quacked, fish jumped, antelope eyed us curiously, and heavy snow melt raced through the spillway. If you have not been there – go! A new outlook on the beauty of Nevada is bound to astound.