Today's Photo - My Favorite Chipmunk image.There is an interesting story behind this guy. I have only lost one or two original image files out of the 40, 000 I have on multiple back up disks. I have has the opportunity to sell this image a couple of times, however you guessed it - it is one that the original disappeared. This is the highest resolution I have. I even managed to sell it once & have seen purloined copies many times on the web.
I thought I'd start today with the reasoning behind my choice of a Fiberglass Egg as an RV.
I have done quite a bit of traveling as a tent camper. My first was a 4 month trip to California in 1950 as a 5 year old. We traveled in a 1938 Plymouth pulling a home built camping trailer. I think that trip established my love for travel. Although I don't remember all of the trip, the highlights have stayed with me ever since. Among my favorite memories were the Firefall at Yosemite (They don't do it any more, but it was a magnificent sight - A history & Photo (not mine)). I also remember the view at the Grand Canyon, and playing with a bobcat kitten. I scanned some photos from the trip taken by my father: 1950 Trip.
Including that trip I have made 8 most of the way across the US. Again, all of these were either motels or tents. What ruined me was a 2001 trip to Pennsylvania we made in a rented Class A RV. Although it was a small, entry level RV, we quickly decided it had many advantages over setting up tents in the rain, attempting to dry them out the next morning before packing them away, the long set up & take down times, etc. Don't get me wrong - I would rather tent camp than go from motel to motel, but as I get older, the enclosed space becomes more appealing!
Our original plan was to purchase a small Class A RV when I retired, and not full time, but spend a couple of months per year on the road. Unfortunately, my wife developed emphysema as well as a heart condition, went on oxygen, and was not comfortable traveling. We did make a couple of trips to visit relatives & kids, but traveling across the country was out. Carol passed away in January of 2010.
My plan didn't, at first, change. I spent quite a bit of time looking at small Class A RVs on ebay, and even came to some conclusions as to what age, brand, etc I wanted. The first change came about when I realized I didn't really need all the space of even a small Class A. I started looking at Class B (converted vans) but soon decided that hooking & unhooking it every time I wanted to go exploring from a campground was almost as bad as packing away the tent (well, not really, but still a pain).
It was about that time I discovered fiberglass trailers. Light enough to tow behind my mid sized SUV (a Toyota RAV4) but big enough for one or two - Tight, but it solves the hooking & unhooking problem and is far better than a tent.
This is getting a bit long - I'll continue next time!
