It’s Day 411 of 15 Days to Flatten the Curve. Deb and I are just fine.
We seem to have a knack for choosing campgrounds under development, construction, renovation or resurrection. We’ve stayed at a couple of posh and perfect places, and they were great, but we’ve found that a humble and imperfect campground can be an even better stay — if, that is, The Important Stuff is there.
From comments I’ve made already, you might be able to guess what that stuff is. Whether a site is concrete, gravel or plain ol’ dirt, it has to be relatively level. If hookups are provided they need to be solid and the fixtures should be in good repair. Fancy amenities aren’t required, necessarily, but if they exist they oughta be clean and as-advertised.
Bonus points to campgrounds with helpful staff. Anywhere we’re greeted and helped by the owner has a shot at our highest recommendation.
Notice that all of The Important Stuff is possible even when a park is a work-in-progress. We’re camped at just such a spot this weekend.
This is one of those humble places, owned and operated by a hard-working American family. One of them called us personally yesterday to make sure we knew exactly how to get here. She even texted Deb a map so we could drive right to our site without formally checking in.
Another member of the family came out to greet us as soon as we arrived. He explained the grounds and facilities, apologizing for the ongoing construction as they bring an old campground up to standards set by their own pride.
During our “shakedown cruise” we stayed at an RV resort featuring magnificent stone fireplaces on many of the sites, including ours. Our fireplace here is a steel-and-tin sculpture created by a relative of the owners, a guy who “bought a plasma cutter and went a little crazy.”
Firewood is free, by the way — the family has a tree-trimming business as well.
Our gravel site is level. Hookups are solid. Facilities are clean. The folks in charge give a damn about us.
And that makes it perfect.
It was time for another housekeeping day, brought on by two nights away from hookups. That meant cleaning the living space, doing loads of laundry and, to be blunt about it, attending more to hygiene than we’d allowed ourselves while off the grid.
We used Ernie’s washer-dryer to do most of our laundry today, but we took advantage of the tiny and tidy laundromat here at the campground to wash our bathroom rugs. Easier and faster that way.
We had to stay with our tumbling laundry while using the park’s facility, so we brought out our folding camp chairs and relaxed under the trees.
I’m sure it all sounds very ordinary. But as we begin our second week on the road, three states away from the house we’ve called home for over a decade, we’re realizing that we’re right where we belong.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
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