Karen

I bought my new motor home in Dallas on September 22nd, 2017, where I camped for a couple of nights Nyree, a friend who has moved there from Colorado. It was so nice to spend some time with her again. Then, I drove it to Amarillo to camp for a week and work. Then I brought it home. It was just as pretty as it was in the pictures. I named her Florence, the 2017 Fleetwood Flair 30P.

I had to take it camping, of course. I had a trip to Utah coming up in October, but it didn’t look like I’d be able to get the Jeep ready for towing in time (it was currently broken from the last trip, of course). I planned on driving the new RV to Moab without the Jeep and riding with a friend in his Jeep. Before that trip, I decided to camp at Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland, just an hour north of home.

October 7th, 2017

I drove Florence up to Loveland to get her set up, and then Karen drove up to hang out for the weekend. We cooked dinner and had a great time hanging out. The motor home has a queen-sized bed over the front seats in addition to my king-sized bed, and she stayed there. She said she was very comfortable. We walked around a little while, enjoying the sunshine and the views of the lake.

It was a good test of how the motor home would be during chillier nights, as it got down to 28 degrees. The propane heater worked perfectly. It was also the first time I didn’t have hookups other than electricity, and that worked fine.

Miriam showed up the next day and stayed that second night in the queen-sized bed. Karen was going to stay in her truck (she has it set up for camping) but it was too cold so she stayed in the motor home. She folded the couch down, about five feet in length. It wasn’t completely comfortable, but it was warm.

We played Mexican Train and had a great time dancing to disco outside under the stars.

October 27th, 2017

The Utah trip was great, though the Moab KOA wasn’t very exciting. It was a place to stay, and nothing more. If I had been in the popup trailer I would have been a bit unhappy, but the seclusion offered by the motor home made a huge difference. I was warm and happy.

And I decided to camp at Boyd Lake again. Site 58 is easily the best site (though there is a big handful of close seconds), and it was available. Site 57 next to it was also open, so I talked Mike into joining me (which wasn’t difficult). It was chilly, and wet snow gathered on the side of the motor home as I filled up the fresh water tank the first afternoon.

This was a great trip to Boyd Lake, too. We cooked and relaxed, and went for a walk along the lake. For lunch on the second day, we walked a few miles to a 3 Margaritas restaurant and had margaritas. We took a Lyft back, swinging by a gas station for firewood.

I knew I wouldn’t be camping again until the spring, and it was very depressing. It’s going to be a long winter.

I camped once before in 2002 with borrowed equipment, and it wasn’t the best experience. I waited until 2013 to try again, and I bought all of my own camping gear this time. This was my “practice trip” before heading out on a multi-day camping trip in Utah. I invited all of my friends, and I was lucky to have Karen, Mike, Julie, and a few other people join me for camping. A few even stopped by just for campfire chats and games.

It took me a long time to set everything up, even though I had practiced setting the tent up in my living room. It was definitely a huge collection of camping stuff, but when it was done I had the “Taj Mahal” of tents. I was going to be comfortable! I even had a refrigerator/cooler plugged in outside.

The tent spot where I camped was right next to the lake and my friends, and I would stay in that spot again. It was a KOA, so the amenities were nice. There was a path around the lake, and they rented paddle boats in fun shapes.