Adventures with the Scout

Morgan's camping pics

2011-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

MA - Nickerson State Park

2011-06-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

We met up with a great group of online camping friends for a weekend of fun. We were in site number 58 in area 4 at Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod. Nice big spot, but we had to turn around and hit it from the opposite direction of the one way road to get backed in.

This was our "last hurrah" with our beloved Aliner, as we have a bit bigger camper on order. Follow our continuing adventures in our new camper at: http://www.visaadventures.blogspot.com/.

Theo and Morgan chilling in the camper.

Theo showing off his "perfect marshmallow"...obviously he was so busy flitting from one thing to the next with his new buddies that he didn't have time to take off his bike helmet :)

Yummy ice cream at Cobie's off of the Cape Cod Rail Trail. What great sports they are there...he shows up in his Yankees hat and he got a bit of razzing, being Red Sox territory and all...but was aplauded for his courage so they gave him a little plastic Yankees cap that they serve sundaes in, that made his day!

Kevin and Theo got some fishing in...mostly sunnies, but they're fun.

And all three of us got some good kayaking in.

Theo came home with an unexpected souvenir - his very own kayak! Thanks for outgrowing it, Emma!

Theo and I got some geocaching in as well.

Our dear sweet Morgan relaxing. Sadly, this turned out to be her last camping trip...we said goodbye to our first baby, constant companion, and excellent hiking and camping pal on June 4th, 2011. After 14.5 great years her old body was failing her...we're thankful to have been blessed with such a long and wonderful time with her and she will be so sorely missed. May you be hiking neverending trails and chasing squirrels and chipmunks to your heart's content, my sweet girl.

The Scout - Exterior

2011-05-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Scout - Interior

2011-05-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

VA - Pohick Bay Regional Park

2011-05-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

On our way home at the end of February we dropped the Scout off in VA at Pohick Bay (they have monthly storage) since the snow banks were still surrounding our house and street and we we'ren't confident that we'd get her backed back into the driveway and garage. So she had a little vacation while we let the snow melt...and we got to go back down to Pohick Bay and DC!

We were on site #29 this time, next door to #26 that we had previously. We would ask for #26 again in the future instead. #29 was a nice site, but not the direct access to the playscape for T.

We had a beautiful day for the National Zoo.

And a not-so-beautiful day for hanging around at camp. Lots of games and cards, and good use of the little space heater. We used AC and heat in the same trip!

The boys got to play staue of liberty with the propane that was left in the lantern post...it burned for much longer than we anticipated!

FL - Disney's Fort Wilderness

2011-03-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

We were on site 2016. I had faxed a request for the 1500 loop again, but no avail. Still, we had a great time and our site was very convenient to an open space in the center of the loop with a tetherball and the comfort station. This is a view from about the tetherball pole looking at the back of the site.

And here's a view of the site from the road.

Some fun Disney days...opening up the Magic Kingdom and dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and Mickey and friends at the Garden Grill.

Theo and Grandma after getting soaked on Splash Mountain.

Kevin and Theo chillaxing and goofing off in the camper.

Kevin coming in for the finish in the Royal Family 5k...he's in the red and was in the top 10!

Theo coming in for the finish on the Royal Family kids' 1 mile race - he's in the orange shirt and light blue shorts.

And here's my perspective waiting for the Princess half marathon to start. Race time was at 5:45 and the boys were still snug as bugs back in the camper :)

Here I am running out of Cinderella Castle - what fun to run all around the Disney property and through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot!

Little Sink

2010-12-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

We've been talking about adding some sort of little sink for tooth-brushing before bed for some time now. Sometimes the bath house is just so far away after a nice glass of wine or beer around the campfire ;)

So after noodling on different options we finally came up with a solution - a mixing bowl that drains into a small, portable gray water container and a soap/lotion pump for the water source. We have our Cabela's camp kitchen for dishes, so this literally is just for brushing teeth and rinsing my fingers before handling my contacts...so a tiny amount of water is perfect. I'd say the pump container holds about 16-18 oz. And if we need to refill it every day, so be it...but during our prototype trial in the bathroom at home we were all three able to brush our teeth for two nights with the amount in the full bottle.

Viola! No winterizing or anything to mess with, but the convenience of a little spit sink!

VT - Silver Lake State Park

2010-09-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

We were on site #36. A nice long site above a tight curve in the loop, so it gave Morgan a nice perspective to see everything. The sites are all pretty much terraced in this pretty campground. A babbling brook runs between many of the sites (great for catching crayfish and salamanders.)

Another view of the site - from the road.

This park has a great day use area with a nice swimming beach.

Yes, Theo is climbing UP the pole - feats of strength!

Morgan was allowed everywhere in the park except the sand beach. And she really was getting around well!

We visited Sugarbush Farm for some agritainment. We took a maple walk and learned how they tap trees with hoses, tasted different grades of maple syrup, and tasted a bunch of different cheeses. Theo also fed some animals and met this calf named Paul. Morgan was allowed everywhere here as well, except of course the tasting room and shop!

VT - Woodford State Park

2010-09-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

We were on site #40, which was a small but comfy waterfront site. We turned the camper sideways for better use of the site.

The access to the water was pretty steep and a bit muddy by the shore, but still a great site!

A view of the lake from the camper's beach. The day use beach is on the left in the distance. Our site was somewhere on the right tucked in the trees.

Theo enjoyed the climber near the camper's beach. I think we'll look for a site closer to this area next time. Nice field for frisbee and a basketball hoop here too.

We drove into Bennington and visited the Battle of Bennington Monument.

Here's the view from up in the monument. You can see three states from up there - VT, NY, and MA!

NY - Fish Creek Pond

2010-08-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great site - #217, on the shore of Square Pond. The shores of Square Pond and Fish Creek Pond (connected by a small narrows area) are all edged with campsites at this big campground. As we biked around we decided we had one of the best sites (thanks to the help of fishcreekpond.com, I chose a good one when booking 9 months out!), although with almost all of them on the water you can't go wrong if you like boating and swimming.

We had a perfect little nook near the water to hang a hammock. Theo fell asleep in it two of the nights!

Take a look at this...now we're talking! A nightly ice cream truck - with real ice cream! Yeah, we'll be back to this campground for sure!

The boys enjoying their ice creams...and Morgan looking for any drips.

We enjoyed some nice sunsets, and the frequent visits by the ducks.

At night fellow campers all around the lake sing/shout "Yoo Hoo" across the lake...pretty cool tradition! While we were there we also heard live music across the lake - one night was a fife and drum and another night was a harmonica. Then at 10:00 when quiet hours started we heard taps on a trumpet every night...not sure if that's the park doing that or fellow campers, but it was neat.

Theo about to do a cannonball off of the kayak.

Morgan and Dad and Theo playing frisbee in the lake (Theo's on his hands...that's how shallow the lake was pretty far out)

On the way home we stopped in Tupper Lake at the Wild Center, a natural history museum. It was a beautiful museum! We enjoyed both the indoor exhibits and the outdoor paths and natural playground. We even did some geocaching here.

Theo's favorite exhibit was the glaciers and touching the big tower of ice.

While we were in the museum Morgan took a nap in the camper...we just popped up, put the fan on, and tucked her in...we were reminded of how much we love our Aliner!

CT - New London "Grape Escape"

2010-08-18T15:17:00.001-07:00

Another great visit with great friends in New London, this year we got to park our "turtle shell" near to Steve's beautiful garden.

Theo had a great time hanging out with his older buddy, Kent...and with Megan and Stephanie too!

Theo's out on the boardwalk checking out the "pirate ship" going by...after scrutiny with binoculars he decreed that it was not real since there were no cannons :)

CT - West Thompson Lake Campground

2010-08-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend at West Thompson - the weather was spectacular! Site #5 this time for the electricity for my dad's CPAP. Yes, we let them have the camper (with Theo and Morgan) while Kevin and I tented it.

Theo and Grandma on the trail.

We have started Geocaching...here's Theo sifting through some treasures in one of the caches.

Hitchin' a ride in the park's firewood wheelbarrow.

Great weekend for some paddling!

Theo and Grandpa doing a little fishing.

The crew played lots of games, including Cookin' Cookies.

NH - Moose Hillock Campground

2010-07-21T16:34:00.001-07:00

We had a great time here! What a great balance between woodsy, rustic, and natural mixed with amenities and meticulous grounds! We were on site #45, which was really convenient to get to the pool and playground (and near a bathhouse too.)

As far as we could tell, all of the sites had these great stone fireplaces.

Theo had a blast at the pool and waterslides...

Well, we all had fun at the pool and waterslides!

Morgan enjoyed lots of R and R. That AC in the camper felt nice! (our site had water and electricity)

Theo got picked to help out in Juggling Jim's show on Saturday night.

No caption required ;)

MA - Harold Parker State Forest

2010-06-01T18:35:00.001-07:00

Wow, the sites here are big! We were on #71, which was waterfront (about 100 feet or so to the water). This site was small compared to the neighboring site #69...definitely didn't feel packed in like sardines here!

The boys caught a few fish - among them this catfish.

Theo climbing trees.

The boys fishing - note the "scum" on the surface of the water - that was pollen. Definitely a benadryl and zyrtec weekend for us!

One of the times Theo "fell in" from the kayak.

He's starting to get the hang of paddling too.

But he also likes being chauffered around.

The park hosted a snake program that was wonderful. Here we are with an albino corn snake.

And here's Thebes with a boa constrictor.

CT - Brialee Campground

2010-04-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

We were at site 214 - a great location right on the water next to the beach area! The campground is less wooded and more commercial than we usually prefer, but the activities for Theo were awesome. It was a pirate themed weekend and he had a blast.

Here are the boys learning about real pirates and looking at artifacts.

Here Theo is learing how to play "sweat rag" - a game pirates used to play.

Theo did an activity where he got to sift through a bag of sand for "treasures" - which were lots of cool rocks and crystals.

Here's his favorite.

And there was time for non-pirate adventures...like choosing the right worm!

If Theo coldn't swim out to the diving dock, he had to figure out a way to get out there - renting a paddle boat was his solution!

Mom and T, and his new cap gun (did I mention that this place is more commercial than we're used to...a gift shop with cheesy toys and lots of candy - Theo could have spent hundreds of dollars there!)

The boys fishing.

Morgan found a great spot to chill out and watch the world go by.

And Theo found the big monster truck and play area to burn off steam.

We had a couple of great evenings for campfires!

MA - Wells State Park

2009-09-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

We had site #22, it was a convenient pull-through (there are many pull-throughs at this park). Nice and close to the a playfield and restrooms, but no direct access to the water. We liked it, but I think we'll try for a waterfront spot next time.

We got out letterboxing - lots of boxes in this park! We hit one series of two and a second single one. We'll save the other ones for future adventures.

Theo finding our first box, which was exciting because we got to use his compass.

Our second box. What's a boy to do while mom stamps in to the log book? Well, climb a tree of course!

CT - New London "Grape Escape"

2009-08-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

No official campground here - we had a great weekend visitng our friends Myra and Steve at their beach house (aka the Grape Escape) in New London and did the "camp driveway" thing in their driveway :)

Lucky for Theo - Ellie, Nate, and Jared were visitng for the weekend so he had buddies to play with!

The boys and a penguin at "Captain Scotty's"

It is so nice that Morgan was welcome (and got along swimmingly with the cats!) Once she settled in she really enjoyed the beach lifestyle.

And of course Theo was loving the beach!

VT - Little River State Park

2009-08-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

We were on site #12. It was a HUGE site, we honestly think we could have just about pulled a wide u-turn rather than backing in. We were close to the swingset and comfort station, but far from the beach and boat launch. We left behind the yaks since we had touristy plans anyway, but next time we'll bring 'em and camp closer to the water.

Theo's running around...who is he playing with?

Aha...one of the ultra-tame chipmunks! They seemed to enjoy playing with Theo...and trying to get into our food.

My boys playing checkers at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury.

Of course we had to stop and pose for a good old cutout photo op.

the boys on the Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Museum. Very cool steamboat, and very cool museum!

Theo also got to try out a motorcycle at the Shelburne. What an eclectic mix of collections.

And of course, we visited Ben and Jerry's - yum!

Storage for Theo

2009-07-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

We unscrewed the fiberboard covering over a dead section along the front of the camper and Kevin cut it to make an access door to the space. I then used my handy staple gun and attached some dollar store fabric containers to divide the space and keep Theo's "treasures" all organized.

Here's a shot of the space closed - Kevin put a finger hole in it so it can be opened more easily. We probably would have left the section out altogether, but since Morgan sleeps with Theo, we figured that we should cover it so she doesn't trip or twist a leg in there.

New Baggage Hatch

2009-07-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Since we've made our bed pretty much permanent in the rear, that back driver's side storage section has been very tough to access...thus was becoming wasted space. I ordered a hatch door off of eBay and we got brave and installed it. It really was an easy process! (especially with the right tools - thanks to our neighbor Joe and his jigsaw!)

A little nervewracking to cut into the side panel, but Kevin was a pro!

Theo enjoyed watching the blade cut through from the inside.

He also enjoyed inspecting the hole before the door went in.

Viola! It looks good and works like a charm!

Mariah Awning

2009-07-12T11:55:00.001-07:00

After meeting the Retrac family at G@TG and seeing their awning, we decided that the Mariah awning was the way to go for us. So we got in touch with both Dean at Mariah in Ft. Worth and and Danny at Danny's Campers. As luck would have it, Danny had one that had been installed on a camper in his inventory, but was removed at customer request for delivery - and was discounted because it wasn't technically "new" (althought it had never even been deployed) - DISCOUNT, we'll take it!

Here's how the Scout looks with the new awning installed. A little heavier for lifting the roof, but still very manageable.

Here's the new awning - we'll need to mess with pole height and tension, but we both agree that it is better than anything we would have concocted...and we certainly have been noodling on designs over the past year.

Another view - Morgan gives it the seal of approval!

CT - West Thompson Lake Campground

2009-07-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

We returned to the Army Corps of Engineers campground at West Thompson Lake for the 2nd Fourth of July weekend in a row with our friends Mindy, Shawn, and Leah!

I didn't take too many pictures since I forgot to charge the camera battery, but we had a great time and got out fishing and kayaking, and spent time chilling with good friends!

This time we had site #14, with great access to the playscape and comfort station.
Here's the view of the playscape from our picnic table. Theo and Leah played on it for HOURS. It was great being so close.

We checked out a basketball from the office and played some hoops - the hoop was just about the right height for Mom :) Still a little high for Theo and definitely too high for Leah. Daddy had no problem dunking on all of us!

Plastic bags filled with water (and pretend goldfish) and "collections" were one of the hits of the weekend.

Morgan, time to come out and get going home! She stayed in there the whole time I folded down and hitched up.

NY - Watkins Glen State Park

2009-06-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the PUX (popupexplorer.com) 2009 Gathering at the Glen (G@TG)! It was a whole lot of fun meeting fellow PUX-ers and the Glen was beautiful.

We had site #93 on the Mohawk loop, which is the only electrical loop and where the gathering was taking place. I think if it were just us going not for G@TG we'd forego the electric and camp in the Tuscarora loop - there is a primo playscape in the middle that we rode our bikes to.

Theo had a great time on the aforementioned playscape. There also was a great one near the pool that he loved. The playscape in the Mohawk loop is circa mom and dad's childhood, still fun...but the new ones were the clear winners in Theo's book.

Swimming was another highlight for Theo - this is the small...ahem...NOT baby pool. The other pool is olympic size and over Theo's head at the shallow end, after convincing him that he'd have a lot more freedom in the smaller pool we switched over and had a lot more fun.

Another highlight was the PUX pot luck...snow cones BEFORE dinner?!?!?

And here are some shots of our Gorge Trail hike. Simply amazing!

Yes...I was holding on very tightly!

A walk behind the falls and up the spiral staircase:

NH - Pillsbury State Park

2009-06-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

We had site #2, right on Butterfield Pond.
Great site, very isolated from the others and a beautiful spot on the water.

There must have been something tasty right by our shore, these geese visited more than once.

A far off view of the Scout from the next section of Butterfield Pond, looking back through the narrows.

On a hike out to said narrows Morgan decided to walk through the muck rather than take the little foot bridge...of course Theo had to follow suit.

The fishermen return - plenty of perch and sunnies out there!

Morgan was really enjoying the water, it must feel good on her old joints. (Despite being mostly lab, she's never been a big water girl.)

We saw several loons - here's one looking for breakfast.

And here he is taking off over the water.

Happy Campers. You can see my Christmas gift in this shot -a propane-powered hot shower and shower tent, this was the first chance we've had to use it - it was sweet :)

Theo and Morgan on the shore - we had a great weekend!

Washington D.C. Pics

2009-05-31T05:31:00.000-07:00

VA - Pohick Bay Regional Park

2009-05-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

We were in site #26. Great site, along the border of the playfield and close to the comfort station. It was recommended by Dale at Pohick Bay when I made reservations, and it turned out to be a great recomendation! This shot is from the edge of the playfield looking toward the road.

Here's a shot of the playfield and playground from the same spot.

Pohick Bay has a great little water park - discounted admission for campers - Theo LOVED it!

The campground is about 15 minutes from the Franconia-Springfield station of the DC metro - so easy to go in for sight-seeing!

We took a nice bike ride a couple of times to and through nearby Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Really nice paved trails and a great climber at the end for T t play on. Over the course of a few days we saw deer, a weasel, lizards, a turtle, a big bug (like we saw at the Smitsonian Natural History Museum), and lots and lots of squirrels. We also heard tons of songbirds and a barred owl.

RI - George Washington Management Area

2009-04-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

We had a great inaugural weekend for 2009 - we couldn't have ordered up better weather - 70's and 80's (...in April! ...in New England! ...yippee!!)

We had site #26, which had great access to the water (Bowdish Reservoir), and great breezes coming off the water.

We were treated to a great sunset on Friday night!

Time to make S'mores - notice the stack of graham crackers...that was before Morgan noticed them...they weren't around long! Oops!

Everybody say "Ooooooooh..." Kevin got a decent fireside shot with one of the specialty modes on the camera.

The trails had several little bridges like these, Theo loved them. No luck letterboxing, though - one of the clues required tree identification, too tough for us without the benefit of leaves yet! We'll have to try back later this summer.

Check out the dudes on the kayak off in the distance...

...hey, I know you two! But where are the fish??? No luck - too early in the season yet, cold and clear water...and an impatient little boy.

Another angle of the site. This is a big site! Nice access to the water, but very open - right around the corner from the boat launch area and beach so there was a bit of traffic since it was such a nice weekend. A little too much sun exposure too, I think we'd pick another site next time.

Another great sunset on Saturday night (and loud neighbors that went home after one night!) Ahhhh, what a lovely evening.

FL - Disney's Fort Wilderness

2008-12-08T15:31:00.001-08:00

We were on site 1510 in one of the partial hookup (electric and water) looops. Great site, we'd love to get it again sometime. We were right alongside a grassy area along a waterway.

Kevin was able to fish every day and had some good luck with lots of little panfish. Theo helped on the first couple of days, but then Grandma and Grandpa came and were a little more exciting in their "bus" (class A motorhome) - they were on the next loop over and we could walk along the waterway to get there.

Theo enjoying a Mickey Bar at Thanksgiving at the Fort (mom and Grandpa loved the desserts too!)

We had a fun (but chilly!) time at Chip and Dale's campfire sing-along and movie!

We rented a canoe and had a great time paddling around the waterways.

We were so glad we brought our bikes - Fort Wilderness is BIG, we were glad to have them for getting around as well as just for getting out and about.

SC - Colleton State Park

2008-12-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

We just stayed here one night on our way down to FL, but it was a nice little park. The front gate closes at 7:00 p.m. - literally closes and locks! We got in around 7:30 p.m. Yikes! Thank goodness for the very kind and helpful fellow camper that came along with keys (apparently he stays enough to have his own set of keys!) - he let us in and escorted us to our site and made sure we were all set...that's southern hospitality for you!

We didn't take pics because it was so dark when we got in and we hit the road early, but we had a nice pull-through site really close to the comfort station and it was also right by an activities cabin and access to a small river - seems like this is a really buzzing spot in the summer season.

NH - Pillsbury State Park

2008-08-05T06:05:00.001-07:00

We had site #14, which is right on the water and very large. This park is just beautiful!

We had some great wildlife spotting - here are a pair of loons that were around quite a bit over the course of the weekend. We also saw a group of 4 otters barking at us as they made their way up the lake.

Theo and mom hanging by the lake.

We got out letterboxing too - Indiana Jones was our trail leader! Followed by his trusty Morgan.

And of course we got a lot of fishing time in. Lots of sunnies and perch...and weeds - Theo enjoyed hooking weeds almost as much as catching fish!

CT - West Thompson Lake Campground

2008-07-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is an Army corps of Engineers facility - very nice! Its a small, well kept campground with 24 sites - we were on site #16, which had the playground and bath house pretty much in our "back yard". This site was an awesome location and we'd choose it again in a second.

By the end of the weekend Theo had mastered the lumberjack log roller (with a little coaching from his new friend at the next site over- Mitchell, who is 8).

The Blake family came to visit for the day - Andrew and Matthew and Theo had a great time hiking, rock climbing, taking turns on Theo's bike, playing at the playground, and making s'mores.

We got a chance to go letterboxing too! Here's Theo pointing out the hiding spot for the box we found.

Morgan had a great time hiking too - we're pretty sure we heard her say "I've still got it!" We did bump up her Rimadyl dose both Friday and Saturday nights ;)

After finding some worms on Saturday night, the boys went out fishing on Sunday morning and Theo caught his first fish!

VT - Silver Lake State Park

2008-06-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

We had site #35 - plenty big for the Scout, our friends Mindy, Shawn, and Leah's tent, and a screen room. Good thing we both got canopies/screen rooms this year - that coverage was handy for the rain we had on Friday night and Saturday evening!

Great park with a really nice day use area with a beach, playscape, rental canoes and kayaks. They are also dog friendly and Morgan was allowed to go anywhere except the sand swimming beach. The lake is small and only allows non-motorized boats. It was even warm enough to swim!

Theo and Leah had a blast playing at the playground!

T was so happy to get a chance to ride his bike all over...the terrain was pretty hilly, so Daddy got a good workout pushing him up the hills.

Both Theo and Morgan totally zonked out - all of that fresh air and playing took its toll!

New Wallpaper Border

2008-06-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

The stickers were falling off from the heat and humidity - they just were a no-go since they were self-ahesive and removable...just not sticky enough. So we went with a "real" wallpaper border. It is a series of vintage looking outdoor signs.

Tongue Box and Plug Guard

2008-06-18T19:54:00.001-07:00

Adding this tote locker involved moving the battery forward and Kevin built a platform to attach the battery and the tote to, and to take up the space between the existing L brackets that we weren't going to use once we moved the battery forward. We still want to clean up the wire ties a bit to make it look cleaner. We also got a Plug Guard to protect the 7 pin plug when it isn't connected to the tow vehicle. We had already noticed a bit of corrosion from all of the rain and humidity we've been having, so this seemed really logical.

Dollar Store and IKEA Finds

2008-06-18T19:25:00.001-07:00

This is a little LED light that goes on when the door is opened (there is a second piece that is on the door, which is a magnet). A mere buck!
Because there are times when we leave the door open, I fashioned a magnet-on-a-ribbon that allows us to keep the door open but have the light off.
Also in these pics you can see the magnet stip from IKEA (also I think about a buck) - this strip couldn't fit any more perfectly on the side of the cabinet. Almost like it was made for this space. Affixed with double-stick foam tape.
Also from the dollar store (Dollar Tree) are these metallic windshield shades.

They affix with suction cups and cover the majority of the bubble windows - this will keep the camper cooler on hot sunny days.

Interior Decorating

2008-06-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

We covered the floral cushions for the front dinette with a soft suede-like fabric. This is my temporary fix, so I just folded the fabric around and attached it to the cushions using upholstery screws. When I feel more patient I'll actually sew some covers...maybe this winter (or next since I'm really happy with how these turned out).

We replaced the rear table with 3/4" plywood - it gave a little too much flex alone for our taste, so Kevin added some cross beams underneath to make it more rigid (probably overkill, but it makes us happy!) I added a little bed skirt of sorts to keep the underneath storage hidden - using the same fabric as I did for covering the cushions and affixed it with a staple gun.

I also added my Dollar Tree removable wall stickers - what a great find! I also ordered some of the same fabric that Mom K. and her friend Marcelline used to make us our great personalized pillow cases - I plan to make some throw pillows and maybe get Mom K. to collaborate on a quilt or "quillow" :)

Interior Shots

2008-05-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some interior shots of the Scout. The fabric on the cushions is hideous (no offense if you love it...) and I plan to re-cover them for the front dinette toot sweet.

We plan to make the rear dinette/bed into a permanent bed by replacing the folding table with a piece of plywood. That will allow us to use a couple of underbed plastic storage bins stacked up for our clothes storage and will allow us to enhance the cushions with some sort of cushy mattress pad or memory foam.

Other than that we don't have too many mods in mind. We're finding plenty of storage space for our needs and we inherited some of Grandpa Ken's plastic organization containers that makes the space even more useful.

PA - Parker Dam State Park

2008-05-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

Nice park, campsites are a little open and close, especially those with electric. The non-electric sites looked a little more our speed with more tree cover and growth between sites. That said, it was very quiet and we had a nice stay.

We were on site #68 which was very convenient to the gorgeous comfort station that looked to be brand new. It even had a nice laundry room and a large commercial grade double sink for dishwashing.

IN - Indiana Dunes State Park

2008-05-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great campground and a great park. It is really amazing to take a short hike through the woods and get to sand dunes then the beach (Lake Michigan). Very cool. Nice facilities here, too. We'd love to spend more time here.

We were on site #110. The sites were close to one another, but a decent amount of growth between the sites makes them fairly private and the tree canopy makes it feel very woodsy. The neatness of the park and facitities is very Disney-esque.

MN - Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Campground

2008-05-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

This was a nice campground with easy access to the Twin Cities - it is about 5 miles away from Kevin's sister and her husband in Hugo.

Unfortunately it was right in a major hail storm and tornado path the evening of May 25th. A mere 4 miles away families completely lost their homes to the tornado and a small child was killed. Amazingly, the Scout came through with just a couple of pock marks on the diamond plate from the hail. We're certainly counting our blessings. Note the hail on the ground in the "frosty" picture - this was a few hours after the storm had come through. And still a little hail remained on the ground the next morning when the clear shot was taken.

We were in site #24, which is a pull-through site (neither of us wanted to try backing at our first site). We didn't spend too much time camping since we were visiting our many family members and friends in the Twin Cities - but the sites were big and pretty well spaced for nice privacy.

Picking up the Scout

2008-05-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

We ordered our Scout from Danny's Campers in Westfield, WI and picked it up May 24th, 2008 on our way to Minnesota to visit family and friends. Theo had a great time checking out all of the compartments.