Thanks Eric

On Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 6:02 PM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi David,
>
>         I just read your trip report.  Great write up with realistic info.
>
>         My 84 came from a couple in their early 80’s they used it for
> decades, basically living in it for half the year and then on a boat the
> other half.
>
> But, they found a European small camper for the time they spend in Europe
> and it was modern and more comfortable and even had better gas mileage.
> Only problem, it is not available in the US.  So they use it half the year
> and are hoping to find something like it in the US.
>
> I’m enjoying every vanagon season I can knowing they don’t last forever.
>
> Glad you had a nice trip.
>
> Eric
>
>
> > On Sep 29, 2024, at 11:57 AM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Just got back from the first camping trip in a while.  These are getting
> > less often as Bonnie and I age (I'll be 80 in February).  We went to
> Sheep
> > Creek, a Washington Department of Natural Resources campground about 5
> > miles from British Columbia north of Colville, WA.  The van did extremely
> > well, no problems whatsoever with anything on this some 300 mile round
> > trip.  The camping was more difficult than I anticipated for reasons of
> our
> > age related infirmities.  Just all the lifting and moving things about.
> > And sleeping.  Like most our age, we have to get up in the night.  The
> bed
> > just requires more effort to do that than home beds, with the AC console
> > above and the need to crawl in and out.
> >
> > I intended to fish, as Sheep Creek is a great trout stream.  But, it is
> > high gradient, and I found that the rubble and boulders made wading
> > difficult, even dangerous for me now.  But the stream was beautiful, and
> we
> > saw seven American dippers, birds that frequent rocky and fast flowing
> > streams.  They walk about in the water, diving under and walking on the
> > bottom, where they forage for invertebrates like caddisfly and other
> insect
> > larvae and snails.  A pair of them were feeding fledgelings in a nest
> under
> > the campground bridge, a very late nest.
> >
> > The first couple of nights there were no other campers, but two other
> > groups showed up on Friday night.  Kudos to Washington Department of
> > Natural Resources for the excellent campground conditions, including a
> > sparkling clean vault toilet, a well with a hand pump for potable water.
> > The campground was full of large but second growth mixed conifers,
> > including Ponderosa and lodgepole pine, western larch, Douglas fir,
> grande
> > fir, and western yellow cedar, as well as both paper and western river
> > birch.  A few of the Ponderosas and cedars were nearly 3 ft diameter,
> > nothing giant, but healthy appearing trees. The understory included
> > huckleberry, though of course no berries this late in the year. Rocky
> > Mountain maple was also abundant as understory.  We saw old but still
> > fairly clear mountain lion tracks along the trail on the opposite side of
> > the creek from where we camped.  Signs stated that lions and bears were
> > active in the area, and to remain vigilant.  We also saw where something
> > (bear?) had torn into a ground yellow jacket nest.
> >
> > Well, we probably will need to switch to a camper that is easier to use
> > than the Vanagon.  After all these decades, there are things that just
> make
> > us old folks have a hard time, especially the bed.  We definitely won't
> go
> > back to tenting, and no motor home or trailer for us, but we may get a
> > better fitted out van, but one that can still negotiate back country
> roads
> > like that into Sheep Creek or typical FS roads.
> >
> > David McNeely
>
>