The plan all along was to buy a new fiberglass trailer.
One of the issues has always been that doing so requires picking it up
at the manufacturer’s location (Canada, South Carolina, northwestern
Minnesota). On the other hand, used fiberglass trailers are very
expensive and sell very quickly. For late models, people are selling
for the price of a new one because waiting lists for new ones are
currently nine months or longer.
When a 2001 Scamp 16 came up for sale near Appleton, WI at a
reasonable price, I jumped all over it. The seller received other
offers, but I was the first to show up at his door. I towed it home
yesterday, and it is safely tucked away, waiting for its next
adventure. Even new fiberglass trailers end up needing some work, and
this fifteen year old trailer will be no exception. I was able to
confirm that the refrigerator and air conditioner work, but I will need
to de-winterize it and test some of the other mechanical systems.
We plan to replace the carpet with vinyl flooring, add solar, and
repair a door seal that seemed to let water in on the way home (it was
storming). I’m sure other issues may come up, but that’s part of the
journey.
My 2012 Ford Escape had a towing capacity of 3500 pounds, a tongue weight capacity of 350 lbs, 4 pin wiring, and a 1 1/4″ hitch.
Towing capacity is fairly self-explanatory. If the trailer weighs
more than 3500 lbs, fully loaded with gear and liquids, the Ford Escape
could not safely tow. Additionally, one has to factor in the gear and
people added to the Ford Escape. The tongue weight is the weight that
is on the trailer tongue that attaches to the Ford Escape. Four pin
wiring is the kind used for small utility trailers or boats. All of the
trailers that i have looked at require 7 pin wiring, part of which is
the wiring for trailer brakes and to charge the trailer’s battery.
Finally, the smaller hitch receptacle size was inadequate for using a
weight distribution hitch, recommended for smaller tow vehicles like the
Ford Escape.
I could have made the Ford Escape work-probably. However, it would
have required modification/expense to change over the Class 1 hitch to a
Class 2 hitch, change the 4 pin wiring receptacle to a 7 pin
receptacle, and to add a weight distribution hitch which redistributes
the weight of the trailer over the weight of the tow vehicle. Even
after those modifications, I may have been pushing the towing limit
after factoring in water tanks and holding tanks.
For safety reasons, I decided to upgrade. The 2013 Nissan Crew Cab
below has 6100 lbs towing capacity and a 7 pin receptacle. It’s a bit
of overkill, but that isn’t a bad thing. We will have the flexibility to
add solar panels, batteries, bicycles, and not have to worry about
filling up with water or waste.
The first new vehicle that I purchased was 1986 Nissan pickup. We
took that truck on all kinds of adventures across California where we
lived at the time. In some ways, it just felt right to go back to a
Nissan truck for the next round of adventures.
After another peaceful night in the Ford Escape, I was up by 6:15
a.m. and ready to start the day. The sunset last night overlooked the
Mississippi River. Below, the sunrise was peeking up on the Wisconsin
River. There was still a chill in the air, so I decided to delay coffee
and breakfast, getting in an early morning hike.
Less
than 100 yards east of my campsite, the Old Immigrant trail left the
Ridge Campground and descended down the bluff through dense hardwoods
and crossed a small stream. Here, the trail followed the river.
As I hiked through the deep woods next to the slowly moving waters,
my first thought was that I was lucky to be hiking before the official
start of mosquito season. The weather had been cool enough that no
bloodthirsty flying attackers were aware of my presence. My body is a
natural magnet for mosquitoes. I sauntered along the river bank,
knowing that I would be unable to do so without heavy DEET repellent
assistance in just a few weeks.
After 2.6 miles, the Old Immigrant Trail turns uphill (present signs
called this subpart the Indian Trail). About two-thirds of the way up
the bluff, I turned and followed the Sentinel Ridge Trail east back
towards the Ridge Campground. Just before reaching the top, there is a
side trail leading steeply back down for a short distance to the
Treasure Cave.
I’m not a cave lover, but i was curious to see the trail leading down
to the cave and perhaps would step a few feet into the entrance. The
trail down was worthwhile and included a natural stone opening that was
striking.
Unfortunately, as the third thumbnail photo above indicates when you
click on it, the cave itself is closed before May15 to protect bats
threatened by White Nose Syndrome. I just wish the sign had been placed
at the top of the steep trail rather than the entrance to the cave
below. Turning back uphill, I followed the Sentinel Ridge Trail back to
the concession area and Ridge Campground. Here, I took some time to
prepare breakfast (scrambled eggs with goat cheese and warmed corn
tortillas), washed down with a pot of coffee prepared with the French
press.
A number trails that cross through the interior of the park and away
from the river. However, I am a sucker for water views, so I eliminated
those from consideration for my second morning hike. After breakfast, I
headed back out on the Sentinel Trail and followed that trail west and
then south as it followed the bluffs above the Mississippi River. This
trail is 3.2 miles round trip and is not a loop. The Sentinel Ridge
Trail ends at the bottom of the bluffs at the park boundary. From here,
I crossed the railroad tracks and walked a short distance to the boat
landing, which is part of the federal wildlife refuge on the Mississippi
River.
A dock leads out to a fishing platform where a fishermen worked two
poles. I plopped my butt down on the blacktop near the boat landing and
settled in to watch the river roll on by. I saw a pair of bald eagles
fishing also. These were not the only bald eagles that I saw. This
area boasts a large number of year-round bald eagles, which have started
nesting again. Numerous turkey vultures also fly along the bluffs.
I wish I had photographic proof, but i have given up on taking photos
of birds with my Iphone camera. The bird “dots” in the photos don’t do
justice. The effort in capturing the bird dots was outweighed by my
unfettered joy in simply watching these birds soar.
I crossed the tracks and headed back up the bluff. Five minutes
after leaving, another train rolled by. Trains are much easier to
photograph.
I
hiked back uphill and then followed some interior park trails that
meandered back to the campground. The mileage total for the day was
over ten miles.
That afternoon, I finished my C.J Box novel and started reading the
parts of the Wall Street Journal that I had not yet used to start
fires. It was a warm, windy afternoon. A family with an energetic,
noisy and unleashed dog set up a large barrel-shaped tent on the very
edge of the buff of the adjacent campsite. They immediately left for
several hours. That proved to be an unwise choice, as the high winds
ate their tent up and knocked it down. Returning in the early evening ,
the family packed up and went home.
Not entirely sad to have my part of the bluff to myself again, I
dined on cheeseburgers fried on the backpack stove and washed down with
Dogfish 60 minute IPA’s. My legs were pleasantly sore and tired.
Shortly after sunset, with nothing left to read, I turned in early and
slept well again.
In the morning, I made coffee and a quick breakfast of eggs and
toast. Breaking down camp was easy without a tent to pack up and with
my sleeping bag already in the car. I took the slow way home, which was
to follow Hwy 60 along the Wisconsin River. Passing through Sauk City,
the loons were migrating through on the river. The photographers were
out in force with huge telescopic lenses. I pulled over and simply
enjoyed the view.
After a short stop at the Grant River Recreation Area, I continued meandering north on the Great River Road,
mostly on Hwy 133, until I reached Governor Nelson Dewey State Park. I
could find only a few short trails on top of the bluffs here, which I
hiked quickly. Then I found a picnic table and made breakfast,
consisting of French press coffee, fried eggs and toast, all prepared on
my little Coleman backpack stove.
I brewed the coffee with home roasted Brazilian from Thursday
morning. I was lazy and ground for french press before I left.
Coarsely ground coffee stales more slowly than finely ground coffee, due
to differing amounts of oxidation (less surface area exposed for
coarse). This cup tasted particularly good in the crisp morning air and
brisk wind on top of the bluff.
My intended destination was Perot State Park north of La Crosse, but I
never got there. Continuing on the Great River Road, I found myself at
the entrance of Wyalusing State Park, just south of Prairie du Chien,
WI. I’m not sure if I ever visited this park before, but I immediately
fell in love with an available campsite on top of the bluff. When I
found out that there were more than ten miles in hiking trails also, I
booked the campsite for two nights.
Wyalusing is a historically important park Below these bluffs, you
can see where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi River. On May
17, 1673, Father Jacques Marquette’s expedition left St. Ignace,
Michigan at the northeast tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The
men followed close to Lake Michigan’s shoreline into Green Bay and then
entered the Fox river, which empties into the Wisconsin River near
Portage, Wisconsin.
They continued to canoe to the place below, where
the train now crosses. On June 17, 1673, Father Marquette wrote:
“After 40 leagues…we happily paddled into the Mississippi with a joy I am unable to make known.”
Today,
these trains run frequently, all day and all night. On of the
advantages that my Ford Escape has over a tent is soundproofing. I
slept without any interruption both nights of my stay. I like the sound
of trains, just not when I’m trying to sleep.
These bluffs also mark the Passenger Pigeon Memorial. A memorial plaque states:
“Dedicated to the last passenger pigeon shot at Babcock,
September 1899. This species became extinct through the avarice and
thoughtlessness of man.”
That
afternoon and evening, I read the latest C.J. Box novel from my chair
at the top of the bluff. I dined on ravioli with butternut squash, and
French bread with goat cheese, washed down with a tin cup or two of
Rodney Strong’s Cabernet Sauvignon. The sunset was amazing.
Reading blog posts and watching Youtube videos about rv and van
life, one of the things that gently shocked me is that people sleep
overnight in Walmart parking lots. For years, many (but not all)
Walmarts have made their parking lots open to motor homes and travel
trailers for overnight stays and sometimes longer. For people who like
Walmarts, I suppose it has some advantages. A parking lot stay is
cheaper than a campground. Security keeps an eye on the parking lot.And if you need something, it’s just a short walk across the parking lot
to a Walmart.
But it’s not just motor homes and travel trailers. Some people stay
overnight in converted vans, mini-vans, or (gasp) cars. Online, I’ve
seen some fascinating conversions of cars as small as a Prius that have
been converted into tiny camping vehicles with beds. That made me
wonder if my Ford Escape could be set up for camping. Thanks to the
Internet, I found that it’s been done before. The back seat of a Ford
escape partially folds down. But if you remove the seat part of the
back seat, it folds down all the way flat. By sliding the front
passenger seat all the way forward, I actually have room to stretch out
my 5’11” frame comfortably on top of a thick foam sleeping pad.
Now you might think I’m going to tie the above two paragraphs
together and admit to sleeping in my car at the local Walmart parking
lot, but you would be wrong. Though I’m not overly fond of Walmarts, my
wife has an intense dislike of Walmarts, and she would literally hold
it against me if I ever overnighted there. In fact, when I first
mentioned that some people camp in Walmart parking lots, she almost lost
it and said:
“We…will…never…camp…in…a…Walmart…parking lot.”
So, anyway, back to the story. I planned a weekend of camping and
hiking along the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin, but I couldn’t
leave until after supper on Thursday night so that Julia could take over
care for Justin, our son in a power wheelchair. I didn’t really see
the point in paying for camping on Thursday night. I would be setting
up in the dark and not able to enjoy the park at all on Thursday, except
for sleeping. It seemed like a good time to try stealth sleeping in
the Ford Escape, especially because predicted temperatures were in the
high 20’s.
Because I wasn’t going to sleep in a Walmart, I got online to do some
research. Surfing over to freecampsites.net, I learned that the Mystique Casino
in Dubuque, Iowa has allowed RV campers to overnight in the past.
Unfortunately, the Mystique changed its name to the Q Casino, and I
couldn’t find any recent reports that camping was allowed after the name
change. The last report was four years ago. I decided to take my
chances.
After arriving at the casino parking lot around 8 p.m. I circled
around a bit to see where the other “Rv’s” were parked. Unfortunately, I
didn’t see any. There was an area of the parking lot in the back
(towards the river) where several semi-trucks parked. I moved far
enough away from the trucks so that I couldn’t hear or smell the diesel
engines, and backed in close to the dog kennel fence (there’s a dog
racing track here too), so that people couldn’t walk behind my Escape.
Then I walked into the casino and enjoyed myself for a couple of
hours. I had a pretty good steak sandwich with fries, accompanied by two
Saga IPA’s, brewed by the Summit Brewing Company in St. Paul,
Minnesota. I walked around, watched people play roulette, poker, and
slots. After a stop in the nice indoor bathrooms, I quietly slipped into
the back of my SUV.
It was 29 degrees when I woke up at 6:30 a.m. No wake-ups by
security. I parked far enough away from the crowd that I didn’t hear
another person all night. In the morning, my front window frosted up
(on the inside). After a couple of minutes of scraping, I headed back
across the bridge to Wisconsin.
A few miles up the road, I found the Grant River Recreational Area,
which includes an Army Corps of Engineers’ campground along the
Mississippi River. It was so peaceful and quiet. My mind felt at ease,
as I continued my weekend on the Mississippi River.
Last week, I traveled with my son to New Orleans for the high
school’s band and chorus trip which takes place every two years. While
the rest of the students traveled in coach tour buses, we made the trip
in the wheelchair van. A bus with a
wheelchair lift was a possible option, but taking one of those buses
would have increased the trip’s cost for each student (fewer seats due
to the lift). In the end, I’m not sure that it ended up any less
expensive for the school district, given that our mileage expenses are
to be reimbursed, but perhaps it was a way to shift costs from the
students to the district. I actually didn’t mind that much. I like to
drive, and I prefer the van to a large noisy bus.
Day 1:
We got up early on Monday morning and drove
to St Louis, where we toured the City Museum during the early
afternoon. Unfortunately, while the museum was accessible, many of the
activities were not. The primary city architect exhibit was closed, so
the main attraction were different slides and tunnels that are not meant
for power wheelchair users. The next scheduled stop was a shopping
mall with a huge food court. Justin and I elected to skip that stop and
get a head start towards New Orleans.
We made it past Jackson, Mississippi to a rest area around midnight.
While I’ve camped in many different places around our country, this was
my first “overnight” at a rest area. It’s not something that I would
probably repeat in a car, unless necessary.
Day 2
At 4:30 a.m., Justin woke me up, saying it
was time to get back on the road. Within five minutes after I started
driving, Justin fell back to sleep again. We drove until about 6 a.m.
and then stopped at a Waffle House for eggs,bacon, potatoes, and grits.
After filling up with food, we felt much better and made it to New
Orleans by 9 a,m. We joined up with the students on the buses at around
9:30 a.m.
The first stop was St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and was actually one of
the highlights of the trip for Justin. Our tour guide was an older
African-American woman who took a quick liking to Justin and tucked him
under her wing for the entire tour. The most interesting thing I
learned on the tour related to the year and a day rule for New Orleans
cemeteries.
Bodies are buried above ground in New Orleans due to the high water
table. For the first year and a day, bodies are placed in wooden
coffins and then are stored in drawers intended for that purpose. This
is essentially a composting system. Exposed to high temperatures and
humidity, the bodies break down over that period and become much
smaller. After the year and a day, the remains are removed from the
coffins and placed in the final resting place. In this way, many bodies
can be placed in a tomb. The coffin drawers are then reused. Very
green, and they’ve been doing it this way for many years.
The
tour concluded with Justin (now nicknamed “Speedy”) giving the tour
guide a big hug. Justin might protest a bit, but he is a kid that likes
being in the limelight.
We then walked down to the French Quarter, passing Bourbon Street and
ending up at Jackson Square. The Fried Oyster Po’ Boy sandwich at
Stanley’s was terrific.
By 3 p.m., we were finally able to check into the hotel in nearby
Metairie, LA. It was a good thing. Justin’s wheelchair did not receive
its normal overnight charge, so he was literally running on electric
fumes. We rested up for a few hours, recharged, and then enjoyed a
nondescript meal at Hard Rock Cafe with the rest of the group before
going back to the hotel for much needed sleep.
Day 3:
On Wednesday, Justin sang with his choir at a residential facility for assisted living and memory care.
During the afternoon, the choir sang at a local episcopal church and school.
For dinner, we enjoyed more fried seafood at Mulate’s Original Cajun
Restaurant. A Cajun band entertained afterwards, and many of the kids
danced in front of the stage. Accessibility here required some
ingenuity. Justin was able to access the bathroom by rolling through
the restaurant’s kitchen as workers pressed up against the wall to let
him through.
Day 4:
The high school band was supposed to perform
on Thursday morning near Jackson Square, but we were rained out about
the time the buses arrived. Then it was back to the hotel for awhile
until it was time for the swamp tour given by Cajun Pride Swamp Tours in
Laplace, LA. Because it was still raining, we swapped the electric
wheelchair for a folding manual chair bungee corded to the inside wall
of the van. Fortunately, one of the boats was accessible via ramp. It
was tight, but we rolled to a spot right next to the captain.
On the tour we saw several large alligators that the captain drew
right up next to the boat by generous baiting with marshmallows. He
basically fed them right out of his hand when they got close enough.
The captain showed us the nicks on his hand, which occurred when he
wasn’t quite quick enough. It was very entertaining. Justin was able to
hold a baby alligator that was passed around inside the boat.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos, leaving my camera behind in the
car due to the heavy rain.
In the afternoon, the rain stopped in time for us to tour the Oak
Alley Plantation. Only the first floor was accessible. Justin and I
were able to cruise around the grounds and view the slave quarters.
That night, we enjoyed dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
restaurant back in New Orleans. My food wasn’t that great, but the kids
had a good time.
Day 5:
This was our last day, so we checked out of the hotel in the morning. We then toured the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA).
There were some interesting pieces, but Justin and I were done with
it after 45 minutes. We then spent a couple of hours enjoying the sunny
weather at the adjacent Sydney and Walda Bestoff Sculpture Garden.
After eating lunch at the nearby Courtyard Cafe (Justin had alligator
sausage, and I had crawfish etoufee), we toured Mardis Gras World where
artists design and build floats for the next Mardi Gras. We were asked
not to put photos online so as not to spoil next year’s parade.
The trip wrapped up with the Nachez Steamboat Dinner Jazz Cruise. We
weren’t sure if the boat was going to leave without us due to a freight
train stopping on the tracks, blocking access to the boat. After a 45
minute wait, the train finally started up again, allowing us to board.
The food was good, and the views were fantastic. It was a great way to
end the trip.
