An Experiment in Long-Distance Camping

In our everyday world, Mr. Ed (hubby dearest) and I have a winter environment that looks like this. Not quite what you'd picture as camping-friendly. We live in the northern part of Idaho, where it stays this way for quite some time.

So this year, as an experiment, we decided to try something that we hoped would help to make the winter pass faster. We hauled our vintage Airstream 120 miles away from home, to a lower-elevation RV park that stays open year-round. It's right along the mighty Salmon River, in some incredible Idaho country.

See what I mean? It's amazing in all directions.

 The trailer really serves as a cabin, and is warm and cozy in all weathers. At this locale, it's rare for the snow level to come all the way down to the river, but on one of our visits, it did. We didn't care. We just snuggled in and watched another movie instead of doing something outside.

Our latest visit coincided with Groundhog's Day, also the midway point of winter. Once there, we found a hidden pocket of spring.

It had been months since I'd been able to sit outside, soak up rays, and put something pretty out on a table.

I opened up doors and windows on the old girl and let her breath in some great fresh air under a perfect blue sky.

We walked along the river and scouted out little beaches.

We watched steelhead fishermen go by in their boats.

This was our first morning view out the back window of the Airstream.

By the time we had to drive back up to the snow country, we felt like we'd truly had a break and an escape.

Is the long-distance camping experiment working out so far? You bet--I'll even drink a toast to it!

First Post of 2013, Last Trailer Sleep of 2012

Happy New Year! We just love that clean-slate factor--don't you?

We have to say, though, that 2012 was a great Girl Camping year. Right down to the very end! For the last weekend of 2012, Mr. Ed and I got in one last trailer sleep by visiting the campsite where we're keeping our Airstream for the winter.

We'd started 2012 with a winter campout, so it only seemed fitting to end it with one.

We'd just come from 2-foot snow country, so it was great to be outside with a campfire, listening to the Salmon River go by.

By nightfall, we were ready to return to our now-warmed-up trailer...pour a glass of wine...and tuck in with some fun reading material. This new hardcover by Phil Noyes was a Christmas gift from Miss Shelley.

Here is a picture from one of its pages. Wow--imagine having that red and white Shasta when it was brand new.

It didn't take long for Mr. Ed's lights to go out. He didn't even bother to pull out the sofa or remove his cap.

The Little Man, G'petto, curled right up into his bed in the trailer's center cabin.

Nestled in with tea and remote control, I watched James Dean strike it rich in 'Giant.' The trailer has a small TV with video player, and I've been collecting classic movies to watch when I'm there. For about 50 cents apiece at garage sales and thrift stores, they make excellent low-cost entertainment.

We woke to a light snowfall that was all the way down to river level. You can see the snow on the rocks lining the Salmon, outside the Airstream's rear window.

It also collected a bit on trailers that belong to some of our fellow Sisters on the Fly members. We have yet to all be at the RV park at the same time, but we do look in on one another's trailers to be sure they are OK.

Note my tracks on the way to the shower! There also are some very nice modern RVs spending the winter at the same park as our vintage trailers.

I always sleep like a baby in the ol' Airstream, and the last trailer sleep of 2012 was no exception.

Now here it is, the first day of 2013, and I already have a recent trip to keep me going until the next one.

Life is good!

Camping Below the Snow Zone

Girl Camping Girl and many of her pals live in a part of the interior Northwest that definitely has icy, snowy, cold, and road-dangerous winters. Which generally adds up to trailers put in storage by the end of October and then a 6- or 7-month wait until they can come back out.

This year, a couple of us are trying something different, by taking our trailers to a campsite out of the snow zone, at a much lower elevation (Swiftwater RV Park at White Bird, Idaho), and leaving them set up there for use during the winter.

The climate change is dramatic because the change of country is dramatic. Here's what part of the elevation change looks like from river level (the Salmon, to be exact--same river running behind the two trailers above).

And here's what the elevation change looked like from the top of the 7% mountain grade we had to descend in order to get there. (Here's where you appreciate air brakes on your truck, and the best road-gripping tires that money can buy.)

We wound down to river level after crossing this long bridge over a canyon.

Then we got the trailers parked and settled in with about an hour of daylight to spare.

Next on the agenda:

A toast to our arrival in one piece!

We set out to meet some of the campground neighbors. They turned out to be hunters who were driven off a nearby mountaintop by too many inches of wet and wind-driven snow.

They stayed warm with the woodstove in their wall tent, and we stayed warm with the electric fireplace in ours.

It was pre-Halloween weekend, so we had to start our Saturday with a cup of the appropriate venom.

We put the Big Dog on duty.

Then we set out to do some local exploring. We found this sculpture, made of 'river junk' dredged up near old mining operations.

We saw fishing boats, both in use and tied up waiting for their next trips.

We found this monument to the cavalry troopers who died during the first battle of the Nez Perce War, in 1877.

Taking an alternate route back to the top of the highway grade, we marveled at the depths of the canyons in this part of idaho.

We drove back down along the river, where we encountered this sheepherder's wagon used as an overnight rental. It was adorable!

No shortage of local color, and the burgers were great, too.

Back at the trailers, we tucked in to watch 'Casablanca.'

And enjoyed a campfire (because what is camping, without one?)

With our trailers tucked into a neat spot for the next 5 months, we drove home without them (nice for going back up that grade!) Hugs, waves, and...

...we'll be back!