Rmbl-inn's First 100 Nights

Well our first night out was on my birthday in 2012 . We left Necedah and headed home for Seattle in our #524 550 Ultra in tow behind our 2012 VW Jetta Diesel Wagon. A Crazy part of this story is that we wanted a manual Jetta because VW wouldn’t approve towing with their diesel automatic transmission. So we ending up buying the VW (there were only 2 manuals in the country at the time and one was in Cincinnati) from a dealership there and we got them to put on the hitch and brake controller. We packed what we needed and flew to Cincinnati, picked up the car and drove to Necedah. It then took us 6 years to get to the 100 night mark – but since I was working full time, that means we averaged just over two weeks of teardrop camping per year – not bad. Now that I just retired, the average should increase.

As long-term tent campers (car and trail), our decision to move to having a real bed available but still be “camping” (not motor-homing) has turned out to be the absolute right decision. We love our CampInn TD. The first couple of weeks where a process of getting used to this new way of camping and tweaking things. Canopy, Pots & Pans, Storage, Shoe boxes, etc., but now it is like home, comfortable and cozy. I need to thank Evan and the Camp Inn Forum for all the tips and trips – quickly felt like family – especially after a couple of Northwest Camp Inn Camp Outs.

We have done short trips and long trips, long days on the interstate and one 100-mile day on gravel roads in Nevada, been on 4-wheel drive roads we shouldn’t have been on, visited national parks and state parks, camped on the street outside of friends homes and set up RMBLINN in our back yard for guests to sleep in. It just seems to always feel like home and cozy no matter where we put it. Maybe its because if feels like that fort that you built as a kid with blankets and chairs behind the living room couch or that tree house in the back yard – it just feels right.



Our 100th night was on the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado and it felt appropriate – very out of the way – most small RVs and tents. Next to us was a couple from Germany who shipped their Mercedes Van over to the US ($2500 each way) and spent 5 months touring the US. They explained that camping doesn’t look like this in Europe. And they are right – just returning from a week-long bike trip in Germany on the Mosel river – I have attached a picture of German camping - and one of the Black Canyon - US National Park Camping. So all you TD folks out there – take advantage of our wonderful county and all its parks and back roads and start counting towards that first 100 nights or for those that are already there, the second 100. Full timers – I know you are in a different class.



Some of the places that our 21600 miles have taken us….

Mt Rushmore NM, Badlands, Olympic NP, North Cascades NP , Arches NP , Canyonlands NP, Bryce NP, Wind Caves NP, Oregon Coast, Redwoods, Glacier NP, Napa Valley, and lots of less known spots.




Keep on CampInn.


Dave and Linda Kohlmeier

 

Nice post - you have visited some of my favorite NP's.