Campers Come In All Shapes and Sizes

Rick and I prefer to stay in public campgrounds (state parks, COE campgrounds, US Forest Service campgrounds) rather than private ones.  We prefer the spaciousness and outdoor recreation activities at these type of campgrounds.

In public campgrounds, there is no telling what kind of campers you will see.  One of the things I like to do when we walk around the campground is find older and/or unusual campers.

It is not unusual to see older bumper-pull and fifth wheel campers, especially with window air conditioners.

Sometimes, we find older model motorhomes that were considered state of the art luxury in their day.

At Blue Bluff COE campground, this great boxy travel trailer was parked next to us.  It's hard to distinguish, but it was ALL chrome on the outside.

We spotted this retro camper at Wall Doxey State Park.  Love the wing  and hubcaps!

You have probably seen your share of tiny campers,

but this one probably ranks up there as one of the smallest I have seen.  Parked in front of this one was a new or close to new speed boat.

Every one in a while we come across these type of campers that have a top piece that pops up.

I don't know about other parts of the country, but here in the southeast U.S., it is not unusual to see a school

bus being used as a camper.  Here is one we saw at Paul B. Johnson State Park outside Hattiesburg, MS. 




Sometimes, it doesn't look like it has been modified at all.  We spotted this one at John Kyle State Park at Sardis, MS.

But my favorite, hands down was one we saw at Pickensville COE in Alabama.

This pretty much says it all!

Our Home When We Leave Home

The first time Rick and I went camping (many years ago), we camped in a tent.  It was in beautiful Fall Creek Falls State Park in early spring and even though we had an air mattress and a portable heater, it was very cold at night.

Year before last, when we started talking about going camping again, we decided that our bones couldn't take sleeping on the ground anymore so we bought a camper.  It was a basic no-frills model that was easy to pull with our F-150 truck.



After a few camping trips, we realized that our little camper was a bit too "no-frills" for the way like to camp.  With no slide, we were always squeezing past each other (and trying to step over the dog).  Once we bought a larger truck, an F-250 Super Duty, it was logically time to upgrade the camper :)

A few months ago, we traded in our basic model for a new 5th wheel.  After looking at several floor plans, we decided that the Keystone Laredo 289SRE was very well-suited for our needs.  It has a rear living area with 2 slides that are opposite each other.  When they are both pulled out, there is a tremendous amount of room.  We also discovered that a 5th wheel camper has a lot more storage compartment space than a bumper pull.  

We picked up our new camper in November of 2012 and we only had a chance to camp in it one time before we had to winterize.  We are chomping at the bit to get out in it again.  Here are some more pictures of the Keystone: