Camper Door Modifications

We've made two modifications to the door to our fifth-wheel.  One was simply an install of a store bought item and the other would qualify as a "Macgyver".

In my opinion, one of the best mods we have made is to simply add a grab bar to the door.  I quickly got tired of pulling out the plastic, sliding middle piece that seems to come with all camper doors.  They are generally flimsy and I was always pulling it apart while trying to close the door.  The grab bar was purchased at Camping World and it has made a huge difference.

The other door modification came about because I am too short to open the door from the outside unless I am standing on the bottom step.  In addition, Rick didn't care for sliding the plastic door piece open every time you had to open the door from the inside.

Here is our VERY low-tech solution.

This is a piece of a wire hanger with a plastic tip on the end.  It goes through the side of the white plastic on the inside of the door and attaches to the door latch on the other side.  

I added a simple piece of twine to the outside latch so I could open the door from the outside while standing on the ground.  Before, I had to stand on the corner of the bottom step so I could reach the latch.

Here are some other camper mods we have made.

What Do You Do When You Go Camping?

"What do you do when you go camping?"  

The other day, someone asked me this question.  It got me to thinking that it would make a good topic for this blog.

When we go camping, we like to:

ride bikes

go fishing

walk

sit around a campfire

play games

cook outside

and just chill.

When we go to Oak Grove campground at Sardis Lake, most of the time there is a guy in a spot near the front who has one of the most elaborate set-ups for campfire cooking.  It reminds me of a chuck wagon set-up.



The main thing we like to do when we go camping is leave the "real" world behind (yardwork, housework, work work) and just be.

Oak Grove at Sardis October 2016

Yeah!!!!  Our first weekend of low humidity, early fall-like weather hit north Mississippi this weekend (Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2016).  Our camper has been sitting unused all summer and we were anxious to start camping again.  This weekend was an absolutely perfect weekend for it.




We decided to go to one of our favorite close-by spots, Oak Grove campground at Sardis Lake.  I have written about this COE campground the first time we camped here.  Previously I have had Fridays off which enabled us to camp on Thursday night-Sunday but I now have a full-time job so camping trips are a little shorter for me.  Fortunately, my husband was able to take Friday off so he set up camp, then texted me where to come after work.

This weekend, we stayed in spot #25.  This was a great spot on an outside loop with a large yard area with plenty of shade trees.  

With lots of mature trees come lots of squirrels, Sally Mae's nemesis.  She spent some time in campground "jail" (the pen) for running after the squirrels.

Right behind our spot was the driveway to the lower lake boat dock.  Just on the other side of the driveway is John Kyle State Park campground.  This is an unusual set up with a state park campground and a COE campground right next to each other separated by a boat dock.  




We never could figure out when "check-in" time was, but "check-out" time is 2:30pm.   

Each site has 20/30/50 amp and water.  There are no sewer hookups but there is a dump station at the entrance/exit.  There are 3 bathrooms with showers which are kept pretty clean.  The handicap shower has a showerhead with a hose that you can take off the wall.  




We really enjoy this campground and recommend it if you are thinking about camping near Sardis Lake.

Campfire Baked Potatoes

Some foods are permanently linked to camping like hot dogs and smores.  One of the things that we like to cook when we camp are campfire baked potatoes.

They are very easy to cook but they may take a while.  I usually cook these potatoes first, then cook whatever I want to pair with them (if anything) while the potatoes are kept warm in their foil wrappers.  Sometimes, the potato can be a meal all by itself.

Campfire baked potatoes can be cooked in an actual wood campfire or a charcoal grill.

I normally scrub the potatoes clean while we are still at home.  When I am ready to cook them, I wrap each

in a double layer of foil and place at the edge of the campfire or right in the hot coals.

Because the heat is so intense, these potatoes should be turned every 10-15 minutes.  I use heavy duty long-handled tongs to keep my hands away from the heat.  After about 40-45 minutes I will check for doneness by squeezing them slightly with a thick potholder.

These campfire baked potatoes are the best baked potato I have ever had!

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!

Oak Grove Campground at Sardis Lake

It's ridiculous that it has been so long since I have written in this blog.  We have been camping several times since I last wrote, mainly at South Abutment campground at Arkabutla Lake and Oak Grove Campground at Sardis Lake.

Back in the fall of 2013, we camped at the state park (John W. Kyle) at Sardis and saw the Oak Grove campground right next door.  The two campgrounds are separated by a boat launch ramp and dock.  Kyle is a MS State Park while Oak Grove is a COE.  

We found that we really like Oak Grove.  There are plenty of shady spots and most pads have plenty of room between them.  

The access to the water is great and this campground is very popular with fishermen (& women).  The first time we stayed here, I kept seeing huge fish come out from under the dock when I put my bait (worm) in.  But they wouldn't take it.  I played around with it a little and made it seem like it was jumping around.  One took it and nearly pulled me off the dock.  It snapped my line and got away :(     

All sites have water and 30/50 amp electricity.  There is a dump station at the entrance.  There are 3 bath houses that are kept pretty clean.  

This campground does not take reservations, it is strictly first come, first served.  It operates on a self-pay system with the camp host coming around and checking every evening.  Since it is first come, first served, we try to get here on a Thursday before it starts filling up.  This worked out well, but Memorial Day weekend 2016 we ran into a problem.  We checked the state park next door several weeks ahead of time and found that they were booked up.  So, we decided to head out to Oak Grove on Wednesday, May 25 to get ahead of the weekend crowd...Wrong!  There was not a single site to be had on Wednesday :(  This campground is close enough to home so we just came back and decided to spend the Memorial Day holiday at home.

If TV reception is important to you, this isn't the place for you.  We could only pick up the public tv stations out of Oxford.  My Sprint service did not work well here, but Rick's C-Spire service did.

Nature Station at Land Between The Lakes

The U.S. Forest Service runs a Nature Station at Land Between the Lakes.  When we were camping at Hillman Ferry, the Nature Station was one of the attractions we visited.

The Nature Station consists of indoor exhibits (similar to what you might see in a museum of natural history) and an outdoor area with plants and animals indigienous to the area.  When we were there in mid-to-late May, many of the flowers were in full bloom and the backyard area was beautiful and tranquil.

We arrived shortly after the center opened at 10am and were able to see the bobcat being fed as well as the groundhog.  The groundhog was found by a woman when it was a baby and she thought she would try to keep it as a pet - not a great idea.  Same with the bobcat.


 As a result, both have no natural fear of humans but do associate humans with food, which can be dangerous.

The groundhog's enclosure goes 3-ft underground so that the groundhog can dig tunnels, as is its nature without popping up somewhere outside of its pen, like the bobcat enclosure.

We found this attraction to be very informative and relaxing.  We enjoyed it immensely.