Yep, I did say “car camping.” More on that in a bit.
It kinda feels like forever since I’ve done any traveling… except that it really has been a long time since I’ve taken a trip. Like, eight months. Michael and I had planned to go to Thailand in May of 2020. But then, Covid cancelled everything. (At least we got our money back for the plane tickets!)
Instead, in July of 2020 I blew a week’s vacation relocating from California to Bentonville, Arkansas. Covid prevented much of the exploring I could have done for the rest of 2020. We managed a short backpacking trip on the Ozark Highlands Trail in January of 2021.
In July we bought a house, but the search began in February. The effort was pretty much all-consuming. I mean, I lost count of how many offers we made that were rejected. Even our lending officer felt bad for us!
We did sneak off to Las Vegas for a few days to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary in August. And yes, it was screaming hot in Las Vegas in August. It’s why the hotels were so cheap. When we landed at McCarran airport on a Thursday at 10 in the morning, it was 113o out. We became almost completely nocturnal and even then, walking around downtown felt like baking in a very large oven.
Anyway.
At my job, Christmas is the busiest time of the year, and generally speaking vacations are not allowed after October 1st. After the Vegas trip the HR manager reminded me that I’m still sitting on a large pile of vacation hours. Also, there’s a cap on the amount of vacation hours that will roll over into next year.
Well. Next year Michael and I are going to try again for those for 2 weeks in Thailand, so I want to roll into 2022 with as much vacation as possible. But the idea of a nice solo trip (Michael is teaching full-time) lodged in my head and just wouldn’t leave. A short September trip it would be! But where to go?
I could have hiked that same section on the Ozark Highlands Trail, all by myself. Unplug for a few days. I haven’t backpacked solo before so that sounded like a great challenge. I even picked up a guidebook from the library. Here’s what I learned: Worst time to hike the OHT? August. Second worst time? September (due to a combination of still-hot temperatures, horse flies, and spiders). So that was out.
Next option was Pensacola, Florida. Tons of places to camp nearby, and I could go to the National Naval Aviation Museum (yes, my plan was to visit every single day). But then, on August 29, hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm. So pretty much the entire gulf coast was out.
About 2 weeks before I left I decided on New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. I’d never been there before, it sounded amazing, and I could get there in a 2-day drive over a weekend. So as to not eat up too much vacation time, I decided to work for the first three days of the week from my hotel room in the town closest to the Park: Beckley, West Virginia.
I did not take Taco Negro for this trip. Believe me, the decision pained me greatly. I love that truck. Love sleeping in it, living in it. But the reality is, the truck gets terrible gas mileage. I was not going to need the high clearance or the 4WD. And the wooden storage platform in the bed – you know, the place where I sleep – has black mold on the bottoms. The platform has been in place almost continuously since 2016, and through all imaginable weather, so the mold was not a big surprise. Buy who wants to sleep next to that? Ick.
Eventually I’ll pull the platform out and build a new one. That will make a good future post!
But this trip was taken in my little blue Honda Fit. With a tent.
Now, it’s been years since I car camped in a tent. Three days before departure I pulled out our pile of tents from the garage. Michael and I both worked for REI once upon a time, so yes, we have a collection. Imagine my dismay at realizing that each tent is at least 10 years old, and that the waterproofing on each rain fly was beginning to delaminate (or had already done so, in the case of my once-upon-a-time very expensive Black Diamond Vista 3 tent). When that waterproof layer goes, the treated surface gets sticky. And smelly. It’s also no longer waterproof.
Basically all of our tents need a new rain fly. Except they are so old that most of them (looking at you, Black Diamond Vista 3) have been discontinued. Luckily our backpacking tent, an REI Half Dome, was still in good-enough condition.
Also luckily, I had everything else I would need to car camp, so getting the rest of my gear together was short work. I planned to stay at established (paid) campsites, and could therefore expect a picnic table, level ground, and at least a pit toilet at each site.
Saturday morning I loaded up the Fit and headed out. My first stop was not far from Peducah, Kentucky, a place called Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Lots of options, as this place is over 170,000 acres. The weather was hot and muggy but the Nickell Branch campground ($10, cash only) was mostly empty and the sites were right on the Columbia River. I even got to watch a pretty sunset.
Making dinner that night I definitely missed having a tailgate to work on. And when I crawled into the tent sometime after dark, I remembered that you can’t level a tent like you can a vehicle. The sites at Nickell Branch were not level and every time I woke up that night (which was often, it was hot and humid) I’d find myself slumped into a corner of the tent and have to readjust.
But overall it was a lot like riding a bike. No disasters stuck. I considered Nickell Branch a good trial run, and since I’d be spending the next 3-4 nights in a hotel, that would give me a comfy space to figure out how to improve my next foray: New River Gorge National Park!