CAMPFIRE | IN THE DARK AND IN THE RAIN
it would have enough fuel because this thing wasn’ t lighting any time soon.
After 30 minutes, two boxes of matches, and two lighters, I remembered what the nice man at the RV store told me“ Ya gotta purge the gas line before you try to light the pilot – otherwise, you will be at it all day.” At this point, my brother in law commented about the vein throbbing on my forehead as the kids ran into the brand new camper with muddy shoes and our wet, muddy dog.
When the water heater was finally lit, I realized that the awning was still in the bag. And there was a pool of muddy water right in front of the camper door. I remembered reading about unzipping the bag BEFORE you raise the roof and made a mental note for next time. IF there ever would be a next time; because, at that point, I was seriously contemplating the Holiday Inn just down the street, and demanding a refund on the camper that just ate up my savings.
So, I sat inside the dry, but muddy, camper, fired up the furnace, and enjoyed an adult beverage with my brother in law. I went from being in the dark and in the rain to a nice cozy refuge. I marveled at how much fun the kids were having. We all went to bed with the rain pounding the roof of the camper and I prayed that nothing else would go wrong during this trip.
At 8:00 a. m. I awoke to the sound of a babbling brook, birds chirping, and my beautiful daughter snuggling next to me. The sun was shining and the rain was
gone. I thought to myself,“ This isn’ t so bad. I can do this again.” And that is where all of the fun camping memories began.
We continued to camp in our Coleman Utah for 3 seasons, logging 20 nights a year in the camper, and have a ton of great memories that will last a life time. When we moved to a travel trailer, we sold the pop-up on E-Bay. As we signed over the title, I started to well up. I felt like I was losing an old friend. This trailer that caused me so much grief that first night was now going to live with another family in Ohio. As I waved goodbye, I thought about all the great camping trips we took as a family. Except, of course, for our first outing – in the dark and in the rain.
Our best sales team:
John and Karen, Chalet Aspen Owners
Meet John and Karen. They love their Chalet’ s 30- second setup and fuel-efficient towing— so much that they tell everyone they meet about their Chalet. But in case you don’ t run into them, check out our Web site.
Travel Smart. Travel Chalet. www. chaletrv. com
30 Autumn 2009 |