Unbeknownst to
him at the time, I was
secretly pinning vintage
camper ideas and
pictures on Pinterest.
I just fell in love with
the idea of a she
shed on wheels.
featured in the book. I thought to myself:
“How cool would it be to re-do a little
camper and use it as my she shed/
writing retreat?”
All I had to do was mention this idea to
Rick and he ran with it. He began looking
on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace
for old canned ham campers. It didn’t
take long before he found the perfect (or
not so perfect) camper just three hours
away near Chicago. It was a 1969 Camp-
Mor and when Rick showed me pictures,
I was excited. It was ten feet long with
the perfect canned ham shape. The next
day Rick and our daughter Megan set
off to pick her up. I sadly could not go
to meet my new camper since I had to
work.
When they picked her up and saw her
exact condition, Rick knew this was more
than a little project. As they made their
way down I-94, the side began flapping
in the wind! They pulled off at the next
exit. Stopping at a home center, they
temporarily fastened her side together,
so they could make it home. That day
I raced to get home from work. When
I took my first look all I saw was the
possibilities. This was going to be my
creative space. Rick, on the other hand
was thinking he was in way over his
head. Never having done anything like
this before, it sure was going to be a
learning experience.
Demolition began immediately. Everything
was removed. The only thing I wanted to
save was the turquoise sink and stove
top. Once that was completed it was
time to look at the underlying damage
to the frame. Probably about seventy
percent of the framing would need to
be replaced. Luckily the floor was in
excellent shape. The roof on the other
hand would need total replacement. One
of my favorite memories was watching
our neighbor come over and help Rick
roll out that huge roll of aluminum on the
roof. The side aluminum was fine except
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