Getting it ready to go on a trip was more a matter of going through things, cleaning things really well and figuring out how things work. We also installed the dog crates.
We saw it Wed., paid for it Thurs. and brought it home Thurs. night. We got the temp. tags and cleaned it on Fri. Sat. we had the emissions test done and got it prepped for the first trip.
Off we drove Sat. headed toward the national forest to a camp ground we had seen. It turned out to be full so we drove right into the forest to find a place to dry camp. It was pretty late in the day and the sun was setting as we meandered through the back roads of the national forest in search of a place to park. It took a bit to leave the areas with houses but once we were in the forest we encountered fairly well groomed, narrow roads. Up, up, up we went. I was starting to get worried as dusk was setting in. Would we find a place?
Finally we got to a rise where there were other campers and lots of spots. Thankfully there was one that fit our RV and it was level enough that we could use leveling blocks to get us straightened out. It even had a fire pit. We were the only RV there. Everyone else was using tents or pull pop-up type campers. Not even a fifth wheel. The road was steep and windy to get there but not that rough except a few spots and even those were no problem for our Brave.
I got a puppy containment pen for the dogs so we didn't have to leave them tied up to get all in a tangle.
They look less than enthused about it. But when I had them in the RV they were whining to get out so I told them that this was their best option.
That night we went for a hike down the road. It was dark by that time but there was enough moonlight to get by. After a simple dinner, since we hadn't stocked up on RVing groceries, we went to bed. Unfortunately the night was marred by a thoughtless group playing heavy metal music, screaming and lighting off firecrackers well into the night. One of the other groups yelled for them to be quiet but they clearly had no intention of being polite. Luckily the firecrackers didn't seem to bother the dogs so we all tried to sleep anyways.
The next morning we headed up the mountain for a hike.
It was very pretty. For those with Jeeps there were quite a few nice campsites on the way up.
The view from the top was excellent.
Me and the pups.
What goes up must go down...
After the excellent mountain work out I stuck to the roads for my explorations.
The views were still pretty.
Lots of roads to explore.
This is the view from the dinette while in our campsite. While there were others around they weren't nearly as close as those we saw at the official campground. After most cleared out in the morning I looked at the other sites. There were at least two others we could have gotten the RV into. One would have been tough to get out of. A third was down a spur road that only had one impassible hole. Max offered to bring a shovel and fill it in as it really was an excellent very well isolated site. Far from everyone, level and had a fire pit.
Eventually we had to head home. The views on the way out were gorgeous. We stopped for lunch by a stream.
The dogs at lunch.
The view from the RV during lunch. Bubbling water. I'm glad I stuck to my guns and got an RV with a dinette. It is going to be very handy for eating meals along the way. The dogs decided that when we said, 'time to get in the crate' we really meant run to the back and lay on the bed. They would much rather travel on the bed than in the crates. I think it is because they can't see out. They travel in a crate in the car and have no problem getting in there. Overall they seemed to really enjoy the trip. They really enjoyed the hikes. Sunshine did well with the RV riding. We may give Blossom some ginger as she seemed to get a bit motion sick.
All the systems in the RV that we used worked well. The only thing we should have used but didn't know that we could was the furnace. I didn't want to turn the generator on and disturb the other campers. As a result we didn't use the furnace. Turns out it works off propane so we could have used it to stay warm at night. We had plenty of blankets so were not too cold but I wouldn't have minded it a little warmer. I also learned that the back of the bed is the coldest spot in the RV. I needed my winter hat to keep my head warm against the back wall/window.
Today I get the license plates and sign up for a storage lot. Max is going to dump the sewer system. :-)
