Several years ago we bought a camp trailer. It is a bunkhouse model with four bunk beds at one end and a double bed at the other. Between the two areas is a compact kitchen, dinette, and a bathroom with a shower. When we bought it we had only one grandchild, but we already had visions of camping trips with him. That grandchild lived 800 miles from our home, and having the camper also gave us a place to prepare meals and sleep as we traveled between our home and theirs. It also served as a guest room when we visited them. We stayed in our camper, while visiting their home each day.

Over the years, we’ve pulled that camper a lot of miles. Two years ago we pulled it to South Carolina and back - a trip of over 6,000 miles.

Prior to owning the camp trailer, we had a pop-up pickup camper and before that a pop-up tent trailer. We got our first RV, the tent trailer when our kids were teenagers. It got pulled a lot of miles as well. The pickup camper was heavily used during the years that our kids were getting established in their adult lives. During the summer of 2006, we lived in the camper for a month at a time during a sabbatical.

A RV is not the same as a home. There are all kinds of compromises to make the vehicle light weight and to manage the space. The RVs we have owned have all been short of floor space. Our current camper is the most luxurious. There is a center aisle in the camper that is almost 25 feet long. That means that there is over 50 square feet of open floor. That is a luxury when compared to our pickup camper which had a strip of linoleum that was two feet by eight feet as its only open floor. If one of us was cooking, the other had to be sitting at the dinette or lying in bed. The only other alternative was to go outside, which we did a lot. After all it was a camper.

Prior to owning a RV, we had a lot of camping trips using a backpack tent. It was small enough to fit into our car along with enough camping gear to provide a place to sleep and prepare meals. We’ve taken some epic camping trips and stayed in some very beautiful places. I admit however, that the urge to sleep on the ground, even with a good camping mat, has eluded me in recent years. One thing that I like about our current camping trailer is that the bed can remain set up with bedding as we travel.

Last week I pulled the camper out of storage at our son’s barn and set it up on the farm. It had been winterized, so I needed to connect it to water and flush the antifreeze out of the system. The hot water heater and refrigerator had to be started and we went through the camper giving it a thorough cleaning. Bedding was washed, towels were placed in the cupboard and the camper was even stocked with a few groceries. Our son has a great place to park the camper that even has a convenient place to hook up to their septic system to drain the holding tanks.

We prepared the camper for the visit of our niece and her family. They have three children and have come to help us celebrate our wedding anniversary next weekend. Traveling from Red Lodge, Montana is a big trip for their family and they decided to make the trip into a family vacation, so arrived early to take advantage of all of the tourist activities in our area. Our niece’s husband works remotely, so he will set up with his computer some of the days of their trip to work.

Their arrival means that there are now seven children over at the farm. That is more than the number of children in church school on some Sundays. The farm kids still have school for two and a half more days, so they have to get up and get going while their guests are on school vacation.

Having our camper filled with children is one of the joys of owning a camper. From the time we purchased it there has been a cabinet, between the bunk beds, that is reserved for toys. Our grandchildren all know about that cabinet, and now our great nieces and nephew know about it too. Susan is very good about selecting toys that are appropriate for the ages of the children who visit us. The cupboard is stocked from the toys that we have at our house.

We are finishing our Interim position at the end of July and one of the things we are looking forward to is taking a trip with our grandchildren. We’ll probably go somewhere relatively close. North Cascades National Park and Olympic National Park are both within an easy day’s drive.

I’m well aware that the camper is part of one phase of our life. I probably won’t be driving a pickup truck pulling a 25’ trailer a decade from now. There is a bit of work involved in caring for the camper and I know that each year I’m a bit less capable at accomplishing work. Our friends who own RVs all agree with us that the people who enjoy RVs the most are ones who don’t mind making repairs. There are always small things that go wrong when your living space is also a vehicle. I’ve learned quite a bit about trouble shooting plumbing and electrical systems. I’ve even replaced a sewer valve during a trip. It wasn’t my favorite job, but when I got done, the camper has a shower.

From time to time, I look at pictures of more compact campers. Perhaps we’ll downsize once before giving up camping. But for now having the camper with room for four grandchildren to sleep is a luxury that we intend to enjoy as much as we are able.

Maybe we’ll see you out on the road or tucked into a neighboring campsite. We’ll be the one with all of the kids who are eager to toast marshmallows over the campfire.