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Old 10-24-2018, 07:22 PM   #1
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RVing is Fun???

This past Friday the forecast was calling for freezing temperatures and a possible hard freeze so I got online to find a campsite for the last few nights of camping for the year and a place to winterize the fifth wheel. I was able to book three nights in a full hookup site at the Cuivre River State Park beginning Sunday the 21st. This isn’t my favorite state park because it’s hard for a crewcab truck with a big fifth wheel to back into the campsites.

Sunday we were at the park and set up in our campsite by 1:30 PM. We drove up to the campground office to buy firewood only to find out they were sold out. On the way to the park we had passed a place selling firewood so we drove there and got a lot of firewood for three night of camping.

Back at our campsite I unloaded the wood, and finished our setup, welcome sign, party lights, etc. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so we sat outside enjoying the weather and the outdoors until dinner time.

That evening after dinner I went outside to start a campfire. As I bent over the firepit I felt water on my neck. What the heck, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I looked to my right and lo and behold right next to our water spigot a geyser of water was spewing from the ground.

Oh NUTZ! I rounded up the campground host who put in a call to the park superintendent. By now it was almost dark. When the superintendent looked at the situation he informed us nothing could be done until the Monday morning and we would have to move to a different site. There was only one water shutoff valve and it cut the water to the entire campground. The geyser would have to discharge water all night. Here’s a photo I took the next morning.



By the time we had closed up the trailer and hitched up it was pitch black in the campground. Backing into the new campsite was an exercise in futility for me. After numerous attempts and thousands of curse words I finally got our rig into the campsite and my frustration level was very high.

Finally in the site we leveled the trailer, unhitched, and began hooking up utilities again. And then I tried to plug into the electric box. What the heck? The 50 amp electrical outlet was upside down. Although I have a 30 amp adapter I was in no mood for rummaging around to find it and I was extremely PO’d anyway so I plugged into the 50 amp outlet anyway.



After opening our slideouts I went outside to get something and missed the bottom step and fell onto the concrete narrowly missing the picnic table. When you’re 73 years old falling isn’t a good thing. I lay on the ground for a few seconds assessing my body for broken bones. HA! I was OK and the only injury was a small scrape on my elbow. There would be no campfire tonight.

The rest of the trip was perfect, beautiful sunny days and we had two great campfires at night. Today winterizing the trailer went without a hitch and it is now on the storage lot for a winter’s sleep.

I can’t make up my mind if I still think RVing is fun. Perhaps I’ll try again next year.
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:30 PM   #2
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Sometimes the stars just line up against us lol.
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:41 PM   #3
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Sorry your campout went that way...

I think we've all had those that just don't go the way they are supposed to.

I had a similar time a few years back where everything I did to get setup just didn't go right.

But, I learned to always check cord and hose lengths...make sure to check to see if there is enough room to put the slides out...and even making sure there is power at the pedestal...all before unhitching after just such a Friday night adventure!

Oh...another one...learned this one back in the tent camping days!

NEVER show up to a campground after dark when it is raining when you have to set up a tent...

Found a rather large red fire ant hill directly under the tent the next morning...and they found their way inside!
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:46 PM   #4
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Did they have to shut down the water line for a whole section because of that main break? Had something similar happen at a small KOA we were at one weekend last Fall. They had to shut the water off to the entire park. Fortunately they were able to get it fixed within a couple hours.
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Old 10-24-2018, 07:55 PM   #5
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so all ended well?
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Old 10-24-2018, 08:10 PM   #6
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You what they say Bob, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
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Old 10-24-2018, 08:39 PM   #7
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The rest of the trip was perfect, beautiful sunny days and we had two great campfires at night. .
The 'rest of the trip' is what makes rving worth it.
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Old 10-24-2018, 09:08 PM   #8
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Crap it all to hell. Sorry you got pissed on and beat up. Glad you were able to salvage the rest of the trip.
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Old 10-24-2018, 09:15 PM   #9
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Just Think, when you get Old You'll have a Great Story to Tell.
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Old 10-24-2018, 09:41 PM   #10
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So, I guess no repeats?


You're lucky it was the fresh water! Earlier this year I was at an RV campground that I had never been to before. We had to go there because our choice where we had reservations was being shut down temporarily due to a forest fire. We took whatever spot was available. My first task is to hook up the electricity for the fridge. Completed that then went for the dump hose. I opened the dump cover and gooey chet comes running out of the ground! Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.
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Old 10-25-2018, 05:41 AM   #11
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Did they have to shut down the water line for a whole section because of that main break? Had something similar happen at a small KOA we were at one weekend last Fall. They had to shut the water off to the entire park. Fortunately they were able to get it fixed within a couple hours.
Yes, when maintenance showed up to make the repair the water supply to the entire campground was shut off. Before that happened the campground hosts went around informing everyone the water would be turned off for a couple of hours.
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Old 10-25-2018, 05:42 AM   #12
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You what they say Bob, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
So true.
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Old 10-25-2018, 07:09 AM   #13
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Earlier this year, we were at a local spot for the weekend when someone in a huge Montana 5ver came pulling in around 10:30pm. He too was struggling to back the trailer into the spot in pitch black conditions. Several of us were watching when we decided to help the poor guy out. We all jumped into our trucks...6 of us and we drove around and positioned our trucks...3 on each side...with lights on. This gave him the light he needed to see the pad and he put the trailer right on the spot he wanted. Feels good to help someone in need.
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Old 10-25-2018, 07:12 AM   #14
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You what they say Bob, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
"Except Bears. Bears will KILL YOU."
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Old 10-25-2018, 07:24 AM   #15
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RVing is always fun to me. We were camped in Riveredge in Pigeon Forge for the past ten days and to say it was tight was a understatement. The camper beside me built his campfire three feet from the side of my camper. Needless to say it was my last time camping there. The reason I booked a campground spot there was the trolley, I thought my granddaughter was coming along, she didn’t. We look for campgrounds that don’t have campfires or at least not very tight. Nothing wrong with a campfire as long as it is closer to your spot than my spot. Oh well only three nights with campfires, the other seven great. I love camping with a RV
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Old 10-25-2018, 07:38 AM   #16
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Some days are diamonds and some days are coal! We don't RV where there is winter weather. Backing in with a big fiver or trailer can be hard at times and we don't do it in the dark. I am only 69 but some times I feel much older and I am sure that it doesn't get better. Good Luck and I hope that it is fun for you.
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Old 10-25-2018, 08:09 AM   #17
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About age. This is what to ask yourself or for others. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were. The more I rv the better I feel
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Old 10-25-2018, 08:15 AM   #18
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Sounds like a CG problem and not an RVing problem. Put it behind you and keep enjoying the RV life.
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Old 10-25-2018, 12:06 PM   #19
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We look for campgrounds that don’t have campfires or at least not very tight. Nothing wrong with a campfire as long as it is closer to your spot than my spot.
Then you would love it out here in the wild wild west...that has been in a fire ban for several years now!

Took this from the patio of my old house in Boulder, CO a few years back...
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Old 10-25-2018, 12:46 PM   #20
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It became easier to say camping is always fun after we ditched the tent and went to a camper so we could sleep off the ground and have somewhere we could retreat to if it rains all day!
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