MY COUNTRY LIFE

Several years ago Cliff and I saw a used popup camper alongside the road at the end of someone's driveway.  The owner told us what we needed to know about it, and we brought it home.  I've always loved camping.  Cliff, not so much.  But he was really into tractor shows back then, so we'd take the camper and go.  We saw shows in Minnesota and Kansas, and several in Iowa.

Cliff isn't really big on camping at the state fair, either.  But he'd take me and various grandchildren to Sedalia at fair-time, set up the camper, and leave us for a few days.

I've lost much of my enthusiasm for camping as I've grown older.  Cooking a meal in a cramped space when the temperature is 100 degrees just doesn't hold the allure it once did.

So I didn't object when Cliff suggested we sell the camper for $500 on craigslist.  He hosed it off and instructed me to take a picture.

Then we set it up.  Cliff took the shop-vac and cleaned it up while I started unloading all the stuff we've kept inside it:  lawn chairs, buckets and dishpans, silverware.  The night case containing toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and shaving cream.  And half-a-dozen cardboard Missouri-State-Fair fans.

"If anybody buys it, we may as well let them take the porta-potty,"  I said.  "We won't be needing it."

Cliff didn't answer at first.  A few minutes later, he said, "You know, if we just used this a couple more times, it would be worth keeping it."

And we started talking about fun times we'd had with the camper.

I guess we'll keep it.

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• #13 Comment from mutualaide 
  7/2/07 5:46 PM | Permalink

  We've done all of our camping on the ground  in a tent with air mattresses on occasion but as often as not they'd go flat!  I'd always dreamed of having a popup camper but just recently I decided a Bed & Breakfast will work just fine!
  
  But, oh, even our tents hold so many memories of fun weekends and weeks and very cold baths in the Swift River in NH.  
• #12 Comment from magran42 
  6/24/07 11:23 AM | Permalink

  I'm so glad you decided to keep it!
• #11 Comment from ryanagi 
  6/24/07 12:49 AM | Permalink

  I went camping in a pop-up just like that one once. But I am wracking my brain trying to remember why, when, and who with! Hmm... All I can recall is that there was a hole in the screen on one window and I got et all to heck by skeeters.
• #10 Comment from plieck30 
  6/23/07 11:59 PM | Permalink

  Cute little camper even though I've never been into camping. Hope you get to go. Paula
• #9 Comment from randlprysock 
  6/23/07 3:07 PM | Permalink

  I wish we had one!!!!  Looks like fun!  My dad had one when we were little and I remember sleeping on quite a few campouts in it.  And it was good for putting relatives in it too when they came to visit if there were a lot of visitors all at one time.  Hugs,
  Lisa