Staycation

A couple of months ago, we decided we wanted a get-away without the travel.  We wanted a staycation - a stay-at-home vacation spot - right in own own back yard.

At first we looked at Airstreams.  The older ones needed lots of work - more time, energy and money than we wanted to invest, and the newer ones were very, very spendy.  With their silver skin we thought upkeep might be like polishing the silverware drawer.

Then we remembered Hal and Helga who lived near Canon City.  They parked their two-door Prowler Travel Trailer in full view of the Wet Mountains and commuted from Denver as often as they could.  Over the years, they built a large great room complete with wood stove and giant windows.   It was like living outside in the winter with tremendous views while staying warm and cozy.  And they had lots of room for entertaining while being compact, too.

We loved their setup immediately, but we have such busy lives that we didn't want to travel that far on a regular basis.  And we didn't need everything they had.

A couple of months ago, I found an old Prowler Travel Trailer in Longmont, and on my next free day went to see it.  It needed some TLC.  The awning arms didn't work, and I negotiated with the dealership to fix that at my price.  The required safety inspection found a propane leak that was fixed on their nickel, too.

We were to pick the travel trailer up in September, but that got pushed back to early October.  When that date arrived it was raining and spitting snow in Denver - no time to practice our travel-trailer driving.  In addition, the ground on the north side of our property was too soft for parking it.

By last Saturday, all issues were resolved, and we were off to the dealership.  We paid our money (one must pay cash for old travel trailers) and purchased a towing ball that fit the trailer.  We hooked it up with some gerry rigging as the height of the ball on the truck was considerably higher than the receiver on the trailer fully extended.

Finally we were ready to head home, and we took least traveled roads.  At Our Place we taught ourselves a thing or two about placing the critter where we wanted it.  Then my hubby secured it.

Leveling comes later.

More on our staycation adventures...