We made our first 'official' trip in the
Scamp with a trip to Louisville State Recreation Area in Nebraska south of Omaha over the holiday weekend... and we had a great time.
It was initially myself, my wife, and my youngest son... however, my daughter and her boyfriend joined us later... although they stayed in a tent on our site.
The
Scamp performed nearly flawlessly... the window AC kept the interior ice cold during Sunday when temperature approached 90. The only slight bug-a-boo was a moment when the hand pump stopped pumping. I eventually got the bright idea to place my finger over the water outlet and created some suction which eventually got the water going. Not sure if this means I have an air leak somewhere.
Aside from that, everything worked wonderfully. We used a new Coleman grill outside to do most of the cooking... using the stove inside to cook a couple of side items where required.
Our new 15" LCD tv got nice reception from the Omaha area... which was good as we suddenly found ourselves needing to monitor the weather Sunday evening. Storm clouds approached and a line of 70 mph winds eventually passed through, tossing tents and tree limbs everywhere. Fortunately, the
Scamp held it's ground. It was this very storm front which ultimately produced the killer tornados which struck Iowa and Minnesota... so we were very lucky. During the rain which followed, all 5 of our camping party took refuge in the Scamp (comfortably).
Most people going to Louisville are focusing on the fishing (although we did do some swimming on Sunday)... and the same was true for us, catching everything from bluegill to large mouth bass and a late night cat fish.
It's not a bad spot to camp for a weekend close to home. I should add we thought it was kind of funny we ended up getting a pad next to what must have been the most expensive RV in the park... one of these quarter million dollar 40 some odd foot buses.
Next Wednesday, we'll be going on a 4-day trip at Ponca State Park in northeastern Nebraska (near Sioux City, Iowa)... and at the end of July we'll hopefully be ready for a 7-day trip which will include
the Black Hills and the Nebraska Star Party in the Sand Hills of north central Nebraska.
A few pics...
Gradually adding
weight with new accessories, yet Element is still pulling with ease
The family (well, minus my oldest son who will be graduating from high school this week)
Another angle
Christening of our Coleman Roadtrip grill