Our trial trip in the new Silvermine came 3 days after we got her home and just four days after she came off the Airstream line on March 11th! There was plenty of time to pack in all the camping equipment needed for our first run and I hurridly took a few pictures before we headed out for Findley State Park.The new trailer was still winterized, and we loaded in jugs of water to flush the toilet, wash dishes and make coffee. The vault toilets were open at Findley and some electric sites were open. That’s all we needed. It was beautiful and 70 degrees as we arrived at Findley State Park, set up camp and took the pups for a walk. But it quickly clouded over and Tom had to rush to get our steaks cooked on the grill outside before the rain cut loose. That’s OK – it was a nice excuse to stay inside the new trailer and try out some of the many new “systems” that we have! The choice of Findley State Park was strategic in that it is only 20 minutes from Lou and Larry’s house – Larry was lined up to help Tom install the new style hitch we had selected – the Pro Pride. The hitch had been delivered to our house and then stowed in the truck – it was a monster of a hitch with the purpose of eliminating trailer sway. Tuesday morning we made the drive to Lou and Larry’s for an afternoon hitch installation and an evening of camping in their full-service driveway! The hitch was a tedious and time-consuming install; Tom could never have done it without Larry, retired truck-driver, DIY mechanic, and Airstream guru. Starting at 10:30 in the morning they were mostly finished by 5:30, and both were exhausted. Wednesday morning there was one more minor adjustment made to the hitch before Larry took Tom off for a test-drive and practice backing session. Lou made us scrambled eggs and sausage, and fed and ready, we were on the road by 10:00. This destination was an Ohio State Park we had not visited before – Rocky Fork, just one hour from Micah’s house, and a 4 ½ hour drive for us. Electric sites down by the lake were functional, and a bath house was open. There were several other campers in residence, but a cold front was moving in, and the temperatures were going down. I initiated the oven with a meal of roasted Cornish Hens for dinner! Thursday morning we drove into the town of Hillsboro to visit Ohio’s oldest continually used Courthouse – built in 1832. Sadly it had been updated and chopped up in recent years and nothing of the original interior remained. In the courtroom you could see where the dome had been covered over during renovation. Even the woodwork in the courtroom was not original. Thursday afternoon back at the campground the clouds moved in and the temperatures dropped. Micah was coming out to eat with us and we took the easy way out and bought some KFC at the restaurant in town to heat up in the oven. Friday morning we headed for home, happy with the performance of the new trailer -- both living arrangements and towing. Not many pictures to document this trip, but I did get this one of the back-up system in the new truck -- makes it kind of hard to not hit the target the first time!. I'm still waiting for a "real" camping trip -- the kind where you camp just for the camping! That is coming up this weekend at Deer Creek State Park with old-time camping buds Alan and Carie from our TAB years!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |