The first night in Rodeo Capri camper and I slept well. I’m already sure it’ll fill my needs, because all I asked was to have an enclosure to sleep in that would keep the rain and other weather outside, have all the conveniences of the tent, so I’d be amidst the natural world, be a place where I could put my stuff where it would stay til I was done meandering, and I wouldn’t have to set up and tear down at each place I went. That’s the real downside of tent camping and in a tent is real camping, not in an RV.  I would learn how to use and operate the stove, refrigerator, water system, and shower.  The kitchen is on the driver’s side (single sink, two burner propane gas stove and propane or electric powered small refrigerator that keeps ice cream hard and ACBs cold).

I’ve installed a work station made from an old fish trap and onion crate on the other side where I use my computer powered by a solar panel and at the rear is storage space and the shower stall. Cabinets are beneath the appliances and against the ceiling on both sides. The windows give plenty of visibility to watch the natural world. A collage of my travel photos and nautical maps covered with lattice work adorned with shells, stones and remembrances of places that I’ve been are on the walls and personalize my nest. There is adequate space for one person, but if two ...  they better really like one another! The bed is a large piece of foam rubber and is located over the trucks cab and needed no instructions; it was warm, and comfortable, so it worked.  That was the key.  All I want is things to work.  It’s nice if they work well, but not necessary, but I knew the camper had that potential and it was reasonably priced. It cost less than what I could buy a used one for here on the east coast.  When I agreed to buy the camper I had only seen pictures of it online (capricamper.com) and talked about it on the phone with the builder.  I could choose the facilities and appliances to be included and purposely wanted to keep it simple, so it would be light weight (1,100 lbs.) for better gas mileage and low maintenance. There is no furnace, air conditioning, toilet or waste water tank and I get 16mpg.  It’s well insulated, has two roof vents, and four windows for ventilation and if it’s too cold outside I’ll just go to where it’s warm.  I almost didn’t purchase the water system, but an inside shower became very convenient, because everywhere I went was colder than I wanted it to be and much too chilly to shower outdoors.  Almost everywhere I camp has toilet facilities, so the camper doesn’t need one, plus I know how to use a shovel.

It took a little while to learn one important lesson, that any thing that is not fastened down may be amazingly mobile when I’m driving. There was no owner’s manual and the guys that installed it tried to explain things, but they spoke little English and were not TexMex literate.

The builder, which is located a little south of Ft. Worth, Tex., called in November and said my camper was built and ready to be picked up.  That was much earlier than I usually start my travels, but a good excuse to hit the road.  I’d never started my adventures in Texas before and I knew south Florida was where I’d have to be to find summer weather in January and February, but I wanted to enjoy the nowherelands of southern Utah, my usual stops in the southwest and others. Those places wouldn’t be warm enough til mid March or April. That set a lengthy route of 15,941 miles (O.C. to Texas to Florida, back out west, then back to Texas to get my tailgate and minor repairs, to Florida to retrieve my kayak, and O.C. in May), but my pickup truck was brand new and now I had the camper.

I was in a familiar spot, Big Bend N.P. ( www.nps.gov/bibe ). I’ve camped here every year since 2003 for a couple weeks, except for 2008 when I was besieged with an epidemic of flat tires and had to retreat back to civilization. As I broke in the camper, of course, I enjoyed this gorgeous place. The Terlingua Creek flows by my camp site, past a deserted mining town, and on to the Rio Grande River at east end of St. Elena Canyon. The creek makes a grand place to walk, wander around, and watch the herons and birds, havelinas, badgers, foxes, and other wildlife. I like to ponder the remnants of the mining town in the desert, the canyon rim gives outstanding sunrise vistas, and the kayaking in the canyon is not to be missed, there’s a mountain range, and there was no snow. The truck performed well above my expectations, the camper became an outstanding nest - so it worked.

 

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