I came from a family that traveled and camped for vacations. My husband came from a family that spent vacations going home to visit relatives. In 1972, my husband let me plan our first camping vacation with our three sons, ages 11 months, 3 years, and 5 years old. We purchased a used 16 ft Nomad travel trailer that had a back couch bed, upper bunk, kitchen, and front dinette.
As we were checking into Yosemite National Park in California, my husband found that there was no fishing allowed in the park. He turned to me and said that from now on he would plan the vacations.
We stayed as we were already there. The first night, I was awakened by a movement of the trailer. I checked and no one inside had moved. The next morning, I told my husband that I thought a bear had bumped the trailer. He thought I was crazy as there were no bear around. Going outside, the next camper informed him that a bear had stood up against our trailer during the night. Later that morning, we went sightseeing. We spotted a bear eating in a clearing. My husband took the camera and crept up to get a picture. The bear thought he was getting too close and swatted at him so he backed off. Now, he believed me.
We wanted to hike up to one of the falls but didn’t know how we could do it with the boys as we would have to take turns backpacking the baby. Our 3 year old had seen a wooden truck in a gift shop that he wanted really bad. We made a deal with him that if he walked to the falls all by himself, we would get it for him. He marched right along in his little cowboy boots and never complained. To this day, he still has that little wooden truck.
The third night, I was awakened again to water dripping on me. I thought we had a major leak in the roof but soon realized that the boy’s bunk was above us. One of them was a bedwetter. The roof was fine.
We had such a great time that my husband informed me that I could plan our vacations from now on. We upgraded our RV’s over the years but we all have great memories of our trips. Our boys now camp with their own families so the memories go on.
Over the years, the Trailer Life Campground Directory has been my bible and a lifesaver. I have now added the “Next Exit” book and a GPS to my navigation tools. A good map is a must also as I don’t always agree with the GPS.
Submitted by Doris Miller of Pinetop, AZ as a part of the RV Centennial Celebration “Share Your Favorite RV Memory” contest.
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