Althouse: Testing out the camper in the heartland.

March 19, 2022

Testing out the camper in the heartland.

28 comments:

gilbar said...: hurray! i am Officially jealous!; 3/19/22, 1:45 PM
David Begley said...: Like the American flag.

Nebraska is west and south of Wisconsin.

Millions of Sandhill Cranes on the Platte right now. Nothing like it in the world. Prehistoric.; 3/19/22, 2:06 PM
Owen said...: Very cool! Did it come with the flag?; 3/19/22, 2:14 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Very cool! Did it come with the flag?"

That's a Meade touch.; 3/19/22, 2:39 PM
Joe Smith said...: Home is where the heartland is.

But you'd better switch to a Ukraine flag or you'll get cancelled...; 3/19/22, 2:41 PM
FleetUSA said...: Will you condescend to sleep there tonight?; 3/19/22, 2:47 PM
Howard (not that Howard) said...: Really like the rig. Capable and comfortable.; 3/19/22, 3:07 PM
gadfly said...: @David Begley said...
Millions of Sandhill Cranes on the Platte right now. Nothing like it in the world. Prehistoric.

So what is prehistoric - Sandhills; Sandhill Cranes; the dinky Platte River that sometimes, when it hasn't dried up, feeds the Missouri River (aka the Great Plains drain) that then is swallowed into the mighty Mississippi's outflow; none or all of the above?; 3/19/22, 3:28 PM
Jaq said...: "hurray! i am Officially jealous!"

She has achieved a state of glamor, then.; 3/19/22, 3:32 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: slick. The flag is a nice touch. I like.; 3/19/22, 3:42 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Just returned from a road trip thru Utah.

I love Utah. How can I move to Utah? Thinking ... pondering...; 3/19/22, 3:42 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'I love Utah. How can I move to Utah? Thinking ... pondering...'

I've only been there once, and it is beautiful.

But it's full of Romneys, so beware!; 3/19/22, 4:25 PM
Beasts of England said...: Where’s the hot tub?; 3/19/22, 4:29 PM
Friendo said...: Don't let the naysayers distract you and Meade. Wonderful!; 3/19/22, 4:38 PM
MountainMan said...: I have been traveling out of the country on a trip with my wife for the past 3 weeks and just got back this morning. I was pretty much off the internet except for a few times to check on some emails. Been catching up today on financial and other news and also went back in Althouse and got caught up on her posts (though not all the comments). I guess the biggest thing that hit me was the post that she and Meade have bought a pickup and a camper. This, from the woman who hates to travel! What's next - a picture of Meade in SHORTS?; 3/19/22, 4:49 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: My neighbors migrate to the San Luis Valley every year around this time to catch a glimpse of the Sandhill cranes.; 3/19/22, 6:12 PM
Carbondale said...: We have a restored 1967 Avion truck camper on the back of our 2004 Ford F350 diesel. We have traveled all over the West to Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree and then back to the east coast... Assateague Island where we awoke on morning next to the seashore with wild horses just outside our window. There is nothing in travel even close to the experience of truck camping with its pure freedom. Good on you Ann and Meade.; 3/19/22, 6:12 PM
Narr said...: It's a grand old flag.

And a nice looking home on wheels for the right kind of old peo . . . seniors and retirees.; 3/19/22, 6:14 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: "Testing out the camper in the heartland."

Looks like it passed the test of a slight breeze with flying colors!; 3/19/22, 6:17 PM
SC65 said...: How is the rooftop tent? I worry about climbing up and down in the middle of the night when I need to use the facilities (at our ages, a concern). We have an awning room attached to the side of our vehicle and a luggable loo with its own little tent.; 3/19/22, 6:18 PM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: I wish I felt comfortable going that route. I'm still partial to airbnb's for more than a night and hotels for one-nighters. But I love to get out and look around. My wife and I are driving to El Paso this Thursday. We will stay in a hotel there for one night and then we will go to Fort Davis for two nights at the Indian Lodge at Davis Mountains State Park. I'm doing a couple of short mountain rces. I'm interested to hear more of your impressions of this type of truck bed camper camping. We are looking at maybe buying something relatively inexpensive in West Texas or maybe Arizona or New Mexico. A cabin, second home type thing. But maybe we should get something like what you have to travel in and look around for that type place.; 3/19/22, 6:28 PM
Curious George said...: Have fun but you don't have to get away. Creighton lost, Begley won't be knocking on your door.; 3/19/22, 7:22 PM
MadTownGuy said...: We did a trip to the UP (Ironwood MI) a couple of summers ago. Stayed at a cheap motel on the west side of town. Glad we did. The owner was a Middle Eastern refugee, from Lebanon as I recall, and still had pictures of family he left behind. They had run a motel in La Crosse for a while and had just moved to the UP within the previous year. We had some good chats. The scenery on Lake Superior was stunning and the history of the iron mines was fascinating. Even got some souvenir shots of the big Native American statue. I don't think the locals would look on it favorably if there were talk of tearing it down. We also saw a huge military convoy on US 2 westbound. Not sure of what that was about, in July 2019.; 3/19/22, 9:05 PM
Steve from Wyo said...: Seeing your pickup camper caused me to wonder how many 'elites', or 'progressives' or MSM 'journalists' have ever gone camping. Especially in a pickup camper.

The cranes and snow geese are flying over our place (eastern Wyoming) on their way to their Arctic breeding grounds. A hopeful sign that spring is coming. [But watching for that early spring blizzard].; 3/19/22, 10:55 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “'I love Utah. How can I move to Utah? Thinking ... pondering...'

“I've only been there once, and it is beautiful.”

“But it's full of Romneys, so beware!”

It very much depends on where you are. West of the Wasatch, you are most likely in heavy Mormon country. I-15 actually from almost the ID/MT border (MT mining camps were supplied by wagon trains from SLC) down really to Las Vegas (though Vegas has become a lot less so). If you aren’t LDS, it can be an issue. Not overt, but subtle. One of the weird things is not being able to find unsweetened iced tea, even in chains like McDonalds. I spent a year or so in a law firm in SLC, and the dynamics were interesting. The firm was originally non Mormon, but tending towards a takeover. When two guys made partner, we had a party, and they passed around trays of champagne and fruit juice. Everyone, but everyone, self identified their allegiances, by which they chose (I very rarely drink champagne, but did so that day).

Historically, the Mormons had a much harder time expanding to the east, to the other side of the Wasatch (and CO river), than north/south from SLC. Easier to settle from CO. The culture there seems more Western than Mormon. Places like Moab. Yes, UT Mormons are somewhat like Westerners, but are decidedly less independent, and more communitarian. Squishes, like Romney, are tolerated, esp if they are demonstrably devout Mormons. I have had worse experiences with Mormon women, than men, who are mostly interested in the same stuff as the rest of us.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the Wasatch range significantly affects the weather west of them. SLC is the only place in the west that I have lived, where much of the winter was socked in with clouds. Go up to the ski areas though, and you find your normal western blue skies most days. I love, and expect mostly blue skies in the winter in the west. Not there. Well, not quite as much, which is why they have the best powder in the lower 48. It was almost like living on the east coast, except that it can get brutally code. I remember waiting for the Olympic torch to come through, it was below zero, and it really felt it. Luckily though, much of the more beautiful terrain in the state is in the eastern, drier, part of the state, that does have blue skies. Of course, I am very prejudiced here, picking my native CO and my current W MT residence as significantly more beautiful, year round. I love mountains, in particular. Big mountains, esp.; 3/19/22, 11:04 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Funny thing is - we couldn’t live that close together. She falsely alleges that I snore, and if she can’t sleep, then obviously neither can I. We survived a week in a 28’ RV, with her in the bedroom in the back, and me (and the cat) above the cab. Probably do it again. Her maternal grandparents always had a camper like that one, and toured the SW extensively through better than half a century is theirs. But they had gotten married young, lived into their 90s, rarely sleeping apart. We got together when she was in her early 40s, and I was nearing 50, and never developed that closeness. It doesn’t help that she is a furnace when she sleeps — and that I allegedly snore.; 3/19/22, 11:14 PM
Mr. Forward said...: I'm in Utah, yesterday I saw six Mormons in an ATV. Does it get any more Utah than that?; 3/20/22, 7:19 AM
Meade said...: Thanks for all the nice comments. Anyone interested should feel free to email me with any specific questions about the camper. I love it. It will really help us get farther out into some places we’d otherwise never be. More reports to follow. Happy spring.; 3/20/22, 7:38 AM