Anybody go camping this weekend

[Mom2abidrew]

Hello All. We took the airstream out this weekend and went camping near our home area. Rend Lake in Southeren IL. While there we have some very scary weather, on Thursday night in the campground we saw two campers over turn just about 10 spots down from us. IT was really scary. Didn't know if anyone else was camping in the bad weather. We are usually the only airstream camping there but a few sites down was one and when we went walking the next morning I noticed it had been hit with some pretty big trees. I felt bad for them. We were very lucky no one was hurt in all that but it wasn't something I would want to go thru again. They were talking about bad weather here again last night so we packed it up and came on home. Didn't want to chance it for one more night. Hope everyone had a great and safe Memorial Day weekend. And Thanks to all those who serve & served.

[robandzoe]

I'm always "Camping" as I'm a full timer here at Camp Lejeune, United States Marine Corps, enjoying this glorious day, and thinking of what it all means. I spent the day relaxing, went to Lowe's for their 10% off to service members, and low and behold, Home Depot matched it too! This afternoon, I got started on re-attaching the belly pan on my new Caravel. It was fun an relaxing, and hopefully, I'll have it road worthy for the Cape Hatteras Washington DC unit rally in August (oh yeah, I still need to register for it). Talked alot with the wife and 2 kids in NY today too. Now, I'm back in the Airstream, relaxing and watching Ike (Tom Selleck) on A&E, via my Direct TV. Sounds like you have some excitement.

[overlander64]

Greetings Mom2abidrew!

Originally Posted by Mom2abidrew

Hello All. We took the airstream out this weekend and went camping near our home area. Rend Lake in Southeren IL. While there we have some very scary weather, on Thursday night in the campground we saw two campers over turn just about 10 spots down from us. IT was really scary. Didn't know if anyone else was camping in the bad weather. We are usually the only airstream camping there but a few sites down was one and when we went walking the next morning I noticed it had been hit with some pretty big trees. I felt bad for them. We were very lucky no one was hurt in all that but it wasn't something I would want to go thru again. They were talking about bad weather here again last night so we packed it up and came on home. Didn't want to chance it for one more night. Hope everyone had a great and safe Memorial Day weekend. And Thanks to all those who serve & served.

Camping in the Mississippi River Valley was certainly an experience this weekend. Took the Argosy on its annual "Spring" shakedown trip to the Rustic Barn Campground in Kieler, Wisconsin. We didn't have any severe weather - - just plenty of gusty wind (25-50 MPH) and torrential rains (close to 6" between Thursday evening and this morning). There was only one other Airstream at the Rustic Barn this weekend (a 1970s Safari or Caravelle) - - one that belongs to a seasonal camper who wasn't in attendance this weekend.

Didn't encounter any severe weather until about an hour after arriving back in the Quad Cities. After just barely getting the Minuet settled into its parking spot beside my house, the weather radio sounded the alarm for a Severe Thunderstorm Warning - - three minutes later we had a cloudburst with accompanying heavy winds and hail (enough to cover the ground). If the weather service is correct, we shouldn't have any more stormy weather until late tomorrow afternoon.

I will be heading out to the Rend Lake area on Wednesday - - will be making my way to Union County, Illinois for a few days rest on my family's farm. I am hoping that all of the little seasonal quirks have sorted themselves out - - water heater bypass that didn't want to leave bypass mode, two low point drains that didn't want to be completely closed, a leaky drain on the water heater, and a water heater pilot that refused to remain lit (air mixture adjustment).

Hopefully those who were camping fared no worse than we did - - a little shaken, but very soggy by the the end of the weekend.

Kevin

[Stefrobrts]

Kevin, very scary to have your AS hit by hail - do you keep it under cover of some sort?

We had originally planned our big cross country trip for the past two weeks, and we should have been at Mt Rushmore this weekend. Luckily we cancelled that, since OK has been seeing tornadoes, and our friends in Alton, IL are worried about flooding and have been hit by hailstorms. It turns out this has been a good weekend to stay home!

[GStephens]

We're under a toranado alert as I write this. We went down on one of our own places this weekend to fish on the river and spend a few days streamin'. Had to make a quick retreat Sunday morning back to the storage barn. High winds and hail came through.

Plan on trying again this weekend on a nearby lake if weather permits.
GStephens

[overlander64]

Greetings Stephanie!

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

Kevin, very scary to have your AS hit by hail - do you keep it under cover of some sort?

We had originally planned our big cross country trip for the past two weeks, and we should have been at Mt Rushmore this weekend. Luckily we cancelled that, since OK has been seeing tornadoes, and our friends in Alton, IL are worried about flooding and have been hit by hailstorms. It turns out this has been a good weekend to stay home!

Both of my coaches have been located in the upper Midwest since they were new and neither have been stored under cover. The Airstream has a few very small "Bismarcks" on the upper panels that are nearly out of sight from the ground - - I have yet to notice any obvious hail "Bismarcks" on the Minuet. High winds and tornadoes are a greater concern to me than the hail - - I know that a severe hail storm is possible, but even when the storm blew through town last year causing some $10,000 in damage to my house the Airstream turned up with the only damage being broken clearance light lenses ($25.00 damage). Flash floods are actually my greatest fear after living through the floods of '93 when a 12' wall of water was threatening the valley where I lived in Western Kansas - - I always look for creeks in campgrounds and try to be assigned to a spot on the highest ground to avoid high water should it develop.

When I complete my current move, my plan is to have a double-Airstream-Port built so that the Argosy and Airstream can have a little shelter. Sun damage is my greatest concern as I would like to extend the life of the Plasticoat on the Airstream as much as is possible; and I also hope that the shelter will prolong the life of the paint on the Argosy once I get it repainted.

Kevin

[Stefrobrts]

We are very lucky not to have the severe weather out here in the NW that you folks have to deal with every year. Seems like you're lucky your AS survive, let alone get away without any damage after all these years. Well, I hope your luck holds out and everyone out there in the midwest continues to avoid any serious trouble this year! I'll be heading that way in August, when I hear it's all calmed down!

[sd90mac]

Hi,
We went out this weekend and the weather was blistering hot. No rain, and boy do we need it. We have a forest fire going on right now in Fort Myers. Fortunately we live in Cape Coral, across the river from the fire.
Our weekend was great even with the heat.
Sorry about all of the bad weather you guys had. I hope no real damage was done to anyone.
Marie

[maxandgeorgia]

Hmmm, Stephanie. . .settled down in the mid west in August. . .106 in the shade with humidity to match, inch wide splits in the brown carpet (er, lawn), oh, it's wonderful here in August! That's when we hope we're in northern Minnesota or the Rockies No, it's not ALWAYS that way (ha,ha). Truly, the mid west is beautiful, but I wouldn't claim August and September as it's most charming season. Hope your trip plans out okay. You were wise to cancel out on the past week. It's been too exciting!

[Scaler113]

We just got back from our first long trip (9 days) in our AS. We went form Western Wa to Yellowstone and back. We saw all kinds of weather, sun, snow, hail, and freezing temps. We crossed the continental divide 8 times. It was a great trip. We had the roads to ourselves and the cattle, esspecially the back roads of Montana and Idaho. Most campagrounds had few people. We do enjoy this mode of travel and will do much more when I retire in a couple years.
Phil

[joe hall]

to a very isolated area around the little village of Mauk, Georgia (not far from Jimmy Carter's home, or the Civil War Andersonville site). I come from Oregon originally. Little did I know I would see the same basic topography in middle Georgia. Very rough, timbered terrain, which looked very much like the high desert foothills on the eastern slopes of Oregon's Cascade Range. Very quiet and peaceful weekend with a small gathering of friends, one of which owns about 2,000 acres of this sparcely inhabited countryside. We saw only one other Airstream enroute, albeit we only spent about 50 miles on I-75; the remainder of the trip being along state roads. This was the first outing following new carpeting and some other upgrades to the trailer. After 18 years, the "Parrot Inn" (so named because of the tropical theme my wife has applied to the interior) still looks great. I don't envision ever wanting or needing another trailer - unless I suffer the same destruction your campground neighbors endured.