Our first trip

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As far as I can tell, there are only 2 Ontario provincial parks open for camping before mid-April. The Pinery on Lake Huron, and Mew Lake Campground in Algonquin.

Driven by the possibility of seeing a moose, we picked Algonquin, and one Saturday morning, set out with a subset of our welded together family, plus a friend, and a few dogs, for our debut trip in our 27' Overlander (International Trim). We'd spend the previous week working on Stella, putting in new floor, replacing curtains and putting slip covers over mattresses and gauchos.

Aside from some ominous creaks from the hitch assembly, the trip to the park was uneventful. We achieved 15 mpg (Imperial gallons), successfully stopped in Minden for a Tim Horton's refill, and pulled off a roadside stop to dog down a stray window with aplomb. As we moved further north, we started seeing more and more snow, and I began to worry, as is my habit. What if the campground roads are slippery and icy, and I need a tow out? What if I can't back up into a campsite without digging a big hole with the front tires? What if what if? Sometimes, it's tiring being me.

We found a campsite. I backed in first try. We were on a bit of an angle side to side, no big woop. No electricity on the site, but our battery held up well. We didn't run out of propane. The furnace worked, and kept Stella nice and warm. The jet-engine sounding water heater worked. The lights worked. There may be a leak in the kitchen area to be poked and prodded at later, but that can wait until it warms up outside. The floor did not, as I predicted, rip itself apart as soon as we were on the road.

Pretty idyllic, really. It's going to be a good camping year.

Nice to be here. We are Kevin and Leah. Handy accountants.

[Janet H]

Sounds lovely! I always find the sound of the hot water heater getting revved up sort of comforting - kinda like the sound of my grans percolator in the morning.

[nairnchyz]

Greetings from Manitoba.
Great you could get out so early. The Red River Valley and Winnipeg is presently in flood mode with water coming north from North Dakota & Minnesota. Here in western Manitoba we have lots of snow so no A/S for awhile yet!!
Your jet engine sounds are a "monitor" to let you know all is well with hot water, and it's OK to roll over and have some more ZZZZZZ's.
Bob

[tinhutjohn]

But did you see a moose?

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No moose spotted. Apparently the best time to view them is the first two weeks of May. "No bugs" (hahahaha), and they come out of the forest to sip the salty water in the ditches.

[moosetags]

Glad to hear that your maiden voyage went well and safely. Even a bad day Airstreaming is better than a good day at work.

Sorry that you didn't see Mr. Moose, but that just means that you will have to go back and look for him again.

[Senshi]

We've been anxiously waiting to get our trailer out for the first camping trip. Did not have time to get to Algonquin and back so we are waiting for the weekend of the 24th when some parks in eastern Ontario are open. If the weather is good we might try Pres'quille otherwise a cold wind off Lake Ontario might be unpleasant. If it still on the cool side we will probably go to Bon Echo.

Anyhow, I you mentioned that you did not have electrical hookups at Mew Lake. I am curious about how well your battery stood up to running the furnace fan. Were you out for 2 days/nights? Did you notice how much your battery power was depleted?

[DavidsonOverlander]

Hi Kevin and Leah,
You've certainly made an early start this season! We're too busy working on our recently acquired '74 Sovereign to do any camping right now, but maybe we'll get out with the Overlander sometime in May. We're just the other side of the city from you in Milton, but I grew up in Scarborough at Brimley and Sheppard - when it was still farmland!

Grant

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Originally Posted by Senshi

Anyhow, I you mentioned that you did not have electrical hookups at Mew Lake. I am curious about how well your battery stood up to running the furnace fan. Were you out for 2 days/nights? Did you notice how much your battery power was depleted?

The battery handled the trip pretty good. We were fully charged when we left, and we just had the one night away, but we were just below the halfway line on the battery meter when we broke camp. The furnace fan was probably our biggest draw. We used an inverter to power a small portable dvd viewer, but it wouldn't power our coffee maker. So I carried the whole coffee maker to a snowed in site with power, brewed the coffee, and carried it back.

I think 2 nights in march would probably have fully depleted the battery. I was ready to run the TV for a while to recharge it, if I had to.

[pageclot]

Originally Posted by DavidsonOverlander

Hi Kevin and Leah,
You've certainly made an early start this season! We're too busy working on our recently acquired '74 Sovereign to do any camping right now, but maybe we'll get out with the Overlander sometime in May. We're just the other side of the city from you in Milton, but I grew up in Scarborough at Brimley and Sheppard - when it was still farmland!

Grant

Once we picked up Stella, we couldn't wait to get out there. We're off to the Niagara region this weekend for a slightly shorter trip.

I think our dog trainer is at Brimley and Sheppard.

We're still doing some small touchups on Stella. When the google street view cars went around Scarborough to record street level views, she was sitting in the driveway. The neighbours have all come over for a look, but no complaints yet.

[Happycampers]

Welcome ...Great to get out camping... We love Algonquin park... also Lake St Peter on the way is another beautiful park... We are in Peterborough , cottage country... here... snow gone... we just got back wintering in Texas ..... with the Argosy...