We are excited to leave for our first RV trip of the 2023 season in less than a week as we head to Gatlinburg, Tennesse to visit The Great Smokey Mountains National Park, explore Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and stop at West Virginia’s New River Gorge National Park. We’ll be taking in a Nascar Race on the way home too – a Bristol, TN night race on a dirt track.
This will be the earliest we have ever opened up the camper, and though we’re traveling south, we’re a little worried about cold temperatures – especially because two of our nights will be dry camping. Unfortunately, our area experiences frequent (and often lengthy) power outages, which turned into our FORTUNATELY purchasing a Champion 5500 inverted generator last fall.
Of course, we haven’t had to use it at home since the purchase (it never rains when you take an umbrella, you know?), but we tried it out on the camper in the garage this weekend, and it powered up our heater nicely, making our camper nice and toasty despite frigid temps. It also allowed us to burn off that first-of-the-season camper heater smell – do you know what I’m talking about? The worry wart in me never sleeps the first time we use the heat in our travel trailer each season, certain that we’re somehow being poisoned by the stench. So anyway – Champion generator for the win! I’m excited to let you know how it works out on our trip.
Everything leading up to this first RV trip of the season for our family has been pointing to spring after a looooong Pennsylvania winter. The days are getting longer, the sun has shone three days in a row here (hallelujah – winter days are short and dark in the northeast), and I can take my morning coffee to the deck and hear a loud chorus of birdsong. I’m so excited for this trip and the RV camping season in general that I find a reason to visit the camper in the garage at least once a day – taking stock of inventory, moving camping items that somehow made their way into the house back to the RV delivering fresh washed bedding and towels. The sun, weather, and prospect of sleeping in the RV in just six short nights have done wonders for my mental health this week!
Our family has been working on a trip itinerary that everyone will enjoy, and we can’t wait to share it with you once it is finalized. We’ve also been updating our RV and truckbed packing lists, though we feel confident as we enter our fourth season of RVing that we may have finally mastered our list. I’m feeling so confident that I think this may be the year I laminate a copy of each! I’m excited to share those lists with you too.
If you’re a fellow RVer who winterizes your camper, when and where are you planning your first RV trip of the season? Please leave a comment and let me know – we’re always looking for trip ideas and inspiration and I would love to hear all about your RV adventures too!
