“What could be smarter than camping in a deserted forest in a global pandemic time? However, even without such a pandemic, the smartest thing to do would be camping again!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan
Camping in the time of Covid…our ultimate question was what is the easiest and snuggest camping set up for two over 60 adventurers making a cross country camping trip at the height of the pandemic? Our mobile ‘home’ had one irrevocable condition…comfort.
We listed the pros and cons of buying a camping trailer, and the cons outweighed the pros, especially when it came to expense and ease of transport. We have always made new paths in our travels instead of following deeply rutted well-used paths, which meant dispersed camping in national forests or BLM land. No KOA campgrounds for us, which resembled cabins on tightly packed cruise ships.
So, first order of business was to buy a car large enough for car camping. We wanted a Subaru, but when we experimented with laying the seats down they were not flat, and the space was smaller than we wanted for a full size plush memory foam mattress.
One day, returning from a hike, we passed a Honda dealer. Sitting in the used parking lot our camping companion seemed to be illuminated and calling our name…buy me now! Two hours later, we were on our way home with a one owner, low mileage, limited edition 4 wheel drive Honda Pilot. Let the camping equipment buying spree begin!
Our son and his fiancé live and work in Yosemite National Park. Our plan was to spend two months traveling to Yosemite, and house swap with our son for the month of October and part of November. What an adventure it was, although I will save that post for another time.
With comfortable camping, we boondocked, stayed in National Forest and Recreation areas, and National Parks all either free or half-price with our Lifetime Senior Passes. I made Covid camping painted rocks to leave at all of our campsites.
Over the early spring of 2020, we added to our collection of camping equipment: collapsible table, collapsible kitchen cabinet, homemade toilet, 4” memory foam full mattress, solar lights and lanterns, a Jackery power station, water jugs, and a cargo roof box.
Next, we had to decide on a tent in which we could stand up and would easily attach to the back of our car. We didn’t realize it at the time, but the Eureka No Bug Zone huge tent we bought could easily be lifted over the back door hatch making a perfect seal.
We were ready for our adventure before dementia cross country Covid camping trip.
Our first Adventure before Dementia was fantastic and our comfort was exceptional. I will leave you with a few pictures of our campsites across the country.
Notice that sometimes we camped where we could not attach our tent. I am grateful that we discovered our comfort levels of camping during the time of Covid.
What is an irrevocable condition for you when camping?
My Teeth Fell Off the Charles Bridge 
Yippee! You’re back!!!! I love reading about your adventures!!! So happy to see and read about your fun adventures!!! Life is soooo good! 🙂
Holly! So glad you commented! Life is really good. I am finding my happy place again, like you are in your beautiful gardens! ❤️
Wonderful to read this and to see you guys have found yet another adventure. We have very fond memories of our short get together on Ometepe and we wondered how you were doing. Oh, and camping conditions? All of our camping is still on our bicycle tours and conditions are, well, whatever you can muster up. Access to water, lack of noise, not too many hungry animals, choice of higher flat dry ground are just some of the conditions we assess. We camped in South Korea Oct. 2019 and we were spoiled because little pagodas were available along the river trails we were riding. No cost involved, they typically had a super clean washroom nearby – sometimes with automatic sliding glass doors and classical music playing as you entered. Yes, a different kind of camping for sure. Keep on keeping on – take care, Chris & Heather
Chris and Heather! I have missed you both. It is wonderful to hear from you. I am so curious about the little pagodas and “not too many hungry animals”. How many years have you been on the road, now? You both inspire me! Thanks for your comments and take care. We hope to see you on the road again.
Well, what adventures!!
Yes, Sue. It was a wonderful adventure. Thanks for commenting.
You’re welcome!
I love “Adventure before dementia.” That tent idea is really good. I think we could do that with our van but doesn’t leaving the tailgate up run down the battery of the vehicle? Living and working in Yosemite sounds amazing too. I’m looking forward to hearing about how all this went.
janet
Janet, I wondered about that, too, but there is a switch you can turn off so it doesn’t run the battery down. I can’t wait to write about house sitting for our son and his fiancé in Yosemite. It was an incredible experience. The park was closed for a while due to fires and we were the only ones wandering around the trails.
Love reading about your travels. Thank you from the vicarious traveler.
And thank you for your sweet comment.
So happy that you are back writing your blog again, even though following you on Facebook is also delightful with the many photos. Bievenidos and keep blogging!
I am finally feeling like myself again. It took a long time after our lives in Nicaragua. Thanks for your kind words.