As I type this post, Ken and I have just finished packing up our 1998 Chinook camper for a short trip—short in time we’ll be gone and short in the distance from home we’re traveling. That’s one of the wonderful things about living in a new-to-us state: there’s so much to explore that we’ve never seen before and much of it is only a few miles up or down the road! As you read this, our adventure has just begun!
The idea for this trip came this past August when we attended the Christian Product Expo at the convention center in St. Charles, Missouri. We had to get home the same day, but as we were leaving St. Charles, we just happened to drive through the historic downtown area. After seeing the charming old town, we knew we had to come back!
St. Charles County is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers just north of St. Louis. As many of you know, Ken and I live close enough to the Mississippi River that we often take our morning walks along the river walk in Cape Girardeau, Missouri with gorgeous views like these:
I have come to love the Mighty Mississippi and the barges and other boats that travel its waters. But the Mississippi/Missouri confluence isn’t the only convergence of rivers we’ll see on our trip this week. When we leave St. Charles, we’ll be driving the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route. This road snakes for 33 miles through southwestern Illinois along the floodplain of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The route is officially designated as a National Scenic Byway and coincides with a portion of the famous Great River Road.
This might sound silly, but one of the things I’m most excited about on this particular trip is that I’ll get to try out the new sink we had installed in our camper a couple of weeks ago. I traded a shallow, divided sink for a one-bowl beauty that is twice as deep as the old one…nine whole inches! (I’ve had a similar home-size deep, black sink in our last two houses and I just love it.) I truly think this will be a game-changer in the camper for how much easier it will be for cooking and cleaning up after meals. I’m also thrilled about that goose-neck faucet and the built-in soap dispenser. (As my kids like to say, “Mom is easily entertained.” 😊)
Ken has made so many improvements to the camper since we bought it in March. After our long trip this fall, he changed out all the gas strut closures on cupboard doors, fixed the clothes rod in the closet, and another door latch, along with some other minor fixes. It’s amazing how small changes make a big difference in how well our tiny home on wheels works for us.
We’ve got the clock changed over to Daylight Savings Time, an on-its-last-legs bouquet in the window box, and the fridge and cupboards stocked with a few days worth of food. Let the adventure begin!
When I look back at how reluctant I was to embrace this camping/traveling life, I want to shake a scolding finger at myself and say, “Try it, silly, you just might like it!” I’m amazed at how much I do! Have you ever gone into something kicking and screaming and later discovered you really enjoyed it? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
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Many things, actually. My current profession is one of them. When I was in high school, I said I’d never become a teacher, but, here I am. And, I love it!
Enjoy your trip! It sounds lovely.
And I know your students are SO grateful!
LOVE TGAT SINK! I’m a one-bowl big sink woman too, and I just love how cozy and honey your RV is. Truly home away from home. Safe travels!
Thank you, dear friend. I love that your and Joe’s presence has graced our humble Chinook.♥️
What a fun trip! I live in St. Louis and love to visit downtown St. Charles. It’s such a beautiful place with so much history. I love their Christmas festivities too and they have a fascinating candlelight procession/parade where Mary and Joseph are led by a fife band down the Main Street looking for a “room at the inn” and everyone follows behind with their candles all the way to the park.
Oh, that sounds wonderful! We were wondering if they might have their Christmas decorations up already. We’ll soon find out!
Sounds fun. We just bought a used RV from an elderly man who has cancer. It is a 1990 but only has 52,000 miles on it. We have been busy cleaning it and fixing it up. Hubby refinished the kitchen cupboard doors, we ripped out the old linoleum and put down industrial carpet. Etc. I’m excited to try it out but winter is setting in so it will be spring. Any tips you give us would be appreciated. Thank you for sharing. Blessings
That’s exactly how many miles our 1998 Chinook had on it when we bought it. One tip Ken gave is to check everything for leaks…sinks, bathroom, windows, etc. Here’s a Facebook post where I shared some other odds-n-ends tips:
https://www.facebook.com/deborah.raney/posts/10160019489258939
I always enjoy hearing about your travels. My husband and I loved exploring towns along our vacation routes. Those days are over now, so it’s good to hear about someone else’s journeys. Your camper looks great. The pictures are amazing!
Safe travels.
Thank you, Betty. We do love this little camper. It has a ton of character and fits the way we travel just right. I’m so glad you and your husband had some wonderful days of traveling while you could. I know I will look back on these trips very fondly someday when we can no longer travel.
If you’re willing to go further north, you could visit the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, IA. It’s about 10 minutes across the river from Galena, IL, former home to President U. S. Grant and another fabulous place to visit!
Wow! We just might do that, Janice! Thank you! And if we don’t this time, we will definitely come back this way again! Just LOVE St. Charles! Thank you for the tip!
Your kids are right – you are easily entertained! But that doesn’t matter – I would be, too. It’s a terrific little kitchen and I think Ken must be the handiest guy around. And the views of the “Mighty Miss” are wonderful – thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Lynne!