Departing

Moving is stressful, but moving across country, from SE Michigan to south central Alaska brings it to a whole new level. Being out of town for various trainings nearly all of May furthered stress levels. Before that, comprehensive exams. Phew. Looking back, so much was going on that I don’t know how we did it all. 

The departure was pushed back a few days due to my underestimation of getting everything packed into our two small U-boxes (which still have not arrived). It rained on and off all day but we were sent off by great friends and a full rainbow. By 22:00, we were finally on the road. It rained the entire drive that night. This was my second time hauling our camper trailer; the first only being when we brought it home. We’ve named the camper R2-D-Pod since it is blue and white, we purchased it on May the Fourth, and because we are unashamed Star Wars nerds. The drive was stressful that night but we pulled into Hartwick Pines campground at 02:30 on 09Jun, ready for sleep. This would be our first time setting up camp… ever… with a camper. We were tent campers before, then cabin owners, and now we are “camper” people. I will admit, plugging into electric service is nice. 

I had prepared for camp set ups to be as smooth as possible with trying to get pull-through sites if available. I’d never backed a trailer before this move so keeping things simple = less stress. Hartwick Pines had an excellent campground. The site had trees on both sides and the spot was nice and level. It was finally time to sleep. Our two dogs insisted on sleeping in bed with us. This meant a queen sized bed with two humans, a 25-pound Trixie Tornado (13 year old Sheltie) and a 50-pound Clementine (2 year old Ryman-type English Setter). It was a little cramped but we all found our spots and were out for the night.