I was full of excitement and a little bit of nervous energy as we started on our long drive from Cincinnati, OH to check out the Scamp. My thoughts were intensely occupied with renovation ideas and future plans to travel. Negaunee, MI is far away from Cincinnati, 1,300 miles round trip to Michigan’s Northern Peninsula. The journey began after work on a Friday and ended safely back home by Sunday afternoon. We had never traveled through “The Mitten” of Michigan, so mesmerizingly beautiful! The scenery was stunning and once we crossed the Mackinac Bridge we soon discovered the spectacular remoteness of the Upper Peninsula.
Upon our initial inspection of the Scamp we were happy to see that it was in decent condition. Some previous renovation had been completed, although many years had passed since that effort was made. The cushions were still covered with the original scratchy standard 1980’s brown plaid with 30 year old disintegrating foam inserts. The plywood floor was covered in a deteriorating rusty brown carpet. The smell was most disturbing, very damp and musty. We learned from the current owner that the Scamp was primarily used as a makeshift hunters’ cabin. With extensive scrubbing, sanitizing, repairs, fresh ideas, and painting this camper was going to be updated and given a new life!
Traveling home was interesting. We had never pulled a camper before. My car at the time was a 2007 Honda CRV, which worked perfectly splendid unless there was any hill involved to challenge the 4-cylinder engine. The 15 gallon tank emptied rather quickly at about 13 mpg. It became painfully clear that planning gas station stops was going to be a new reality when traveling with the Scamp, especially through desolate areas. During one of our fuel stops we were approached by a young family, and also a lone traveler with a pickup truck camper, both curious about the Scamp. It is an unusual style of camper and I realized at that moment that those conversations may become common throughout our future travels with this time machine.
Finally arriving home came with a sense of relief. We had made it back trailing a camper without any issues. Our first experience went well, already seeing a part of the country new to us: touching the cool waters of Lake Superior, discovering that in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula pasties are a popular food item, and enjoying an unexpected delicious traditional Mexican lunch at a pitstop gas station right off the highway A visit back to Michigan for more exploration will definitely be in our future!
Coddiwompling “To Travel in a Purposeful Manner Towards a Vague Destination”
“Because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t arriving at your destination. It’s all the wild stuff that happens along the way.” - EMMA CHASE