The Rig Revised

Guy back again, and a few things have changed on the ‘ol Rig. A challenge with the Tepui tent mounted to the Tacoma was that once we got camp set up, our home was attached to our rig. It seemed daunting to have to tear down the tent just to take the truck somewhere. We felt stuck and didn’t necessarily want home to be right where we parked it. We wanted to be able to leave our tent at the camp spot and drive the truck to a trail head a few miles away or go grab a bag of ice back in town.

I said I didn’t want to pull anything. Good lesson here is to never say never! We are now pulling a small trailer. After much research and debate we went with a local company in Denver: Ruger Trailers. We found them through The Adventure Portal off-road trailer guide. We called and talked to the owner, Steve, and he invited us down to their production facility so we could check out the trailers and options. We always prefer to shop and buy locally when we can and Steve was so friendly and knowledgeable, it was an easy decision. We had them add a propane tank holder and an emergency gas canister to the sides. They customized the rack by increasing the height about 6″ so our Tepui would mount a bit higher. They also added bike rack mounts to the sides. With the two additional racks we added to the tongue, we can fit four bikes total. The trailer space is perfect for all our camping gear (inside dimensions are 72″l x 43.75″w x 24″t) which leaves the bed of the truck open for our personal and recreation gear.

Speaking of the truck bed, we added a storage solution which consists of 2 sliding drawers and a cargo slide. We have never been more organized and gear has never been easier to get out of the truck, even the stuff all the way back. Just like mom used to say, “Everything has a place and there is a place for everything”. Girl feels more empowered knowing where everything is and she can get what she needs without needing to ask Guy or Gal for help. Dog has no thumbs, so she can’t get anything and spends her time lying in the dustiest spots directly in the sun; to each their own!

Last weekend we went up to Lake Dillon, just outside Breckenridge. It was really fun and a great test run for driving with the trailer and canoe. The trailer is only about 60″ wide total, so I never had to worry about it veering into the other lanes. It pulled very smoothly and easily. Turning and corners were no problem either. We do need to work on our backing up skills though…we will have plenty of time to practice that in 11 days when we set off on our journey!

Canoeing at Dillon Reservoir

Hi! This is Liv (Girl).

This is my first time writing in our blog! I decided to write about canoeing at Dillon Reservoir. We canoed at Dillon Reservoir 2 times on our test run camping trip. The first time we took the canoe out it was really mellow until we came back. The wind picked up really high and the waves grew bigger. The boat rocked a lot. It was fun but scary, like a ride. We got to shore safely. I was like “Feeew! Our boat didn’t tip!” Which was a good thing, because it was our dog, Stella’s first time in a canoe.

The second time canoeing it was better. It wasn’t very wavy because we went in the morning. It wasn’t very windy and it was sunny. I loved it and Stella did too! The water was really shallow where we were canoeing. I dragged my fishing line in the water and almost caught a fish! I saw my line and a fish was following it! It tried to bite but I think we were going too fast. I didn’t want this canoeing trip to end. I’m excited to go again soon!

Cooking While Camping

I love to cook and I really want to continue to cook with whole food ingredients as much as possible while on the road. Healthy eating and staying active is something Guy and I want to focus on while we drive around the US with our daughter.

Our new GigaTent Pack N Go Prep Station allows us to create an efficient kitchen in any camp space. Cooking in the wilderness can be overwhelming, but this prep station allows me to stay organized and on track when I’m meal prepping and cooking. It stores to a manageable size for car camping and sets up easily in minutes. I’ve got to say, so far this piece of equipment is one of my favorites. The duel table top surfaces allowed for plenty of prep space and the center table top is a perfect size for my Camp Chef Rainier Camper’s Combo Stove. In the past, we’ve used a camp table as the catch-all kitchen area and it always seem to collect everything from fishing gear to shoes. Not the ideal food-prep space! I love having a small but dedicated kitchen space now. This is so helpful when it’s time to chop veggies or prepare from-scratch dinners in the wilderness.

While camping at Red Feather Lakes with friends, I wanted to make a meal that could feed plenty of people. I decided to try to make enchiladas over a fire with coals in my Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven (an awesome gift from my good friend, Joel). Lodge sells parchment paper liners that are a godsend when cooking one pot meals over the fire. I once made the mistake of cooking jambalaya in the woods and it took our camping group hours of scrubbing out the charred rice and sausage bits from the bottom. From now on, if I don’t have those parchment liners, my Dutch oven isn’t coming!

The chicken enchiladas were a huge hit. We heated up the leftovers for breakfast with a fried egg on top. It was a truly awesome breakfast!

Generally when we camp we’re gone for a few days at a time. I’m used to being able to plan ahead by prepping food in my kitchen and meal plan before we go. Once we are on our more extensive car camping adventure I’m going to need to come up with more creative, in-the-woods food prep ideas. It’s all part of the adventure!