RV Life

RV NV!

We’ve visited about 5 van parks over the last ten days of travelling and some are better than others. We’ve been lucky to get sites with all three services  - gas, electricity and sewer. That means we have an endless supply of water for the sink, shower and to flush the toilet; the toilet empties into the sewer on site (as opposed to stopping at a “dump station”; and we have electricity (rather than using the generator). So life is pretty good. We have a gas cooker and microwave inside, as well as a fridge and freezer - so we are eating well and healthily. We usually use the toilets and showers at the van park, but if they are too far away (or too gross) we have our own to use without any issues. 

Some van parks have water facilities … which ranges from a water play park to a lake to an indoor pool to nothing. As the weather is warm now - around 30 degrees each day, the main criteria for choosing a van park has been the water facility! Cooling down after a day of exploring on bikes or hiking was a priority.

The RV world is mostly very seasoned travellers - not us. This is where the envy comes in! Vans pull in, much larger than ours, with a small truck towing them. Awnings are pulled out; annexes constructed (more envy - no mosquitos); fairy lights to adorn the van, bbq’s set up. Such elaborate set ups! The best one that I saw actually had a television installed into the outside of the van. How is that for getting away from it all ... but having cable TV with you! The big difference between “them” and “us” is that Bertha is our form of transport as well as our hotel room. When we want to go anywhere, we all need to pack Bertha up - clear benches, unplug all our services etc to get going. Most of the seasoned travellers have the van plus a vehicle - so once they are set up, they are settled for a length of time and can use their vehicle to sight-see, shop and explore.

Then, there is the world of permanent residents. Now, I understand that RV parks are very practical and useful in providing cheap accommodation, but I believe this is primarily in the US. There is certainly a community atmosphere about them and the facilities are good - so for those who can’t afford houses, van parks are effective. But we are Canada, so this concept intrigues me. This part of the world is completely snowed in during winter. In fact, most parks that we’ve visited are only open from March until October - so closed during winter. But check out these photos of some of the “permanent residents”. We have:

• white picket fences

• letter boxes (look closely - the red box)

• perfectly groomed grass

• garden ornaments

Remember, these parks are only open in March. I don’t know what these people do during the winter months. Quebec has a large proportion of the population who migrate to Florida for the winter (colloquially called ’snow birds’), so I’m guessing that these people are the snowbirds. But there is nowhere you can go in Canada to escape the cold, so it bamboozles me! Do they go to van parks in Florida? Do they similar set ups in Florida? My next presumption is that most are of retirement age … so come March, they relocate to their favourite van park and spend the first month making it feel like home. The permanent ressies don't associate with the transients like us, so we were never able to find out!

But, when we rock up in Bertha, I have RV NV!

We have learnt so much since using the RV when exploring the Grand Canyon back in April and we made several changes … made easier as we were in the same country. If I was to do it again, I would make more changes - firstly make sleeping sacks out of flat sheets for the children. 

We are now about to depart to the Rockies, and we will miss a few of the comforts we currently have, such as the gas cooker and the picnic chairs, which all belong to the Dostaler family here in Montreal. I guess like camping, it is the little things that make life easier but so much more comfortable. We are back to roughing it ... more RV NV!