Meet the Fancy Nancy

After the Prowler was totaled over Memorial Day 2016 in a rush hour collision in Minneapolis, we immediately began the search for a new trailer.  We decided we wanted something new this time around because we had dreams to take this baby all over this beautiful country.  After searching for months, we finally decided on....

2017 Highland Ridge Open Range Light 221RQB-The Fancy Nancy

PROS:

1.   Bunk Beds for the girls-and they are good size bunks.  The are wide enough that they shouldn't outgrow them ever :).  The bottom bunk is actually wider than a standard size twin bed.  Also, the bottom bunk folds up.  When we do that our pack and play that Evie sleeps in fits perfect in that spot so it doesn't take up precious floor space in the camper.  
2. "Pack and Play" door-we had this on our old trailer.  The bunks folded up and there was as small wider door where you could slide in the stroller, bikes, extra gear, kids toys and we loved having that feature.  This camper had it too but was even better because both of the bunks folded up.  
3. Lots of storage-I felt like with shorter units you lose the storage but not with this one-we still had a pass through outdoor storage, a linen closet in the bathroom, a wardrobe for the kids stuff, overhead bins, and a wardrobe for mine and John's clothes.  We did go from having two small wardrobes to one that was a little bit bigger.
4. An 8 cubic foot refrigerator.  Our old one was 6 and many trailers-especially this size come with a 6.  We were excited to get an 8cu ft one.  
5. Tank Size-we do quite a bit of camping that does not include full hookups so we rely a lot on the size of our water and waste tanks.  The gray tank was 62 gallons vs 40 in our old one.  
6. The biggest plus is the size of it-we downgraded in terms of size but I think upgraded in quality.  Our old trailer was 33ft total overall length (bumper to hitch).  This one is 26.5ft and the actually box is 23.5ft but doesn't feel that way thanks to the bed that slides out the back.  And with the opposing slides it seems more spacious.  This makes it easier to tow and also we won't have any troubles finding a campsite in a state or national park.  
7. A flexible dinette space (this is a pro and a con for me)  The tables are removable and when you take them away you have just a sofa.  This is great because we mainly eat outside as much as possible.  This was one of the things that drew us to Open Range products to begin with. 
8. The CCC on this unit is almost 3000 lbs.  We should never come close to reaching this but at least the option is there and we don't have to worry-especially since we boondock at times and it would be nice to be able to drive with full water tanks if necessary.  
9. Two year warranty-new travel trailers are bound to have issues that come up from manufacturing.  There are only a few brands out there offer a two year manufacturer warranty and Highland Ridge is one of them.  This gives us a piece of mind that we have two full seasons of use to work out the kinks :)

Image taken from Highland Ridge RV:   https://www.highlandridgerv.com/products/2017/light/travel-trailers/LT221RQB

CONS:  

1. Lack of dinette:  I like that this trailer had a more flexible living space but I am worried that I might miss a traditional dinette.  We will see as time goes on.  We did purchase two plastic folding chairs from Sam's Club that we can store under the sofa to pull out if we need to.  
2. Price:  For John this was his only con.  It was quite a bit more than other trailers this size but in the end we felt like the quality was there-the doors don't vibrate when open and shut like some-they feel solid.  We got a great deal on it though and I worked hard to get a good price off the MSRP.  
3. Lack of privacy for the master bed.  Really, there is only a curtain that can be pulled to block off the bed from the rest of the unit.  With the kids being so young, it isn't really too much of an issue right now but perhaps 5 or more years down the road we may wish for a solid door dividing our space from the kids.  Our previous trailer had a separate bedroom.  
4. The Bed-It is a full size queen bed but it is not a walk-around bed and we have to climb up and crawl to get into it.  For us, we have the mobility but it is tough to make the bed for sure.  
5. The kitchen slide out-although it gives us extra space inside it takes up a little bit of space under the awning and breaks of the flow outside.  At least it is a pretty shallow slide out.  

We are good with all of the cons in the end because we knew we would have to make some sacrifices to get into a smaller size camper.  I do dream some days of even smaller trailers but we are happy with our decision on the Open Range.  

Here are a few of the interior pics of the Fancy Nancy before we took off for our first trip last fall.  

We can't wait to make many, many memories in this trailer!  

The Year Ahead-2017

In February 2016, as we were road tripping to and from Walt Disney World I got the the bug again-the outdoor traveling bug, that is.  Outdoor recreation and travel has always been a passion of mine-in fact my degree is in Recreation and Leisure with an emphasis in outdoor recreation.  Some of my college coursework included backpacking trips and kayaking down rivers. After college, I worked at an Environmental Learning Center as a naturalist and taught classes on canoeing, cross country skiing, indoor rock climbing, and stream studies-just to name a few.  But after getting married and moving to Iowa, life got busy.  I took a stressful job and missed out on prime outdoor weather.  We bought a camper and hit the road every now and again but I didn't get outdoors and enjoy as much as I had in the past.

Picture of John and I right before our first outing with our Prowler in April 2010.

But something happened as we drove past exits on the Interstate for numerous National Forests, hiking trails, National Parks, and recreation areas.  I realized I need to have that part of my life back.  I needed to get outdoors again doing what I am really passionate about.  Thankfully, John was on board with this and the girls are always along for the ride. We definitely got outdoors more in 2016 and we hope to ramp things up even more in 2017.

Last year, our goal was 20 nights in the camper.  Had we not been without a camper for the most of July, all of August, September, and October we would have made our goal no problem.  Here are a few of our plans/dreams/goals for the year.

30 NIGHTS IN THE FANCY NANCY

As of now we have reservations for 15 nights so 30 nights should be a breeze.  This is a huge step compared to past goals of taking the camper out for 5 trips a year-which was a goal we never achieved.

TRIPS WE HAVE PLANNED

Northern Minnesota for a Winter trip-definitely weather dependent but we hope to get out and enjoy the North Country cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

San Antonio/Hill Country-I have been to San Antonio once with my family when I was in junior high and then John and I went with my parents for my brothers graduation from Air Force Basic Training in 2008.  It will be fun to go back with the kids, do different things, and explore Hill Country-a place where I haven't been.

At the Alamo in 2008

Badlands and the Black Hills-I visited this area in 2002 with some friends and I have been itching to get back there.  We currently have reservations for one night at Cedar Pass Campground in the Badlands and a few nights at Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City.

Friends from High School Circa 2002

Itasca State Park (Headwaters of the Mississippi) in Northern Minnesota
Camping up north has been something I have done since I was little.  In the past ten years or so we, as a family, tend to find ourselves camping around Duluth and the North Shore when we camp in Minnesota.  I can't wait to go up to Itasca and show my family a whole different part of Minnesota.

Amana Colonies, IA
The dealership where we purchased the Fancy Nancy has a camping club and they take a few trips a year.  We are hoping to join them for their local trip Amana, IA for their annual camping trip.  We have never gone to a rally before and this one sounds like a fun time in a great location-it is during their annual festival.

We also plan to hit up some local destinations which include, Saylorville, Maquoketa Caves State Park, Lanesboro, MN, and Backbone State Park.  We have also thrown out the idea to head someplace south in February which leads me to our next goal for the year...

12 MONTHS OF CAMPING

As we were traveling north for Christmas we started talking about all the places we wanted to go and when we could do it all.  I have been dreaming of winter camping this year and so the goal of camping in all 12 months of they year came to me.  I do think January might be the most difficult for us because we want to go north and that is so weather dependent.  There is really only one weekend that works for us so if it is snowing or SUPER cold (like sub-zero temps), that winter trip will be put on hold until February which means we won't make out goal for the first month of the year. . .but I guess I am willing to take that risk.  ;).  The other challenging month for us will be October-we are SUPER busy due to harvest season.  Even if we don't hit every month, at least we try which I think will ultimately lead us to camping more.

52 HIKE CHALLENGE

There is a 52 Hike Challenge out there and as much as I want to think we could reach that goal, I think we have our plate full.  I was definitely inspired by Boxy Colonial on the Road  for this one as they are in the midst of a 52 Hike Challenge.  I am not super confident that we will reach 52 hikes but it sets the bar high and if we come even close I will be happy.  Although, like John mentioned-if we are staying at least 30 nights in the camper then we should be able to get in 30 hikes since many of those hikes can be done close to home.  He makes a good point.  We will just have to see where we end up on this one.

At the end of the day, what all these goals add up to is to just get outdoors more.  I hope that by the end of 2017 I can say that we have accomplished that overall goal.  

Wow It Has Been a Long Time!

It has been months since the last time I dusted off this link and wrote a post.  Life was busy with the holidays-then Florida and now the weather has been absolutely beautiful to get outdoors.  And all in all I just wasn't very inspired.  I was working a ton at home in the evenings in the fall and winter and had little time to get to downloading pictures from the camera and phone and actually putting my thoughts down.

One things I have been intentional about lately is spending time with the girls.  In life there is SO many distractions and it is hard to get swept up in the go go go.  We are slowing things down a little (although it might not seem that way) and trying hard to get outside more.  We plan to do a lot of camping this spring and summer because when we do that there are no distractions-no house projects-no house chores-no errands-no obligations.  We get to just be together and do whatever we want for the weekend.

I really miss the blogging part too.  I miss writing down some of my favorite memories.  After all, that is what I started this for.  I love looking back at our lives since starting this blog and remembering what life was like for us.  I love reading my documentation on our past travels.  I always have intentions of creating a photo book but it never gets done.  So back to blogging it is for me.  If you are still following along, I plan to post some current happenings as well as some things for the past for myself.  So don't be surprised if you see things from January or February :) I  also can't wait to share about our upcoming adventures!  I am so excited for what these next few months have in store for us!

Family Pictures 2015

A few weeks ago we had our annual family pictures taken.  This year we would have probably skipped fall pictures because we had family pictures taken when Evelyn was born but a full family session came with Evelyns "Grow with Me" package that we purchased so of course I wouldn't pass that up.  So we scheduled them for Saturday morning in September and chose a park we actually go to a few times a year.  This year it was a little of a challenge.  Evelyn was very much distracted by all the leaves and flowers and Elsie was just trying be helpful-but wasn't.  It was a beautiful morning.  

Preschool 2015

On Friday Sept 11th Elsie started preschool.  She had been waiting for this day for so long!!!  She loves to learn so I knew she would love school.  She is also social and after pulling the girls out of the local daycare center and preschool I scrambled to find a preschool that still had openings.  Luckily, St. Pauls Lutheran Preschool had one opening and we filled it immediately.  Emma and Olivia attended this preschool when they were little so we knew it was a good decision.  

Elsie is in the Lambs class this year (3yr olds). 

Elsie's First Day of Preschool

On Tuesday Sept 8th we had Preschool Open house.  We had a chance to see the classroom and meet the teachers.  With Elsie there was no hesitation!  

 One of my favorite things about this preschool (well there is lots of them), but one of them is this sheet that gets sent home-it lists what the did that day and it is perfect for me to be able to talk with her about what she did and keep the conversation going. 

On Tuesdays they have chapel and on the first Tuesday they had their bible presentation and invite the parents to come and watch.  Elsie was so excited to get her bible.  We have already read many stories in it at night,  

It is adjustment to me because it adds things on my calendar that I must remember like when picture day is, sending money for offering on Tuesdays for chapel,  library day, snack day, student of the day, and right now they are doing a fundraiser for St. Judes.  It is fun though and She is enjoying it so far.  On Friday the teacher told me that Elsie does a wonderful job of focusing on the lessons and is really interested in learning her letters and color-which are things we already knew but she added that Elsie is a school teacher's dream.  I hope that this love for learning continues for her.