Chinook Under The Tree
This was the day that I picked up my Chinook Concourse. I got in it and drove straight to the nearest Wal-Mart for supplies. I pulled in the parking lot, and since it was warm and sunny, I thought of parking near a tree for some shade. That was the first of many times I was reminded that I was now driving a vehicle that was 10 feet tall as I heard the tree branches scrape loudly across the roof, vents, and air conditioning unit. (Note to self: don't forget what you're driving and try to drive through a fast food restaurant.)
Twenty-one feet long, 10 feet high, and as wide in the back as the dual axles. No slide-outs, but it had everything I needed. Confortable chairs, a table, sofa/bed, and self contained with a wet bath, refrigerator, stove, and it's own portable water supply. Now I just needed to figure out how it all worked. And best of all, it drives just like a large van. After a short time driving, it was easy to forget it wasn't "just a van". All I had to do to set up was find a level spot, and plug it in.
So I headed west out of Tucson and arrived a the Tucson Mountain Park Campground just after it got dark. I found my site. It was a short, back-in space, and I only had to get out and walk to the back to see where I was going about 3 or 4 times while backing in. I got my little flashlight, pulled out the electric cord and reached down to lift the cover on the electric box. A sudden severe pain stabbed at my finger. It was dark, and I wondered if maybe I had been bitten by some horrible, deadly creature. When I brought my hand under the light, I found I had a dead piece of cactus rammed up under the skin around my nail-bed. (Note to self: You're in Arizona... all the plants growing in the campground are cacti that can impale you.) The second attempt to plug in was done slowly and carefully, with lots of light.
I wasn't going to worry about hooking up water, as I was only there to sleep and leave early in the morning. I was making up the bed, when I remembered that I hadn't clipped my pay stub to the post at the front of the site. It was just starting to drizzle (in Arizona?), so I flipped on the parking lights to see, and jumped out the front door and quickly hung the stub. I was ready for my first night in my new RV. The roof air conditioning unit worked great, and all the lights seemed to work, except there didn't seem to be a light in the bathroom, but the flashlight worked fine. I settled in for the night on the surprisingly comfortable sleeper sofa.