Van-go: Trip to Sportsmobile

Last weekend we took a three day trip, and day one was a drive down to Fresno to visit the west coast Sportsmobile production center. It was pretty awesome! For those of you who don't know, Sportsmobile is a company that converts vans (Ford Cargo vans, passenger vans, Sprinter vans) into camper vans; they are known for making go-anywhere 4wd versions. We got to see a couple of finished vans, then they took us back to see the whole production line! It was really neat to see a van just like ours that drove in that day, to ones in the middle of the process getting fitted with cabinetry, to ones that were just getting the finishing touches. In comparison with what we saw there, our vision is much simpler. We want a couple of lights that run off the battery, a fridge, the camper pop-top (with bed up top), a bench seat that folds into a bed, some cabinets, and maybe a sink. That sounds like a lot, but believe me, there were vans there that were decked out with TV's, crazy electrical and plumbing (showers and flush toilets! in a van!)..way fancier than what we want. We picked out the bench seat and pop top, and put a deposit down. These will be installed by Sportsmobile in the first week of November.

Until then, Adam is working on putting in our new windows (that tilt open and have screens! No bugs!). We already purchased the carpet and are likely going to buy a fridge when we go on our trip to Washington in early September (Adam found a good deal in Seattle). I'm in charge of planning the September trip and getting us organized with the current layout we have for that trip.

After we went to Sportsmobile, we went for an overnight backpacking trip, my first in over 8 years! (For those of you who don't know, I was in a car accident over 8 years ago that left me with an injured spine/hips/shoulders/feet/etc. so backpacking hasn't really been an option). It was great! I only carried about 20-ish pounds, but didn't want to overdo it the first time. I think I could definitely carry more weight next time. We hiked out of Pinecrest (the Crabtree trailhead) which is above Sonora near highway 108. It was FANTASTIC! Here are some photos....