This week, I made a few small changes to the camper- mostly, to the interior. Having spent two nights in it this past weekend (Friday and Saturday nights, up at Sunrise Park Resort), I decided that "Job One" for this week was to make it feel a little more "home-y"; warmer, more inviting, and more comfortable...
The first task was to add some more lighting to the camper. That one was so immediate, that I actually did this while I was on the road this weekend. A quick stop at the Show Low, AZ Wal-Mart netted me this very large, and very bright Ozark Trail lantern for a measly ten bucks. It uses four "D" batteries, which I already had in the kit (they previously powered the air pump for my inflatable mattress)- and it really did brighten the interior quite a bit.
The next two purchases were a little bit more "cosmetic" and "atmospheric" in nature... not entirely functional, but definitely nice additions nonetheless. The first was a collection of three-wick, scented candles from Wal-Mart, in a variety of scents (examples being Apple Pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice, Milled Cider, Fresh Cotton, Natural Vanilla, among others). These were only $3.00 a piece (a real bargain), for a total of about twenty-four bucks total- but, they are a pleasant departure from the "Trench Foot" and "Snowboarder Stank" that usually permeates the interior atmosphere, while also adding a little bit of useful heat to the interior as well.
In addition to the candles, I also bought a very spiffy, very boss original painting from our roommate Alyse. Between the candles and the painting, it's starting to look less like a coffin on wheels, and much more like an inviting, restful space.
The hinge-up door is still in effect, although it is a little bit heavy, and sometimes a real pain in the butt... but having a handy canopy/sun shade is proving to be a really nice feature.
Getting a closer look inside, you can see that there's enough room beside the mattress for water bottles, the rear door poles (that hold up the canopy), extra batteries, books... anything that you might want within easy and quick reach in the middle of the night...
Getting in even closer, you can just barely make out the headboard/storage space in front of the pillows, which is proving very handy for safe keeping of books, eyeglasses, notepads, pens, or whatever else you might want to keep on hand for nightly entertainment. When I have the camper at the house (usually because I'm working on it), the camper also doubles as a nice, quiet, and comfortable reading and hangout space.
Micro campers: They're not just for micro-camping anymore...!
