After months of stalking Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for a camper, Mike and I finally made a purchase. Actually, we seem to be the only ones calling it a camper, everyone else says travel trailer. We are now lucky owners of a 16′ Airstream!! We lucked out with this purchase and bought it from a friend who was willing to sell it, although they did seem a little sad to see it go 🙂
Even though I’ve been pretty sick for the past week, we decided to take it for a night at a local campground. Because we are new at this whole RVing thing, we didn’t want to take it far. Ok, not an RV either? This is confusing but fun.
There are three campgrounds on Chena Hot Springs Road. I scouted the area last summer for family photo locations and loved the campgrounds I had seen.
On the way, we drove past the “pizza bus” that I had kept seeing great reviews for on Facebook and Mike insisted we stop there for lunch. It was further from the road than we realized, and I would not recommend taking a camper, er, travel trailer back there without knowing that the road is reeeallllyyyy bumpy. We took the pizza with us to eat as we were setting up, and it lived up to the hype. How cute is this place?? If you’re local to Fairbanks and haven’t yet made it here, it’s worth the drive.
We decided to camp at Rosehip Campground. It is within the Chena River State Recreation Area. The setting is beautiful, in the woods next to the river. We did drive up to the Granite Tors campground to check it out (also a great setting) but decided to go back to the Rosehip campground.
Mike brought along a hammock we purchased in Thailand years ago that we haven’t used yet, Jackson loved it.
We didn’t have much time to explore the area, but we did walk around the campground and Mike tried to fish for five minutes. The river is catch-and-release, The boys, of course, spent more time throwing rocks then fishing. There seem to be a lot of trails in the area, although many of them are meant for four-wheelers. Angel Rocks and Granite Tors are also close by, and both great hiking options, when you’re not sick 🙂 Also, there are a few lakes that are stocked by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
As you can see, it’s starting to get green here in Fairbanks! I brought along my macro (and zoom) lens and had some fun. There was still some snow on the ground, but the temperatures were mild. The mosquitos are starting to come out, so bring bug spray!
We also made a fire and cooked s’mores. Of course. Isn’t that a camping requirement? Curious George has taught Jackson to expect it 🙂
Mike cooked breakfast for me on Mother’s Day. Jackson gave me a stick.
Jackson was silly because he knows how much I like taking pictures of him when he’s being goofy (also for Mothers Day).
Overall, it was a great trip. The ca– travel trailer makes it easy to get out of the house and set up, especially in shoulder season since it comes with a heater. Here in Alaska, there are so many beautiful places to enjoy, and so few hotels. The Chena River State Recreation Area is definitely worth a visit, in tents, a travel trailer, or as a day trip. If you’re looking for me this weekend, we’ll be out camping.
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