Memorial Day Weekend 2026
At first we didn’t have any camping plans for Memorial Day weekend. I had some doctor’s appointments on that Friday in preparation for the upcoming colonoscopy. But then at the last minute we decided what the hell – why not! Wednesday I picked up the Runabout, parked it out front, and turned on the fridge.
Friday arrived. Filled up the fresh water tank (45 gallons in the tank, 6 in the hot water heater), finished packing the last-minute groceries. I was getting ready to head out to my VA appointments when I noticed it. The fresh water tank. Kinda hanging on the driver side back. WTF. Had it always come down at an angle from front to back adn I just hadn’t noticed. I checked the other side. Nope. It is defintily horizontal and level with the trailer frame. Further inspection revealed the cause. A busted bracket. That last camping trip we made to Three Rivers Campground was a rough 6 or 7 miles of dirt and hole filled road. Seemed to recall a couple hard unexpected hits. Initial thoughts as I left for my VA appointments were to cancel this trip. But then I wondered if there were a way to temporarily support the tank for this trip. Turns out there was. Some handy cargo straps and a piece of plywood did the trick. Secure. Stopped a couple times on the way to our usual playground in the Lincoln National Forest to verify the integrity of the straps and we were golden.
Found a nice secluded spot about 4 miles down Forest Road 223. All Our usuals were taken this late on a Friday evening of a 4-day weekend, so this was the furthest out on this road that we have camped. Not by far, though. About another 50 yards. We were next to a few trails. Hiked Benson Ridge Canyon (4-mile loop) on Saturday and Lucas Canyon (6-mile out and back) on Sunday.
There is currently a fire ban in the whole forest, meaning no charcoal grills or log fires. Only propane. No problem. We brought the propane grill and propane campfire. Meals were my home-made brats on Saturday and k-bobs on Sunday. The weather was wonderful. Low was 49 and high at 66.
The hardest part was spreading the ashes of Abby in one of her favorite meadows in the forest. There, she joins her sister, Dolly. Over the past few years whenever we walk through that meadow, and we do a lot, we say hi to Dolly and remember a story or two about her. Now we’ll add Abby to the conversation. One we like to remember is how she loved the water. Whether it be the serene clear lake, white water rapids of a fast moving river, or a dirty ass mud-puddle. We had to make her avoid them when we didn’t want her wet or dirty. This meadow she’s now a part of has this huge mud hole at the beginning of it that we would have to leash her around to make our way to the meadow. And then again on our way back to our camping site. Otherwise she would be in it and one filthy dog. One day when there was this particularly huge mud puddle (because sometimes it was dry), she managed to sneak from us and took off at full speed towards it. I had to run full bore to be able to cut her off and prevent her from jumping into it. Good times. But also foreboding. Knowing that one day, Bailey and Lotty will also join this exclusive club. In the below picture from last year, Abby is the far left pup. The meadow is barely visable in the path that leads up between the trees on the left.
Now to focus on that water tank bracket. I think I can weld a new end on to it and secure it back to the trailer frame. A handy man’s work is never done. But he’s always saving money.