Mobile Scout Camping Adventure #2 - Cheney State Park

At last--the winter cover's come off Sweet Melissa and we're geared up for 2017 camping season!

You may remember that we took our 1961 Mobile Scout vintage camper on a test run to Salina KOA last November. After that successful camping trial, we had to say goodbye to camping as winter weather set in. But it's beautiful here in the Sunflower State once again, and we had our first excursion of the season on Mother's Day weekend.

Flooding at Cheney State Park

Didn't go too far this time--just about thirty miles west of the homestead to Cheney State Park. Some last minute drama as recent epic rainfall caused east shore camping areas at Cheney Lake to be flooded. We were determined to camp, nonetheless, and left home Saturday morning with Sweet Melissa in tow.

When we reached the lake we found, with the help of a buddy who had already set up camp, two west shore loops with open campsites. We chose the North Loop and couldn't have had a better camping experience.

Cheney State Park Campsite

Did I mention we decided to take our two senior citizen dogs along? They're as new to camping as we are, so we wondered how they'd like the experience. No reason to worry! Happy and Daisy hung out at the campground, took long walks with us and generally took to camping like they'd grown up at a KOA.

So now some particulars about our camping experience. Why did we enjoy Cheney State Park? It was PEACEFUL, a prairie park with a fifteen-square-mile reservoir, hiking trails and super-friendly camp hosts.

The Ninnescah Sailing Association calls this lake home, so a stroll through the sailboat marina was also fascinating. There's a boat launch/marina for powered boats on the other side of the lake. The Hubs got to watch some impressively speedy boats skipping across the waves.

He also got to share what he knows about restoring vintage campers with several groups who just had to stop and ask 'Did you restore that camper yourselves?' Lots of fun conversation, and we even found another vintage camper just around the
curve from our campsite!

Happy Hubby & '61 Mobile Scout

How did Sweet Melissa do as our home away from home for Mother's Day weekend? She was marvelous! We tweaked some routines and learned some shortcuts that will come in handy on future trips. She towed like a dream, even with a wild, Kansas crosswind bumping against her.

One of this blogger's favorite parts of camping so far is cooking outdoors. I also found that using our recently-purchased three-in-one toaster oven, grill and coffee maker was a nice option early in the morning. We're learning to use ingredients for multiple meals, to save room in our small fridge.

We really didn't have any complaints, other than not having another day to stay and relax at the lake. God bless the folks who camped around us in rigs that made our baby look like a children's playhouse. They seemed to be having a good time, too! We decided there's more than one way to camp, and we're glad we have the freedom to enjoy ours.

More than anything, we enjoyed the community of campers. People stopping, waving, even working together to secure an awning while the owner was off at work. It was what we've been hoping it would be when we finally got to start camping.

We've got the fever now and plan to creatively include our vintage trailer in most future travel. We're scheming our next camping vacation as I write, so watch for Sweet Melissa at campsite near you!