First-Time RV Adventure at Okefenokee Refuge

Past…Present…Future

We have spent many days in this refuge, especially during the pandemic. We had never camped there. Frankly, because I don’t tent camp anymore. This old back can’t take it. In addition, we still had our youngest grandson living with us. He was excited to go on an adventure.

The weather was sunny every day we were there, but it definitely had a chill to it. The nights got especially cold, so we decided to try our propane heater for the first time. Let’s just say…it will probably be our last. It was much louder than we expected, and the smell wasn’t exactly something we wanted to sleep with all night. On our next fall camping trip, we’ll be bringing our electric Vornado heater instead.

Our other little adventure involved hot water—or, more accurately, the lack of it. We went almost the entire trip without realizing we had a perfectly good hot water heater! In the meantime, I was heating pots of water on the propane stove so we could wash dishes and take “bird baths.” Frank chose to use the campground bathhouse for showers, but with an energetic three-year-old running around, that wasn’t exactly practical for me.

Then, on the morning of our third day, our little hero came to the rescue.

Wyatt walked out of the RV bathroom, pointed toward the ceiling, and asked, “Nanni, what is that?”

I looked up and, way at the very top of the wall above the sink—almost touching the ceiling—I finally saw it: the controls for the hot water heater. We had searched everywhere for days, but because the switch blended into the dark wall, we had completely overlooked it.

WYATT DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF THE GATOR STATUE!

The refuge is known for having large gators, great fishing, and superb birding. Just outside the gift shop and marina sits this monstrosity of a gator statue. Wyatt was afraid of it at first, but embraced the power of conquering it. We saw one almost the same size down the Cane Pole trail that same day. It was across the water, sunning on the bank.

I was too busy keeping an eye on the 3-year-old to get any bird photos on this trip. Below is a Red-headed Woodpecker from a previous visit to the refuge.

Looking back, I’d say our very first RV adventure was a success. Sure, we had a few hiccups along the way, but that’s all part of the learning process. Every trip teaches you something, and this one taught us plenty—from setting up the RV and getting familiar with all the controls to figuring out the best places to store everything.

So far, we’re impressed with the amount of storage this little RV has. It handled everything we needed for a short trip with room to spare. The real test, though, will come when we head out for a month—or maybe even longer. I’m sure we’ll learn a few more lessons along the way, but that’s part of the adventure. We can’t wait to see where the road takes us next!