Christmas Tree CAMPING Adventure

That's right. We've taken the Sparks family Christmas tree adventure to new heights. We decided to take one more trip in Miss Daisy (the camper) before putting her up for the winter the weekend after Thanksgiving to our favorite Christmas tree farm in White Top Virginia.
Miss Daisy has been an ongoing project since May, and has probably been one of the reasons I've blogged less since May. We've redone almost everything and we have camped!

After a great Thanksgiving Day with my dad, sister, step brother, and families we finished packing up; and went with our good friends the Hicks from Mississippi (yes, the "Mississippi Hicks"), who we camp with every year in Elkmont. They drove all the way up to get a tree! 

We hooked up Miss Daisy to the Wag and went. All five of us with both dogs. Yes, we all slept in Daisy. Even the dogs. The nights saw temperatures dip down to the low 20s. All water and drinks left outside were frozen solid! The camper was warm, but it was a little rough to go outside in the mornings and cook breakfast (which begins with melting ice for coffee)! 

We were saddened to learn that Charlie, the Christmas tree farm owner, died a couple of weeks ago. Now his daughter was selling trees. There were more people buying than we have seen in previous years (that doesn't mean many–we're usually the only ones!). She was there making wreaths and taking money. We took our time to find a tree, taking lots of pictures. The dogs love running free as we look. This year they had a couple of farm hands who cut your tree for you and take it to the old tree binder for you.

Here are some pictures of our time there. Notice that the girls even dressed up the dogs in sweaters. Not entirely impractical. It was below freezing there. Mo is cold natured and Sparky has lost lots of hair in his old age.

After getting lunch at the Whitetop Store, we drove up to Grayson Highlands. It was cold and windy. But the wind was really whipping at the top. It seems to always be windy there, but this was the strongest wind I've seen there. Like 60-80 mph constant. You had to lean into it to stand, and you had to yell to be heard. Cuttingly cold! Darla and Duncan hunkered down in a cleft of the rock while we went to the top.

After spending the night back at Grindstone Campground, we packed up and headed home. We stopped in Abingdon for lunch. People were taking pictures of the Wag and Miss Daisy like we were celebrities and waved at us like we were a one-car parade! One lady gleefully ran out of a building and asked to take a selfie with our family and the Wag & camper! So funny.

Okay, I feel compelled to dispel the "Pinterest Perfection" images here and remind readers that all is not perfect! The Wagoneer SUCKS gas, especially when pulling the trailer at interstate speeds. Also my pictures (intentionally) do not show the damage to the back bumper and right rear quarter panel sustained in the recent wreck I had. In addition, Darla and the kids (not Dara, who drives a Jeep truck) were complaining of the loud, droning, exhaust sound that now is even louder due to the damage in the back. I'm getting the Wag fixed and repainted soon, but it still leaks oil and has a tired engine with over 225k miles. This is evident on long, steep uphill climbs. Daisy's not the perfect camper either. We don't have a working oven, refrigerator, or any air conditioning. And wow, it's tight with five adults and two dogs! We had our share of bickering and patience-wearing-thin. So don't be fooled by the pictures. Know that we are a family of sinners who are in process, and we have limited funds to try to stretch and still have fun experiences together. Thankfully, there were no breakdowns.