Yesterday I decided to move on. I loved the remote setting; however, the lack of Internet made my work projects difficult, I had a run-in with my popup camper mattress (it lost), and I could not find any good birding places.
The mattress from hell story is the most interesting. Before the trip I expected the mattress problems, so I purchased a foam topper. This combo was okay for a few nights. After 10 nights, it morphed into a nightmare. My hip bone sunk to the plywood base below, I tossed every night, and I awoke with aches, pains, pulled muscles and a grumpy attitude. Even Tango gave up and slept on the floor.
No good!
My modification a few days ago: place an air mattress under the stock mattress. Confident that this will solve my sleeping issues, I cut up the foam topper to make an excercise/stretching pad, a sleeping pad for Tango, and a seat cushion for my camp chair. I rolled up the rest, secured it with bungee cords and tossed into the area of the van for “deal with it later” stuff.
The air mattress under the regular mattress was an awful solution because the two slipped around all night.. What to do? I started to think that the devil mattress had to go and that sleeping on the air mattress alone would be better.
I rolled up the devil and threw it into the van. The plan was to drop it off at a thrift store and find a good sleeping pad at the cool sporting goods store in-town. I couldn’t find a thrift store, but as I sat in the van contemplating my next move I looked up and saw a pretty Baptist church. My inner child said, “Go around the back and look for a dumpster”. I did just that and tossed that devil mattress right in. I figured at this point that it needed the Baptist brand of TLC – an exorcism. Considering my profession, I perform that act myself, but my training leaned towards “loving your neighbor” and not sin purging. So, I left my mattress in good hands.
Next stop: sporting goods store. Sadly, they did not carry sleeping pads. It was mostly hunting stuff and clothes. Oh well, the air mattress will be a good solution. And it would have been except that, after the second night of its solo debut, it was flat by morning, thanks to a sharp edge on the sleeping platform.
Now, the popup has two beds, but the second one is a junior version of the devil mattress. Hmmm. Bedless. And the comfort level in my camp chair is minimal. I can only work at the dinette an hour or so before that causes aches and pains. I am hesitant to live on NAISDs and my topical muscle creams work for short spurts. Conclusion: I must address my sleeping and working comfort level. At (almost) any cost.
Cablea’s’! There has to be one around here someplace (REI on steroids). I pack up, pop down, and head back to town. There, I fire up the Internet and, as I suspect, Billings, MT has a Cabela’s. I make a snap decision to spend the night in Billings, do my laundry, get a few hot showers, and catch up on emails and Internet reading/reasearch.
Fast forward: Cabelas, in Billings, MT. I pass through their heavenly front entrance and am greeted by an angel who smiles nicely and says, “Welcome.” I am certain I hear angle choirs in the aisle but am not sure. I head to the camping chair aisle and take down every chair from it’s raised display. I test each and find two that I l love. Hmmm, how will I choose?
One is a zero gravity lounge chair. I don’t know exactly what that is but it sounds ergonomic and it fits like Cinderella’s slipper. The second chair is a raised director’s chair with a foot rest, and it fits too. Besides, I have a folding table that I can raise up to that level. Which one, which one? Both. For just over $120, I can work in peace. Tax deduction!
Next, the mattress problem. I found the sleeping bag/sleeping pad section. I knew that a regular Thermarest would not suffice after much trial and error when I tent camped for 30 years. I was hoping (praying?) for some incredible new technology that would solve my problem. I walked away with a $169 ultimate sleeping pad that self-inflates to 3″, the same height as the devil mattress. I got the wider model, which should work fine. I won’t know until I get back to camping but I am optimistic. In thirty minutes, I blew the trip budget out of the water.
In the meantime, I am doing loads of laundry, including all the camper bedding. The housekeeping folks send me an evil eye every time I walk to the the laundry room, but checkout time is noon and I am staying until noon. Hotels in Billings are overpriced and filled with oil field workers and contractors. I am taking every second that I paid for. All the other guests were gone by the time I awoke, so things are quiet and peaceful at the moment.
Next up: at noon–no sooner–I will head to the Montana Bluebird Trails. I may stay one more night in a motel because I just want to hike the trails then get up to higher country. Or?
The dryer should be finished. Time to check. Time to get one more shower before I leave.
