Van Camping: Night One

We were camping at the Ace of Diamonds Mine in Middleville, NY, off a branch of the Mohawk River in the foothills of the Adirondacks. The orange crane holding a large, fake diamond-cut-shaped object greets you on approach. The whole thing is very funny.

We couldn't find mosquito netting at 3 area Walmarts (out apparently), so we headed to the fabric department. Bridalveil material would do.

While Betsy fabricated our mosquito netting, I got the chimney started.

Our site was a little rough and the owner of the mine worked till sundown. I was disappointed. The bathrooms were, uh, eewww, and the shower required 4 quarters. If there's gonna be a shower and bathroom, I want it clean with little thick dops of old caulk holding everything together. Otherwise, I'll take a hose and spigot (or a stream) for my shower and the woods for my toilet.

I got cooking.

Our makeshift bugscreen. It worked well, although it wasn't that buggy -maybe because its been dry? It finally did rain, a few flashes of lightning around 11 pm. I removed the battery cable and left the back hatch open -the rain stayed out. Our bedding system, however, was incomplete as we needed more padding. Back to Walmart the next day.