stumpXJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Atlanta, Georgia
*** Cross posted from another board****
My normal group that I go offroading with decided to go for one last camping trip this year, and planned it for this weekend, Friday, Sat. and Sunday. There were 6-8 of us planning to go on this trip a few weeks ago, and we bounced many different ideas around about which direction we wanted to go, and what countries to visit. By the time Wednesday of this week rolled around, it appeared as though I would be making a solo trip as most of the guys were either tied up fixing vehicles, work related stuff, or just plain didnt want to camp in the cold wet winter in Europe. All of which I understand, but I wasnt going to let it stop me, especially since I had already taken Friday off from work, and had the "ok" from my wife about going. These opportunities are rare....
Thursday at work, I did some searching on where I wanted to go, and decided to just make it a short trip over into France. Since I was going solo and into an unfamiliar area, I decided to hit the designated camping spots if at all possible. This was harder than I initially realized, since it is now so late into the season, most places were closed for the winter, especially the farther South I went into the mountains. I decided that my first stop would be Bannes, France, in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Basically, in the middle of nothing, and I was fine with that. I would drive down to this spot on Friday, camp friday night, then head back in the general direction I came until I got to my second spot of the trip, Neufgrange, France in the Lorraine region. Also, in the middle of nothing.
The purpose of this trip was simply to "get out", do a little exploring of an area not well known for much, and test out my camping set-up. Just a last hoo-rah for 2008 if you will.
Loaded up the Jeep Friday morning, and had make one pit-stop before I officially got underway. I snapped this picture in the parking lot of a "baumarkt", which is similar to a Lowes, Home Depot, or large hardware store. I needed to stop here to get a new clip/pin that holds on my sway bar discconects. I lost one while wheeling a few weeks back, and figured it would be a good idea to have the sway bar hooked up, especially with all of the weight I added on the top of the roof rack. Found what I needed, hooked up the sway bar, and was ready to roll.
I checked the forcast before leaving, and it was calling for "spotty" rain showers, with a possible thunder storm moving through on Friday night. No problem, this would give me a good opportunity to see how water proof my tent and awning was...
Just a few spots along the way. This was at a parking area where I stopped to stretch my legs, and eat a packed lunch. Certainly looks like rain in my future...
This is pretty much what it looked like for my whole trip. Rolling hills, open fields, and high winds with low cloud cover. The perfect European Winter day.
I finally made it to my first destination, Bannes, France. Like I mentioned, I was going to be utilizing camps grounds for my stops. Although this one was like a ghost town, it was open.
First camp site, all set-up:
More camp site shots:
Inside the tent, with the LED light strip working like a charm.
The kitchen in night mode:
My normal group that I go offroading with decided to go for one last camping trip this year, and planned it for this weekend, Friday, Sat. and Sunday. There were 6-8 of us planning to go on this trip a few weeks ago, and we bounced many different ideas around about which direction we wanted to go, and what countries to visit. By the time Wednesday of this week rolled around, it appeared as though I would be making a solo trip as most of the guys were either tied up fixing vehicles, work related stuff, or just plain didnt want to camp in the cold wet winter in Europe. All of which I understand, but I wasnt going to let it stop me, especially since I had already taken Friday off from work, and had the "ok" from my wife about going. These opportunities are rare....
Thursday at work, I did some searching on where I wanted to go, and decided to just make it a short trip over into France. Since I was going solo and into an unfamiliar area, I decided to hit the designated camping spots if at all possible. This was harder than I initially realized, since it is now so late into the season, most places were closed for the winter, especially the farther South I went into the mountains. I decided that my first stop would be Bannes, France, in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Basically, in the middle of nothing, and I was fine with that. I would drive down to this spot on Friday, camp friday night, then head back in the general direction I came until I got to my second spot of the trip, Neufgrange, France in the Lorraine region. Also, in the middle of nothing.
The purpose of this trip was simply to "get out", do a little exploring of an area not well known for much, and test out my camping set-up. Just a last hoo-rah for 2008 if you will.
Loaded up the Jeep Friday morning, and had make one pit-stop before I officially got underway. I snapped this picture in the parking lot of a "baumarkt", which is similar to a Lowes, Home Depot, or large hardware store. I needed to stop here to get a new clip/pin that holds on my sway bar discconects. I lost one while wheeling a few weeks back, and figured it would be a good idea to have the sway bar hooked up, especially with all of the weight I added on the top of the roof rack. Found what I needed, hooked up the sway bar, and was ready to roll.
I checked the forcast before leaving, and it was calling for "spotty" rain showers, with a possible thunder storm moving through on Friday night. No problem, this would give me a good opportunity to see how water proof my tent and awning was...
Just a few spots along the way. This was at a parking area where I stopped to stretch my legs, and eat a packed lunch. Certainly looks like rain in my future...
This is pretty much what it looked like for my whole trip. Rolling hills, open fields, and high winds with low cloud cover. The perfect European Winter day.
I finally made it to my first destination, Bannes, France. Like I mentioned, I was going to be utilizing camps grounds for my stops. Although this one was like a ghost town, it was open.
First camp site, all set-up:
More camp site shots:
Inside the tent, with the LED light strip working like a charm.
The kitchen in night mode: