Faces of the Campground: Grand Design Gathering

You just never know who might pull in at the campground. Take our visit to Leonard Harrison State Park: As we drove through the campground, we noticed two very unusual campers with the name “Vixen 21” on the side. Later in the evening a few more pulled in, and the travelers all gathered for a potluck dinner. Our curiosity piqued, Jarrett stopped by to learn more and met Jim and Garnet from Florida. They shared a little bit about the history of this motorhome model, which was only made between 1986 and 1989.

Alas, we didn’t have time to do a longer interview since the Vixen group was only staying the night before heading out en route to New York for a rally. But in the meantime another mini rally was coming together just a few campsites away. This time it was a gathering of Grand Design fifth-wheel owners.

This group of couples had initially met at a fall Grand Design rally and since then have been arranging camping meet-ups as they are able. Bruce and Vicki, who hail from Abington, Pa., have been camping for over 20 years. They started off in a tent and worked their way up through a pop-up and travel trailer before buying the Grand Design fifth wheel.

The camping group also includes Neal and Holly from Sinking Spring, Pa., Chris and Stacy from Buffalo, N.Y., and Rich and Terri, from Limerick, Pa.

Rich and Terri are still new to camping with a group but they’ve quickly learned that in order to arrange a camping rally you have to book sites early if you want to get sites next to each other. Terri said camping as a group–and in their case having the commonality of the same RV manufacturer–is a great opportunity for building new friendships “but more importantly sharing the love of the outdoors with each other and discovering new places.” They said they have some great memories of traveling with Bruce and Vicki to Acadia National Park where they logged miles kayaking and biking.

Thanks so much to this fun group of campers for letting us crash their campfire for a little bit! Look for more “Faces of the Campground” profiles to come each month–and who knows, maybe one day we’ll be meeting you at the campground!