After nearly 9 months of RV shows and research, we purchased a brand new Apex Nano 193BHS travel trailer with the hopes that having a little house on wheels meant we’d actually go camping as a family.

In the two months we’ve owned our camper, we’ve taken three weekend trips and have explored parts of Falls Lake State Park and Kerr Lake State Park.

Our maiden trip was to the Rollingview Area of Falls Lake State Park. Paul and I have tent camped here many times, so we were familiar with the park. I carefully scoured the available campsites and booked one that looked private and easy to back into. We packed up the camper the night before and plugged into the house electric to cool the refrigerator. Everything, including hooking up to my SUV and pulling it out of the backyard with 3″ of room to spare on each side went smoothly.

Our good moods quickly dropped when we rolled up to the campsite and realized it had a weirdly angled and shared driveway. I had picked the most difficult site in the entire campground to back into on our first trip. Our camp neighbor’s truck was blocking part of our entrance, so Paul knocked on his huge 5th wheel rig to ask him to move it while we attempted to not embarrass ourselves completely as we tried to park our camper. This is when we met David, our camping angel.

David sensed our panic and took his place next to my window. Without hesitation, he directed me to turn my wheel. “Hard to the left. Now straighten out. Half to the left. Keep backing, keep backing. Straighten out. Half to the right. You got it. Now ride the planks straight back.” It was beautiful. It was a work of art. Turns out, David could back his gigantic 5th wheel into a campsite all on his own, so he was a professional.

David’s help and generosity didn’t stop there. He loaned us his drill so we could lower the stabilizers quickly. He let Nat pet his sweet dogs. He gave us tips and answered questions. We saw photos of his awesome fishing trips and talked about other campgrounds to visit. Our camping angel is proof that there are good, friendly people in the world who are happy to help.

The rest of our first trip was full of memory-making activities. Our son went for his first hikes. He fell in love with doggy kisses. He saw a campfire and got to eat hot dogs, hamburgers, and baked beans. We took naps in the hammock and I got to enjoy elusive toddler snuggles.

We were sad to pack up and go home after the weekend ended. Another adventure had to be scheduled as soon as possible.