Not exactly
After our successful day of modifications at LHOTR, the only thing left on our punch list was getting our windows tinted at All Pro TInting in Decatur. Our appointment was for the following day and the plan was to head for home immediately after the Casita’s windows were completed. Where to stay for a single night that was nearby for our morning appointment? The not so obvious answer for these Metro NY/NJers was National Ropers Supply!
Decatur Texas is home to the flagship store of National Ropers Supply – a TEXAS sized store for all things western – clothes, saddles, roping and rodeo related. – and of most interest to us, NRS is also a Harvest Host. This was going to be our first stay at a Harvest Host.
Harvest Host is a collection of literally thousands of locations throughout the US and Canada where, for an annual membership, you can reserve a nights stay while RVing. The Harvest Host is NOT a campground. You are typically going to ‘dry camp’ (no services) although some locations may have an option for electric, water and or dump station. You can book ahead to reserve your space. Some Hosts allow for same day reservations. The Hosts range from breweries and, wineries to apple orchards and alpaca farms, from historic venues to drive-in movie theaters – it really is an impressive list of members. In exchange for your overnight stay you are asked to spend $30 at the location. Stay at a craft brewery and buy a few beers and you have spent at least $30 and you have a convenient place stay – it is really not hard to spend $30 at any of these hosts. You travel to have new experiences. The Harvest Host program will get you to an interesting stopover that you never heard of AND provide a place to overnight. We have upcoming stays booked at a number of Harvest Hosts locations. Since the typical stay is a single night, the HH program gives you an opportunity to have productive travel days when you are just trying to get to your destination. Campgrounds with minimum length of stays don’t seem to care that you are just trying to get home! You can find more details about the Harvest Host program at the link below. Using that link to find out more helps us out as a ‘referral’ – good for you and good for us!
I looked up Harvest Hosts near Decatur, Texas and that is how we found National Ropers Supply!
Typically the Host will list any RV size restrictions, pet policies, services available, directions etc. and from what I read it seemed like the NRS facility could basically handle anything you could throw at it. Certainly anything we were going to throw at it! The area reserved for Harvest Host parking was near an arena for horse shows(?) The parking area was HUGE! Tractor trailers could do donuts in the parking lot – big donuts! Clearly this area of the NRS compound was prepared to handle dozens of tractor trailers, horse carriers, RV’s and event related vehicles – surprisingly NONE of which were present. There were over a hundred reservable Harvest Host spots and for what ever reason, we were the ONLY HH campers that night. Everyone at NRS was friendly over the phone, giving directions – there was a guy driving through on a golf cart if we had any questions – we would only be staying one night – what could go wrong?
You could turn an aircraft carrier around in that parking lot. There were NO other campers to navigate around. All I had to do was back up reasonably close to the hookups (NRS offered sites with electric and water). Backing up. There is a first time for everyone and I couldn’t think of a more benign location to give it a go.
Between the two of us, it got done. Wasn’t pretty. Wasn’t smooth. But in an event where you are scored based on whether your 25 foot electrical cord will make it to the power hook up, I completed my assignment. We can leave it at that. Note to readers – if you are only staying a single night there really is no need to unhook the travel trailer from the tow vehicle. A lesson I learned at NRS.
The next morning, reconnecting to the Highlander was made more difficult because it had rained overnight. The trailer jack wheel (the Casita comes with a wheel instead of a foot for reasons I do not understand) started to bury itself in the soft ground – even with the leveling pad underneath. The surface the car was on was harder packed gravel. The Casita and the Highlander were at odds with each other and all we wanted to do was get on the road and make our tinting appointment. Eventually through a combination of different strategies and wishful thinking, we got hooked back up and headed to All Pro.
The guys at All Pro did a great job of tinting the Casita windows. The purpose of the tint is to reduce sun glare without obscuring your view out the windows. The level of tint is not like a limousine which is designed to prevent anyone looking in. The tint should also keep the Casita cooler – it certainly looks cooler!
Thank you Harvest Host!
https://www.harvesthosts.com/?refid=ivjydkbf