Mark Sundstrom

I now own a tiny home. It travels on two wheels and can go almost anywhere.

Photos are here.

It's a Casita 17 foot Spirit Deluxe travel trailer. To me it seems large on the inside and tiny on the outside. It's very very easy to pull with the new F-150. Still working on backing up – practice makes perfect.

My friend Blake flew down from British Columbia to Texas to join me for the delivery from the factory and do a shakedown road trip back to Ohio.

We arrived at the factory on Thursday, 22 September, a half hour before they opened. When they were ready for us, Blake backed the pickup into their garage and they tested out trailer connections, which were fine. Tim at the factory went over everything, starting on the outside and working to the inside. Lots of systems to learn and things to remember, but it will all get easier over time.

Then we were on our way, with the first stop at Nelson-Putman Propane in Corsicana to get the two tanks filled up. After a lunch break, we did some shopping for needed items, especially some food and a couple of chairs and a table for sitting outside.

The first campsite was at Navarro Mills Lake. Most Casita owners spend the first night fairly near the factory in case any issue comes up that could be easily taken care of with a trip back to the factory the next morning. And Navarro Mills was only about 20 miles away and a highly recommended stop. It's a great campsite and I'd stop there again. We made some dinner and celebrated. It's still hot in Texas, but the air conditioner cooled the trailer off quickly. The refrigerator seemed very slow to get cold, but our campsite neighbors assured us that was normal. Indeed, the fridge was nice and cool by the morning.

After a stop in Corsicana at the world famous and very nice and friendly Collin Street Bakery, we headed to Fort Worth to show off the trailer to friends there. A very nice neighbor allowed us to park in their driveway overnight, which turned out very handy since there aren't that many campgrounds close by in Fort Worth.

Saturday morning I ran and Blake walked with my running and walking (and Grand Canyon rim-to-rim) friends in Fort Worth. That afternoon a number of them came over for a wine and cheese picnic under the canopy outside the trailer. Sally presented me with an awesome package of stuff to use in the trailer, much of which is already in place. Thanks!

We all had a great dinner at the Mexican restaurant Benito's in Fort Worth that evening.

Sunday morning Blake and I were up early to get on the road just after sunrise, heading east on I-20. We ultimately decided to make it a long driving day to be better positioned for our next stops and also to have more time when we got back to Columbus. After we got to Vicksburg, Mississippi, we decided on Tuscaloosa, Alabama as a good overnight stop and made things easy with a hotel stay instead of camping. We had a nice meal, but did find out that you can't get a beer after 9 pm on a Sunday in Tuscaloosa.

Monday morning we headed for the Huntsville Space and Rocket center. It's always fun to see these huge rockets and read about their history and development. I had visited here in 1995, but this was a first for Blake, as was pretty much everywhere we traveled. Blake enjoyed seeing the rockets and some of the models of them that he had enjoyed as a kid. Much of the rest of the facility looks a bit run down, though, and some exhibits don't seem a good fit with the original theme.

From there we headed to Chattanooga and an RV park. We were easily the smallest trailer in the park. It would be a good place to stay while visiting Chattanooga.

The next morning we drove along scenic US64 and US74 east of Chattanooga, along a river that was used for the white water competitions in the 1996 Olympics. The truck and trailer had no problem with the mountain roads. We even drove the steep road up to Georgia's highest point and then walked or rode the shuttle another half mile to the visitor center. Good views from there.

From there we had an hour or two of driving to the Clemson, South Carolina area to visit an old friend of Blake's that he hadn't seen in many years. We could stay overnight in their driveway and Blake expertly backed it up the somewhat steep and very narrow driveway to the flat spot at the top. I'm going to practice backing up so I can do that, too.

It was a great visit for Blake and I enjoyed meeting his friends.

We were out late the next morning and headed north on I-26, I-40 and then I-75 up to Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky. The campground was not at all crowded and we enjoyed a nice walk along the falls.

In the middle of the night, a rotten tree fell on the campsite just two sites down from us, fortunately not hitting anyone. We were glad it didn't hit us!

After breakfast, we headed to the Lexington/Frankfort area for a quick stop at the Kentucky Horse Park and then a fun stop at the Buffalo Trace Distillery for a tour.

Coming north to Columbus, we hit downtown Cincinnati at early rush hour but thankfully had little or no delay. After the trailer spent the night in a friend's driveway for a visit, we took it the next morning to the storage area.

I'm sure looking forward to getting out with it again in a few weeks time.