Starling Travel

June 30, 2012

Moncur Epic Journey May 2012: There Is Nothing To See In Nebraska

Filed under: Camping,Tourist Attractions — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Nebraska: NOTHING To See Here, Keep MovingAfter our blissful night in St. Joseph, Missouri, we left early in the morning on our journey home. We knew we had a long day ahead of us, and we wanted to be able to visit whatever interesting things might be on our journey. The previous day, we had visited two very fun tourist attractions, so we thought we would see at least one or two things on our drive from St. Joseph, Missouri to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

We had the entire state of Nebraska to traverse. There must be SOMETHING there, right?

Umm… no… (Continue Reading…)

June 29, 2012

A Teardrop American Outbacker in the Australian Outback

Filed under: Camping,Teardrops & Tiny Trailers — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Aussie Teardrop American OutbackerMargaret Sweep commented on my blog post: Starling Travel » Some Campsites Aren’t Good For A Teardrop Trailer

Gday from Australia . I have the same American Inc outback travel trailer. Two were imported into Australia, ours is the only one that has survived, the other one was lost in the last Victorian bushfires, we would not part with ours. Draws a crowd were ever we go.

Cheers Margaret and Ibo Sweep— June 25, 2012 @ 12:13 am

I immediately emailed her, asking for pictures. She was nice enough to send me a ton of them.

All these descriptions are Margaret’s: (Continue Reading…)

June 28, 2012

Moncur Epic Journey May 2012: Beacon RV Park in St. Joseph, Missouri

Filed under: Camping,Missouri,Places To Visit,Teardrops & Tiny Trailers — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

The beauty of leaving our travel schedule open was that Mike and I could drive as far as we wanted and when we were tired we could find a campsite to stop at and sleep. The irresponsibility of leaving our travel schedule open was that we were driving home during Memorial Day weekend. After visiting The Laura Ingalls Wilder House and Osceola Cheese, we planned on camping at Lake Jacomo near Kansas City, Missouri.

When we arrived there, however, it was packed full and the camp host assured us that the other two campgrounds near the lake were also full for the weekend. Mike and I took one look at the rowdy campground full of people excited for their long weekend and decided to move on.

Mike pulled up the Allstays App [iTunes link] and found Beacon RV Park in St. Joseph, Missouri, about an hour away from the lake. They had room for us and their prices were very affordable. Their office closing time was in thirty minutes, however. The owner told us to head over and he would stay long enough for us to get there. We did our best to get through the Kansas City traffic up north to St. Joseph.

I had a bad feeling about the RV Park when we drove down the Belt Highway. How good could an RV Park be when it’s situated between a used car lot and a Chinese restaurant? I envisioned a night of noise from the big road and an unsecured location. Instead, we found a haven, sunk below the traffic noise. (Continue Reading…)

June 27, 2012

How To Add a Faucet to the Cabela’s/Portal Camp Kitchen

Filed under: Camping — Laura Moncur @ 9:00 am

When they say you packed everything including the kitchen sink, they don’t quite understand what they are talking about. Sinks are easily replaced. A plastic bin that holds my propane cylinders is good enough to replace the kitchen sink.

The kitchen faucet, however, is priceless.

While Mike and I were on our Epic Journey, traveling in our teardrop trailer for twelve days, I missed a sink the most. We noticed the Reliance Sink in our teardrop was leaking into the sleeping cabin (?!), so we had to stop using it. I dumped the propane cylinders out of their plastic bin and washed dishes in it instead.

Even though we had water at every site we camped at, I had to fill my teapot and newfound “sink” right at the water faucet, nearly drowning spiders every time. How I wished I had a hose and a faucet that somehow attached to my camp kitchen.

When I got home, I looked EVERYWHERE for a way to add a faucet to my camp kitchen or a new camp kitchen with a faucet. I didn’t find anything that was made to do that, so I headed to the hardware store to make it myself.

Here’s a video of the final product:

You can see more detailed pictures of how I made the faucet after the break: (Continue Reading…)

June 26, 2012

One-Sheet Plywood Boat

Filed under: Boating — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

If storing a boat isn’t a big issue for you, here is a video showing you how to build a one from one sheet of plywood.

If you need more detail, I found a great collection of free boat plans here:

He even divides the plans based on how much plywood you have (one sheet, one and a half sheet, etc.). The plans show some details about how to put the boats together, but you need to have some woodworking skills to understand them. If you’re a beginner, it will be hard to go with just these plans.

I never thought of building my own boat before. Just like I never thought of building my own trailer or camping gear, yet, people have been doing it for years and years. They create their own equipment, making a unique and interesting addition to their leisure time.

You may not be able to take a trip every weekend, but you can certainly work on your boat, trailer, chuck box or camping sink in your free time, dreaming of those two weeks every year when you can use them.

June 25, 2012

Moncur Epic Journey May 2012: Osceola Cheese Company in Osceola, Missouri

Filed under: Food,Missouri,Places To Visit — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Amish Yield SignMike and I saw the sign at the same time. I said,

“Share the road? With what? The Amish?”

We laughed and Mike pulled out his iPad to do some research.

“Umm… yeah.”

“Yeah, what?”

“We need to share the road with the Amish.”

I suddenly felt like I was in a strange land. There was a possibility that I could actually see Amish people driving horse-drawn buggies, just like the movies. And I did! I finally understood how all those tourists who come to Utah to see the Mormons felt. They’re just people. They might wear funny clothes (or underwear), but in the end, they’re people just like us.

I had no idea that with the Amish comes really good cheese. We kept seeing billboards for the Osceola Cheese Company. The giant mouse on the billboards enticed Mike, so we stopped there. I’m so glad we did. (Continue Reading…)

June 24, 2012

How Much Would You Pay For A Camping Sink?

Filed under: Camping — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Ever since the leak started in our Reliance Camping Sink in our teardrop trailer, I’ve been obsessed with looking at camping sinks again. After depleting Google images looking for a camping sink, I decided to give Pintrest a try. Brian Olsen on Pintrest found this camping sink.

The $575 Camping Sink

It’s the Classic Melville & Moon Safari Sink from Kanz Outdoors and it costs…

Wait for it… (Continue Reading…)

June 23, 2012

Moncur Epic Journey May 2012: Laura Ingalls Wilder House in Mansfield, Missouri

Filed under: Missouri,Museums,Places To Visit — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Laura IngallsMike and I left Memphis and started on the long journey back to Utah. I was driving and in a bit of a road trance when Mike asked,

“Do you want to see the Laura Ingalls House?”

“What? Yes! Of course I would!”

He replied, “We just missed the turn off for it.”

It was all I could do to not slam on the brakes and attempt a u-turn on the interstate.

“It can’t be the Little House on the Prairie. That wasn’t in Missouri, was it? I thought they lived in South Dakota.”

Mike pulled out his iPad, doing research while I looked for another exit.

“It was the house she WROTE the books in. Take the next turn-off.” (Continue Reading…)

June 22, 2012

Brilliant Camp Kitchen Organizer

Filed under: Camping — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Margie Barnett on Pintrest uploaded this shoe organizer that she has used for her camp kitchen.

Camping Kitchen Organizer

I used to use something similar to that for my camp kitchen. You can see it here:

Using a shoe organizer is smarter than my setup because it is easier to buy at the store and it folds up flatter than the organizer I used.

Honey-Can-Do Over The Door Clear Shoe Organizer at Amazon.comWhile I haven’t been able to find the exact shoe organizer pictured here, I found a few shoe organizers that look like they would work well:

The only problem I have with this setup is that I suspect that cutlery and utensils would fall out of the pockets during transit, so I’d have to set it up EVERY time. Other than that, it looks like it would be a good way to organize things whether you string it up on your camp kitchen or hang it from your awning like this picture.

Via Lifehacker: Turn a Shoe Organizer into the Ultimate Outdoor Kitchen Organizer

June 21, 2012

Moncur Epic Journey May 2012: Marlowe’s Ribs in Memphis, Tennessee

Filed under: Food,Teardrops & Tiny Trailers — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Marlowes Ribs MemphisOur visit to Graceland was highlighted by lunch at Marlowe’s Ribs. We couldn’t visit Memphis without trying some BBQ. I wish we could have stayed longer in the city so we could have tried more BBQ places, but we only had one day there, so we visited the place with the huge pink pig trailer. (Continue Reading…)

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