For those who wanted to know: It is possible to camp in a Prius

But not just any camping. It's possible to load the car down with
2 people
1 dog
And absolutely everything else, including a portable shower, 12'x14' tent (one of the largest on the market), air mattresses (and inflator), a cooler packed with food, a storage box packed with food, portable table, sleeping bags (one of which I think weighs 50#), sheets, towels, camp stove, camp fuel, various tools (matches, Off, etc.) books, a couple other amenities such as the Mac and an inverter, cosmetics, health, and sanitary, a portapotty, etc. and etc.

It's also possible to travel 2,000 miles one way like this.
So, for those of you who are determined to get leg cramps, and travel a lot, this is one alternative. It also saves a wad of cash on air fare, unless you're going overseas, in which case I don't think they've built a bridge yet. And then, you CAN camp for your vacation, if you don't mind everyone with an RV staring down at you and driving past RV resorts that say things like NO TENTS. Only slightly aggravating, but we solve that by just, um, camping in the middle of nowhere, in Oregon state, 500 miles from the nearest Walmart with no cell reception.

That's just one way of doing it, of course. But, if you're nuts, like us (or just a blazing total cheapskate), you can cram quite a lot of stuff in this car, and enjoy camping and having the dog with you. (Although we only brought the darn dog because we were pretty sure she'd develop separation anxiety problems and fall apart. We have much confidence in her.) Also we're talking about a black, fuzzy, large 75# Briard here, so it's not like an average Fifi that could (theoretically of course) fit in the nice little compartment back there on top the spare tire with the camp stove and spare propane. Of course, we're in Portland right now, and somehow I don't think it would go over well with the PETA folk (no offense intended), especially if we hung a couple signs around such as "We Stuffed Fifi In Neat Compartment - Great Car."
Er. Anyways. Moving on.

We also did not use a hardtop or "fanny pack" for the car, although I will say I'd like to get luggage racks for the car for one and then maybe it would make kayaking easier. (As in, possible.)

One last thing: Prius has zero ground clearance. All right, that's not entirely correct. I'm sure it's at least 4 centimeters.
So, when driving up tall, winding, mountainous gravel roads to get to a really good view of the other mountains, avoid potholes made by logging trucks, and ride the ridge in the road to avoid scraping the bottom, and also the Prius just doesn't take the bumps like a truck. (Truck = bump. Prius = BANG.)

So, that's currently our trip, cross country, to go camping in a state where people actually camp. It's only slightly amazing, seeing people voluntarily camping when almost NO one in Missouri camps for fun. If it is, it's usually an excuse to get hung over and they also don't know what hiking is. In summary, it is a little crowded, and takes practice and cunning and... Well, mostly just smash everything back in where it came from and close the hatch real quick.

~HF

 

Well, the trips not over yet, but I don't think tearing at 75 - 80 MPH on the Interstate system is conducive to good mileage. I don't think we've gotten above 42 - 44 on the interstate, and the mountains don't seem to give us above 45 - 46 even with slow speeds. The trip down is just fine, but the battery only holds so much and to get back up the other side drains the battery and then it's just gas uphill.

 

The camping trip concluded: It was a 7,000 mile trip on high-speed Interstate travel, up and down mountains, up the coast of Oregon, around Portland and much more. I am thinking of posting my journal entries online; perhaps I should get a blog. I am, however, reluctant to put that much personal info online - but I could just describe the basic details.