Pp First Camping Trip Adventure

The First Voyage of the PPT Posse

Here is the story of my first trip taking Jg and the posse camping! On Friday, April 24, 2026, Jg had me all set up in the building yard so the posse could spend the night in me and feel right at home. Jg said it would help to see what we might need and what we were forgetting to take on the camping trip on Saturday, April 25, 2026. He was smart to do that; as the night went on and morning arrived, there were quite a few things they hadn’t thought about or were forgetting. My new bed—a 10-inch queen memory foam mattress—sleeps amazingly; it has just the right firmness for a good night’s sleep.

Saturday morning, Jg and the posse finished loading their stuff in me, then got me ready to hit the road. Jg checked my oil and fluids, then checked the air pressure in my air shocks. With Kathy Rose at the back of the van, Jg went through all the lights. With a thumbs up, Kathy Rose gave the OK that the turn signals, brakes, and running lights were all working. K. Rose put my living quarters’ doorsteps in, put my hanging plant inside, and closed the plant hanger. She put the “three-shorter” posse—Louie, Tippy, and Raz—in my cab,

and the posse was loaded and ready to drive. As always, Jg played my song that I “sang” (which he wrote), “The PPT Posse Theme Song,” just before we pulled out.

Oh yeah, before we left, K. Rose put out food and plenty of water for the two strays we have. Jg locked both RVs and Vincent—the tiny home built in a shuttle bus that the posse lives in until I am finished.

On the Road

On the road, Jg drove me on the back roads. He says I’m old (whatever!), and since I’m loaded with precious cargo in my cab—the posse—he doesn’t want to drive on the interstate or big highways. He wants to take it slow and easy. On a 50-mile trip, we stopped three times for walks, bathroom breaks, and snacks. K. Rose had to get scratch-off tickets while in Georgia, since Alabama doesn’t have them.

Then we made it to Mentone, Alabama. What a beautiful, “laid back in time” town! The posse had dinner reservations at the Wildflower Cafe at 4:00 PM, so they checked the town out first. They made sure there was room to park me at the cafe, and Jg and K. Rose walked through the old cabins that house shops. At one shop, they found an antique cast-iron clawfoot tub to go in me! Then it was off to the campgrounds for a rest and a shower before dinner.

Dinner at the Wildflower

We met the owner of the Wildflower Cafe over 20 years ago, but Jg and K. Rose had never actually eaten at her restaurant until today. What an experience it was! Miss Laura Moon greeted us as we entered with a big smile and a genuine hug, then took us to our table. Laura Moon is such a genuine, caring, and giving person. The cafe has her touch from start to finish—from the design to the food, you can feel the love and heart that has gone into it. K. Rose kept saying it was the best food she had ever eaten in her life, and I agree! They have eaten at a lot of places during their years of traveling and working on the road. The Wildflower Cafe is an experience they will not soon forget, and they will definitely be back.

Afterward, it was off to the boardwalk into the woods, which Jg said was so peaceful. Back at campground lot #3, Jg got me all settled in. When he plugged me into the shore power, I kept popping the GI breaker in the park’s plug. It’s a good thing I have solar! Jg just switched me back to solar so the little posse was comfortable. Later, Jg put his crazy brain to work and came up with a solution for me popping the breaker. The posse had a good night’s rest; the evening plans of sitting outside by the fire playing guitar and singing were stopped by a storm that came through, but Jg said that was okay because they needed the rest.

Sunday Morning Challenges

Sunday morning, we were up and at ’em. When Jg got back from the bathhouse, he found K. Rose looking very emotional and in a frenzied state. She was having a bad “dementia morning,” feeling lost and unsure. She couldn’t find her purse with her cards and ID; she knew it was in the van, but she was so disoriented she didn’t know where to look. Jg found the purse and helped her finish getting the babies ready.

She opened the front door to the cab where the three babies were to put something in, then went to the back door to get something else, leaving the front door open. Jg came around just then, made sure no babies had escaped, and shut the door. He calmly said, “Mema (K. Rose), you left the door open. Make sure to keep a watch on that.” K. Rose began to cry; it scared her that the babies could have gotten out or fallen and been hurt. Jg just gave her a hug and said it was okay and that he would help watch more closely. K. Rose thanked him for being so patient with her and her forgetfulness from getting older and having dementia.

Then it was time for a bathroom run for the whole posse—”Poop and Pee City,” lol! The “three-short” posse loved their walk. After that, the babies went up front to the cab while K. Rose and Jg got me ready to hit the road.

DeSoto Falls and the Journey Home

Off to DeSoto Falls… wow, what a beautiful place! K. Rose is still using a cane to walk (doctor’s orders), so she couldn’t walk down the steps to see the falling side of the falls. Jg went and took some photos so she could see them, and so you guys following the PPT blog could see them too. Jg and K. Rose just sat on the rocks by the falls and shed a few happy tears. They thought about how it has been a long, hard two years, but they were glad to finally have me built enough to take a trip and spend the night in me and thinking of the trips to come.

We headed to town for breakfast at McDonald’s—Tippy’s favorite place. It was about 15 miles to Fort Payne, Alabama. On the way, I shuddered a little once; I could tell something wasn’t right. Jg drove us safely to breakfast, parked in a spot, and got the posse breakfast and a frappe (K. Rose’s favorite).

Then it was off on the 55-mile trip home. At a turn lane, as I was approaching the right turn, I started feeling weak and began stalling. Then I just stopped and wouldn’t run. “It feels like I’m out of gas,” Jg said to the posse. Jg turned the flashers on and began to troubleshoot. He discovered I wasn’t getting gas by checking the fuel rail pressure. He thought maybe I was out of gas, even though my fuel gauge said half a tank. I didn’t have a gas can on me, but there was a Lowe’s a little over half a mile away. Jg walked to Lowe’s, bought a gas can, and asked a friendly man loading wood into his truck for a ride. The man said sure.

Jg added four gallons of gas to my tank, which raised the fuel gauge by 1/16th, so he could tell I was not actually out of gas. At that point, he decided I was just going to continue throwing a fit, so he called a wrecker. It was a rough trip for me; the interstate was bumpy with my front wheels in the air hooked to the wrecker boom. Jg had a good chat with the driver, Jimmy, all the way home. Jimmy gave them a good price—$325, but he only charged $300 because Jg had pulled my driveshaft for him.

Back at the Yard

Back home, the posse got their stuff and went to the bus. Jg didn’t say a word to me; he just tried starting me, and I just turned over without cranking. Monday was wash day, so Jg pulled all the bedding and the posse’s dirty clothes and helped K. Rose get it all washed and hung on the “solar dryer” (the clothesline). Then he just went inside their bus and still didn’t say anything to me. I felt so bad. I thought Jg didn’t love me anymore.

Then I saw him coming with a serious look on his face. He raised my hood and got his fuel pressure gauge, his computer scanner, and his electric meter tester. I knew then he still loved me! After testing and seeing I had no fuel pressure, he ran a scan on my computer—all good there. Then he tested the power to the fuel pump—all good there too. Jg determined that the new fuel pump he had put in me seven months ago had gone bad.

So, Jg began jacking me up 1 foot in the air so he could pull my gas tank and replace the fuel pump. Now we are just waiting on the pump to get here. Jg plans to make an access panel in my tool bay under the bed so he can reach the fuel pump from there and won’t have to remove my fuel tank ever again.

I will let you know how it goes after the pump is installed. 

“Even when you’ve been “bad,” the ones that truly love you will still love you”

Pp out.