RV Life: Basements

...are good places to wait out a storm. 5th wheel travel trailers do not have them "for real." They are often advertised as having a pass-thru basement. Their basement is a storage area under a part of the living space. Ours is quite spacious. We could cram and squish all six of our bodies (fitting a wiggly dog would be questionable) into it if we took out our stored items. Currently, we are storing the following items in our "basement" (links to show an idea of what I am talking about!):

1. HP Wireless Officejet Priner/Scanner/Fax and INK Cartridges
   
2. Cordless Drill Battery Charger & Battery
3. A Small Round Laundry Basket with Winter Coats Inside
4. A Medium-sized File Tote for Filing Paperwork/Bills
5. A Small Cardboard Box with Pre-Purchased little Gifts (keeping these a secret for now - my treekids DO read!!)
6. A Basket holding Water Bomb Soaker Balls, a Playground Ball, Wiffle Balls, Jumbo Plastic Bat, etc.
7. A Storage Tote with Pops' Dirty Workboots and Folded Sheets of White Packing Paper (we have plenty after unpacking several boxes... and we lay them out on the floor in front of the door when it is rainy and muddy so that we can just fold up the paper and toss it instead of constantly mopping up mud! The shoes lay there drying out and then get clapped free of their mud out the door and put away! Smart Smart!! Pops' Grandma used to lay out newspaper in this way, so we are copying! But, I digress...)
8. A Pampers Cruisers Diaper Box Full of Hand-Me-Downs (in sizes 5-6X) Taped and Ready to Pass on to a Cousin
9. Five Folding Tailgate Chairs w/ Bags
   
10. One Rolling Carry-On Sized Suitcase
11. A 3 Wheel All Terrain Stroller - taking up more than its fair share of space! But, I love this stroller, so I "sacrificed" bringing other things to have it along instead of a space efficient umbrella stroller!

{{{{{I hope to load a photo of the "basement" and its storage here later}}}}}

So, we have ALL that stuff in our basement. It wouldn't take long to empty it out, but I think that an in-ground basement with a solid structure above is a better shelter in a storm!! Stillwater has a few locations available for public storm shelters on the campus of Oklahoma State University. We chose to hang out Tuesday evening at one of them.

I figure better safe than sorry, eh? So, while the storms brewed and billowed, we picked up some Super Sonic Supper and headed to the Storm Shelter. We met Pops, who was coming from the other direction.

(oh, how a boy loves to make faces in a photo...)

And, YES, my ol' Bark joined us... as did about ten thousand other dogs, cats, birds, etc - we even got to ooo and aaah over two little four day old corgi pups. Cute little pigs were they! We are all fortunate to be safe and sound. Our home on wheels has held up well in wind, hail and rain. Some of the people in our general area (within the surrounding hour or two) have not fared so well in the past week. Pray for them as they find shelter and as they heal their wounds and hearts after losing family and friends. It is my prayer that God keep you and yours safe!