Jim and Robin are back on the road in their GO (nicknamed LEO â âLow Earth Orbiterâ) on an adventure through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Alberta & Manitoba! Along the way, they are stopping at SylvanSport dealers and giving them a little taste of the GO Life.
Excited to prep for our upcoming 4 week trip! We pulled out the checklists and started working through them. Â Jim greased the GO wheel bearings and lift cable, oiled the stabilizer jacks and checked all tires. I emptied our bins and repacked them. Â We use one for the action gear (bike helmets, pumps, saddle bag, kayak paddles, seats, PFDs, dry bags, trekking pole, etc.) and one for camping-kitchen gear. Â We Nikwaxâd our extra tent (for when my sister and brother-in-law join us in Banff) and our CLAM dining tent (canât wait to try out the new GOzeebo when it is in production).
After picking up my bicycle from the shop, we needed a break, so we took a spin along the Milwaukee River.
Packing for Glacier and Banff requires some of everything â layers for the unpredictable weather, appropriate footwear and our brand new canisters of bear spray!
Finally gathered up the gear…
…and packed it all in the GO.
Loaded the rest of the gear in the back of the CRV and lastly the bikes – LOVE these Thule racks, so much easier now compared to our last trip.
With Thule bike racks on top of our GO.
Our last trip…bike strapped to sides.
Took some time to smell the roses (weâll miss most of the blooms, but at least got to see a few) and bid farewell to our vegetable garden (our good friends Amy and Som will provide the plants with water and conversation while we are gone).
And then we hit the road…
We timed the drive so that we could stop at Amish Ovens Restaurant that we discovered on our way back from Yellowstone last September, which is part of the Amish Market Square in St Charles, MN. Â Be sure the leave room for dessert!!
Our first stop was with friends in Sioux Falls, SD for the weekend, re-acquainting with 3 Â year old Wil and meeting his new brother Owen!
After a loving weekend with great friends and wonderful meals (Wil asking us to say what we are thankful for ), we continued westward.
We drove through Badlands National Park â always awe inspiring! Â We saw lots of wildlife â big horn sheep, bison, and hopeful coyotes among the groundhog mounds.
Monday morning, we stopped by an authorized GO dealer: Jacks Campers in Piedmont, SD. Â Delivered donuts and chatted with Dina about the GO. Theyâve sold a few â it gets a lot of interest. Â She thinks it is great and loves the versatility â lots of people in this neck of the woods want to camp, but also want to haul toys and work with the utility trailer aspect. She sends her regards to Earl, as does Mark, who met Earl at âThe Rallyâ (Harley Rally in Sturgeon). We also got to met the student summer crew: Ariana, Mazie, and Ricky.
After our stop in South Dakota, we continued on our way, heading towards Billings, MT, but decided to take a detour to Devilâs Tower National Monument. Â The only close encounters we experienced were with ground hogs, but it is a magnificent structure â worth hiking around, if you have the time.
6 thoughts on “Meet the Berzowskis Summer Edition: Heading Out”
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Which Thule rack did you guys purchased? The newer upright Thule looks like a different set up, the bottom bracket needs a new cross bar that slides into it? I wanna get the racks that uses the bar on top of the camper.
Hi Jerry. The bike rack they are using is the Thule Sidearm, which they just discontinued this summer. The replacement for the Sidearm is the Thule Upride, which you can find here. You can use either bike mount directly on the rack system of the GO or on the Thule crossbar system. Let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks! https://sylvansport.com/shop/thule-upride-bike-rack/
Iâm wondering how you manage dew and moisture collection on the tent when you pack up, to prevent mildew from forming. I would normally set my tents up for a day at home to dry. What do you do with the Go? Are there trouble spots?
It’s just like any tent. For example, when we left Glacier National Park last week (will be covered in next blog), we packed up in the rain. When we reached out next destination, Tonasket, WA, we set up and let out GO dry out. It dries amazingly quickly, especially if it’s breezy or hot. So when we’re on a long trip like this, we pack up in any condition and dry out at out next location – and if it’s still raining, we still stay dry.
We have not had any issue with condensation, but we tend to leave the bottom vent windows open at least partially.
When we return home, we again set up the GO, to clean and dry out. We are fortunate that we can open it up in the garage, so even in winter we can dry out thoroughly.
Is there any way you can share your âpre-flightâ checklists?
Hi Ana,
When we are back at home, we’ll send out out packing spreadsheet.
Regards,