Seeing Ollie in the Best Possible Light

[DavidS]

Selling our beloved Oliver recently was a bittersweet experience. We had six wonderful years of great camping experiences with our cherished Ollie. 
 
I enjoy photography, and I have taken a lot of pictures of our Ollie in beautiful locations. I went through my photos and selected the best to share here. I then asked myself how to present these photos. By chronological order, or maybe by geographical location? I looked through the EXIF data for the photos and looked at the time when the photos were taken. I noticed that nearly all of the photos were taken in the early morning, late afternoon, or early evening, the Golden Hour of photography. So I decided to present these photos based on the time of day. In the Best Possible Light. 
 
Morning photos
 
6:31 AM July 19, 2019
Deer Creek State Park, near Midway, UT

 

6:32 AM May 7, 2018
Oliver Rally Lake Guntersville State Park, Guntersville, AL

6:43 AM May 4, 2019
Jalama Beach County Park, near Lompoc, CA

6:53 AM April 5, 2018
Valley of the Gods BLM land, near Bluff, UT
This is not a campground, but open BLM land and camping is free. No water, no toilets no picnic tables. Just gorgeous country, and lots of privacy. This is the most spectacular campsite we had in our travels. 

 

6:54 AM June 3, 2020
Lake Jordanelle State Park, near Park City, UT

7:18 AM May 19, 2017
Kodachrome Basin State Park, near Cannonville, UT
I distinctly remember taking this photo. It was very cold the night before, and hard to get out of my bed to take this picture. I had sized up the location the previous night and knew that this would look good in the morning light. 

7:49 AM March 20, 2019
Goose Island BLM Campground, near Moab, UT
We had a great campsite right on the Colorado River. BLM campgrounds are primitive, with a fire pit, a picnic table, and pit toilets. 

8:21 AM Sept 17, 2017
Rain Forest Campground, Lake Quinault, WA

Afternoon
 
3:04 PM April 5, 2018
Valley of the Gods BLM land, near Bluff, UT

3:21 AM April 6, 2018
Gouldings Campground, near Monument Valley, UT

5:34 PM August 30, 2019
Rush No More Campground, near Sturgis, SD
This was part of the Inyan Fiberglass Rally. 


5:44 PM August 25, 2019 
Horsehead Campground Angostura Recreation Area, near Hot Springs, SD
This was part of the Inyan Fiberglass Rally. 


Evening
 
6:09 PM April 15, 2017
Upper Big Bend BLM Campground, near Moab, UT
This was a small campground, with a  really small spot to put the trailer. I was still new to maneuvering the trailer, but I was able to back Ollie into place. A bigger trailer would not have worked. 

 

6:29 PM April 4, 2018
Valley of the Gods BLM land, near Bluff, UT

6:31 PM April 28, 2018
Piney Campground, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, near Dover, TN

6:37 PM September 7, 2017
Whitby Island, WA
We were on our way to Olympic National Park with my sister and her husband and their Casita, when we “driveway camped” at a family friend’s place. 

6:38 PM September 21, 2016
Rivers Trail of Tears State Park, near Cape Girardeau, MO
We picked up our trailer on September 20, 2016, and spent that night near Hohenwald, TN. This was our first night on our own, at a campsite overlooking the Mississippi River. 

6:42 PM October 15, 2020 
Castle Valley, UT
We were camped with our friends and their Airstream on their land near Castle Valley, UT. 

7:04 PM April 9, 2022
Watchman Campground, Zion National Park, UT
This is special to us, as this was our last trip with Ollie. 

7:17 PM April 4, 2018
Valley of the Gods BLM land, near Bluff, UT
My favorite Ollie picture. 

7:34 PM May 18, 2017
Kodachrome Basin State Park, near Cannonville, UT

7:40 PM April 13, 2017
Upper Big Bend BLM Campground, near Moab, UT

7:42 PM May 3, 2019
Jalama Beach County Park, near Lompoc, CA

7:58 PM March 28, 2019
Goose Island BLM Campground, near Moab, UT
Our propane firepit right on the Colorado River. 

8:07 PM September 10, 2017
Hobuck Beach Park Campground, Neah Bay, WA

8:40 PM May 18, 2017
Kodachrome Basin State Park, near Cannonville, UT
This was our first time using our propane firepit. 

9:09 PM May 20, 2017
Kodachrome Basin State Park, near Cannonville, UT

I hope you enjoy these photos, and that you enjoy camping in your Oliver. 
-- David

[Steph and Dud B]

What a nice tribute to your Ollie.

[topgun2]

Is that drop of moisture from my eye due to joy or sadness?

I miss her too!

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

David, great photos and some great locations!  You guys take care - Mike

[bugeyedriver]

Thanks for the memories . . . 

[mossemi]

Thank you David!  All the best to you and Susan.  And I think you forgot this sunset picture from the 2018 rally.

Mike and Krunch

[dewdev]

Great Photos. I am a fan of your photography. 

[Summer Lynn]

These photos are incredible! Wonderful memories to have. 💗

[ScottyGS]

Thanks for including the Flying Sea Turtle in the second picture.   Happy trails and sunsets.  

Scotty 

[DavePhelps]

Hey David,

 

Just wanted to say thank you for your contributions to this forum. Your ideas and careful explanations were a great help to me trying to figure out a lot of the details of owning an Oliver. I ended up employing a lot of your suggestions with great success!
Take care and all the best with your future endeavors.
Great pics of your Ollie as well!!

 

 

Best,

DaveP

 

[Southbird401]

What a great collection photos documenting your experiences with the OTT in great campsites. 

[GraniteStaters]

These photos are beautiful!  What amazing memories you must have.  Paula

[Spike]

Great photos, David. It was fun visiting with you two at your campsite in Escalante. We have subsequently camped at that same site. Thanks for your tips. Happy trails.

[ADKCamper]

Great photos of great locations and great trailers! We hope to camp at many of those same locations at some point as well...

All the best to you and Susan!