What do you get when you combine two friends, a vintage camper and a sense of adventure?
When those friends are Meghan Magritz and Allie Wedl, the result is a lot of fun and a special project called campHER!
While Allie and Meghan both grew up in Jefferson, Wisconsin, it was their husbands — both named Kyle — who were friends first. Once the couples started families — Allie and Kyle are parents to eight-year-old Avery and four-year-old Benson, and Meghan and Kyle have seven-year-old Bryn, four-year-old Collins and one-year-old Rhett — they began hanging out more, and the women forged a special bond.
Meghan is an emergency dispatcher and lives on a dairy farm in Fort Atkinson that’s been in their family since 1849. And in Jefferson, Allie is a stay-at-home mom and nanny and also does family photography and custom hand-lettering work.
With days that are full and stressful, they turn to adventuring in the outdoors on their downtime, and that’s led them to an endeavor that’s just getting rolling.
Allie and Meghan share more …
Tell us about campHER and how it came about!
Meghan: campHER started on the living room floor of Allie’s house during a play date in December of 2020. I had recently seen an ad for a vintage camper on Facebook Marketplace and was sharing how cool I thought it would be to have one to escape with on the weekends, or even somewhere to hide in my yard from all the kids — and that’s exactly when we blurted the name campHER, like a she shed on wheels!
We bought web domains that night, before we even owned a vintage camper, and started building a community of woman that love to adventure, too. campHER reached its one year birthday this year, and we never could have imagined the adventure-seeking friends we have made along the way. For now, they’re mostly internet friends, but it’s been fun to see us all come together and share our love for the outdoors, togetherness and adventures big and small.
When did you get your first vintage camper and what has it been like renovating it?
Meghan: After searching for months (yes months) and sending several hundred text messages a week with Facebook listings and prospective purchases, we bought our first vintage campHER in spring of 2021, from a farm in Illinois. She’s a 1970 Pathfinder and her name is Erma! We purchased her from the sweetest man who travels all over the Midwest, rescuing vintage campers and helping people bring them back to life. The day we visited his farm, we could have chatted with him for hours; he’s so knowledgeable and just one of those kind souls.
Allie: Renovating it has been a completely different experience than we imagined. We are learning SO much — especially patience. Our first year was all about demo and some reconstruction. This year we’re really hoping to get her put back together and then decorate and design!
Meghan: Renovating Erma has been an experience. We both love DIY and Allie is handy, but neither of us has ever remodeled a camper, and I hadn’t even used a power tool before we started. It’s definitely taken us longer than we ever anticipated, and each task usually involves watching a YouTube video and then hunting down the correct tools and materials. We are making progress. I will say, renovating a vintage camper is not for the faint of heart! It all can be learned but it definitely isn’t a quick project.
How will you use your camper?
Meghan: When Erma is complete, she will be my family’s camper, but we hope to rent her out locally and share her as well.
Allie: Our plan is to renovate more vintage campers and be able to rent them out as sort of a “traveling Airbnb.” We’d love to have a whole fleet of rentals!
What are your favorite places in Wisconsin to explore?
Allie: My favorite place in Wisconsin has to be Minocqua. It just has my heart! My father-in-law has a cabin there that we frequent throughout the spring and summer. My husband and I were even married there! A close second has to be Door County. It is such a unique little part of the state and we are both obsessed with the views!
Meghan: My favorite place to explore in Wisconsin is Door County. My husband and I have been going there since before we were married, and it’s become our happy place. With the farm, we don’t escape there as much as we would like, but we try to visit one to two times a year. There are so many locally owned businesses to support and delicious food, and you can’t beat the views. Cave Point County Park is my absolute favorite, and it’s gorgeous any time of year. Truly, anywhere on the water makes me happy!
Any tips you’ve picked up (or learned the hard way) on adventuring with kids?
Meghan: Adventuring with kids can be difficult, but my best piece of advice is to lower your expectations. We don’t steer away from trips or adventures with the kids, and we go in with an open mind, knowing that things may just not go as smoothly as it would if it were all adults. You may not hike as long as you hoped or it might not be all smiles, but we still try to make the best of all the experiences, and sometimes they surprise us. We also know that snacks are a must. Lots of snacks. If they are fed, they are happy!
Allie: Adventuring with kids is definitely work, but it’s also fun! We love exposing our kids to nature and new places. The biggest tip I have is PACK SNACKS. We can usually curb a meltdown if we offer a snack. But in all honesty, our kids love adventures as much as we do, and they are always up for a new challenge!
What’s on your travel bucket list?
Allie: My Wisconsin travel bucket list is the Apostle Islands! I’d love to take a weekend and go visit. As far as out of state travel, my bucket list location would probably be Alaska! I’m all about the wildlife and mountains, and I think it’s the ultimate location for both!
Meghan: Bayfield and Madeline Island are both on my travel bucket list. As I mentioned, the water makes me so happy and the scenery looks incredible there. I also haven’t traveled too much farther north than Minocqua, and I know I am missing so much that this state has to offer way up there.
Why do you like best about working with the other on campHER?
Meghan: Allie is truly the utility girl of campHER. She does the product photos and shipping for our online store (we have adventure stickers and cocktail infusion kits), knows how to work all of the tools and, most importantly, she keeps me grounded. I am the dreamer of the two of us and if I didn’t have her as a partner, my yard would be littered with vintage campers just waiting their turn to be rehabbed. We truly balance each other out and campHER would not exist or be nearly as fun without her.
Allie: Working together is always fun and doesn’t seem like a job! We balance each other out really well and have different strengths.
We try to talk a little every day. But also, we totally understand that we are both busy moms and we don’t hold grudges or get angry if we don’t see each other as often as we’d like! Also, we take annual family vacations together so we always have something to look forward to.
Why do you choose to raise kids in Wisconsin? What are the experiences you hope they grow up having?
Meghan: Our farm technically keeps us here, but even if it didn’t, we wouldn’t change a thing about how our children will grow up. We love the small, hometown feel our community has. We know so many people by name, or at least face, and there is comfort in that. We also love that we can enjoy all four seasons and there always seems to be a festival, or a fair, or a park to visit. I hope that our kids grow up valuing hard work but also recognize that adventure and fun can be found everywhere if you make the most of it and go out and explore.
Allie: I have lived in Wisconsin my entire life, same with my husband! It just kind of happened that we stayed here and put down roots! We love the four seasons, especially the Wisconsin summers and autumn! I think we’d miss it if we moved anywhere else!
What are you looking forward to this year?
Meghan: First and foremost, we can’t wait to finish Erma and take her on her first camping trip! We are also excited to continue to meet new friends and grow our campHER community and hopefully check out some new adventures and local bucket list spots.
Allie: This year we are really looking forward to building more connections, having more adventures and FINISHING THE CAMPHER!
– Katie Vaughn
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.