Living With Jayco
Before we set out, I filled the Ex-Port's three-way refrigerator with hot dogs, a bottle of Longboard Merlot (just in case), a gallon of milk, and a six-pack of chocolate pudding. Into the camper's drawers and ample storage bins went the usual gear: folding chairs, sleeping bags, pots and pans, a large bag of marshmallows, beef.

For better or worse, I outlawed Kimi's portable DVD player on this trip. Luckily, the Yukon wasn't equipped with its optional $1,295 second-seat DVD entertainment center. That would have been impossible to renounce. I wanted Kimi to look out the window, see the landscape, discover moments on her first trip she might cherish one day as I do mine. (In reality, the portable DVD player was squirreled away in the trailer-just in case.)

"Why do you get a TV?" She eyed the large screen of the Yukon's in-dash touch-screen navigation and entertainment system. Filling the center of the dashboard, the system was within easy reach of the driver and passenger but frustratingly far from the second row.

A combination of real and animated buttons not only controlled the XM satellite radio and audio system, but the GPS navigation system as well. In addition, the screen became the monitor for the rearview camera when the transmission was shifted into reverse. With a little practice, the camera was all I needed to align the Yukon's tow ball with the trailer's coupler. I remembered that hooking the Nimrod to the Caprice always included high-pitched discussions between Mom and Dad on exactly which direction was "more that way."

I explained to Kimi that the monitor didn't play movies. I pushed a few buttons to show the animated display of the truck's hybrid system. This earned me a small furrowed brow. In the end, we compromised. I gave up control of the nav system, including input of the voice-marked points of interest. A tap to the screen activated a female voice that asked us to speak our location, which it recorded for later retrieval.

Across the Golden Gate
Finally, Kimi and I were on the road and heading out of town. By mid-morning traffic had diminished and the sun had burned off the San Francisco marine layer. With a 6,200-pound towing capacity, the Yukon and Ex-Port breezed across the Golden Gate Bridge. Beneath the tachometer, the on-board computer's LED readout suggested our instantaneous fuel consumption was 14 mpg. Not bad for an SUV weighing 5,600 pounds and saddled with a camping trailer.

For anyone who hasn't driven north across the Golden Gate Bridge, the initial 2-mile climb beyond the bridge is steep and curvy. First day, first hour, we tested the Yukon. While the Feather Ex-Port has a dry weight of only 2,920 pounds, it is a full-bodied trailer and didn't go unnoticed by the V-8. When our high-tech truck mounted the grade, everything slowed considerably. Fuel economy dropped to 7 mpg.

I downshifted into manual Fourth gear, and the mileage increased. A toggle switch on the shift arm dropped the gearbox into Third. The mileage didn't change. Going back up to Fourth eased the engine's strain. As the highway rolled over the hill and began its decent, I shifted back to Drive. The gas mileage jumped to 20 mpg. When the highway flattened, the on-board computer reported a steady 17 mpg.

While this display was convenient, I kept detailed notes on gasoline pumped and miles traveled. Our fuel consumption varied dramatically with road and weather conditions. Besides, pen-and-paper calculations don't malfunction.

Soon the green vineyard-branded hills of Sonoma gave way to Mendocino's golden carpet of rolling grasslands. In back, Kimi was reading one of her books. It wasn't Catcher in the Rye or Cannery Row, but she's was content. So was I.