Monthly Archives: April 2015

ZION SHAKEDOWN TRIP

Posted on by under RV Caravans, RV Travels, Tiffin, Travel, Zion National Park, Zion River RV Resort

Zion River Resort IMG_1820 Purple Flower IMG_1802 Yellow Flower IMG_1799 Zio View IMG_1817

I guess it would be more exciting if I wrote that we had lots of problems and then miraculously solved them on our own. Fortunately, that was not the case.  We actually had a great time with few problems.  We went with our Sun City Anthem RV Club, so there were lots of people with years of experience to give us advice and help with any problems.

We took off in a mini-caravan (just two of us) with our good friends, Scott and Donna and had am uneventful drive to the Zion River RV Resort. This is one of the best resorts in the country, offering full hookups, pool, store, camping, and…. Ta Da… it sits right on the Virgin River just a few miles from Zion. What more could you ask for.  The Resort was amazingly serene, except when our group was singing and partying till the late hour of 9PM.   The people working there were extremely helpful and just plain nice.  I would go back in minute.

http://www.zionriverresort.com

We spent a great day hiking in Zion and took the easy path up to the Narrows.  The day was splendid and the river water was crystal clear. The photos above of the wild flowers were taken on the hike among the rocks near the river path.  The next day we walked around the town of Springfield and browsed the galleries and craft stores.  There were some magnificent pieces of art by local artists displayed in the galleries as well as breathtaking photos of Zion. By the way, dogs are not allowed the shuttles and only on one of the paths, so the girls spent the day at Doggie Dude Ranch just outside of Zion.

The only problem we could not could not solve on our own was the sun panel over the shower was stuck in open position.  (Not a major disturbance to life) but a little aggravating, as when we are in Alaska in the summer and it is open 24/7, we would get light in the bedroom most of the night. So, when we got back…off to the service department.

Also, my husband learned we need a more substantial sewer hose.  I did not ask any questions about that.  All in all, it was a lovely adventure and we are now feeling a lot more confident about the Epic Road Trip coming up in a few weeks.

DATE SET TO START THE EPIC ADVENTURE

Posted on by under Alaskan Highway, RV Travels, Travel

We have finally set the date to start our epic adventure.  We leave May 10, 2015 and hope we will make the entire planned journey, which should take 5-6 months and 18,000 miles.  We are headed to the north-east coast and then to Alaska and the Alcan Highway first! After that, we traverse across the US into northeastern Canada and then down the east coast and to the Great Smoky Mountains.  Next we drive down to the Florida Keys and then back through the Midwest and home. Yes, I admit is it very ambitious for new RVers, but hey, what the heck? If you don’t choose to live life to the fullest you miss out.  What is the worst that can happen?  We  change the itinerary or we come home early.  So, then we sell it or start out again.  (Depending on how we fared and if we are still talking to each other. We do have boxing gloves courtesy of  our friends,Vickie and Thayne.)

The RV is in the service department again for all those minor cosmetic repairs and to have some after-market stuff put on.  One is a stabilizer and the other some type of stabilizer tow bar.  Okay, I might have to check with my husband to let you all know what they are really called.

We will be making a trial trip to Zion this month, with the Sun City Anthem RV Club. The trip should show us if everything is in good shape before we leave on the big trip. If not, then we will have a week or so to fix or adjust. It is also a trial for our two loved, happy, but yappy Pomeranians to see how they do.

Photos from Zion to come after the trip!

RV BOOT CAMP SABOTAGED BY WILD BILL’S SECURITY

Posted on by under Dry Camping, RV, RV Boot Camp

IMG_1773

Oh Darn! We got kicked out of RV driving boot camp.  Okay, not really out of the classes but out of the parking lot. Our Instructor had arranged for us to use the back parking lot at Wild Bill’s Casino in Primm Nevada.  He had utilized the same area last year.

As we drove up last Wednesday, the weather was very warm and we could see the old roller coaster high above the wooden structure of the casino.  We pulled around into the “way back” parking area.There were about eight of us there to learn the basics of RVing and how to drive, park and…heaven forbid…the dreaded back-up procedure. Everyone was riding high to have this special experience.

The day was going great.  We had all learned the safety and emergency basics and even had lunch.  I made a salad in the RV.  Some of the rest went into the casino to eat. After lunch we were hearing some rules of the road and our Sun City Anthem RV club rules, when along comes this little economy car and out steps a security guard.  “What are you doing here? You can’t camp here.”

“Why, we have permission from the director of sales to have our RV meeting and driving lessons here.” said our esteemed leader and instructor, Roy.

You can imagine the rest of the story.  We did not win the battle or the war.  Eventually we were instructed that we could park – not sleep or extend our pop-outs – and we could use the casino, gamble and eat.  Huh?  We were going to do that anyway as good members of this community, but if we can’t dry camp then we  all decided to leave.

So, just before happy hour most of the crew packed up and left.  We did have a good day and learned a lot from our esteemed instructors, Roy and Tom, but were disappointed to have to cut short instruction.  One of the things we learned is that when you are RVing, you have to be flexible.  This was our first lesson in flexibility.

(I did finally drive in the parking lot and did not knock over any light poles)