Category Archives: Travel

Back in the Saddle Again

Posted on by under Road Trip, RV, RV Travels, Travel, Zion National Park, Zion River RV Resort

Yahoo! We are just about to embark on a short RV trip to Zion. We really haven’t been anywhere since our return from our Epic Adventure around the U.S. and parts of Canada. It took quite some time to catch up with family, friends and things left undone for six months. Then  of course there was catching up with mail and a million other things, like Holidays, leaking faucets in the house, cleaning the RV from top to bottom, and  washing everything I had not been inclined to wash along the road.

We have all settled back into the rhythm of being in a house again. Even the dogs are back to chasing rabbits in the back yard and using the doggie door.  I was wondering if we would feel like getting right back on the road and becoming full timers, but that didn’t happen. I like living in the house, and as long as I know we can set out anytime we want for as long as we want, I’m happy with our choice.

We would like to take another long trip in the near future … maybe to the East Coast again, but we will have to settle for a couple of short trips in April.  However, in June we will be going on a trip to Montana and Wyoming for three weeks. I can hardly wait for that one.Zion River Resort IMG_1820

It will include the Tiffin Rally being held in Gillette, Wyoming and should be a lot of fun. Three friends of ours will be joining us for that expedition.

Like I said … Yahoo! Getting ready to saddle up again.

End of the Epic Road Trip

Posted on by under Epic Road Trip, Road Trip, RV, Tiffin, Tow Vehicle, Travel, Uncategorized

Well, we finally came to the end of our Epic Road Trip.  It was a combination of joy and sorrow.  We were sorry to leave our home on the road and all the adventures we had, but happy to return home to our family and friends.

We were on the road for six months and five days, 16,860 miles (a lot on gravel roads).  We saw 38 states, three Canadian Provinces and one Canadian Territory. On the maps below, the red lines show our planned route and the black line shows where we really went. Our RV map shows all the states we managed to visit.ERTMAP

We traveled from the redwoods of our rugged northwest coast, to the spectacular glaciers in Alaska, to the beauty of Alberta, Canada, to the magnificent Mount Rushmore, to the splendid Niagara Falls, to the beauty of the Maine coast, to the hills of Tennessee, to the windswept Outer Banks of South Carolina, to the Blue Water of the Florida Keys, and a lot of places in-between.

We lost one camera, broke another (me), dropped a cell phone in the water (Lennard), had several repairs on the road, lost the keys to the tow car and had a fabulous time doing it.  We saw bears, moose, elk, deer, caribou, went fishing, hiked on the Appalachian Trail, drove the Blue Ridge Parkway, tried to catch crabs, ate lobster, attended a Tiffin Ralley, kayaked, went sightseeing in every place we stopped, and met so many wonderful people. We stopped in several places to see relatives and long lost friends and went to Casey and Brian’s wedding.

I did laundry along the way, Lennard cleaned the RV and tow car (who would have guessed?) and we got our mail through a virtual mail box.  We found places to get hair cuts, groom the dogs and get minor medial care.  We ate in the RV, cooked on the grill and ate outside, ate in nice restaurants once in a while, and great little hole-in-the-walls a lot.

Six months is a lot of time out of your life, but I can tell you it was more than worth it.  We really weren’t sure how long we would last or how far we would get when we started, or even if we might kill each other. In the end, we were lucky to have so many memories and to have gained such lovely new friends along the way.  Its a trip not many people could or would make, but we are so grateful we were able to. Were glad to be home and don’t have plans for another trip yet, but I am sure we will be making another one. P1000346

 

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!

Husband is Obsessive Compulsive

Posted on by under RV, Tow Vehicle, Travel

I have mentioned before that my husband has a little bit of obsessive compulsive disease.  That can be a good thing most of the time.  No, he does not have the kind where he washes his hands fifteen times an hour, or the kind where he won’t shake hands with anyone or is afraid of germs.  He has the good kind.  He likes everything to be perfect.

He and his wonderful friend finished hooking up the tow bar to the Honda Fit and wiring the lights.  I thought he was done and came into the garage to find he has now rubber coated the attachment links and locks so they won’t cause damage to the paint of the car.  YES! What a good job he does.

Now we are all set for a trial tow tomorrow.  I’ll let you know how it goes!  I do know one thing, there won’t be an accidental scratches to the car.

What? Fitting a Tow Bar is not Easy.

Posted on by under RV, Travel

To tow a vehicle you have to get a tow bar attached, of course.  Most people would pay to have someone do it for them, but my husband, who is very handy, decided he and a friend would get our manual transmission, Honda Fit all hooked up.  He did know it might be a big job, but I don’t think he realized just what a monstrous job it would be. His friend is also very handy, and I would call them both obsessive compulsive, so the job would have to be done right.

It took three days! Yes, three days.  But, they did a fabulous job.  You can’t see any of the parts and, the electrical worked perfect.  I would say they did a fabulous job.  Probably saved a fortune.  I would not advise anyone to try this themselves, unless they are really good with tools and knowing how to do things.

Now, we just have to try it out!

So, another thing off the list in preparation for our big trip around the U.S. and Canada.

I have signed up to join a RV caravan from Dawson Creek, British Columbia going to the Alaskan Highway and to Fairbanks and Denali Park.  We are really excited about that.   That will be the one portion of the trip where we will have to be somewhere at a specific time and place.  The rest of the trip will be where we want and when we want.  If we like a place we will stay awhile and if we don’t…Adios amigo!

Winterize The RV

Posted on by under RV, Tiffin, Travel

OMG! It is going to be 20 degrees here in Las Vegas during the next week.  We got a call from a friend who has an RV manufactured by the same company as ours, (Tiffin) and they said we needed to winterize the coach.  What? Winterize? Who knows how? Not us.

So, my poor husband hightails it down to Camping World and gets the antifreeze and then gets the manual for the coach out.  Does it tell you how to winterize the coach? Yes, but do the instructions make sense? NO!

He is out in the cold for three hours working on the bugger and still can’t get the outlet valve for the water heater off.  It is in a place you can’t reach and it has a “soft” plug you can’t get off.  He finally does get it off and now he drains the water out.  OK, that is done, but now he is supposed to drain the ice maker.  Yikes, impossible task at this point in time, so he drains the tanks, lets it go at that, and prays.  We will see how that works out.

I guess this is just preparation for inevitable things that will happen while we are on the road.

I, of course, am inside making coffee the whole time.   Well, I did venture out to take him the coffee!!

Shakedown Trip to Yuma

Posted on by under RV, Tiffin, Travel, Yuma

We made our first (virgin) trip to Yuma Arizona.  Leaving from Las Vegas, we took the road least traveled. That route leads you down through Searchlight, past Laughlin and Bullhead City and then past Quartzsite to Yuma on the freeway.  The only problem was the roads from Searchlight to Quartzsite were two lane, winding and “rollercoaster” like.  My dear husband was holding onto the steering wheel for dear life. In spite of the roads, we made it safely and arrived at our friend’s hookup site in one of the communities down there.  The first night we had a get-together with another couple and the second our friends hosted a happy hour for about 16.  How nice was that?

After the get to-gethers, we had a bonfire in our friend’s  fire pit.  Our “little red fire pit” had not arrived on time to bring it with, but we did not need it.  The weather was perfect.  Even at night you only needed a sweater.

The next day we went across the border to Los Algodones.  In this safe border town you can get your teeth fixed, get new glasses and fill your prescriptions.  What a deal.  The town is filled with vendors and spenders.  It seems the town has avoided the drug cartels, because the business from the tourists is more valuable to the residents.  We would not hesitate to go there again.  You need a passport to return to the US.

The time down there was marvelous and a great place to visit.  There are lots of snowbirds who migrate there from Canada and other places for the winter, so it’s a good place to make new friends. Yahoo!

First Big Trip to the Oasis

Posted on by under RV, Travel

Our first “big” trip in the new motorhome was about five miles down the road to the Oasis RV Park in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It is near the Silverton and Sun Coast Casinos.  We were charged a “locals” rate of $42.00 for an upgraded site.  We were lucky enough to get to park in-between two of our friends who are experts at RVing.  The park is very nice with wide spaces, a doggie area, swimming pool, Wi-Fi,(charged &6.00 for this) small restaurant, fitness area, and lots of palm trees.  The people working at the park were very accommodating and friendly.

Friends from the Corvette club joined us for Happy Hour and dinner and we had a great time with only several small disasters. (I couldn’t get how the microwave worked as a convection oven, but finally figured it out) But, the company and the food was wonderful.  The weather was perfect and we had a great time laughing and telling lies until the wee hours of 9 PM. What ever happened to staying out until 2 in the morning?  I guess time flies by.

We loved out queen sized bed.  Not too small after being used to a king size.  We tried out the electric fireplace, and it was wonderful!  Our two professional RVer friends were a great help and taught my husband how to empty the tanks.  The park allows a RV wash company to come through so we got the “rig” washed for $2.00 a foot.  We weren’t sure if that was a bargain or not.  Husband thought he could wash it easily too.

All in all it was a success, and we did not think we needed to take the RV back where it came from. We will see how the next venture out into the wild turns out.