Four days later...

Wow, from not much to post about to four PACKED days....since I'm tired and the days are going to continue to be even MORE hectic, I'll try for a synopsis and a few photos. Then I probably won't be blogging again until I hit Billings on July 8th (you'll find out why below....LOL!).

What could be better than four days of meeting old friends, making new friends, sharing experiences past and present, relaxing and watching the flow & interactions of the people who share the same passion - RVing, chatting with vendors and, of course, buying those necessities and toadily non-essential items, attending sessions on a wide range of topics.

Since I am now a SkyMed rep, I sat with the rep at the show and attended his seminar. (Thank you Tom for ALL your help....you are a class act!) I have done yoga two mornings (slept in today) and will again tomorrow. I really enjoyed it and plan to figure out a way to continue it as I travel. The craft show today showed how many talented people there are in the RVing world. Some beautiful jewelry but I quickly bypassed that since I rarely wear anything more than my standard items. I did pick up a plastic canvas/yarn item, in fact two of them. They are little holders for paper & pen to suck up outside the RV for when you're out and have visitors. Been looking for something like that...

I wish I could report on the evening activities but I've been too exhausted at the end of the day and haven't stayed. I've gone to two Social Hours with the SOLOS and got their newsletter done, approved & published. Tonight I went to the Social Hour for the DOVEs (Disaster Operations Volunteer Escapees) which was held after their informational session. Then I ran over to the Social Hour for the Elks BOF, ran back to the SOLOS for a bit and finally went to the pot luck dinner with the Full-Time Graduating Class of 2007. Phew! No wonder I'm tired....LOL!

Last item of note, I was so impressed with the DOVEs that I joined the BOF and signed up for training this weekend. So on Saturday, Sunday and Monday I will be in training classes from 8am to 10 pm. The late hour classes are for their computer technology training...not required for basic level but since it's my area of expertise and the training is available, I figured I should grab it.

Here are a few photos....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

PS. Reminder, I will probably NOT blog again until the night of 7/8 but I will try to check the SHOUT box.

Summer in Montana

Yeah, I know, I'm supposed to be blogging about the Escapade....but other than the photos I snapped last night around sunset, not much to blog right now. (Oh, I did snap photos of all the riders heading out on their motorcycle HOP yesterday....if anyone reads this and is one of them, let me know and I'll send you the original.)

My update is about my spending the summer in Montana. Well, it finally happened. I have secured my first real workamping job. [I was actually considered a workamper when I became an independent rep for SkyMed but that is something I can do anytime, anywhere.]

Anyway, I will be spending the summer in White Sulfur Springs, MT (about halfway between Yellowstone & Glacier). The work is part-time, four half days a week and mostly office work (bathroom cleaning is rotated along with 4 other folks). I'll also help out at campfires & ice cream socials.

The campground is small, 41 pull-through sites in a small town of about 900. Yes, I'll be over an hour from major shopping but everything I need is available in town (albeit at higher prices). I figure I'll stock up on non-perishables on the way there. They do have doctors in town as well as a small hospital...hopefully not something I will need. My Verizon cell should work but not the aircard but that will be okay since they provide Wi-Fi.

Oh, the campground is Conestoga Camground. I arrive by 7/15 and depart a week after Labor Day. Anyway, if anyone is going to be in the area...they are a Passport America park as well as RPI & C2C. Love to see ya visit what looks to be a great location for summer (average highs in the 80's, lows in the 40's) although I'm sure there will be days in the 90's.

This will give me a chance to get caught up on a lot of personal organization and paperwork, not have to pay for a campsite for 2 months and thus save a little. When I leave I will head to Denver for a LONG overdue visit with family.

I'm psyched!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Checking in from Gillette, WY

I know I haven't blogged in a while...been busy with life & other 'stuff'....LOL! Here are a few photos of the Bighorn Mountains Campground. I enjoyed my three days there and will go back. They have about 6 mules who help keep the grass mowed...the large building contains the bathrooms/showers and laundry on the lower level with the office & owners quarters on the upper.

I did a little sightseeing but not as much as I had hoped for....I did snag a pretty good photo of a Prong Horned Antelope.



On Wednesday morning I headed East to Gillette. Nice sunny day, a little windy and some decent scenery along the way. I arrived at the Cam-Plex in Gillette, got checked in easily. HUGE complex but perfect for this type of gathering. That evening I became a member of the Gillette Elks Lodge #2825.



Today was the HOP for Devils Tower...what an amazing experience. So much history, such a sacred place for many Native American tribes. June is their most sacred month and we saw many prayer bundles in evidence. Here is a great page to learn more about Devils Tower. I took a ton of photos and had a hard time choosing which ones to upload....here are a few of my favorites but there are many more here.




We had plenty of time to take the 1.3 mile hike around Devils Tower. In fact we could have done it twice since there was a mix-up at the caterers about lunch. They thought we were coming on Friday so nothing was ready. We made the best of it...not much else we could do. LOL!

After our Devils Tower visit followed by our very late lunch at a picnic area, we made a quick stop at the prairie dog town before heading back to Gillette for a tour of the Eagle Butte Mine owned by Foundation Coal. By this time I was pretty exhausted and opted to stay in the bus so no photos. Sorry...hee-hee!

Tomorrow is a day of rest and socializing with others here. Will snap some photos of the campground & complex. This weekend I hope to attend at least some of the Wyoming Celtic Festival activities that will be held here in the Cam-Plex as well as checking out the Escapade vendors on Sunday. Blogging will be sporadic....lots going on!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Time flies...once again....

Busy, busy, busy.....but that's a good thing. Going to post a quick update, photos to come later. I should have a little spare time next week before my lady motorcycle friends arrive here in Williams, AZ.

Let's see....last time I posted I was in Congress at North Ranch and dealing with another stomach bug (food issue possibly). Since then....

• Met several folks as they came through North Ranch, some new, some I had met before (and some I didn't remember that I had met before...LOL).
  
• Caravaned with Steve & Sandy (SKPs and fellow Class of 2007 members) to the RV park in Williams, AZ
• Beautiful ride up to Prescott....RV ran well, I babied it as much as possible, utilizing all the tips everyone has passed along to me.
• Almost got on 89A north...NOT a route for an RV. The city of Jerome is an old mining town built into the side of Mingus Mountain.
  From AZCentral.com: "A 15-mile stretch of road snakes up the southwestern flank of Mingus Mountain over a 7,000-foot pass and down 2,000 feet to Jerome. Like a roller-coaster track, the highway plunges, bends and dips in twisting switchbacks that challenge your car's suspension and brakes - and your nerve."
• After the short detour, we continued north and soon found ourselves at the park. Great folks and nice park.
• Discovered the transmission was still leaking BUT it appears to only leak when I slow to a stop. Will be getting it serviced before leaving the area.
• Met up with several old friends at the rally and started meeting a lot of new ones.
• Spent Thursday sightseeing with the group....Sedona and Montezuma's Castle. Photos later...what a blast! Got a great, for me, shirt that says DESERT DIVA. LOL!
• Many hours spent talking with other RVers....amazing people....wonderful diversity.
  
• Tonight I skipped the Pot Luck dinner and went visiting at the KOA - what an evening. My friend Mike (aka Melvis) & I managed to find the wrong KOA, get semi-lost inside the right KOA but eventually found our friends. Spent an hour around the campfire, headed back to pick up our train tickets for tomorrow and found out that I won a door prize tonight! Guess I need to skip things more often. NICE jacket with the Escapees HOP logo on it...perfect for a cool day at the Canyon tomorrow.
  
• What a time of great catered meals, super hosts, terrific door prizes, making new friends & lots of laughs with more to come!

A huge thank you to everyone for all your support this past week...I couldn't have done it without you. Mike & Pat McFall for the help with getting my RV to North Ranch and putting on my new Pressure Pro sensors when they knew I felt really lousy. Ray for all the email troubleshooting on my transmission. Steve & Sandy for the advise and caravan company. Everyone that emailed, posted and wrote a shout-out either about the transmission or my getting sick. THANK YOU!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

The sun is back!

I made it out of the fairgrounds around 10 am yesterday....it was still somewhat overcast and gray but at least it wasn't raining. HUGE thanks to Nick Russell, Terry Simpson and my gentlemen neighbors on both sides (sorry that I don't remember your names). I had pulled the rig forward so the trailer ramp had enough dry space to load the bike. Then I unloaded the trailer putting everything about 10 feet away on a dry patch of dirt and the guys loaded up the bike.

Picture my little trailer with three guys inside, plus my bike. LOL! Wish I had caught a photo. Unfortunately the transmission was fighting going into gear so I got out one of my small chocks to put behind the rear wheel. I did the tie-downs (YAY!! Okay, did ask for help on one strap since my angle was wrong and I was trying to be expedient...)

Then they all pitched in to help load all the stuff back into the trailer. There was much more than normal since I had a crate and tall wastebasket filled with yard sale stuff that hadn't sold as well as two small folding tables that had gotten tossed in during the bad weather.

I wasn't real clear about where the correct road was to get out of the fairground so I proceeded very carefully. Nick had told me about the motorhome that was being pulled out of the mud since he tried to plow through a large puddle. I ended up taking a roundabout path and believe it or not, almost got stuck myself. I could feel my wheels slipping so I held the steering wheel straight, didn't brake or give it gas and talked very encouragingly to the Lilypad....and we made it. Phew!

The route to Tucson was easy...east on 287, south on 87 to south on I-10. A breeze! At the interchange for 287 to 87, there was no traffic and I decided to pull over to rescue my stick-on thermometer (I've already lost one that way). Good thing I did...remember when I pulled out the chock for the bike? Since I was hurrying (not a good thing as you all know), I hadn't closed or locked the bin. Normally if it's closed (latch turned), then it's secure enough to travel. Well I hadn't done either...sigh...

Back on the road, the sun started shining and the rest of the trip was uneventful. I could see the snow on the mountains around Tucson but knew it wouldn't last too long as the day quickly warmed up. I met up with Doug, who was driving in from Ajo, at the Tucson Truck Terminal. We had lunch and then I proceeded to follow him to the Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson.

We breezed through the visitor center registration, well I do think the clerk was a little overwhelmed with my three registrations & insurance cards...LOL!) and then hit the FAMCAMP registration. We planned on being in the boondocking area where we would have more room so a quick stop for a dump & fresh water and we quickly found our spots & settled in. We do have a nice view of the mountains...if you ignore all the utility poles.



We'll be here at least a week while Doug gets his truck, trailer and motorcycle all serviced as well as attending to doctor appointments and getting his taxes done. I will be working on the Escapee SOLOs BOF newsletter, which is way overdue, and getting my passport application started. So don't expect many blogs this week...LOL! From here we will head to Yuma for more desert boondocking.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Addicted to Dust

Yes, I made it to Quartzsite and I have been having a ball, thus the lack of a blog for several days (well, that and boondocking with limited generator time).

Harvey and I took a slight detour on our way to Q and hit a Super Wal-Mart. It had been a while since I had stocked up and my list had been growing. We got on I-10 East for 4 miles and got off in Buckeye, AZ. This had to have been the largest Wal-Mart I have been in to date. It had everything I needed and more....LOL!

We hit the road and found our Escapees SOLO folks around 3 pm. Everyone had a good laugh at my looking for "pull-through" parking. Needless to say, we could pretty well pick our spot. Nicely level, far enough from other rigs so my generator wouldn't bother them and was good to go. Well, except it was COLD...much colder than I expected thanks to the wind (we had been fighting it for about the last 50 miles of driving).

There is no way to remember all that has gone on so I will hit the highlights, thus far, in list form:

1. Had Hobo Stew* with the other members of the Full-Time Graduating Class of 2007. What a wild, wonderful, wacky group of folks. The stew was DELICIOUS! Wish I could have spent more time with them but they are 12-15 miles away on the other side of Quartzsite. I know I will see many of them on the road over the next year or two.
   *Take whatever meet, canned goods, etc that you can find, mix it all together and simmer for as long as it takes. Then you've got Hobo Stew. Some of the best ingredients are beef, sausage, chicken, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, carrots...you get the idea.
   
2. I've eaten in a couple of local restaurants, courtesy of several friends.
   
3. I've seen every variety of camper - I won't even attempt to name them all but wow, what a variety - types, styles, brands, sizes, classics, homemade and more.
   
4. I've had my first (and definitely not my last) meal cooked in a solar oven. What a wonderful way to cook. I see one of these in my future....much easier and cheaper than using a conventional oven. YUM! With the prices in propane rising and the cost of using my generator to run the microwave, this would actually be a cost effective item (and would would involve healthier eating).
   
5. I got out to meet some of the local folks - dinner time at The Yacht Club. Great people, love the quirky flavor here (yup, I'm definitely a fan of quirky). Convinced me that I need to exercise more to get my back, hips & knees back into the groove of dancing. Good band, too!
6. I've seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets...photos to follow...almost every day.
7. I've met other RVers who also travel with a motorcycle as their "toad".
8. I sat in front of, behind, beside, all around multiple campfires - moving as needed to lose the smoke and keep my voice! (Someone asked if that was why my nickname was Froggi...)
9. I've learned that I have to remember to turn off my propane heater for the day or in 4 hours my generator won't charge the batteries enough to keep the heater firing all night long....even when set at 60 degrees.
10. Solar is definitely in my future....but I am much more comfortable boondocking than I expected and that is a good thing!
    

Here are some random photos taken so far....



As a friend posts in his blog....I am having TOO MUCH FUN!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

If the rig's a rocking....

...then it's too windy outside! It was windy when I went to bed and windier when I got up. Initially I had planned to leave today but opted to stick it out one more day in hopes the wind will die down.

Yesterday was a quiet day....I did laundry, exchanged a couple of books in the campground library and did a little packing up inside the RV. Before I knew it 6:oo had rolled around - my favorite Sunday time of day when in an Escapees park. ICE CREAM SOCIAL HOUR!

This is my third SKP park and I have yet to miss out on this treat...a nice sized chunk of ice cream for a paltry 75 cents. I've been able to get Butter Pecan every time! For anyone who has never attended one of these, it is accompanied by park announcements. Beyond that it's park (and host) dependent. At Rainbow's End in Livingston, they asked for introductions from new arrivals and those leaving the next day. Since I fit both, I opted out...don't two positives make a negative? Oh, do I have that backwards...LOL!

Since there were a lot of new folks here at the Dream Catcher, I bit the bullet and did an introduction. As they rounded the room, a couple stood and introduced them selves, Paul & Connie, and then he mentioned his Escapee forum name - TopSweep. I let out a huge squeal and had to run over and give him a huge hug. We've followed each other's blogs for a while and chatted a lot on the forum as well. (As soon as introductions were over, I went back and gave Connie her hug as well.) Hope you'll visit their blog, A Breath of Fresh Road.

Well, we chatted long enough to get kicked out of the kitchen activity area so they could lock up. From there we headed to their rig, IDK, and I got to meet Allen (or is it Alan, we never discussed spelling) their new companion who replaced Addie (who went back home). Paul snapped a photo of me with Allen, I expect it to show up when I least expect it. Anyway, we chatted another hour or so and could have probably gone on all night except they also planned to leave today.

Today I caught up on some personal web site work in preparation for some upcoming client site redesign. I also replied to a bunch of emails and did a little reading. It was too cold to sit outside but since the sun comes into the front door so for a while I sat on the steps inside the RV, just enjoying the sun.

Early this evening I got a note from two other Escapees that I've chatted with for close to two years....Jeff & Suzanne, Two Hams in a Can. They arrived today for a week....I was already in my night clothes so we're going to meet in the morning before I leave.

Ya know.....it just gets better every day!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Escapees - Rainbow's End, Livingston TX

Catching up on yesterday and today. Sunday I woke to a drizzly morning, left Wal-Mart about 8:30am (note to self - avoid in-city Wal-Marts where teens congregate to display their testosterone with racing & hot cars). The rain continued off and on, nothing heavy, just enough to keep the windshield washer busy and turn the back of the RV and all of the trailer disgustingly filthy.

I arrived at the Escapees home park, Rainbow's End, in Livingston, TX around 2:30 pm and got settled in a one night pull-through. At that point I had no idea if I would be able to stay another night or not....had to check in the morning to see if anyone had left one of the back pull-through spots. They normally reserve the front pull-throughs for late arrivals (office closed) and strictly for one night stays.

click to see larger photo

I took a walk around the park, listening to my iPod, enjoying the exercise...after switching to a t-shirt from long sleeves. Funny to go from 50 and heating to almost 80 and air conditioning...of course it didn't last. Last night got cold and tonight there is a freeze warning. The ice cream social here was at 6:30 - dark, dark, dark! I started out and turned around to get a brighter flashlight. Had barely started walking when a couple stopped and offered me a ride (gotta love these Escapees!). They looked familiar but we couldn't figure out where we might have seen each other.

Inside the activity center was already busy...I met several new folks including another nice couple who ride a Goldwing trike. He offered to stop by on Monday morning to see if I needed help tying the BMW back down. I soon found the singles table and ran into a couple of friends from the Escapade. I sat there for a bit and met several other solo ladies including one with a much worse Wal-Mart story than I had. The four of us solo gals decided that a portable air horn might be a handy thing to have...adding to my Christmas wish list.

For whatever reason I didn't sleep well. First I was wide awake, then I woke up cold - closed the bedroom overhead vent. Woke up cold again, pulled up the extra quilt. Woke up cold AGAIN, toddled out to the living room (found the flashlight on....not sure how that happened...LOL!), checked the temperature...55. Definitely cold enough to turn on the heat. When I finally fell asleep it was to a really weird, nightmarish dream. UGH! Got up at 7:15...

At 9 I called the Moose in Elkhart, IN to let them know I had never received me membership packet. Real nice lady helped me out, took all my information, apologized several times and assured me that it would get fixed.

Then I called the Camping World in Katy, TX to get a quote on tires. The young man was supposed to call me back. One of my forum friends, Tom, stopped by, he and his wife. Paula, are volunteers at the CARE center here. He was off until this evening, his wife was working. We chatted for about an hour on a variety of topics and planned to all meet up in Quartzsite in January.

Well, by the time Tom left it was 1.5 hrs and no call back. So I went to my next choice, the Camping World in New Braunfels, TX. Talked to a very helpful lady in service, Mary. She took all my information and said she needed to see if the Michelin dealer had the tires in stock. I told her I would call her back in about 30 minutes. I then headed over to the park office to find out if they had a spot for me....they did. I took a ride over in the golf cart to look at it...slight downward slope but for two nights, not a problem.

Because of having the trailer hooked up, I can't use my levelers. The trailer is tipped too far back because the hitch is too high. I have a new one with 2" more drop and will get that changed out soon. Yes, I could ask someone here to do it but you know me....I'm loath to ask favors!

Anyway, I got moved and set up for two days here and I have an appointment in New Braunfels to get my new tires put on. Definitely busts the budget for maintenance & repairs this year but it's something I can't put off. The dry rot is really bad and I don't want to take a chance with them.

click to see larger photo

I washed the trailer today....it was SOOO disgusting....and the front of the truck. I then waxed (Protect All spray wax) one side of the trailer. I was pretty beat so will do the rest tomorrow. I think you can see the difference! I need to do the top but will wait till I get set for a month since that requires me to take down my ladder.

click to see larger photo

Speaking of ladders....I thought I had done real well getting mine loaded and secured on the roof ladder. But now I'm noticing that most folks have theirs opposite mine....I have the top of the ladder facing down and theirs all seem to be mounted with the top up. So when I take it down I'll see if I can swap it around. Not sure why I did it that way except that it was easier for me to secure. The only downside is that water pools inside the top step since it's upside down. As long as I don't breed mosquitoes in there it should be okay....

Well, sorry for the long blog....that is, if you made it to the end.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Another day in Missouri....

It's Tuesday...okay, so I had to look at my Vista gadget sidebar to know that. LOL! The weather continues to be cool, got up around 8am and it was in the mid-30's. Moved up to 41 in an hour but the fog was also rolling in. I took a few photos when I went for my morning walk.

Click to see larger photo














As the fog started lifting I snapped a couple of new shots of The Lily Pad, too. You'll notice the new windshield cover that I got from Camping World. Works great...much better than the curtain that Velcros behind the seats - opens up the living area much more. I took the reflective silver sunscreen that I did use on the windshield and moved it to the back window where it fits very nicely. That is the emergency exit window (don't worry, the sunscreen easily pulls right out) and is pretty much useless otherwise. This helps keep the cold out and warmth in. Added to the effects of the three vent insulation pads I added, I do find it's been easier to keep the RV warm.

Click to see larger photo






Yesterday was a productive day....found a local walk-in clinic where I could get my bloodwork done and new prescription updates. After that I headed to Wally World to get the Rx filled. It's not a Super Wally but it was attached to a little mall so I wandered it while I waited for the prescription. Found a neat leather outlet and picked up a small tote bag and a matching purse ($4.99 each), not in leather but in a Route 66 tapestry print. For that price......

After that I stopped in a salon and managed to get a haircut. Looks like it'll do okay except for a small spot where a cowlick got cut a little short. Oh well, it'll grow. LOL!

Today is supposed to make the upper 50's so I'll dump my tanks, take on fresh water and move some stuff to the outside storage bays....like the canvas bag that holds some of my motorcycle trailering stuff. It also help two boxes of emergency flares which are now in the trash. Why? Well, it seems as though I might have mistakenly left the storage bay open and a few items on the ground two nights ago....before it poured. That's what happens when you stop in the middle of something to chat with a neighbor and forget to do a walk-around before buttoning up for the night. Live and learn....LOL! Everything else dried out but the flares were both quite old and now wet so I trashed them.

It's now warmed up to almost 55 so I hooked up the fresh water again and dumped my tanks. I keep hoping the sensors will start working better....added some Calgon & detergent (for the black tank) before leaving Elkhart, hoping the ride down would help slosh things around and clean them a bit. But they're still reading off so will add them again before I head south the end of the week.

The Escapees here for the Branson HOP have been arriving all day...some are trying out several different lots before settling on one that works. I expect we'll be all but full by this time tomorrow.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Escapees Turkey Creek RV Park

Took a few shots of the park and inside the new Activity Center here at the Escapees Turkey Creek RV Park in Hollister, MO. Nice park, just my sized....small!

Click on any photo to see a larger image.


Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna