What a difference a day makes....

Yesterday started out warmer than expected (was in the mid-30's at 7 am) and warmed very quickly to the mid 60's, perfect for sitting outside reading, talking a walk, doing pretty much nothing but enjoying every minute. I took a couple of sunrise photos but this is my favorite...sunrise over the Lily Pad. Followed by a quickly snapped sunset photo, almost missed it.

Last night was forecast for mid 20's but at 7 am it was 40. Overnight clouds had moved in, keeping it warmer but at almost 11 am it's still in the mid 40's with much more breeze. Last night the sneezing started and it's continued into today with a stuffy nose for an added side effect. I suspect it's allergies since I feel fine. I thought the clouds would add to the sunrise colors, not so.



Back to yesterday - started on a nice note - a hot breakfast! (It was $2.50, not $2 as I had reported yesterday.) Hot scrambled eggs and homemade biscuits...since I skipped the sausage gravy, I opted for two biscuits. YUM! I sat across from two very nice gentlemen (appeared to be brothers) and we chatted about RVing and motorcycles. The older of the two talked about riding a motorcycle in Tunisia many years ago (I think that was the country he mentioned). He got a flat tire and ended up getting the owner of a bicycle shop to jury-rig a solution. Nice folks...

Later in the afternoon I had some surprise visitors, Russ & Glynna. We visit some of the same forums and they follow my blog. Russ got to break in the door chime...worked great! We chatted for at least an hour, covering a lot of different topics. I tried to convince them to attend the upcoming Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande. I know I'll see them on the road again someday, great folks!

While talking to them I remembered that I saw my FIRST LIVE Road Runner when I was traveling from Marathon to here in Deming. I was so excited....it brought back memories of the first wild coyote I saw. (Remember, I was raised on Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner cartoons ).



My coyote sighting was in 1989 or 90, I think. I was working for Unisys out of NYC (but we lived in Rochester, NY). I was up for a promotion to a wholly owned subsidiary based in Thousand Oaks, CA. If I got the promotion I would work from home and travel to consulting engagements, it was a new division within the company and they had three openings. They flew me out to Los Angeles and my husband used frequent flyer points to accompany me. We planned to do some sightseeing while there.

It was a day filled with interviews....the head of HR, the person who I would report to, another division head, the vice-president and finally the president of the company. Things were going well, it was now late afternoon and we were sitting in his office overlooking the hills behind the building. Suddenly I saw what I took for a small dog....then I realized it was a coyote! I gave the president a laugh as I excitedly asked him if that was really a live coyote!

Well, tonight is the ice cream social...plus I plan to do laundry and just generally get ready to head out in the morning. I will dump my tanks and refill my water this afternoon, no telling how cold it will be in the morning.

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

Marathon TX to Deming NM

First, thanks to everyone who voted in the poll...no more pop-up window, I'll go back to the old way of just having it open in a new tab (or window depending on your browser). The good news is that the playing around with tables helped me figure out how to work with some quirks so now I think the overall format is better.

So, yesterday morning I got up in time to take some sunrise photos before hitting the road. Great start to the day....

Got everything unhooked and put away (much quicker when only staying one night) and headed west once again...still on US90. More great scenery, several hawks, deer crossing the road, many dead skunks (what's up with that?), some tumbleweeds, very little traffic but more RVs than the day before. I even had a Harley-Davidson semi rush to pass me to just slow down and stop in town...just a few miles down the road. Gave me a giggle.


Before I knew it I was crossing the border into New Mexico. I stopped at the first rest area to pick up a map and other info and snapped a few photos. VERY nice area and up to 24 hour parking permitted. Further down the road was another official Border Patrol stop...but they were just waving everyone through.


It was only another 85 miles to the Dream Catcher SKP RV Park in Deming, NM. I had called them earlier in the day to be sure there was ample pull-through parking. I arrived around 4:30 only to realize it was only 3:30 thanks to the change to Mountain Time Zone. Definitely not a very visual area like the park in Marathon, but it's always good to visit the SKP parks and visit other Escapees. I managed to snap a few sunset photos before buttoning up for the night (I didn't even hook up to the water due to the forecast low temps.)


I got all the clocks reset including the timer for the bedroom lamp and then tackled the DirecTV issue. I managed to Google the answer as to how to change the time display on the guide BUT it seems as though the actual broadcast times are tied to my billing address...Central Time Zone. So now my prime time TV starts at 6 pm and ends at 9 pm. That should help get me on an more morning schedule whether I like it or not. LOL!

Today I got up early but the sunrise wasn't worth shooting. I stayed in my night clothes until around 11 am when I finally decided to go take a campground shower. Pure heaven...20 minutes to lather, rinse, repeat as needed...a HOT, STEAMY 20 minutes. Sometimes a girls just gotta....

I did a little more reorganizing of stuff, mailed out some patches that had been ordered by women riders and a get well card to a friend who was just in a motorcycle accident (she's going to be fine but slow recovery). I spent about two hours sitting outside in the sun reading....then went for a walk....then read again. 60's & sunny, perfect day. Here's some photos I took while walking, including some tumbleweed for anyone who's never seen it.



As I was sorting through stuff, I found the wireless doorbell I bought at Home Depot and decided to test it out. The inside chime part I used Velcro on the back to attach it. It used 2 C batteries and no telling how long they will last so I wanted to be able to easily take it down. I searched for the right place to put it and found it - just over the valance beside the door. The best part is since the batteries make it heavy, setting it on the valance took the weight off the Velcro. The outside doorbell I put just underneath the entry assist handle (I'm sure it has another more real name but that's the best I can do....). Works great!


As the temperature was quickly dropping I started closing windows and as I went to close the front door I noticed two little Schnauzers walking past and barking. I hollered out, "Hey, I know those two dogs...". The lady walking them came back towards me and we laughed. It was Wanda, one of the Camp Hosts I met while at Branson. She and her husband Wallace are here now, he's cooking the Saturday breakfast in the morning. That's what I meant about feeling at home at SKP parks.

Next, since I was on an ambitious bent, I decided to cook dinner...honest! When I did my last shopping at Wal-Mart I had picked up a package of Tilapia filets, some boneless skinless chicken breasts and ground round pre-made burgers. I hadn't taken time to separate them for the freezer so did that. Well, the chicken was greasy and had a slight odor...out it went. Food poisoning is NOT something I want right now (or any time). I froze the rest, leaving out one fish and one burger. So tonight I had Italian green beans and a lean burger on whole wheat double fiber bread. YUM! Cleaned it up and went out to unhook the water for the night.

I currently plan to stay here through Monday. I've discovered that I need down time after several days of driving. I get tired, cranky and my arthritis bothers me, especially my hands (RVers death grip syndrome). It's quiet here, big changeover in rigs every day but this way I can easily do my laundry on Sunday night, dump & take on fresh water Monday morning in preparation for hitting Quartzsite on Tuesday.

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

Marathon Motel & RV Park - Marathon TX

I headed out before 9 (an early start for me) but had been awake since around 6 am. It was cold....33 according to AccuWeather and inside it was 57. Brrrrr....fired up the generator, turned on the heat and crawled back into bed till it warmed a bit.

The entire day was spent on US90 and what a wonderful drive it was. To some people the scenery is boring and bland. To me it shouts with passion....I love seeing what time and nature control, land that refuses to give in to the whimsy of man, refusing to be tamed. Since there were few places to stop when the scenery was worth a photo, the majority of these were taken out my windows while driving so forgive me for the quality. LOL!

Oh, and excuse the odd spacing...tried using HTML code to create a table so I could put two photos side by side and it seems to want to leave a LONG blank. Will keep working on it.

[click any image to see larger photo]

I had a new experience today...around Del Rio (a much larger town than I anticipated) I went through a border patrol check. My first thought was wondering if I was crossing into Mexico highway 90....LOL! Two nice young ladies, one with a gorgeous German Shepherd, asked me a couple of questions and sent me on my way. Guess I don't look very threatening...good thing I wasn't wearing leathers, showing off my tattoos and sitting on my old Harley.

I pulled into the Marathon Motel & RV Park about 3:30. It's a Passport
America park and is $12.50 for the night. Plenty of time to get set up, take some photos, get online, go for a walk, take some sunset photos and then enjoy the communal fire while I chatted with some folks from Washington state who are also new to RVing.

[click any image to see larger photo]

Today was a wonderful day....it fed my soul and tonight I feel very full.

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

Days One & Two - from the road

DAY ONE: I got up and after a quick forum & email check, I started working on the last few things that needed to be done before I headed off to Camping World. The first thing I did was take off the windshield cover, wipe it down and pack it away. That is one of the best purchases that I have made! Next was disconnecting the power and packing the surge guard & lock (they go in the bin on the other side of the RV....this bin is too full.)

I unhooked the water, emptied the water filter and packed that all away, still loving my brass quick connects and plan to pick up a couple more. Then it was time to dump....my, what a surprise I had in store. My black water valve had been seeping and it was scheduled to be replaced today. But this time when I took the cap off, it was FULL! Eeeeep! I hated to let any out on to the ground but there was no choice....I dripped as little as possible, hosed it down with hot water and then sprayed my water/bleach mix on it as well. Got the hose connected (I have the Rhinoflex Hose and love it since it expands to 15' from 45'), dumped the black, closed the valve and headed inside.

Another new adventure....the Lily Pad came with a black tank wand but it required hooking up a garden hose and dragging it around and through the RV to use it. No way was I going to do that... Then someone posted in the Escapees forum about a new adapter that let you use it from your bathroom sink. I had picked one up at Camping World during my last "vacation" there and this was my chance to use it. Worked like a charm...which meant I could use hot water as well. My black tank gauge is still off but getting better. The gauge on the gray tank appears to be finally working. I then dumped the gray, rinsed everything down and filled my fresh water tank. [Note: someone commented yesterday wondering why I filled my fresh water tank rather than just putting in what I needed to get me to my next stop. First, I'm too new to know how much that would be , but second since I am blacktop boondocking I need the water and third, I only have a 20 gallon tank so even full that's like another person on board.]

Things went downhill from there....I remembered I needed to check my tires. Front driver side, good. Back dual driver side, good. Driver side air bag, good. Trailer driver side, good. Trailer passenger side, good. Back dual passenger side, good. Passenger side air bag, a little low. Front passenger tire, not so good. They should be at 80# and it was at 40#. Another Eeeeep!

Since I knew I was headed to Camping World. I figured I'd just put air and and let them check it out. So I dug out my little handy dandy Husky jump start/compressor and proceeded to start it running. (You can see a pic of it here.) I watched it for a bit, saw it slowly climbing but I knew it would take a while to put at least 30# in so I went inside to work in there. I came back out and took a peek, expecting to see it at at least 50-60#. Another Eeeeep - it was registering zero and the compressor was losing at inside (like maybe the hose was disconnected).

Okay, now I HAVE to do what I hate doing....ask a favor. Went over to the neighbors and they brought over their small air compressor and we filled up the tire and I added some to the air bag on that side as well. Finished everything else up, did a second and third walk around, pulled forward a foot, got out and did another walk around. Phew!

Arrived at Camping World and they got me in on time...I even added several things to the list: besides re-torquing my RV wheels I asked them to do the trailer as well; I had them adjust the parking brake sensor so maybe I can finally use my levelers; got a new shower head installed since my shut-off wasn't shutting off fully; got the microwave trim kit installed; replaced both the black & gray slide valves (thus getting rid of the last source of outhouse smell when traveling ); had them refill my windshield washer fluid which had run out on the way there.

I picked up a few things but most importantly I replace my busted Husky handy-dandy with a new one from Xantrex. Mine was out of warranty and it weighed way too much to try to mail in for repairs. Since I had gotten it with rewards points, I didn't feel bad about getting a new one. Spent the night in the parking lot....sticky, humid night with bouts of rain.

DAY TWO: Headed out about 9 am after a quick breakfast and a cup of coffee. While I didn't have a firm appointment time with the BMW dealer in San Antonio, they were expecting me in the morning. The trip over was uneventful and light traffic except for one spot north of San Antonio.

The dealership was very easy to get to and brand new. They are a combined shop, BMW & Triumph bikes and import sports car repairs as well. I gave them the list of all the things I needed addressed and then headed out with two of the guys to unload the bike. They wouldn't even let me pull the duffel bags out....kept grabbing them out of my hand. I must have looked weak or tired. LOL!

In about two hours I had a new rear tire, chain greased & adjusted, clutch & brake lever rotated upward (and I can now do it myself if needed), expandable saddle bags working & sprayed with silicone spray (but they are still stiff), got a bottle of the right oil to carry with me and the adapter for my Gerbings electric gear put on the battery so I can use them.

I headed out towards Hondo, TX where I planned to spend the night at a new Super Wal-Mart. I really needed to stock up on some groceries and had a few other things to get as well. About 10 miles down the road I realized I had gone the wrong way...oh well, I was headed in the right general direction. A few miles further and I saw a Home Depot sign close to an exit. That would be the perfect spot to stop, pick up a few things using the last of my gift card and re-orient my directions.

The new routing took me NW on highwy 46 to Bandera, TX. Boy, did I ever wish I was on the bike...or that at least there was a spot I could pull over and take some photos. Really pretty ride! I could live there....not that I could afford it. LOL!

Eventually I made it to Hondo, got permission to park, shopped till I was ready to drop and will now close. (I know...another LONG post.....LOL!)

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

Getting ready to roll!

I love staying in one spot for a month because I bring out more things and The Lily Pad feels even more like home. I hate staying in one spot for a month because I bring out more things and when it's time to go they have to be put away.

Yesterday was laundry first and finishing the books I was reading so I could swap in the library here. I restored my printer in the chair and put away other items that had accumulated on the two shelves in front of my entertainment center (this is the shelf that the drawer pulls out onto and is a nice out of the way spot to stack things out of the way and yet still have them handy.

Next step was to pull all the rolling duffel bags out of the trailer and pack away all the riding gear that had accumulated inside. I put them all up on the picnic table and took a slightly different approach to packing the stuff. Spent over an hour on that. Then I starting taking down anything that needed to be stored outside....my solar lights, the extension cord plugged into the battery trickle charger, etc. I pulled the totes out from the basement storage and putting things away. In general the organization in the basement storage is still working. It was really foggy and gray until around 1 pm then the sun came out and it got quite warm! Nice to finally sleep with the windows open again.

Today the sun came out for about an hour. It was supposed to hit 80 and it made 78 but was bearable with the clouds (I am NOT a hot weather person....LOL!). Once I did my morning email/forum checks (still have a bunch of email backlogged...but figure that will get done while waiting for Camping World to get done with the rig tomorrow afternoon), it was time to get busy again.

I pulled all the rugs out of the RV (one runner in front of the couch, one in front of the sink, one at the top of the steps coming in, one beside the bed and one in the bathroom - just in case you were interested) and set them on the picnic table. Dug out my Swiffer and after sweeping did a quick mopping of my Pergo floor (boy do I ever LOVE that!) and the bathroom linoleum. Washed and semi-dried the rugs (they all have a rubber backing that you're really not supposed to dry but I usually dry them a bit). Took them back and laid them over the picnic table to dry a bit more.

Since the sun was out and I was feeling pretty energetic, I decided to at least clean the cab outside...it was filthy. I came here in rain, spent several more days during the month with rain and top that off with lots of dust-filled wind and you end up with a pretty disgusting rig. I should have taken a photo...oh well. The worst of it was the hood where there were black circles where the cabover drips hit. I could have stood the rest of it...well except the encrusted bugs. LOL!

I've been using Protect-All since reading the recommendations from other RVers. Two micro-cloths, spray, wipe and dry. As dirty as The Lily Pad was, it took a little work but the wax job done in Elkhart (they used Meguire's Spray Wax) did put down a good base and that helped. Well, you know what happens when you start cleaning something that's really dirty...you end up doing more than you anticipated. The south side of the rig was bad so I kept going...doing the bottom half where I could easily reach...rounded the back and yup, filthy so did that as well. Last side, the north, wasn't so bad but what the heck, I'd come that far so did it as well. The higher parts aren't too bad (and who is looking up there anyway), the only place left that I wish I did was the front of the cabover and the under the cabover. But I would have had to get the ladder down to do that and I was pretty well whipped at this point....and I still had to load the bike and deal with putting away some of the inside stuff.

Mark, one of the guys from MN parked across from me came over while I was cleaning the outside and asked if I wanted help loading the bike. I thanked him and said yes. He needed to run to get groceries and I told him I needed to grab something to eat first anyway. Made a sandwich and sat down to rest before tackling the bike. I knew I needed to get it done because there was no guarantee anyone would be handy to help in the morning. But I was beat....figured I could rest for an hour, then tackle it.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a gentleman I didn't know was outside. He wanted to know if I had Wi-Fi access to the park. I explained that sometimes I did, sometimes now. Well, they had added a new router in the kitchen area and he was hoping it would work in the row where I was. He was currently parked at the back by the river. I checked the signal and sure enough...good signal (so I turned off Verizon and have been on the freebie since then). We got to chatting and he was shocked to discover that the motorcycle was mine and I was solo. He used to ride and is thinking about getting back into it. Well, he offered to help me load it and since he had experience with it and Mark really didn't, I took him up on it.

He hooked up the trailer and one thing was clear...I could never have put up the stablizers on the trailer without help. I could have done the rest of it but it was nice, as tired as I was, to not have to worry about it. Now picture this...t-shirt, knee-length shorts, no helmet, no gloves and over the calf boots. What a photo that would have made! LOL!! I got it loaded with Art monitoring from behind.

I then did the tie-downs, using the new ones that I bought in Branson. Worked great....except I can't tighten them. Just not enough strength...that means I have to find ratchet style ones that will work and not slip like the last ones. It's always something!

By the time all was said and done, I was REALLY exhausted and had strained my back. My left hip has been bothering me for over a month (off & on) and that's the side that I pulled. Took a nice hot shower and that helped a bit.

Sorry for the long blog....for anyone that has made it this far, I did snap a so-so sunset photo. Someone posted a comment on my sunrise blog that no one would really know the difference. The main difference here is that the sunsets just aren't as pretty as the sunrises (when it's not foggy or cloudy).

There is minimal stuff that needs to be done in the morning. I will fill my fresh water (the water here is pretty good), dump the tanks, check air pressure in all the tires, filling as needed, do my last minute checks and then hit the road. I don't have to be at Camping World until 1 pm so there is no reason to rush. Tomorrow night will be spent in the Camping World parking lot and Tuesday morning I head to the other side of San Antonio to get a new rear tire put on the BMW. Then it's HEAD WEST, old lady! LOL!!

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

See, I can do it!

Do what? Get up in time to see the sun rise. Here are two shots I managed to catch at 7:15 this morning.

So regardless of what some may think....I CAN get up in time to see the sun rise. LOL!

The rest of the morning was spent showering and getting ready to head about 50 miles to have lunch with some BMW riding friends from Houston. The morning was brisk and the temperature wasn't rising quite as quickly as I would like so I planned to wear my Gerbings electrics (socks, gloves & jacket liner). I had already dug out my Sidi boots (haven't worn them much since they have a bigger toebox than my CruiserWorks boots but the do have a better non-slip sole with dirt/gravel) and repacked my saddlebags (in case I opted to do a little shopping).

So, pulled on my electric socks over lightweight knee socks, pulled on my First Gear HT Overpants (noticing there was still quite a bit of dead bug guts on them....LOL!), hooked up the socks, changed the quilted liner in my Tourmaster Trinity jacket to the Gerbing electric jacket liner and started to hook up the socks to the jacket liner and then hook it all up to my temp controller. Phew...cords everywhere! Suddenly I realized on my Harley I had the plug attached directly to the battery and had never gotten that done on the BMW! EEEK...sure am glad Ara and I didn't stay late in San Antonio that night....would have been a disaster with non-working electrics. One more thing added to the list for the BMW dealer next Tuesday.

Fortunately, by the time I stripped off all the electrics, put on two pairs of socks, put my jacket liner back in and dug out my regular warm gloves, the temperature was finally climbing a bit and I knew the electrics wouldn't be needed.

It was a nice ride over to Moulton, I could have taken some photos but was enjoying the ride too much. The front tire was still a little light on the road so when I finally got to Moulton, I adjusted the suspension again. I only had about a 10 minute wait for Mike & Barb to show up. Thanks to a TON of great conversation, only a couple of photos were taken. We had a great time talking bikes, gadgets & RVing (Mike has a Lazy Daze Class C motorhome). The time passed all too quickly and we parted company. The sun had gone behind the clouds again and I actually had a few raindrops on the way back.

All in all, a pretty darn good day! Tomorrow will be a sadder one...Ara will be leaving the park to head easterly. His company will be greatly missed, I look forward to hopefully seeing him in Moab come April when he will show me the ropes of boondocking.

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

My turn now....

Well, it figures. I started the game of tag and now it's my turn again. LOL! I got tagged again by Mike & Gerri...I love this game! So here we go again...you're going to end up knowing me better than my ex-husband! LOL!

Once again, here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Share the 5 top places on your "want to see or want to see again" list.
4. Tag a minimum of 5 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here goes nothing!

5 Random and/or Weird Facts:

1. I love tomatoes, tomato sauce, catsup but hate tomato soup. I love bananas but not once they start to get ripe.
2. I love having a nickname. I never had a nickname as a kid...in fact never had one until I was 55 and started riding a motorcycle
3. I never ate fried chicken until I was 17, never had a taco until I was 28 (never even knew what it was).
4. I first tried skiing at age 45...thought I'd hate it (and suck at it since I was never athletic) but I actually enjoyed it.
5. My eyes are such a dark blue that most people don't realize they are blue.

Since I already did my top five see again/want to see list, in honor of the new movie "Bucket List", here is my retitled list.

My Bucket list:

1. Try whitewater rafting.
2. Ride my motorcycle in Alaska & Hawaii.
3. Go for a hot air balloon ride.
4. Visit Australia (okay, so this is on both lists)
5. Continue to RV and enjoy every day to its fullest!

Okay, now to tag the next round of bloggers (and not all are RV related)...

Next!

1. Nick & Terri/Gypsy Journal
2. Tina/Paper Mojo
3. Nolan & JoAnn/2 On the Road
4. Dick/RV Travels with Huggy
5. Fab Grandma

Okay, so what's new since my last post? Not much....cold, cold, cold nights....down into the 20's. Tuesday night I got up around midnight and found no water. Bundled up and did a quick disconnect at the campground faucet, hoping nothing had been damaged. Last night most of the campground was preparing ahead of time...forecast was for 22 degrees.

Since it wasn't the middle of the night, I didn't need a flashlight and I wasn't dressed in sleepwear and freezing, this time I did it right. Fortunately for me I had picked up several sets of brass quick-connects at the Escapade. What a lifesaver! Turn off the water, disconnect. Disconnect that hose from the water filter, drain and connect to itself. Then disconnect the outlet side of the water filter and let that drain. Spend a couple of minutes getting most of the water out of the filter, toss it all into the storage bin.

This morning, reconnected it all...discovered that it might be a good idea to let the water filter fill with water before turning on anything inside. The air pockets produce a pretty big splash in the toilet. Fortunately it was clean water.....

I got my new-to-me custom seat yesterday....for the motorcycle, nothing custom for MY seat. LOL! I managed to get it mounted all by myself (thank you to Ara for showing me how to take it off and put it back on). Geared up and rode to get some groceries and drop off some mail. So far I like it. Tomorrow will be a 100 or so mile ride, we'll see how it does on more than a 10 minute trip.

[click to see larger photo]

The old seat is on the left, the new seat is on the right.

This weekend is supposed to warm up to the low 70's which is fortunate. I have to pull the bags out of the trailer, repack all my gear and then load the bike. I also need to reorganize some of my totes and what's in them and the easiest way to do that is to pull them all out onto the ground. Will take me the two days to do what I want but this month has been good about showing me what I am using and what I'm not (at least not yet). I suspect that within a year I will have shed a lot more "stuff", especially clothes.

I am now booked up pretty much through the end of March. Initially I will take about a week, give or take a few days, and head to Quartzsite, AZ. There I will boondock with the Escapees SOLO group. I'll be dividing my time between the SOLOs, the Full-time Graduating Class of 2007 (both Escapees affiliated) as well as some local friends. I leave 'Q' on the 23rd and travel a whole 25 miles to the little town of Bouse. I will be staying at the Desert Pueblo RV Resort where I will meet a couple of folks down from Alaska for the winter. The husband is very active in The Motorcycle Tourer's Forum.

After a week there (good rate of $80 +electric) I head to Gila Bend, 130 miles back to the SE, and Augie's Quail Trail RV Park. I'll spend a week there but since I will be returning after 10 days and staying another three weeks, I'll get the monthly rate of $340 including electric. During those 10 days I'll be inducted into the Elks (so I'll officially be an Elk and a Lady Moose) and I'll be attending the Gypsy Journal Rally (if you are in the SW and have nothing to do the middle of February - check it out!). The first day I take a half day driving school where I HOPE to get better at backing my trailer. When the rally is over, then I head back to Gila Bend. I'll be ready to relax & rest at that point...LOL!

Tentative plans for March at to be in Black Canyon City and if I can get my boondocking set up before April, I hope to do some boondocking in Moab area where Ara plans to be. He'll help me get my feet under me...he lived on a sailboat for years and has been camping/RVing for a while now. I still have so much to learn and "in the middle of nowhere" boondocking will be a challenge. It will be nice to have someone help me learn the ropes before attempting it on my own.

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

Looking over my shoulder....

A peek into the past...I wrote this article January 1999 after our initial foray into full-time RVing. Enjoy - I think you'll recognize a few things!

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My ReVolutions for the New Year

... did I hear you say it should be Resolutions? Another year is rushing towards us. This past year has been very exciting. Mike & I have learned a lot of new things about RVing, but I know there is always room for improvement. To that end, I have come up with a list of the top 10 things I need to change. I hope you'll have as much fun reading them as I did writing them.

I Resolve:

TO bite my tongue when I know we're lost.
The more people I talk to, the more I know that it's true - men really DO hate to ask for directions. But with an RV, I think it should be different. If you're going to be lost, relax and enjoy it. You may never pass this way again!

TO quit yelling "THE OTHER LEFT" when helping my partner backup.
I used to think I was the only person to have this problem, but now I know better. No matter which way you direct them, they will always go the other way. So, just steer them opposite of where they need to be!

TO use my time at the Laundromat for something better than reading a 5 year old "True Confessions".
Yes, I have been known to be that desperate. Since I'm a writer, this would be the perfect place to "people watch" and build new characters. So, remember that the next time you see a middle-aged woman with pen and pad in hand, staring at you with a crazed look on her face!

TO keep my eyes open when we drive through areas of road construction.
Don't panic, I'm not the driver. But I do have a bad habit of holding my breath and closing my eyes when the going gets "tight". I guess if I'm ever going to learn how to drive this rig (and that is an emergency must), the first step is getting used to those tight spots!

TO make the bed more than once a week (whether I think it needs it or not).
I know, laid back lifestyle & all - once a week should be fine. It sure is with me, but Mike thinks tripping on the covers once a day is much more preferable to tripping every time he walks into the bedroom!

TO learn to cook in my convection oven.
Okay, maybe this is a stretch - cook, that is. I'll just commit to learning how to use it!

TO stop being embarrassed when I can't remember the name of the folks I just met.
I know I should work harder on remembering, but that's a lost cause. Anyway, I think it will make me a more memorable character this way. They'll always describe me as that "crazy-looking, middle-aged lady who could never remember our names". At my age, it's much more fun to be interesting rather than proper!

TO file our bills and other papers more often.
Mike says that making "piles" on the far end of the couch doesn't qualify as filing (which is something I only do when I don't have room for my feet anymore). I have to admit it will make it easier to find that Sam's Club receipt we need - when we need it!

TO make my brother happy by calling the catalog folks and getting off their mailing lists.
He keeps telling us we get more mail in one week than they do in an entire month. This will be a tough one - I think they need to start a "Catalog Shopper Anonymous". I know I'm addicted!

TO "Enjoy Life. This is NOT a Dress Rehearsal!"
Need I say more? Happy New Year to everyone, everywhere!

---

Things have obviously changed quite a bit...technology for one thing, having a GPS helps with directions and two-way family radios as well as back-up monitors help with backing (although I'll bet folks still holler about the OTHER left).

I did sign up with an Opt-Out service to start getting rid of the gazillion catalogs that still manage to find me, even after many moves and I now use a mail forwarding service rather than abusing family. LOL!

My current rig doesn't have a convection oven but since I'm only cooking (and I use that term VERY loosely) for one, that's fine. In fact, the real oven will probably get taken out to make room for batteries and an inverter.

I do make my bed every day...maybe not quite as nicely as at home, but that was a quirk Mike had and was one thing I started doing regularly after he died. (I know that gives him a smile.)

I still don't remember folks names...so if you have met me before and see me again, PLEASE remind me who you are. I ran into a couple in Livingston and the lady very obviously remembered me and I was too embarrassed to tell I that I hadn't a clue as to who she was. If she is reading this, I apologize!

My filing still stinks....that is something that will be addressed this winter...sometime. Honest!

As to driving, well, that became a necessity but not the 36' (or 38' - still can't remember) Class A we had...but my little 26' Class C. That was challenge enough for a while.

I am still a true believer in the "Enjoy Life! This is not a dress rehearsal" philosophy. Life is for the living and that is what I intend to do!

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

Day Tripping - San Antonio TX

The weather forecast held true - low to mid 70's and sunny, dry and no wind. Perfect day for a ride. The plans were for Ara, with Spirit in the sidecar - the only way they travel, would lead me to San Antonio via some back roads. We planned to check out the Alamo then visit Riverwalk, staying until after dark to enjoy the night lighting.

While it was 36 when I got up, I knew the day would quickly warm up. That meant digging out my electric jacket liner, socks & gloves. Fortunately they fit into a nice little roll bag also sold by Gerbing. Found that and dug through the bags (remember, all my bike riding gear is in the trailer in rolling duffel bags) looking for my overpants. Before I found them, I decided to pull out my textile jacket which I thought would fit better with the electric jacket liner. I pulled on my boots and realized that my favorites were going to be too tight to wear over the electric socks - they zip up the front so there isn't any adjustment to them. So scrounged around in the bags again till I located my lace-up boots (the ones with a chunk out of the heel from my hot pipes on the Harley).

Next thing to do was try on the overpants while wearing my jeans. It's been two years since I last wore them and I was concerned as to how restrictive they might be. Fortunately they still fit (phew!) and while tight were okay to wear. Dug out a couple pairs of gloves of varying weights, my polar fleece buff and my regular buff.

Yesterday Ara helped (okay, he did it and I barely helped) mount my new Cortech mini-tank bag I had just got from NewEnough.com (great company for us motorcyclists). I love it! Now I have a convenient place to put sunglasses, pocket camera, chapstick, gloves, etc. Managed to get the electric gear and my overpants into the Cortech Tail Bag I had previously bought. Water bottle, cell phone, wallet, etc. all loaded and we finally got on the road.

Now no laughing here....I actually put gas in the BMW for the FIRST TIME. It's not as easy to do as it was on the Harleys. I couldn't see when it's full so I had go really slow and hope the auto-shutoff would cooperate. It did...fortunately. Then we headed on down the road, enjoying the sunshine and the feeling of just being in the wind. This time of year, in this part of Texas, there isn't much scenic to see. Fairly flat, mostly brown and leafless, but that was okay.

A few false starts on routing gave me a little practice in tight maneuvers - definitely have to get my levers adjusted on the bike, that should make it a little easier on me. Will get that done when I get my new rear tire on Jan 8th. Due to the false starts, a GPS that seemed to have a mind of it's own, we opted to jump onto I-10 for the last stretch into San Antonio.

Parking in San Antonio, even for a Sunday, was slim. We double-parked on a little round-about to take a break while we assessed the parking situation. A van driver from the Radisson talked to Ara and offered us free parking at the hotel but since we needed to be where we could easily come back and check on Spirit, we declined. He then pointed out that the parking where we currently were was unrestricted on the weekends AND there was room for us to back in between the cars.

Click any photo for larger image

First we visited the Alamo. There was a long line waiting to go into the shrine and neither of us wanted to wait that long so we wandered the grounds, enjoying the sights.

After that we went back to check on Spirit before heading over to Riverwalk. It was more crowded that expected but that may have been due to it being lunchtime. The tables along the water were packed. We walked, snapped some photos, walked some more, sat a bit, and walked again. Here are a few photos I snapped...if you want to see the GOOD ones, be sure to watch for Ara's blog update. His photos are always amazing!

We wandered back towards the bikes and decided to grab a bite to eat. While we quenched our thirst and filled our tummies, we discussed our options. It wasn't even 2:00 and neither of us wanted to hang around another four plus hours to see the lights. We headed back to the bikes and Spirit, who was ready for a walk and a potty break.

When we got back to the bikes there was a gaggle of teenaged gals waiting for their ride. They were fascinated by Spirit, as was everyone who sees him in the sidecar, and they wanted to know if we had ridden from Florida (Ara's license plate) and South Dakota (my license plate). They seemed disappointed when informed that we were full-time RVers (not sure they even knew what that was...LOL!).

The ride home was uneventful, we had no routing issues and I was ready for a break when we got here. It's been many months since I rode as much as we did today...gotta work on that!

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

New & Noteworthy (or not)

Been both a quiet and yet busy week, will post more later but wanted to jot a couple of notes.

Note 1: For those who follow my blog via some type of reader, I have changed the format to a short rather than full which means you will have to click the title to read the rest of the entry (at least that's how it works in Google Reader). While I realize that isn't as convenient, it's the only way you will ever see my entire website. Since I use Google ads and a couple of affiliate programs to help finance the cost of maintaining my websites, if no one sees those ads, they can't click them. So, I apologize for the slight inconvenience but do appreciate those who check out the featured ads.

Note 2: Worrying about keeping mice out of your RV (&/or car) during these winter months. I've read many different remedies and we all know that bait/traps work but prefer something that doesn't require having poison around or handling dead rodents. One remedy I had seen mentioned several times was peppermint oil. In my RVing Riders forum, I mentioned that to someone who was looking for winterizing tips. Another reader decided to give it a try and has been posting to let us know that it appears to be working. Check it out here.

Note 3: I've got company! I've been corresponding for several months with another full-timer who also rides a BMW (with a sidecar for his pup, Spirit). We had hoped to meet in Big Bend but I never made it that far. He is heading back east to spend some time with his mother who is flying in from Germany for a month's visit but his route was taking him along the coast, several hundred miles from my campground. Two days ago I get a phone call and he's decided to re-route (don't you just love setting your plans in JELL-O, I'm still working on that but am getting a little better) and going to come this way for a visit. I will post another blog with more details and photos...here are a couple I snapped when we took Spirit for a walk yesterday as well as one taken this morning as they headed off for a ride (click for larger photos).

Be sure to check out his blog, The Oasis of My Soul, for a feast of photos and an outlook on life that I hope to emulate even a little bit. He is truly my hero and now a good friend.

Note 4: I've been fighting what I thought was a cold but have decided is actually allergies. I still get the sore throat from time to time, sniffles & sneezing off & on as well as headaches. All seem to be worse after being outdoors for a bit so thus the final deduction - allergies. UGH! We'll see what happens when I leave the area and travel through NM to AZ, where I will spend most of my time until spring.

Note 5: I hope everyone is getting ready for a wonderful New Year. As some of you know, New Year's Eve is always a bittersweet time for me. This would have been my 22nd anniversary. A special date no matter how I spend it.

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

Sing a song of sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened,
They all began to sing.
Now, wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the King?

And boy, do they make a racket when they're all perched in the tree outside your door!

While they can be entertaining, they can also be annoying. Fortunately they don't stay very long before departing.

The day was a quiet one...talked to my three kids, watched Christmas movies and made played on the computer, working on some routing for next month and tried to not eat too much junk food . The weather was good enough to ride but I got involved watching a movie I had recorded but not seen....next thing I knew it was almost 4:00. Of course they're talking about rain tomorrow and cooler temps once again.

I've enjoyed reading various RVing blogs to see how everyone celebrated their holidays. They ranged from being with family, being with other RVing friends in campgrounds to being on their own in the middle of nowhere. No matter how they spent the day, their spirit shone!

Seems like there was something else I wanted to blog about but nothing comes to mind...maybe tomorrow. LOL!

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

Twas the night before Christmas....

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the park
Not a creature was stirring, not even a lark....

I'll spare you the rest...LOL! Well, it's Christmas eve and I hope everyone is doing well. I'm all bundled into the Lily Pad, space heaters firing. It was 31 at 8 am this morning but only supposed to dip to the upper 30's tonight.

I got my mail forwarding package today....thank you to all who sent cards and a BIG thank you to my mystery Santa who sent me an adorable little pillow. They enclosed a note but didn't sign it...so I'm stumped! But I do love the pillow, now decorating one end of my sofa.

I just ate lasagna for dinner, that's what I would have been having if I'd made it to my youngest daughter's house in Georgia. I'm settled in watching The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause II movies. I've managed to record a bunch of holiday movies and plan on enjoying them!

I also played a little with making a video with my laptop's on-board webcam and then putting that into a little movie. Hope you enjoy (if I get it to work...if not click HERE)!



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

A little slice of heaven...

Yes, a little slice of heaven...okay, maybe it was two slices....fine, have it your way, it was really three slices. I tested out the on-line ordering offered by Pizza Hut. Love it! I haven't had pizza in months and it really tasted good. Nice change from my current diet. Actually, I was pretty good. I packaged up the left overs for three more meals. More calories than I need but you've got to pamper yourself ONCE in a while.

Made it to bed at midnight...woke up at 4 am with a horrible sore throat. Gave up and got up at 5 am, took some aspirin and made some hot tea. Going to see if my neighbor will take my mail to the post office. Will be a veg day for me while I hope to beat this bug quickly.

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

Where'd the sun go?

Yesterday was gorgeous....sunny, warm and dry. After sleeping in too late, tossing out an entire loaf of bread because it was already moldy (note to self: oven needs to be kept cracked to keep down the heat generated by the water heater located below it) spending an hour chatting with my neighbors, it was time to unload Squirt from the trailer.

Moving the bags to the picnic table, I first unloaded my favorite helmet, three sets of gloves, my favorite boots and my leather jacket. I moved them into the rig where they would be easily accessible for riding and temperature controlled. I know at some point I will need to redistribute things in the bags and keep one inside the RV but that's a chore for another day.

Tackled the tie-downs at the rear, took a minute but they released. Phew! Now on to the tough part - the front ones. Remember, the front ones match the ones in the back that slipped and let the rear end bounce. I had bought them because I thought they would be easy on my hands since they had large plastic coated ratchets. Unfortunately it takes two hands to release them...and strong ones at that. After working at it for half an hour, and really straining my right hand which is still puffy this morning, I went over and asked my neighbor to help.

Using the side door, he worked on releasing the right side. We did this side first since the kick stand was down and that would take the weight of the bike - of course the front chock also helps keep it upright. After several tugs, pulls, twists, yanks and strains, he got it to release. Now to the left side....

As you can see, there isn't a lot of side room when the bike is loaded. Well, my neighbor is a bit on the short but round side. With the bike leaning it's very hard for anyone to squeeze past the saddle bag, so I stood on the right side and pulled it upright so he could get past. Fortunately this side released a bit quicker even though he still wasn't sure what the "trick" was to getting them to let go (note: I left the tie-downs bagged and sitting in the kitchen/lounge area for anyone who wants them). He squeezed back out and started to leave....I asked him if he would hang around a bit since I had never backed a bike out of a trailer & down a ramp before.

Another adventure....I know anyone experienced would have had it out in a tenth of the time it took me. LOL! But I did it and didn't lose my balance or get stuck. Whoo-Hoo! Even better, it fired the first time I tried. No gloves, helmet but I ran it around the park twice to get a sense of it again and to let the engine warm a bit. Even in that short a trip I could sense how much better it handled being on dirt, gravel and grass (as I avoided speed bumps when possible).

I parked it in front of the Lily Pad and snapped a few photos. A successful day! I didn't go for a longer ride since being the anal person I am, I wanted to map out a route as well as figure out where to find the Post Office and local grocery store.

Since it was warm (mid 70's) and sunny, I pulled down my side awning over my living room window. I was amazed at the amount of moisture still inside as I rolled it down. Guess that means I need to do the same with the big awning to let it dry out, too windy yesterday though.

Spent the night writing out my few Christmas cards (family & a very few friends) so I could mail them today. Spent an hour on the phone with an old friend from the local area, then another half hour talking to a new friend in the area. Mapped out a nice 110 mile route for today then watched some shows I recorded and finally off to bed, still too late but at least before 1 am.

Got up with full intentions of heading out at a decent hour to drop off my mail at the post office, pick up a loaf of bread and do the nice ride I mapped out. Well, sometime during the night fog moved in....BIG time fog. I opened the door and everything was dripping wet. UGH! Back inside after checking the bike and being sure the cover was still secure.

It's now 1 pm and still in the mid 60's and cloudy although the fog has dissipated. First things first, I need to dump the tanks today. As many of you already know, the gauges aren't to be trusted and since my black tank never reads below 1/2 tank, it's hard to know when to dump. I had read where you can tell when you see the water rising when you flush the toilet. Well, that happened this morning. I had dumped my gray tanks before I headed to the Ford dealer in New Braunfels but not the black. That meant I only had a week's worth of gray tank use so since I'm hooked up to water, I just ran it to add more to the gray and then dumped. I'm getting pretty good at it...what used to take me 30 minutes now takes maybe 10.

My shirt has changed from short sleeve to long sleeve to short sleeve again, it's one of those days. I'm trying to wear my holiday shirts...I kept them, I need to use them. I have three short sleeved and three long sleeved plus two sweatshirts, all for this time of year. Today is the kind of day when a 3/4 sleeve would be perfect. Figures....

I am truly seeing that I can live comfortably with much less than I have with me...but it's hard to get rid of things that are duplicated (plastic bowls, extra plates, too many coffee cups, shoes, shirts, etc) when I know I will have to buy replacements at some point. So I won't hesitate to toss when well used/abused and slowly cull things that way. I'm still working on the paperbacks...just have to avoid that section of Wal-Mart. LOL!

Time to get off my butt and take a walk...before it rains....and yes, it looks and feels like it will rain soon. Sigh....hoping for some sun tomorrow....Christmas cards are REALLY going to be late now.

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

More Sunday Sundries.....

Miscellaneous ramblings....

I posted about my new memory foam pillow and someone asked what the brand was. Well, unfortunately the box is gone. I bought it at Wal-Mart, it was in a box AND it is pillow shaped (not the funny contour kind that have been around for year). It's basically a latex foam pillow with memory foam. Makes it heavy and even a little hard feeling but thanks to the memory foam, it's very comfortable.

Another reader asked who wears socks....that's easy, anyone with cold feet! Oh, and if anyone finds Ellie's (new) tan washcloth in a Ft. Worth laundromat, let me know and I'll get hold of her.

It's been a couple of days of high winds, rain in either a drizzle or downpour, nighttime temps in the 30's....all in all, a great time to cuddle up on the sofa and either read or watch the glut of holiday and romance movies on television. I was watching one, it was nearing the end and I was crying happy tears (yes, I'm a sucker for a sappy story with a happy ending) when there was a knock at my door.

Turned out to be another lady solo RVer, Ann, who had been referred to me by my friend Nick Russell (editor/publisher of The Gypsy Journal). She had some questions about Bluebonnet Ford where I recently had The Lily Pad serviced. We managed to talk non-stop for well over an hour and if it hadn't been getting late, would have chatted a lot longer. She will be attending The Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande, AZ in February and we'll catch up then. It was nice talking to another solo lady, comparing notes on our rigs, our stuff and dealing with the daily adventures.

Turns out she had "Service Engine Soon" light problems as well with her previous RV, also a Ford. Coincidently, she also had a Banks performance system on that. Hmmmmm......seems she had her O2 sensor replaced several times, fortunately for her, all done under warranty. The second time it was replaced the mechanic told her that the Banks system seems to cause problems with the O2 sensor. Something to think about....

After she left I downloaded email and found a note from another RVer.....mentioning the EXACT SAME THING! He added that the gas mixture can impact it as well. Now that I know I have a good, functioning O2 sensor, I won't panic if I see the light coming on again (assuming that everything else seems to be okay and running smoothly).

The weather is supposed to warm up this week....finally. I need to get the motorcycle out and do some riding. I have to admit that I have been thinking more and more about my decision to use the motorcycle as my "toad". The sightseeing on the bike is the best but the day to day convenience isn't. I guess I'm turning into a fair weather rider. But I'm not giving up (or in) right away. I promised myself that I would give this setup the winter/spring before I made and decisions. I know I need to bond more with the BMW....without that any decision wouldn't be fair.

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