Status Update & Contest Reminder

REMINDER! The contest entries must be emailed to me by midnight tonight, Pacific timezone.

Now, just a quick note for those that didn't see my comment on the previous blog or my Shout-Out. I am now at North Ranch SK Park in Congress, AZ.

After many emails back & forth with a SUPER helpful & knowledgeable SKP friend (SOCalToolGuy - Ray), it was determined that I should be able to carefully drive the 15 miles from Wickenburg to the RV park. The leak appeared to have stopped.

I contacted an SKP couple, Mike & Pat McFall, who are in the park and they came over to the gas station after church. Pat drove my car and Mike followed the RV. No leaks, no shifting issues, no slipping....all looked good.

I went to the Sunday night ice cream social (always a great place to meet folks at SKP parks). By the time I went to bed Sunday I had at least FOUR recommendations that B&B Automotive in Congress was a reputable place to take the rig to get evaluated.

I spoke with them this morning and they agree with Ray, the transmission probably overheated and spilled over due to the added load of the car versus the lighter trailer/motorcycle. With the warmer weather they have already seen several cases of this. I have an appointment at noon for them to look it over and I will have them drain & refill the fluid regardless.

When I leave I have a mountainous route to take in order to get to Williams. I will leave early and stop every hour to let things cool down. Fortunately it's only 115 miles to the campground. Not sure there is much else I can do...I don't want to tear up this transmission and until I add a temperature gauge for it, I have no way of knowing if it's overheating.

So, I will post any updates tonight...and once again, a HUGE thank you to Ray, Mike & Pat for going above & beyond and another one to everyone who has emailed, commented & shouted with thoughts, ideas, questions & encouragement. I'm way behind in emails but will get back to those I can (remember, if your profile isn't linked to an email then I can't reply to you). You guys ROCK!

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

Photo & Location Catch Up

It's late, I'm tired, the blog is behind....so what else is new? LOL! Here are some photos I took while at Beaudry RV Resort a few days ago. Nice park when not packed...don't think I'd want to be there then.

I did get OUT of Tucson yesterday morning. The mobile tech showed up at 7:45am to install the new deadbolt and double check the propane leak. After he left, I took my time to get the new Brake Buddy installed (it worked) and left the park around 10:30.

The drive south to Huachuca City wasn't much more than an hour but when I finally got to the park, Tombstone Territories RV Park, and got checked in and set up, I was beat. My fibromyalgia was in full flare and I was exhausted and in pain everywhere. Most of the time it's under control but I think the combination of the stress from the last week+ and the short nights for 3-4 days merged with the windy drive south just pushed my body over the edge. I vegged all afternoon, even taking an hour long nap. I felt much more like myself this morning.

Today I went into Sierra Vista, had a nice breakfast, did a little shopping and got my haircut. Once done with that I managed to meet up with Judie & Gary who live in the area. They are RVers and we have been in email contact for close to 12 years. Judie was the one who mentored me in the early days of my husband and I looking into RVing. I learned so much from here and it was an amazing experience getting to finally meet! We chatted for several hours, and then I headed back to the park. Tomorrow I plan to head out to do some sightseeing in the area.

The park is very nice....and not crowded this time of year. Very clean, large sites, great amenities (pool, hot tub, two laundry rooms, several shower/bathroom areas, pool table and more). Lots of places to hike, tons of birds and I saw my FIRST jack rabbit! I tried to snag a photo but he was too quick.

Here are some photos of the park here:




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

Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide!

Quick update....been delayed once more the last two days. I ended up with a propane leak that had to be fixed. The Extend-a-Stay valve vibrated too much and loosened up - leak detector kicked in and turned off all my appliances but until I turned off the main valve, it continued to leak propane. Now that is an exciting moment when you open your door to the very STRONG smell of propane...NOT!

The other delay was getting up the next morning and discovering that less than 2 hours of sun have heated up the door lock enough that it once again is jammed. Several more trips from the mobile mechanic....he created the perfect support for the Extend-a-Stay valve so no more leaks (one can only hope) and he ended up completely replacing the door lock.

Since the weather forecast to the south appears to be for warmer temps than I like, I'm going to bypass the 2-3 days of boondocking and am heading to a Passport America park, Tombstone Territories RV Park. I plan to stay three nights, meet up with some friends, see Tombstone & Bisbee, then head northeast where I plan to boondock several nights in the Coronado National Forest. I should be blogging before heading that way...no telling if I will have Internet access then or not.

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

PS. Thank you to Rawhide - the song and the series!

Let's see...where were we....

Let's see...where were we....oh yeah, I was leaving Tra-Tel and heading to Camping World to get my slow leaking air bag looked at. Been a few interesting moments since then....LOL!

Pulled out yesterday morning to head to Camping World....since the Brake Buddy 12 volt plug was broken and thus not set up, I watched my speed and braked carefully. Pulled out and got onto the frontage road and a huge OH NO crossed my mind. When I unhooked the Brake Buddy, I automatically turned the key off. Praying that I wasn't damaging the car, I slowed down more and more till I could find a turn off (one where I could get in and back out easily). Found a spot, jumped out, started the car, then turned it off to ACC as it was supposed to be. Some of this stuff is just counter intuitive for me....got to get my check list finalized with all this new stuff and print it out. Phew!

Arrived fifteen minutes early, found the locking pins I needed for the car side of the tow bar as well as a couple of spare linch pins (round snap pins that someone could maliciously remove while parked...figured I should have some spare ones). I may still need some padlocks, just been too busy to look into it further...added to the TO DO list. LOL!

So, the tech watches me unhook the car from the RV and put up the tow bar and cover it. Success! Unhitching seems easier than hitching....maybe because I'm so paranoid that I'll forget something. They headed off in the motorhome and I headed into the campground behind the repair facility, Beaudry RV Resort, to book one night there. Not knowing how long they would need for work, I wanted a place set for the night and possibly longer if needed. It's a VERY nice park but a bit pricey for my normal stays. (They have free Wi-Fi so I used that to download the 120MB Open Office, rather than eat up my Verizon bandwidth....heh, heh....)

After finding my alloted site, I headed back to the customer lounge to wait for word on my rig. Decided to give my youngest daughter a call, the time zone difference and her busy schedule with three little ones have made it hard to chat much. Managed to catch her....and got her bad news. On Sunday she and her hubby were doing some much needed yard work. She managed to mangle two fingers with the electric hedge trimmer. Over two hours were spent to put in 10 stitches due to the uneven cut pattern. She was really hurting and since hubby was heading out of town on business today, she couldn't take her Percocet. OUCH!! Anyway, we chatted for a bit and got caught up to date.

Just before lunch the tech came to find me....the couldn't find a leak on the air bag. They had filled it and sprayed it. There were some bubbles around the top where an L fitting screws in but other than the initial bubbles, there was no movement. Nothing showed anywhere else....plus, it was holding the air they put in. We decided to wait till after lunch to see if it lost any air. During this time I got on the computer in the customer lounge and contacted a local Brake Buddy dealer as well as the manufacturer. The local dealer wouldn't do anything since I didn't BUY it from him...but he would install the direct to battery connection. He told me to send the Brake Buddy back to the folks in TX where I bought it. Yeah, right....

So I sent in a request to Brake Buddy to find out how to get it serviced....after all, I had just bought it and only used it once. I explained all that had happened and the local dealer's response to me (without mentioning who it was). Lunch over, the tech found me again and said it was still holding air so he wasn't going to charge me anything (thank you!!!!) since they really didn't do anything. (NOTE: wondering now if it's because it was up in the air on a lift without the weight on the motorhome on the suspension - time will tell.) I drove the car up to my site, walked back and got the motorhome and headed to the site. Backed in, hooked up the power and not much else done when my cell phone rang.

It was Casey from Brake Buddy....after going through the whole scenario of what had happened, he opted to OVERNIGHT me a new unit (shipping out Tuesday) with a return label for the old one. Now that is service! Since I knew Tra-Tel accepted mail/packages, I gave him their address and called to let them know I would be back Wednesday for one night.

Had a nice peaceful evening....MUCH less dust here...very little, in fact....no trains going through all night long either. Of course I did hear a plane or two since I'm much closer to the airport here. Set the alarm to get up early to take the car to the aforementioned Brake Buddy dealer to see if I needed the battery direct connect done. They were really nice (maybe they felt guilty about their attitude yesterday...LOL!), tested my outlet and said it was just fine. So all my problems appear to be related to the actual Brake Buddy unit....Phew!

So, I head to breakfast and the proceed to Wally World for a few needed grocery items. Also found the perfect folding aluminum side table and a set of inexpensive hiking poles (yes, I AM going to do more walking and hope the poles will help me do more without aggravating my arthritis too much). Good prices, found all the food on my list, didn't get lost, didn't have to pay for the battery connect.....nice start to the day. I should have known....

Got back to the RV and the deadbolt lock won't unlock. I bang, I pull, I push, I berate it...nothing budges it. Wouldn't have been so bad except that I have yet to organize my keys since getting the car and selling the bike/trailer. I have the RV ignition key ring which also has the padlock & hitch/coupler lock keys on it. I have the key ring that I normally took everywhere with me...it has the deadbolt, the other door lock, the storage bin key, my Fire-Safe key and a couple of keys that I'm no longer sure what they are...oh and a recently added car key. They there is the car key ring that has only the car key and the deadbolt key. Toss in a key ring with only the car key on it, that's the one that will be in the ignition when towing. Then there is the SPARE key ring...it has all the duplicates. That used to travel in my purse since I really only had the motorhome.

Soooooo, yes, I need to go through these and have a set of everything on two rings, one for the car and one for the motorhome. But right now it didn't matter....the key(s) to the motorhome truck door were all INSIDE the locked motorhome. Okay, I have road service....I just switched from RV Roadhelp to Coach-Net and although I haven't gotten my cards yet, I had written down all the pertinent information (never knowing how important that would be).

I walk over to the campground office and get their street address, knowing that would be needed. I settle down in a corner of their patio and call Coach-Net and get a nice lady named Joyce. I explain my situation and the first thing she asks me is if I am safe. Finding out that I am, she gets all the pertinent information and tells me that I should see someone in 45-60 minutes. If I haven't heard from someone in a hour, then I should call back so they can check on it. We hang up and I go back to reading. About 10 minutes later my phone rings, it's Joyce again. She wants to clarify that if they open the drivers door so I can get it, will that be sufficient. I hadn't even really thought about it that way (thank you Joyce), but yes, it would be. I had anticipated paying labor & materials to get the lock out and fix out.

About 30 minutes after we hang up for the second time I get a call from the lock service, they are coming in the gate of the campground and wanted to find me. I go outside and they follow me to the RV (maybe 1/2 block away). He quickly unlocks the passenger door (for some reason it's easier on that side) and used the power lock to unlock the driver side (the passenger seat is full...). Then he took down all the information he needed - VIN, tag, driver license - I signed his ticket and we were good to go. Coach-Net just paid for itself!

So now I'm waiting for the mobile tech that adjusted my door to arrive late this afternoon to see what we can do. Yes, I can get in and out the driver door but that is just not convenient. It also means I lose the breeze coming in the side door. Sigh...never a dull moment!

Since I will now be here through Thursday, I am revisiting my travel plans. I have to be in Williams, AZ on May 7th. I've decided it makes no sense to RUSH up to northern AZ/southern UT when I would have to limit my time sightseeing. Instead, I will go a little further south and visit Sierra Vista, Bisbee and Tombstone before heading northerly to end up in Williams on time. I'll be doing a lot of boondocking and don't know when I will/won't have Internet so don't be surprised if I'm not blogging.

I will spend a couple of weeks in northern AZ/southern UT after May 18th...I'll already be in Williams and it makes more sense to do it that way. I will miss meeting up with friends who are camphosting at Arches but know we'll meet up eventually. I will also miss meeting up with other friends who are boondocking in various places in southern AZ, but again, I know we'll meet up eventually. These plans make sense for me....for now....isn't full-timing flexibility a WONDERFUL thing? ;-)

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

Almost ready...

Yup, almost ready to leave the Tra-Tel RV Park. I've been here a month+ and although it has its positive sides, I am SO ready to move. Big move tomorrow.....NOT! Sigh....just headed down the road to Camping World where they will take a look at my air bag and see what needs to be done to fix it. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a quick fix AND under warranty.

Today I caught up on laundry, washed all my throw rugs, mopped floors, dusted, put stuff away to get ready for travel AND (drum roll, please) hooked up the car to the motorhome, set up the Brake Buddy and went for a test drive. I learned two things....the motorhome definitely knows it's pulling something twice the weight of the trailer and motorcycle and that it is going to take some getting used to stopping this thing. The Brake Buddy needs tweaking....talking with some folks that have the same setup and that should help me fine tune it.

All in all, the test drive went well....and I did all the hookup stuff myself. Got a lot of things to add to my checklists now. LOL! Side benefit, got my generator monthly hour long run taken care of...good for another month.

Of course with the good there always seems to be a little bad.... First was when I pulled the 12 volt plug for the Brake Buddy out of the socket. One of the little spring clips that put tension on it popped out. Sigh....my mobile mechanic is going to fix it in the morning....I will contact Brake Buddy for a longer term fix. Second, my HWH levelers have gotten flakier...or maybe it's the operator. I managed to get them all down but by the time I visually confirmed they were down, they retracted. After 5 or 6 times in and out, I said screw it...it's only one night. I'll worry about that later...probably user error...oh well.

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

Bikeless in Arizona

Yup, the deed is done! Squirt is on the way to his new home in New Mexico, owned by a new lady rider who fell in love with him. I have cash in hand and will be looking at a car tomorrow (which may or may not be THE one).

So to backtrack a bit...about 3pm I arrived at Tra-Tel RV Park on the west side of Tucson. Got checked in, paid for a week and headed towards my site, following the owner. Suddenly he signaled me to stop, headed back to the office and asked me to wait. Long story short, one of the instructors hadn't left yet and he was in the spot that would be mine. Seems as though he thought he wasn't leaving until Saturday. They asked if I would mind parking in the overflow...not a problem. That gave me power if I felt like running A/C and I still had plenty of water. As I settled in, the instructor (who I had met earlier in the day), called to apologize about the mix-up. I told him it wasn't an issue and to not worry about it.

I settled in for the night, watched some TV, read some emails & forums and headed to bed. A good night's sleep and I rolled out out bed ready for the day....but what a day it turned into! It started slowly with my taking advantage of my close proximity to the laundry room, stripped the bed and read while I waited.

I read for a bit and then the phone rang. It was a lady who had talked to the local BMW dealer and had been referred to me about my bike. They were on their way down from Phoenix and were only about 15 minutes from me. They both took a test drive, I dug out my gear and managed to sell not only the bike but two jackets and one pair of pants. Still have several pairs of boots and probably some other stuff, like the custom seat, but it was a start!

They headed out to the bank to get the money for a deposit so I would hold it for a week. I was on the phone when they called and let me know they were at the bank and would be back shortly. Well, instead of putting down a deposit they decided to just pay it all and save themselves a trip. We unloaded Squirt and I watched him head off into the sunset, lots of new adventures in his future.

I then started getting the RV ready to move to my spot, pretty wiped out from unloading, reloading the bike & all the "stuff" in the trailer. Fortunately the folks buying the bike did all the final unloading & reloading the trailer...very nice folks! The phone call I had been on earlier was the lady selling the Suzuki Grand Vitara that I'm interested in. I was supposed to call her yesterday afternoon and just ran out of time and obviously was too busy this morning to think of it. Anyway, they will be bringing it by sometime tomorrow....keep your fingers crossed that it works out. If so, I could have a car....of course then I'll have to get it set up for towing. And more importantly, I still have to get the trailer sold. Kind of difficult to tow both it and a car. LOL!

Besides working on the car & trailer issue, I intend to spend some time culling out "stuff", as I said yesterday. Some stuff will get set aside to sell online, some will get taken to Good Will (or something similar...once I have a car) and some will get donated to the community room here at the park. Got a lot of weight to lose.....ruthless I intend to be....

Everyone keeps asking me where I am going after this and I truthfully have no plans. I may go out the the BLM area here and do some boondocking, I may head northerly a little, or westerly a little....taking it one day at a time! I am making great strides in my quest of a Type Z personality....long ways from my 60 years of Type A life. I think I might be at about a B- now....LOL!

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

Always a new adventure.....

Yup, a NEW adventure for me. I had requested that my mail be forwarded on the 7th rather than the 10th because my plans had changed and I wanted to leave the Bouse BLM boondocking area on Friday morning, the 14th and wanted to be sure my mail arrived in time. No problem...right? You would think so....LOL!

After checking on Tues & Wed and still no mail, I contacted my mail forwarding company. Turns out my mail went out on the 7th but it went to the previously requested address in Winterhaven, CA (when I was boondocking outside Yuma). Can you say OOPS? They had it redirected to the Bouse General Delivery and I was told it would be there on Thursday or Friday. So instead of bumming rides over there (I was expecting three boxes so not something I really wanted to do with the bike), I decided to call on Thursday. No mail....sigh...

Friday morning I head out to Quartzsite to get my inverter looked tweaked. When done, I get gas then go by the RV Pit Stop to top off my propane, dump & take on fresh water. When I was done I headed to Bouse and the Post Office, REALLY hoping all the mail would be there. Well, one box was....at least it turned out to be the one with my new Garmin Nuvi 760 GPS in it. Phew! But that meant I needed to hang around for at least one more day, hoping that the other two boxes would show on Saturday. They were open for packages between 9-10 am.

So I headed back out of town and parked on the first 14 day BLM area I found....yup, my first REAL night of boondocking solo. Okay, so there was another RV barely within sight, but it wasn't anyone I knew and we could barely see each other. Peace and quiet...totally mesmerizing.

Many people don't realize that I am actually somewhat of in introvert and basically shy. Normally I spend a week or two with others and then go off by myself for a while. I've been with friends since I hit Quartzsite in the middle of January! That is a record for me...LOL!

Okay, back to the saga of the missing mail. I was wide awake last night and ended up sleeping in a little bit. I made it to the Post Office about 9:30....box number two was there. This one had more stuff that I had ordered (but not all of it) and still no "real" mail. Guess all that is in the LAST box.

Fortunately the Post Mistress had told me on Friday that she would hold it for 30 days and could do a one time forwarding for me. I called the campground in Tucson where I will be staying for a week after the RV Life on Wheels and got their permission to have the mail sent there. With that set I hit the road. I needed to stop at the Super Wal-Mart in Buckeye and get some groceries and other stuff. Ended up getting a haircut while I was there since they could fit me in right away.



After spending a couple of hours there, opted to hunker down in Augie's Quail Trail RV Park in Gila Bend. I had spent one night there before and liked the park and the folks that run it. I desperately needed to do laundry after spending 5 weeks in the desert. LOL!

I arrived just before 4pm, unloaded my bags from the store, loaded up all the laundry and headed over to get it started. I ended up with 4 loads and I still need to do my sheets...think those will wait till Tucson. Nasty weather is forecast to move through tomorrow. The wind is already blowing and there is a good chance of thunderstorms.

I'm very tired, achy tonight and have a sore throat. Often this happens when I overdo things...toss in a little stress and you have a perfect recipe for a flare of Fibromyalgia. So tomorrow really sounds like a good day to do NOTHING...

I did use my new GPS for routing today....my old one was just too small for the dash and my old eyes. Since it's pocket size, I will keep it for hiking. The new one, Garmin Nuvi 760, has a touch screen which makes it much easier to use than the old one, Garmin Quest 2, where I had to figure out what button combination to push.

While I love some of the new features on the Nuvi, there are some things that went away. Things I really liked....for example, while traveling I could see the current time, elevation and my travel speed. Boy do I miss that! I tended to use the speed rather than my speedometer since it was right at eye level. The elevation and time were handy.

On the Nuvi I can choose between male or female voices as well as American, British or Australian English (as well as many other languages that I don't speak). I tried all six combinations. I liked the idea of a male voice but find my hearing isn't the best in that range so ended up settling on the Australian female. So my GPS now has a name....Sheila. My old GPS is now Ernestine (think Lily Tomlin's switchboard operator character).

Oh, and believe it or not, the Nuvi came without a manual....just the quick start guide. I have downloaded and saved both the manual from Garmin as well as a great review of all the features from one of the GPS review sites. So far the BIGGEST dislike is the lack of a way to build a route on my computer and upload it....if I do that I have to input each of the waypoints and build the route manually. Sort of going backwards to me....hmmmmmmm

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

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.

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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

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.

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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

Sensible, Silly, Sundry Sundays

I promised more photos of the park, here are some I took this morning while it was still overcast. I walked along the river aways, then back to check out the laundry, rest rooms, showers and kitchen/lounge area. All very nice! For $250/month including electric, I think I'll be quite happy here for a month. Lots to check out within an easy 100 mile riding radius, too.

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Breakfast Outdoors


A little Christmas decorating


...and a little more

I had a nice breakfast outside on the picnic table...set out a few Christmas decorations outside. Worked on my photos after straightening up a little (wouldn't want to go overboard...). Around 1 pm I had visitors - Karon arrived first. She has been following my postings for close to two years now. Shortly afterward Ellie arrived. They are both readers of RV-Dreams.com and often post in the forum and visit the chat room there.

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What wonderful ladies...we chatted for several hours, the time flew. We have a lot of commonality and I look forward to getting to know them both better. If I make the RV-Dreams Rally, they both plan to be there (I think....LOL!). They both brought me wonderful gifts that they made....now I'm thinking about what I could manage creatively for new friends....nothing decided, that will take a while. Crafty stuff has never been my forte' - think I passed that gene along to my daughters.

After they left I decided to try to unhook my trailer. Worked out pretty well except that I forgot I would have to move the motorhome forward to get it out from under the motorhome hitch. I managed to pull it forward enough without having to unhook. But I still need a bit more before I level the trailer and put down the stabilizer legs (or are they arms...LOL!) Guess I'll do that when I head back to New Braunfels to the Ford dealer and Camping World (microwave trim kit needs to be installed and my tires re-torqued, at least both are no charge). But hey....I did get it unhooked & remembered chocks!

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

Luling, Tx - Settling In

Well, I finally made it. I ended up spending one more night in Camping World's parking lot. I could have rushed to the campground but would have been dealing with getting-off-work traffic and ended up setting up in the dark. Plus I wanted to stop at Wally World on the way over to pick up some groceries.

For some reason I didn't sleep real well so I ended up not getting up until 9 am. Dumped my trash, did my walk around and headed out. The morning was overcast but muggy. By the time I checked out of Wally World, it was 82 inside The Lily Pad...fired up the generator and started the A/C for the rest of the drive.

Missed the park...it was closer to I-10 than I anticipated so turned around and headed back. Got checked in, found my site and after two go-rounds, got parked. First time the trailer was a little too crooked for me, so I went around again and took a wider approach.

The park is small, I'll do more investigating tomorrow and take some more photos. There are a fair number of seasonal RVs here, great rate. There is Wi-Fi but they told me it was sporadic (I haven't found the signal yet so I'm using my Verizon card). There is a small but nice pool....if it stays as hot as today, I'll be checking it out as an exercise alternative to walking.

I took my time with my setting up, first hooking up my Surge Guard with the lock. Since I was previously at Escapee parks, I hadn't used the lock but with a replacement being several hundred dollars, figured it was time to try it out. Oh, the red thing you see sticking out is a Plug Dog from Coil 'n Wrap. Makes it much easier to pull out when it's time to disconnect from power or my generator.

Back at the Fall Escapade I had bought a better water filter from the folks at RV Water Filter Store as well as two short hoses to help connections and a bunch of quick connects. I hadn't taken time to put it all together but since my inline water filter was leaking, I knew it was time to switch. Worked out great and I love the brass quick connects.

Oh, wondering what it's sitting in? I picked up one of those oversized cupholders that you see in many auto or marine sections. Looked like it would fit...worked perfectly!

Then I dumped both tanks....may have found the source of some of my smell (the new toilet has helped immensely but still some odor). Will post more about it tomorrow. I used my RhinoFlex Sewer kit for the first time....very nice! I bought it when I realized my current hose might be too short for some setups....like today. It had been sitting in a box in my bedroom....now it's settled into a storage bay.

Came in, unloaded all the stuff that resides on the floor of my shower...extra water, large laundry bottle, dishpan holding more baking soda & vinegar (great for de-scumming drains) & some other miscellaneous stuff. As soon as the hot water had cycled, I popped in and took my first long shower in the rig. Previously it has been campground showers or sink baths due to water conservation as well as watching holding tank levels.

All in all, a good day....tomorrow I hope to meet up with two other lady RVers who are in the area.

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

Yes, still here....

Just a quick check-in for those who follow the blog and might otherwise worry. I'm at Camping World in New Braunfels....very nice folks here. I'm getting new tires (now THAT is a major expense, let me tell you) as well as getting the bearings in the trailer greased and turns out, in the front of the RV as well. They are also switching out the trailer hitch for me, hoping that levels it.

I have a ton of email backlogged, so if you've written and not heard, bear with me. I will bet back to you....but feel like reading this afternoon, not typing.

Had a good trip, generally, over from Livingston to New Braunfels. I took mostly US and state routes, almost no traffic, fairly decent roads (other than a couple of stretches early on that bounced me around a bit) and some nice scenery. If I hadn't been rushed to make it here before dark (good thing since it took me three tries to get onto the right frontage road for Camping World), I would have stopped several times. Those days are coming....SOON!

The big surprise of the trip was stopping a couple of hours out to check out the atlas and take a bathroom break. Opened the bathroom door....the smell about knocked me flat. Think of a porta-potty after 10 hours of use on a 100 degree day at a biker event (or outdoor concert). I've never had that happen. The most common cause is having the bathroom vent open...I knew that and it was closed (as were all the vents and windows). I added water, I added RV-Trine treatment, I opened the vent (had to at that point).

It's gone this morning (was pretty gone by bedtime) and I have a few things to check out. The evening was capped by my DVR refusing to load from the satellite. After relocating the dish three times and resetting or unplugging the DVR at least 6 times, I turned it all off. Missed Kid Nation, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. I'll live...

Okay, I said this would be brief but you all know me well enough by now....LOL! Ran into a lady solo, full-timer here. She's at an RVing Women rally and was picking up a replacement "Little Red Campfire". I had read about them in the forums but had never seen one operated. I loved it! Great way to have a campfire without the muss or fuss of wood. It runs on propane which means I wouldn't have to worry about my allergic reaction to smoke. I hadn't gotten one because of limited storage space...then it hit me....I have room in the trailer. Uh, DUH!

Okay, enough babbling...I'll be here again tonight (it's free and if there is a pull-through spot, I can even plug into electric - last night they were all full), then I head to Riverbend RV Park in Luling where I will stay till January 7th.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Bits & Pieces

This will be a somewhat disjointed blog today....lots of little bits & pieces to mention. First and foremost...for you RVers (and riders) out there...check your tires! Why?

Read this blog from one of my friends, Nick Russell (full-timer & rider), for the definitely gory details. Makes you think twice.....I already knew I would need a rear tire on the BMW very soon but his tale reminded me that I need to get new tires on the motorhome as well. They have a lot of tread left but the sidewalls (at least on the four I can see) are showing signs of dry rot. I don't know the condition of the inside rear tires nor the spare but based upon age, I will probably end up replacing them all (to the tune of probably $2000 or so....EEEEK!).

Next are two more blog mentions that are somewhat related in their themes:

• Three Things I Learned From Full-timers
• Lessons learned from full-time RVing

Both are excellent and will help non-RVers better understand the call of the lifestyle. I've marked both to read over again from time to time.

The final blog mention is a touching one, it speaks about the folks we consider lost...but are they really? Maybe they are getting it right and we're the lost ones. Randy Gets the Story

Some other bits....had a productive day (read, no two hour nap taken). I got the insurance set on the motorhome, motorcycle and trailer. I had talked to Foremost at the Escapade and gotten some tentative quotes. It was time to finalize and activat