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Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Encounters with Native American Cultures

Seattle, the largest city in Washington, is named for an Indian chief. Many other features in this area have Native American names. On our travels, we visited several museums and cultural centers that helped to build our understanding of and respect for the culture. Our first museum was in Coulee Dam on the Colville Indian Reservation, in north-central Washington. The Colville Confederated Tribes Museum has a good historical record of the tribes with many old pictures, examples of clothing and
tbutler

tbutler

2
Enjoying the Good Life
 

Life's A Beach...

...and sometimes it is best not to go to the beach. We recently concluded our longest trip in our coach with our vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. While it was our fifth visit in total, it was our first in the motorhome. And to say I some apprehension about such a lengthy journey would be an understatement. It is our third summer with our coach and only the second time we ventured outside Michigan. Some of my concerns were the 12 hour first day, travelling with a 1-year old, and what if we expe
ScoutsPal

ScoutsPal

0
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Putting Nature in a Box

We have been on the Olympic Peninsula for just over a month now. Starting on the east side of Olympic National Park and moving north, west and now south we have explored the fringes of this vast wilderness park. We have also explored the towns and villages surrounding the park. There are so many things we have seen and done that I won't even begin to write about all of them in one entry. I'm starting with nature because that is the focus of the national park. We have walked many miles of trails
tbutler

tbutler

0
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Signs of Recovery on the Road

We have traveled 6500 miles so far this summer. One of the things we have noticed while on the road is that there seem to be many more motor homes on the road this year than in years past. I can recall the days when we considered purchasing a motor home and then first hit the road. We would drive down any road and see lots of RV's of all kinds. Then the industry fell on hard times. Fuel prices went up and motor homes pretty quickly disappeared from the roads and highways. We traveled through New
tbutler

tbutler

2
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

Gems Everywhere We Go

We've been on a discovery tour for the last month. We left familiar territory at Coulee City, Washington. Traveling south we decided to stop in Yakima. The decision was more about taking a breather than exploring. We had arranged to have our mail delivered there and we decided to stay a week just to catch our breath and wait for a service appointment. So we played golf at one of the most beautiful golf courses we have ever seen. Apple Tree Golf Resort is a resort housing development in an apple
tbutler

tbutler

0
Enjoying the Good Life
 

A Much Needed Break

Since our June trip to Nashville we have pretty much been housebound for a couple reasons. First, the coach was out of commission for a time but it is now back in service and ready to hit the road. And then there has been the overwhelming job of transitioning my mother-in-law from being independent to assisted living. She was hospitalized in early July, went to rehab for 2 1/2 weeks, and was moved to her new residence this past Friday. Along with that there is the huge job of dismantling and
ScoutsPal

ScoutsPal

0
Jack & Peg's Great Adventure
 

Summer in Maine!

Wow! Can’t believe it is almost August! Time sure does fly when you’re having fun! Since my last blog entry we have traveled from Kartchner Caverns, Bensen, AZ to Phippsburg, Maine. Had a pretty good trip across country even though we took a dog leg route to Forest City, Iowa to Winnebago Industries to have a few things checked out on the new to us motor home and a had few items worked on. The Horizon had a dishwasher which we really didn’t need so we had it removed and had two more kitchen draw
Jackhal49

Jackhal49

2
"Gramps" Blog
 

I Fell in Love Twice (maybe three times)

I can’t really tell you where my mind has been the last two months. The summer has been blazing hot and my creative writing juices seemed to just dry up. So, as a result, I have not posted a new blog entry since April something. Now it is time to fix that. It has been a hot summer so far, and a busy one as well. My biggest project has been installing the background music wiring and speakers, point of sale network, telephone system and computer network for a new restaurant in Colonial Williamsbu
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

1
GenericET's Blog
 

Do Not Accept Bad Service

I have made a lot of mistakes while starting this hobby of RVing. One of which is trusting a little too much on what salesmen tell me. I hate to burst anyones bubble, but not all RV dealers are honest trustworthy individuals. I guess it is a flaw in my character that I assume people are telling the truth and doing thier best for the customer. Here is the latest chapter in a long history of bad service from one dealer who we will never do business with again. I don't know if it is breaking a rule
GenericET

GenericET

7
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

We Finally Find Cool in the Pacific Northwest

Leaving the midwest in late June we battled temperatures near or above 100 degrees on a regular basis. Even as we traveled to Montana we were still enountering temperatures in the high 90s. When we got into eastern Washington we began to notice some cooler temperatures. Now, after crossing the Cascade Mountains we have arrived at Chehalis, Washington. We are about 90 miles south of Seattle on I-5. Temperatures here are in the 50's and 60's at night and highs have been in the upper 70's or lower
tbutler

tbutler

1
Enjoying the Good Life
 

To Travel Wins Over Not To Travel

My wife and I have owned our 2008 Bounder 38P for two years and just recently joined FMCA. Previously we roamed the country with a 26 foot travel trailer. The story of how we came to be owners of our coach is, I think, worthy of a chuckle. We began our marriage going on camping vacations with her parents in their trailer. There were many good trips in those years, along with the expected issues when living in such close quarters with the in-laws. When our daughter came along she was added t
ScoutsPal

ScoutsPal

2
Tom and Louise on Tour in North America
 

We're Still Rolling Along

It is hard for me to add things to my BLOG when we are living in our fixed home. Now that we're back in the motor home for the summer I have dozens of things to write about. At home I've been busy settling in for two years now, kind of like a dog turning around several times before it finds just the right spot to lay down. During this period of settling in I am afraid that I've been pretty much ignoring the motor home through the winter. It's plugged in and we keep minimal heat and air condition
tbutler

tbutler

2
Adventures in fulltiming
 

It's Not for Sissies!

Boy, I tell ya, this camping stuff ain't for sissies! We've been at our campsite in Thompson Creek, Washington, where we have been Gate Attendants, since May 19. This is our first time full-timing and mostly it's been okay ... if you consider that literally half the time we've been here it's rained! Man! We left the high desert of northern Nevada and will be boondocking in the mountains in Washington for the next five months and this rain is something else! I guess folks around here are used t
alisasings

alisasings

4
Adventures in fulltiming
 

Are we there yet?

Visit with the inlaws is coming to a close; we're heading out to our final destination at Newman Lake, Washingtion, some 400 plus miles away, at 8 a.m. in the morning! I am still shocked at how much the initial cost is to move from a stick house into an RV! Wow! One purchase I'm excited about it is the camp stove we bought. I don't plan on doing a lot of (if any) cooking in the coach unless it's bad weather so we wanted a little 2 burner propane stove to cook on outside along with our grills. W
alisasings

alisasings

0
Adventures in fulltiming
 

Woo hoo! Thank ya Jesus!

We lived through our 1st day on the road with out any major issues!! Hallelujah! I have to tell ya'll I prayed & talked to the Lord for the whole 250 miles! The day didn't start out very good, Hubby is driving the Bounder & I'm following behind in a Dodge 1500. (We'll find a nice toad later). ANYway, we learned something right off the bat.... We stopped to fill up on the way out of town, I put $40 in the truck & hubby was filling the beast when all at once, at $121 the gas shut o
alisasings

alisasings

3
Adventures in fulltiming
 

Scared silly! Isn't that silly?

Well here we go.... we leave in the morning after the grandkids go to school on the first leg of our maiden voyage. I am excited, somewhat scared, and beyond nervous! We're going about 250 miles where we'll stop and visit my hubby's parents for a few days before continuing on another 400 miles to Newman Lake, Washington where we will be 'gate attendants' for 5 months. We'll be working in a day use area so that means it will be just the two of us at night...in the boonies...with no electricity
alisasings

alisasings

4
Adventures in fulltiming
 

And so it begins

We've sold what we could and donated the rest. Our life now fits into a 31-foot motorhome and the 6-foot bed of a pickup truck. I already know that soon we will be paring down our belongings even more. I've told hubby that he has to quit adding "stuff"! "A place for everything, and everything in it's place" is my new motto LOL! We've been sleeping in our 1987 Bounder for almost a week. Tonight will be the sixth night. It's been pretty comfortable, but then again we are parked in our daughter'
alisasings

alisasings

3
"Gramps" Blog
 

A Year Ago

I have been meaning to write the second part (the better part) of our trip to Melbourne, Florida to see our daughter and Gavin, our new grandson. However, my writing has been delayed by a web site move, a pinched nerve in my neck (I can't feel two of my fingers on my left hand) and other related work stuff. Also it is an anniversary, a sad anniversary which has turned my thoughts towards another grandson and just how precious a life can be, even if it is a short one. I wrote this last year. I d
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

0
"Gramps" Blog
 

Practicing Rule Number 2

It has certainly been awhile since I posted anything having to do with motor coaching. I guess I could just ignore that fact and just post like I don’t have a care in the world and no time has gone by at all since my last new entry. I won’t do that, however. I will tell you that Diane and I have managed to make it to some chapter campouts where we had some weekend fun with our fellow FMCA and Good Sam members, while still longing for a good long trip on the road. Three weeks or so ago we final
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

2
Jack & Peg's Great Adventure
 

We now have a New to Us Coach!

New to us coach! Well so much for buying your last coach first. We had some work done on our Journey at La Mesa RV in Tucson, AZ and while we were there waiting for the service to be completed and of course we started looking at all the motor homes, 5th wheels, etc. At first DW thought she really wanted a 5th wheel but then decided she did not want to drive a large pickup all the time. This got us thinking (a dangerous thing) about wanting more living space, so now the wheels are in motion. We s
Jackhal49

Jackhal49

3
mdouglass55's Blog
 

Enhancing The RVing Experience for Physically Challenged

RVing Accessibility Group, Inc. is a non-profit organization enhancing the awareness of the needs for disabled RVers, especially those who are physically challenged and need to know where they can stay and have a meaningful and enjoyable experience. One potential national sponsor has asked us how many people with RVs are disabled. I know that 54 million Americans have at least one disability, but I have yet to find out how many of that 20% of the U.S. population own RVs. I know that 8.9% of U
mdouglass55

mdouglass55

1
Jack & Peg's Great Adventure
 

Here We are at Kartchner Caverns, AZ

Wow! It is hard to believe that it is the 1st of April already and the last time I added to this blog was in November 2011! As they say time flies when you’re having fun and we have definitely been having fun. The full-timing and volunteering life style is really awesome. A lot has happened since my last blog entry. We really enjoyed our stay at Goliad State Park as the staff and the park itself is so great. Christmas time at the old mission is so special. The mission is lit with lights and diff
Jackhal49

Jackhal49

0
"Gramps" Blog
 

"Cruising" Day Ten

Part X Sunday Morning :We have to get off the ship. Diane and I woke at false dawn. Voyager was already docked. In just a few minutes the sunrise could be seen in the glass of the buildings outside our balcony. I took a couple of pictures. We dressed without saying much to each other. We did not have to. Diane put on a red short sleeve lace up shirt and white Capri pants. I think I put on one of my new Liz Claiborne for men tees, brown and off white linen shorts. We packed our dress clothes fr
-Gramps-

-Gramps-

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