tbutler
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Blog Comments posted by tbutler
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By my count we have now put our motor homes on ferries 12 times. The worst was the a ferry that had a door so small we had to fold the mirrors in to get through the exit door. The smallest was across the Yukon River, it held three motor homes. So my answer would be, by now it is pretty routine. Just hope I never get that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach!
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It sounds like your are having a great adventure. Regarding the pace and the cost of fuel, I would suggest you slow the pace, stay a while in a location before moving on. Less driving and more exploring will be more rewarding and a lot less hectic. When you were at Mount Rushmore did you do any hiking? There are great trails, short and long to explore in the Black Hills. Did you visit the Crazy Horse Monument? There is a great Native American museum on site and the monument is a story in determination. How about a drive through Custer State Park? They have roaming herds of bison that you will never forget once you see them. In Hot Springs just south of there they have a wonderful paleontological site, Mammoth Hot Springs is where many of these giants were trapped in a spring and died, were buried and now we're digging up the fossils. To the east of Mount Rushmore along I-90 is Badlands National Park with its stark and beautiful landscape. If the weather is cool you can hike if not, just take pictures and enjoy the scenery. We were there with our grandsons and did all these things several years ago.
All these things are located close together so you aren't driving great distances to get to attractions and you'll have time to relax and sit beside the fire in the evening. Doing some trip planning before hand and finding a number of interesting things near your destination, check with tourist bureaus, most states and many localities have them on line now, get some advice here on the FMCA Forum and go out and have another great trip soon.
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Mike and Jennnifer,
What a horrible event. This is not the first time I have heard of people stopping at a restaurant along a highway and being burglarized. I guess thieves can assume if you go into the restaurant you are planning to be there for a while. Traveling with a fully equipped RV, we are particularly vulnerable because of the many prizes that we have inside. Your story should be a caution for us all. Thanks for posting and best of luck with the insurance company.
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You hit the nail on the head! I spent many years camping in state and national parks, canoeing down rivers and spending nights on gravel bars, backpacking into the mountains for long weekends. I miss it for the extended away from civilization time that it gave me. Clearly as I've gotten older I've become softer. Now my wilderness experiences are limited to day hikes. It isn't the same but at my age, it is appropriate. Besides I married a woman whose idea of roughing it is spending a night at the Holiday Inn. She was a really good sport during our four month long trip through New Zealand and Australia in what I could only call a camper. It was a really small Class C and we were living a whole lot simpler than in our 40 foot coach. Still, by definition we were RV'ers because we were in the vehicle every night and on the road almost every day.
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Dennis,
Thanks for the comment. I've been remiss in my writing. We're at our winter park now and once the motor home is parked there is a flood of activity to get set-up again in our mobile home. Your note prompted me to get back to the story... in a few days. It's on my list.
Tom
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Great information! I second everything you said!
We're going to Oregon this weekend to join our daughter and son-in-law. We'll leave Thursday and take the grandkids and go to Lava Beds National Monument in northern California on the way. We'll stay two nights and spend all day Friday exploring Lava Beds. Maybe visit the Japanese WWII Interment Camp in Tulelake on Saturday morning. Mom and Dad will make the whole trip on Saturday, typical working folk schedule.
Thanks for the great article.
Tom
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Nice post. If Yellowstone ever did erupt in a supervolcano eruption you wouldn't have to be there to be affected. There would be serious repercussions for hundreds of miles in all directions and ash fallout for many hundreds of miles downwind (most likely east). Yellowstone is over a hot spot in Earth's mantle and as North America continues to move westward the hot spot shifts ever eastward under the continent. So the next supervolcanic eruption (10's of thousands of years from now) may be somewhere in central WY or MT.
If you like the smell of sulfur, visit Mt. Lassen in California. Before Mt. St. Helens erupted, Lassen was the most recently active volcano in the contiguous US (excludes Alaska and Hawaii). There are great thermal pools and mudpots there as well. One of my favorites is Bumpass ****, named for the discoverer, Kendall Bumpass, who severely burned a leg when he broke through the thin crust.
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You are correct, there are books out there. One that inspired us to go full time in 2001 is so out of date with many aspects of technology and banking, etc. still has good information on handling mail and planning travel, etc. So books can be helpful but your list is up-to-date and well stated, concise. Nice posting, thanks.
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I agree, I had to learn more about this. You know that orcas can be trained if you've been to Sea World. I suppose it isn't beyond belief that these whales were trained by the Aborigines for years as they fed them after catching whales. There was a statement from a biologist at one of the Australian Universities. The written letter was framed on the wall in one of the galleries. It was a carefully written statement not exactly backing the claims that the orcas were helping the whale hunters but also testifying that he had spoken to many of the whalers who participated in this activity during the time whaling was going on at Eden. He said the stories of those he interviewed were consistent in describing what the whales did and how they assisted,
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Wish I knew how to adjust the size of the font. I've made it larger but it doesn't match the font I originally posted for the whole posting. Don't know why it wasn't the same. Anyway, we're seven hours behind the clock for central standard time, it will be eight hours with DST. Then turn the calendar ahead one day and you have our time. The net is that we are 17 hours ahead of CST, 16 hours ahead of CDT.
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Nice information! I'm looking forward to your next lesson. Tom
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What a great idea. We've been through southern Ontario several times, Windsor, London, Cambridge and Stratford to name just a few. Point Pelee and that area is a favorite of ours. Just met and made friends from Kincardine, down south for the winter! I had to look up Elora but found it. The web site looks great and you even have international posters. We're headed for New Zealand and Australia so may be able to stop in several of those places. I'll look forward to more of your posts.
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This is important information that should be repeated frequently for all RV'ers. Thanks for putting this reminder here. Tom
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Rich,
Thanks for the comment and good wishes. I hope that things get better for Lois. Retirement is great but getting older is not for sissies!
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I want to thank everyone for their good wishes. We are fine, the motor home can be fixed. In the meantime we can continue to travel. Cpenn asked about the road conditions in Colorado. I don't have current knowledge of conditions but will post the link for the Colorado DOT web site with road conditions. A note on the page indicates that there is a special page which can be accessed from their home page with current conditions on roads beyond the state roads. If you are headed for Colorado, check this information for the latest on road repair. As I indicated in my post, many of these road closures are going to last for months, in some cases, perhaps years. The damage is massive and the roads are located in places where repair or replacement is a major project.
Tom
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Derrick, Glad to hear from you again. As always, I enjoyed your post. I wish you a happy 60th birthday and hope that the coming years bring you far more mermaids than dragons!
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A great set of tips, you have put Heloise to shame! I've stolen the list, copied to my hard drive for ready access. Thanks, Tom
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Yeah, like you had to fool me to beat my score! Sorry you won't be with me for the trial run at the Monaco International Pre-Rally in Gillette. Can't wait to see how far I can see the golf ball now. I may go out and play a round here in Denver sometime next week.
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Derrick,
I was too busy to be part of the call and appreciate your excellent reporting of the proceedings. There weren't too many surprises there. The willingness to sell is news, glad to see a commitment to keeping the quality high and continue to improve the company in the meantime. There are those who sell off companies for parts and take the money and run. We were at the repair facility in Oregon this past summer and the techs who do the work are excellent. I hope they can keep a good core of technical people through this process. Thanks again for the report.
Tom
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Good timing Derrick, Louise and I played yesterday. You know the saying, a bad day of golf is better than a good day at work! We had great weather and the course was not crowded so no one pushing us to play faster. Sure wish I could stay out of the trees. Good to see another blog from you.
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RoamingRosss,
Thanks for your comment. I want to recommend a book which details the history and nature of these wonderful people. I picked up a copy of A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest by Robert H. Ruby, et.al. It is published by the University of Oklahoma Press. You might find other materials on the tribes of other areas of the US available from the University of Oklahoma Press. This guide has concise information on each of the many tribes in the northwest.
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Sorry to hear that, the Olympic Peninsula is really cooking. We're seeing a constant flow of motor homes and other RV's going by on the road and campgrounds are busy, not full but far better than a few years ago. The same goes for the west in general. We've been from Texas through Missouri and on to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and now Washington. I'm seeing many more motor homes than in past years. Diesel is going for $4.14 at our last fill-up in Port Angeles, WA. I'd rather pay $3.90 or less but it is what it is and it seems a lot of other people are deciding the same thing. Hope things get better for you soon. After all, we're all in the same boat.
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It sounds like your title should be: Expect Bad Service! Or were you saying Do Not Accept Bad Service?
I almost never drop off my RV for service. I like to be there watching what is going on, ready to answer questions, provide owners manuals, question procedures being used, etc. I often ask to talk to the tech about a problem when the shop foreman brings me news of what is causing a problem. The person who knows it best is the tech working on the problem. It helps me evaluate the quality of service I am receiving. If I can't be there when the work is being done I won't schedule the work. It will have to wait until I can be there.
And one more thing... Yesterday as I was preparing to break camp with our coach I was giving the coach a good cleaning. I wiped down and the coach and shined it, washed the wheels and gave the windows a good Windexing. Thinking about my maintenance philosophy it occurred to me that I should add this. Whenever possible as I prepare the coach to go in for repair I try to make it look as good as possible. The appearance of the coach lets the mechanics know what standard of care the owner has for the coach. We just checked in at Cummins NW in Chehalis, WA. At the parts and service desk, Trent commented on how sharp the coach looked. When he looked at the mileage he was even more complementary of the coach and its condition. The point is that when a coach comes in looking good, no bugs on the windshield if possible, obviously cleaned and cared for the mechanics will in most cases be careful to do a good job. How you care for your coach and present it at the service facility sets a standard for their work.
I understand that you have had numerous issues with this service provider and it is unfortunate that you have a tie to them with the extended warranty. If at all possible I would simply walk away from their facility and take your business elsewhere no matter what the additional cost.
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Don't take this story as typical, it is what can happen if everything goes right! This was perhaps the best we have ever done though we have honed our skills at manuevering our way through repairs.
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Hello Gene,
Enjoy the RV lifestyle, no hurry, no worry, you are at home wherever you are... We have traveled in our RV's for the last 15 years, full time for 10 years. We just traveled from Oregon to Texas for the winter. Unless you have a good reason to go north, why not hang around in the southern US for the winter and enjoy the mild temperatures and the good times along the southern border. Whatever your interest you can find friends with similar interests somewhere along your voyage. Life is a banquet and most people are starving. Keep us posted on your travels.