tbutler

That sounds tremendously tedious. Our coach needs the same treatment, glad you posted this as it saves me trying to find some way to get this off. I guess the time and patience involved is why paint shops just grind it off and then repaint. I have never known anyone to remove it without damaging the paint. Thanks for the post.

I am a strong proponent of sun screens. They will significantly reduce the heat that enters your coach on sunny days. Louise says she can feel the change in temperature in the coach when I put the screen on the windshield. All of the cab windows in a class A are usually unprotected and can benefit from a sun screen. We have windows on the ends of slides that have no awning and while they are smaller, they still allow significant heat into the coach. Even windows with awnings allow the sun to peek in at the sides and during early morning or evening. We have found that the sun screens are helpful on those windows as well. Sun screens also do more than keep you cool. They also reduce the damage the sun's rays do to fabrics, plastics and rubber parts of the coach. Direct sunlight fades fabrics, deteriorates plastics and makes rubber brittle and crack. Our first coach was used and came with a set of sun screens with snaps on all four corners. They sagged and didn't look too good but they were very effective. They were also white and showed stains really well. The set we have now are black and look really sharp on the coach. You can get shades in any color from some suppliers. No matter what the color, they are all transparent. As far as I can tell, the shades are about equally effective in any color though I suspect the black shades should be a little more effective as they get really hot in the sun. Yes, some of the heat would be transferred through the glass but nothing like the amount of heat that would come directly through white shades. We have been using MCD screens on our current coach since we bought the coach in the fall of 2003. A check of their web site indicates that they are out of the external sun screen business and now manufacturing only roll up shades for the interior of coaches. These stop the heat inside the coach and are much less effective than external screens. We have a set of those as well, they provide privacy and something to reduce the sunlight on an easy to use basis but are no substitute for the external screens. The night shades they have are absolutely the best at getting the coach dark for sleeping. The same set of external screens is still on the coach today. We were full time until the fall of 2010 so those shades were in near constant use (yes even in the winter in Texas) for seven years. Still today I put them on when the coach is in storage parked next to the house here in Texas. We purchased a set with screens for every window on the coach and had them installed at the Monaco International Pre-Rally before the Redmond FMCA Rally in 2004. Every one of them is in good condition today and they still look good on the coach. The MCD screens were designed to be snapped on when you install them. The snaps are at the top of the screen. There are snaps at the bottom that are for Velcro tabs that secure the bottom of the screen. That way you can stretch them tight so they don't sag. When you remove them you can use the awning puller tool to pop the top snaps loose so you don't have to get on the ladder a second time. I have a good four footed ladder and don't mind using it. I'm up on the ladder anyway to wash the windshield as I hate looking at bug splatter on my picture window. Experience has taught me that the easiest bugs to wash off the coach are the fresh ones so I clean them off after every travel day. From above posts it looks like many people are using magnet shades. We're in a windy area and I wonder how they do in 20 to 30 mph winds which are routine where we are? I'll have to give them a look if the set I have now gives up the ghost someday or if I physically can't do the ladder climbing anymore. By the way, we have permanently installed sun screens on our manufactured (mobile) home here in Texas. Most of the windows on the house are facing east or west and we get plenty of sun and really hot days during the summer so they make the house easier and cheaper to cool which is what we do here three fourths of the year. A good set of sun screens is a very good investment to protect your coach and help you keep your cool! One final note, all sun screens will block the view looking into the coach during the day. When you are outside looking into a darker area you can't see through the screens. At night they become transparent from the outside since the inside is brightly lit. You will have to use curtains or shades at night for privacy.

Interesting to read your report on your trip. As Howde said, we often hear about plans but seldom get a report on how it all turned out. The desert SW is great country. I'll mention several spots that you missed. These are favorites of ours. In California, we really enjoyed exploring Joshua Tree National Park. There are miles of trails to hike and the sights include a real desert oasis and numerous abandoned gold mines, and even an old gold mill. We also loved Death Valley and spent two weeks exploring all over the park. The scenery there is stark, mostly bare rock, little vegetation but that makes it even more beautiful. There is a volcano, borax mines and refining works, sand dunes and Scotty's Castle in addition to the lowest point in the US. Another favorite is Big Bend National Park in Texas. Here the desert is penetrated by the Rio Grande creating a contrast between the desert and the river. We visited Big Bend during spring break which is it's peak period and saw the desert in bloom. What a fantastic experience. These desert locations are all best visited during the early spring. When we made our first visits I wondered why I hadn't been there before. Then I thought about it, like you, we are teachers. Teachers can't visit these locations during summer break. We were looking for cool places and so we went to mountains and beaches, not deserts. So when you retire from teaching, put these desert locations on your agenda. I think you will enjoy them.

We took the Bison Ranch Tour at the FMCA Family Reunion, 50th Anniversary Rally, in Gillette, Wyoming. It turned into a real adventure, much more than expected. Our tour was Friday evening and was to include a meal before our return to the rally site in Gillette. We met the bus at the assigned location and boarded without incident. This was a nice commercial bus with comfortable seats and air conditioning. After the last passengers were on board we were on our way south on Wyoming Highway 59 toward the little town of Wright. The trip was uneventful, the bus moved along at a good clip and we arrived at the Bison Ranch in about 45 minutes. We were met by the manager, a member of the family that owns the ranch, he lives on and operates the ranch. This ranch has 100 square miles of land, a bison herd of over 2000 and ships bison meat to a number of national markets. We learned all this as we were traveling gravel roads across the grassy plains out into the ranch. About 20 minutes into the trip across the ranch to the location of the bison herd the bus stopped. Those of us in the rear of the bus could smell the hot antifreeze, this was not a good smell. After several attempts to restart the bus we all got off and began milling about. The mechanics in the group immediately began opening up the engine compartments to see what the problem could be. It wasn't much of a mystery, there were wet hoses and the strong smell of hot antifreeze. So now we watched as our guide called his wife on the cell phone. He gave our location in order for her to guide the replacement bus to our location. From where we were we could see the town of Wright on the horizon and a few other houses way off in the distance. Over to the southwest we could see the bison herd. With a pair of binoculars you could actually tell that they were indeed bison. So our guide spends some time telling us more about the ranch and bison. He explains the difference between buffalo and bison very clearly. True buffalo are found in Asia (water buffalo) and Africa (Cape buffalo). Our North American bison are only distantly related to the true buffalo. They are more closely related to cattle and yaks. He relates a story about an Australian speaker at a meeting who explained the difference between a buffalo and a bison. You can't wash your face in a buffalo! Think about it. OK, say it with an Australian accent. Eventually, we all got it. His talk gives out and everyone starts to explore. After about 20 minutes of exploring, our guide decides we need some entertainment so he gathers up a pile of chips, bison chips! We are going to have a chip throwing contest. Now this is a group of FMCA members, serious RV'ers, who have never turned down a camp game of any kind. I don't think that everyone tossed a chip but starting with the women, one after another, they picked out their special chip from the pile and stepped up to the line to give it a toss. It didn't matter too much which direction you threw your chip, it varied some, none of the spectators were hurt except perhaps from laughing too hard. Being generous our host counted the tiniest chip that came off the chip when it exploded as it hit the ground. The piece that traveled the greatest distance was where you stood until someone threw further. They tossed chips 30 feet, 40 feet, 50 feet, this was serious business. Finally with no more takers, the winner was announced. Then it was time for the men to show their form. We stepped up to pick a chip. The process went quickly, I believe more women stepped forward than men. Cameras clicked, people laughed and a good time was had by all. Shortly after the last chip crashed to the ground the replacement bus could be seen winding its way over hill and dale to our location. Relief was in sight. We loaded onto the replacement bus, our bus driver joined us and we were off. As we started out we passed the stinky old bus, out across the field we went to get around it and then back onto the road and on toward the bison herd. Arriving at the herd, we got off the bus and while enjoying the herd our bus was turned around and ready to take us back for our dinner. We spent a good 40 minutes watching the herd. There they were, huge bulls, abundant cows and those light brown calves. Hundreds of them grazing on the range. We stood less than 50 feet from the closest. Once in a while a dispute would break out, a quick charge, butt or bump your way to where you wanted to be and then things settled down. Occasionally a cow or bull would lay down and roll in the dirt raising a cloud of dust. Calves trotted around from place to place, taking life entirely too lightly as the young are prone to do. Now it was time to go so we load onto the replacement bus ready for a trip back to dinner. Guess what, the replacement bus won't go into gear. It turns out that it would not build the air pressure to a sufficient level for the coach to be put in gear. The bus engine was run at a high idle for what seemed like 15 or 20 minutes before we finally achieved suitable air pressure. At last we're headed for dinner. We pass the stinky old bus on the way out, a mechanic is deep into the engine compartment. It doesn't look like a real pleasant job. On our way back to the dinner we enjoy watching storm clouds off to our east. At sunset the clouds are spectacular. We arrive back at the ranch headquarters. By the time we've eaten it is almost dark. A short wait while we build air pressure again and we're on our way back to Gillette. Everyone is pleased to see that the volunteers are still running the shuttle as we arrive at 10:30 p.m. It all makes for a very memorable FMCA Convention!

Thanks Brett, I hadn't thought of that. I haven't noticed a problem with it but will check just to be sure.

We drove the Trace in 2003, joining it near the midpoint and heading southwest to Natchez. We loved it so much that we went back and drove the whole park from Natchez to the end near Louisville the next spring, 2004. We didn't find any suitable parks along the way to recommend. We usually boondock when we can't find parks and this worked out well for us along that route. We didn't boondock in National Park parking areas, that is prohibited but if you exit at nearby towns you can find places to park overnight. I think we drove the return in three days as we had already visited most of the sites on the southern part of the Trace on the way south in the fall. We found this to be a great trip and highly recommend it to all. Outside of the regular printed campground guides, we use RV Park Reviews to locate RV parks. They have listings for some parks you won't find anywhere else. Our springtime trip began staying in the Riverview RV Park across the river from Natchez in Vidalia, Louisiana. We stayed there for a week and toured Natchez during the spring Pilgrimage when many of the old mansions are open for visitation. There are almost thirty mansions that you can visit during the fall Natchez Pilgrimage this year. They sell tickets in groups of three or four mansions as a set. You have all morning (or afternoon) to visit your three or four mansions. Visit them in any order, spend as much or as little time as you wish. There are conducted tours running continuously, guides are dressed in period costumes and you are conducted through the home while learning area/building/family history, construction details, remodeling, furniture, etc. In most places you may wander the grounds on your own. We highly recommend this event if you can fit it into your schedule this year. The dates for the fall Pilgrimage are 9-27 to 10-14-2013.

No one has said that you should have each wheel position weighed independently, find the weight on each front wheel, and each rear wheel. If you have one wheel position that is significantly heavier than another that could cause the coach to pull to one side or another. I weigh our coach at each FMCA Rally where it is available. Since we've been traveling we've always come in under maximum weight and closely balanced from one side to the other. This time at Gillette, we weighed in with 1000 pounds more on the right rear wheel position than on the left rear (9700 LR, 10650 RR). I'm still working on shifting weight. I can't figure this one out because our slides are on the left side only. Our waste tanks were empty and the fuel, LP and water are in full width tanks. We've gone from full time to part time and trimmed back the stuff we carry, still, I thought we would be better balanced. Anyway, I need to find 500 pounds to move from the right side to the left side, mostly in the rear. I'm still working on this one. I've moved a good 200 pounds, better but not where I need to be. By the way, 1000 pounds in a 33,100 pound coach doesn't make too much difference, just fine tuning. My point is that you may not think you are out of balance but could be significantly off in side to side weights. Once you have your individual wheel weights, you use those to set your tire pressure. All tires on the same axle will be set to the same pressure, enough to support the load that is on the heaviest side. The RV Safety and Education Foundation (RVSEF) has information and a schedule of their future rallies. You could chase alignment problems forever and not find a solution if you are badly out of balance.

We replaced our Norcold 1200 with a Whirlpool household refrigerator. The refrigerator uses surprisingly little electricity. We have been running with the four 6V battery set-up that was in our motor home when it came from the factory. After three years I can report that we have had no problems. I think much of the worry about extra batteries came from early days when refrigerators were much less efficient than they are now. During the defrost cycle our unit draws about 20 amps. Yes, there is a defrost cycle!!! We boondock overnight, our typical habits are to park late in the day, run the generator to charge batteries while we watch TV. Then go to bed with the generator off and leave it off until morning coffee. We run the generator then until the batteries are charged and if not too hot, we'll turn off the generator and drive for the day then back to parking with the generator and TV until bedtime. The refrigerator will run through the night even with the furnace running on a cold night and the batteries are still good in the morning. If you boondock for longer periods or prefer not to run your generator, you may need more battery power. I would guess that a 2000 Watt inverter should work but wouldn't guarantee it. We switched from a 2000 W modified sine wave inverter to a 3500 W pure sine wave inverter several years before the refrigerator change in anticipation of the refrigerator change when the original inverter failed. You can read about our replacement experience, Replacing a Norcold Refrigerator. There are photos go to with the text. You are not alone in facing this situation. There is a solution. Good luck.

Our oldest grandchild turned 13 today. Ryan was born almost exactly a year after my retirement and almost exactly one year before we went full time in our motor home. I mention this because his age so nearly parallels significant changes in our lives. From the day we purchased our first motor home in 2001, we were FMCA members. In our 12 years of FMCA membership we have attended five rallies, Hutchinson, KS in 2002; Redmond, OR in 2004, St. Paul, MN in 2008, Bowling Green, OH in 2009 and now the 50th anniversary celebration in Gillette, WY. We have been planning on this FMCA Rally celebrating 50 years since FMAC became an organization promoting motor home ownership and enjoyment. We were enticed to attend by the fact that Monaco International planned to have a pre-rally on the same site where FMCA would hold their rally one week later. The opportunity to stay at the rally site for two weeks with full hookups while attending two rallies was too good to pass up. You may notice a certain erratic nature to our rally attendance. We attend when our planned travels make it convenient to get to the location of the rally. Sometimes we build our travels around a rally site. In this case, our plans changed several times before the rally but everything has worked out. The rally for Monaco International began on Wednesday, June 12 but we arrived on the early arrival date, June 10, driving in from a 11 day stay in Denver. We soon found out that the predominant weather pattern in Gillette was strong afternoon winds with storms. The first few days of the rally there was a water truck soaking down the grounds to reduce dust. After several storms the water truck never reappeared. We learned to keep our awnings in when we left the coach. After a night listening to the pennants for a soda pop company flapping in the wind, we dropped the tape separating one row of campsites from the next to the ground. That made for much quieter nights. There were sessions on a variety of topics, one popular session dealt with the latest changes in ownership of the Monaco family of companies which had occurred only a few days before the rally. Mike Snell, CEO of Monaco, took us through a brief history of Monaco from its bankruptcy and subsequent purchase by Navistar in 2009 to its recent purchase by Associated Specialty Vehicles (ASV). Change continues as Monaco moves manufacturing facilities to new locations and closes other facilities. Future directions for Monaco were discussed and many questions answered. It was too soon after the recent purchase to answer all questions. Sunday and Monday were designated gap days, days between the two rallies. A picnic Sunday afternoon and walking tours of downtown Gillette on Monday gave rally attendees ways to stay busy and learn more about the community. Monday afternoon we noticed the parking and meeting signs changed with FMCA's signs now in place. Motor homes were rolling in at a steady rate and the excitement of FMCA was building as the Dealer exhibits began to fill with new coaches. When I attend a FMCA Convention I try to take care of many of my needed purchases with the vendors. I also plan to have some repairs done by the suppliers who provide some of the accessories in our motor home. I was frustrated on several of these quests as some vendors were not represented at the rally. Likewise, several key suppliers, a common awning company, the manufacturer for our inverter, and a satellite dish manufacturing company were either not present at all or not offering any service on site. I guess it is a sign of the times, still it is disappointing. We did find out what a Cam-Plex is. The facility is a multi-use complex built by Cameron County. The facilities for large gatherings of RV's are quite nice. There are some sites with full hook-ups, others with water and electric and many sites with only electric which is much better than many facilities where we have been for rallies in the past. I would give the Gillette community a big A+ for the facilities and the community support for the rally. We enjoyed the coal mine tour, the bison ranch tour and a couple of rounds of golf on very nice golf courses.

We had a blow-out last year, recovery was complete about 5 months later. I'm glad you were able to take care of your tires and not delay your trip too long. You will find lots of good help getting your rig in shape for your next adventure here on the forum. Keeping a motor home parked for an extended period doesn't do it any good. Even if it is a short weekend trip, keep it rolling. I know you will enjoy the ride!

When all else fails, take your motorhome to a RV dealer/service center/repair shop and see if someone there can help you with the disassembly. Then you can make changes and put it back together the way you want. RV tech's in a shop are trained in all the various ways things are put together and how to take them apart. Pay them a little for their expertise and have it taken apart without destroying anything. It may pay off in the long run. I saw a motorhome today with washer and dryer in a cabinet that would have to be disassembled to get them out of the cabinet. Who knows why they build things this way but they do. Maybe they build this way thinking that no one will ever ask them to take it all apart!

Rallies aren't for everyone. Like you, we partake when our schedule matches the rally schedule. Right now we we are in Gillette at the FMCA 50th Anniversary Rally/Convention/Family Gathering. There are an unknown (to me) number of coaches but it is well over 1000. We've been here for a week and a half right now having attended the Monaco International Pre-Rally the week before this rally. The facilities are excellent. We signed up for 30A electric, the temperatures are good, one air conditioner is keeping us comfortable. We have water and sewer in our site. This is the deluxe site at this rally. Others are getting by with no water, no electric, no sewer. Some were too late to sign up for these conveniences, others chose to go the less expensive route. We've done the complete without facilities route and made it work. We've been stuck in the mud after a week with no facilities (in 2002) and we keep coming back. Why? We are among a huge number of people who have wheels in common with us. No matter how big the rig, no matter how long we've been at this, we are all brothers (or sisters) of the road. We love to travel, we love to explore, we love being free to go where we want to go. We can share stories, adventures and challenges. I worked as a volunteer this afternoon and enjoyed talking with any number of people about their RV experiences. There is among us travelers, an amazing kinship that allows us to find a common thread even though we have many other differences. That is why we are called to join this assemblage of motor homes every so often, just to renew our commitment to this lifestyle and to those who practice our unusual devotion to being free and fortunate enough to travel.

And then there is South Padre Island. A little further south, but the beaches are easily accessible from Isla Blanca County Park. There are full hookup sites and the beach is a five minute walk from most any of them. South Padre Island has miles of excellent beach and palm trees as well. There is also a KOA Kampground which is just a little further from the beach. Both are near the town of South Padre Island and there are many recreational, dining and deep sea fishing opportunities as well as the beach.

If you are traveling in a Class B or small Class C coach, you may not need a toad. If you are traveling in a Class A coach I would recommend a toad. National Park roads tend to be pretty narrow and have few spots to pull over. Those spots for pulling over are usually small and crowded with cars making a Class A coach a problem to park. If you want to see as much as possible of the parks, you will want a toad or a small motor home (under 30'). Some parks such as Glacier National Park have restrictions on size of vehicle on the roads. Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier has a 21 foot length limit and a width limit of 8 feet. There is a commercial car service that you can take for that trip. One entrance to Yosemite National Park has a natural rock bridge that has less than 10' clearance. These are just a couple of examples that we have encountered.

Several old discussion covered this topic. I don't think too much has changed, the web site references are still good. See: RV Traveling in Canada. Another is Border Crossing Web Sites. These reference the US and Canada official sites with requirements, documentation, rules and regulations. Taking time to read these sites carefully and being sure you are in compliance will ease your mind about traveling into Canada and returning home to the US. It also works for our friends in Canada working the other way. In both cases, your return to your home country is not an automatic process, you have to have to provide documentation and follow the rules to come back home. In the latter discussion, there are numerous posts which provide a good deal of advice from a variety of participants. For more, use the search function at the top right of this page. Search all forums (click on the section that says "This Topic"). I searched for "border crossing" and came up with a three page listing of articles, some were applicable, some were not. Camp grounds are pretty much the same in both countries except that full hookups are called three way hookups in Canada. Three way hookups are a little less common. Also, 50 amp isn't as common. With cooler temperatures and fewer motor homes, they have more 30A sites than 50A. You can find campground information in the Trailer LIfe Campground Guide which covers Canada as well as the US.

We love to stay at Wal-Mart when we are traveling cross country. We were full time for almost 10 years and stayed overnight 100's of times at Wal-Mart stores in over 3000 nights of camping. It was always just an overnight stay when we were on a cross country trip which involves lots of driving, many miles in a few days. We also stay occasionally at rest areas, parking areas, vacant lots and have stayed on grocery store lots a few times, museum lots several times. We've also used Cabellas, Camping World, Home Depot, Lowe's and more. If someone has a large lot and we can get onto it, we'll ask to park and stay the night. All these stays were with permission or were in areas where overnight parking was not specifically prohibited. As Don said above, we try to park so we can put the slides out over a curb rather than projecting into the parking lot. We have a two-slide coach so this allows us to open the living/dining room for meals as well. We need to open the living/dining slide to get to the pantry and table service. Sometimes we can get by without digging into the cabinets but eventually we'll need to get out some food or dishes. There are occasions when we can not park by a curb. I carry four red cones (Lowe's, Home Depot, hardware stores) and place those along the side of the coach with the open slides. In those cases, I park parallel to a driving lane with the slides opening on the dividing line between parking spaces on the two sides of a row. This is always a distant part of the parking lot that is largely unused. We also make a practice of parking late in the day (within an hour of sunset or later) and do our best to be gone by the beginning of the busy day at Wal-Mart (about 8:00 a.m.). Frequently we'll be gone shortly after sunrise. That way we are truly staying overnight and no more. I use an iPhone app which will find Wal-Mart stores for you and it indicates those which are designated no overnight parking with a red pin and those that are ask to park with a blue pin displayed on a map showing your location as well. That app is called ALLSTAYS ONP Wal-Mart. It costs $2.99 and is well worth that price. If you want something more useful, ALLSTAYS Camp & RV finds campgrounds, RV Stores (Cabellas, Camping World, Flying J, etc) and also does rest areas, picnic areas, parking areas, etc. That app costs $9.99 and includes the Wal-Mart finder as well.

Welcome to FMCA and the Forum Brad and Marsha, I hope that you find RV travel to be as wonderful as we have. There are so many great adventures out there. Have fun!

Dave, You said, "Clearly, I am not about to try and take a scenic picture with a camera in one hand and continue trying to drive with the other hand." I assume that the same applies to trying to operate other electronic equipment. When you start manipulating electronics while driving down the road you create a hazard to yourself and others. Many people fail to recognize that making decisions about what to press and when to do it takes attention from the road. If you are traveling 60 MPH you are covering almost 100 feet in a second. Thinking about other things slows down your reaction time. Even talking on a no-hands cell phone call can distract and slow reaction time. You are driving a 20,000 to 40,000 pound vehicle on a road that allows little tolerance. Drift too far to one side or another and you are in danger. Your stopping distance is huge and a moments inattention is also dangerous. I don't see any solution above that meets your needs without putting you at risk. In addition, a dash mounted camera can be pointed somewhere but the scenery may be somewhere else. There are fantastic buttes out the left window, look at those snow capped mountains out the right window. Point it straight ahead and you get road. Take a small piece from the image to the side of the road and your resolution drops off. Fail to activate the camera in time and the wonderful view is gone. Yes, you can get something but the risk is great in messing around with equipment to control a camera for minimal results. I am an amateur astronomer. I've been to eclipses and spent the time during a total eclipse taking pictures, messing with cameras for that precious two or three minutes of totality. Sometimes I have to look up from the camera and just enjoy the view. I think that is where you are when driving the motor home. You could be punching buttons and manipulating gadgets instead of just enjoying the view. See what you can, if it is truly spectacular, take the toad and go back and photograph it. Take the time to frame the picture to get the best presentation and then it will remind you of what you saw with your own eyes.

In Part 1 I described the first day of a trip from Edinburg, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley to Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden, Colorado. I spent the first night in Ballinger, Texas. My goal for the second day of the trip was Amarillo. I always prefer to park on the far side of large towns so I don’t have to start out driving through town in busy morning traffic. The weather was mostly cloudy until I got near Amarillo. Being just over a week from my last cataract surgery, I really appreciate cloudy days. I have those big dark glasses and they work fine but they work better when the sky is cloudy. Coming into Amarillo I needed fuel. At a roadside stop I checked my phone. Gas Buddy told me the local price for diesel ranges from 3.62 to 3.75. Of course I would have preferred the former price but the stations were off the highway and were small stations. I don't know the streets so I'm off to the Flying J on the east side of town. There aren't any RV pumps at this Flying J so I circled the islands and ended up pulling in where the truck towing an air tractor (aerial spray plane aka crop duster) on a trailer had been. I have the Pilot-Flying J charge card which gives me a discount from the fuel price but it also allows me to put 100 gallons in the tank with one swipe of the card! I didn't even have to go inside to leave the card and pick it up later. That was nice. Leaving the station, a right turn put me on the loop around town which is far better than taking the N/S highway through downtown Amarillo. It is new highway and the intersection with the US 287 isn't marked with any city names. Is this the road I normally take or is there another somewhere? I don’t remember highway numbers unless I travel them frequently. The GPS wants me to go straight ahead so I follow the GPS, no second opinion to tell me where to turn. When the GPS does finally indicate an exit from the loop highway, the road is a very small curvy road, FM1061, and I wasn’t sure where it was taking me. There is no place to pull off and check the map so I drove on. I finally reached US 385 and shortly thereafter crossed the Canadian River. There was a picnic area so I pulled off and parked for the night. I had phone service which was a real surprise. It was almost dark when I parked. I ate, called Louise to advise her of my progress and went to bed. The next morning I washed the bugs off the windshield, tidied up the interior and then headed north on US 385, a decent road with passing lanes on the hills. Our normal route, US 287, takes us through the Oklahoma panhandle. The road is one of the worst we ever travel as we leave Dumas, TX until we get to the Oklahoma line. US 385 was definitely a better road than US 287. A look at the map showed that I can still get back to the normal route by continuing north from Dalhart on US 385 but the GPS was indicating a turn to the west to Raton, yes, I-25 and the Raton Pass. My initial reaction was no, I don't want to have to go through the pass and I-25 is no picnic either. Then I thought about driving west into Denver on I-70 into the sun in the late afternoon. That stretch of I-70 late in the day is pure torture. I've driven it many times and it gets longer every time. Beside all that, I would be driving I-70 through Denver at rush hour. So, what the heck I'll follow the GPS. I turned northwest on US 87 in Dalhart and headed across the northeast corner of New Mexico to Raton. I'd never driven this road before and was pleased to find good road with four lane highway and then good two lane road all the way to Raton. The scenery was wonderful. I passed Capulin Volcano National Monument, another volcano to climb someday. The Raton Pass wasn't as bad as my memory made it out to be. Interstate 25 is exactly what I expected, too many vehicles, too little road. Curves through Pueblo make the drive interesting. Road construction on the north side of Colorado Springs turned the highway into a four mile parking lot. Approaching Denver I turned onto C-470. I figured this would be a quick trip to Dakota Ridge RV Campground in Golden. On this day, it was not. Once again I was in stop and go traffic which lasted for about three miles. I pulled into the campground right at closing time, parked and took the toad across town to pick up my most valuable navigator.

No easy answer here as the scenic view is always in a different place. My brother-in-law is a serious photographer and chose to go with a Class B specifically for this reason as it is easier to get off the road. In a Class A or a large Class C, you pretty much have to drive on and if it is really good and you want to get the picture stop at the next opportunity return with the toad. That works if you have a toad and there is a little shoulder for pulling off to the side. If you only travel with a dog, no toad or there is no way to pull off even with the toad, you are pretty much out of luck. Any picture taken while driving through the windshield will be of limited value anyway. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment.

The comment about busiest road applied to the area north of Gillette, coming from the south that isn't the case. Here is the latest update: Having just completed the trip up Highway 59 I can say that the scenery is very nice, Thunder Basin National Grasslands are in the area, we saw many pronghorn antelope, very few houses. There were trucks, not a huge amount but we were passed by a dozen or so from Douglas to Gillette. We do travel around 60 to 65 and truckers always want to pass a motor home. The road was good, a few rough bridge joints but the surface is fine. No shoulder and few passing areas until you are north of the junction with 387. Coming into Gillette from the south, Garner Lake Road takes you right to the fairgrounds but there is road construction. No problems driving, just one lane and a 30 MPH speed limit. We are in Gillette with the Monaco International Pre-Rally. The facilities are nice, grounds look good and we're looking forward to some nice weather and a fun Pre-Rally. Hope to see lots of you soon.

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

Source: Casper to Gillette

I have run your off-interstate trip through my Garmin Topo Map and it shows a distance of 134 miles starting elevation at Casper of 5165 feet which goes to a maximum of 5698 feet in the first 19 miles. From there, elevations are up and down but the maximum slopes seem to be on the order of 120 feet per mile. The second climb goes from 4893 feet to 5490 feet in 10 miles to give you an average 60 feet per mile but there are stretches in there where you will reach 120 feet per mile. From there it is downhill to 5038 feet and then right back up to 5455 feet, a change of 417 feet in 7 miles or about 60 feet per mile again and there are once again stretches where you will approach 120 feet per mile in that section. The remaining 66 miles are pretty much downhill to an elevation of 4590 feet at Gillette. There is one short climb and just before you reach Gillette but that pretty much describes the elevations. We're coming from the south and will leave I-25 at Douglas and take 59 all the way. The distance is 114 miles and it looks pretty much similar to your route. From 4841 feet at Douglas we will climb to 5363 feet in the first 10 miles, 53 feet per mile on average. We will descend to 4641 feet and in the next 32 miles we'll climb to elevations near 5069 feet four times, Two of those climbs are about 430 feet and two are less than 200 feet. The end of our trip will have a descent to 4527 feet and the short climb just before reaching Gillette. I checked AARoads for information on Highway 59. It indicates that 59 is a desolate road from Douglas to Gillette. It also indicates that recent coal and natural gas development in the Powder River Basin (well north of Gillette) has increased the truck traffic on this road and bills it as one of the busiest roads in Wyoming along the stretch from Garner Lake Road to Gillette which is north of Gillette and should be of no concern to us coming in from the south. There are photos on this site as well though most of them are in Douglas. The one rural photo is from north of Gillette but it looks like good quality road with miniscule shoulder. Go to the home page for AARoads Home to look up other roads throughout the US. Another resource I found with a Bing search on the internet is the Wyoming DOT. Here is the search page where you can enter the road and get current conditions and some pictures if available. Looking at this information, if you like the wide-open west, you will love this route!

I have driven the motor home without my navigator beside me before but never quite like this trip. There have been a few short trips to repair shops. The only long trip was from St. Louis to Houston. On that trip Louise was following me in the toad as I returned a tow dolly to its maker. On that trip we had radios for communication on the road and we stopped for rest stops, meals and overnights together. On Monday of last week I dropped Louise off at the airport. She was on her way to Denver to be with her daughter during and after surgery. I had to remain until Tuesday afternoon for the final follow-up doctor visit following my cataract surgery so taking Louise to Denver in the motor home was not an option. We had the motor home loaded and ready to go before Louise left. My appointment with the doctor was late in the day and they were running behind schedule so it was really late when I left the office. When I got home I packed the last few things in the car and called it quits for the night. Wednesday I hooked up the toad and got underway headed north from Edinburg, Texas to Denver, Colorado. I was prepared to take longer than usual for this drive as my usual navigator/stewardess/chef/housekeeper was not with me. I know the route, we've traveled it before. We drive a 40 foot coach with a toad and the team effort makes it much easier. When the GPS tells me to turn somewhere, Louise will check the map and say we do or don't want to go that way. When we need to stop, she can scout various sources of information for rest stops or just watch the road for picnic areas or large parking lots. If I want a snack she can make a run to the refrigerator. Louise usually prepares meals. Normally at overnight stops we divide the work, I do the outside work, wash the bugs of the windshield, check tires and the toad. Louise sets up the interior, attending to slides and leveling and then securing everything before we are underway in the morning. Doing all this by myself means extra stops and doubles the time spent taking care of the coach at each overnight stop. Louise has several jobs as we travel through large cities. First, she is on constant watch for those exit only lanes that pop up from time to time. Next, she is reading the highway signs and keeping me posted on any coming lane changes or exits we need to take. Finally, she is checking the map to confirm that the GPS instructions are what we really want to do. Our local knowledge or our preferences are difficult to program into the GPS. Sometimes we prefer an interstate highway, sometimes we prefer an alternate that may be better at a given time of day. When traveling through large cities we have a running conversation going related to our route and all of the above things. When she drives we switch roles easily. Either way it is almost always a two person operation. This trip I am responsible for doing all of the above, no help except the GPS. I got derailed in San Antonio on the early side of the afternoon rush hour. I decided to take the I-410 loop west around San Antonio to keep me out of downtown but hadn’t looked at the map before making the decision. For a while the GPS was fighting me until I finally gave in and followed its directions. By the time I was outbound from San Antonio, the rush hour was definitely building. Anyway, an hour later I was clear of the city traffic and rolling along the road nicely. Later when I was able to stop the map clearly showed that staying with I-410 would have worked fine. I should have checked the map before making my decision! I stopped for the evening in Ballinger, Texas. There is a city park with hook-ups but it definitely isn't for big rigs. I circled through the park and felt lucky to get away with all my paint. So it was the Wal-Mart that night. Nice people, they welcomed me to park in the gravel lot next to the small store lot. I was joined by an empty hog truck that parked about 30 feet away. He was gone by morning and I slept soundly. I took my time getting ready to go. Wal-Mart had a sidewalk clearance sale and I found a few bargains. I had breakfast, washed the bugs off the windshield and got the interior ready to roll. To be continued …