Life as I live it

New Mexico Rest Area

2012-01-28T16:57:00.010-06:00

About mile marker 53 eastbound on Interstate 10 in New Mexico is this little gem of a rest area.

The sign says up to 24 hours stay. The smaller cropped off sign says, "Beware of Rattlesnakes".

There are two roads that lead to the camp spots and each have a large "turn-a-round" at the end. As you can see, we picked a spot over 100 yards from the restrooms. The interstate is about the same distance.

We parked so our slides would extend away from the road.

Each spot has a "lighted" three sided building covering the picnic table. We thought it couldn't get any better,

until we were treated with this magnificent sunset.

All for free........thanks to Johnny and Jenn of http://freecampsites.net/usa/ .

Big Boulders

2012-01-27T12:18:00.001-06:00

These large boulders were at a rest area in southwest Arizona on I-10. The large rocks starting appearing a few miles before the rest area and strangely they completely stopped within 1/4 mile after reentering I-10.

The Best Bedder of Women Ever !!

2012-01-24T18:20:00.001-06:00

"The Best Bedder of Women Ever" , now that is a bold statement for a man of my advanced age but I have a plaque that proclaims it to be so.

As Paul Harvey would say, "Now the rest of the story".

Seems a couple of the ladies at the RTR were in need of my special knowledge and I indeed "bedded" both of them and I can say they both were totally satisfied when I was finished.

The Rubber Tramp Rendezvous is heavily attended by people that belong to the Vandwellers Yahoo group and two of the ladies wanted platform beds added to their vans and I performed that job for them.

As a token of the work, I was presented with the above plaque on our last night and I will display it proudly.

I stayed busy at the RTR and can say the pleasure was all mine. One can feel a little useless after retiring.

RTR second post

2012-01-12T18:18:00.008-06:00

I walked up Dome Mountain part way and took a photo of our tribe. Since a large number of attendees are in vans, some are out sightseeing when this was taken.

Just to the right off screen is Ann's rig. I thought I had her in the frame, sorry Ann (hope I spelled your name right).

Up higher I started seeing these Arizona Barrel Cacti, they are a stark color contrast to the rest of the desert plants.

Stunningly beautiful as I could not take just one picture.

Well worth the hike to see these plants that I had never seen up close.

Rubber Tramp Rendezvous

2012-01-11T20:52:00.007-06:00

It is just awesome to be here at the RTR and I can't think of another place I would rather be at this time.

This is a photo of just a few of the many rigs that are attending. We are spread out enough that getting a picture is difficult but close enough that we are a group.

Bob Wells, http://www.cheaprvliving.com/ , on the right is the organizer and Randy, http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/ , on the left are two blogs that I have been following for years.

We gathered for a spaghetti dinner and bull chip session. The food was great and the fellowship heart warming.

So many of these folks have blogs that I visit that I feel I am among long time friends.

A more versified group would be hard to find but we are gathered here enjoying what we have in common.

Almost Quartzsite

2012-01-09T13:55:00.011-06:00

We arrived for the RTR a little early and found a spot and settled in. We are a few miles from Quartzsite and the crowds, but close enough to go see what se want to see.

This is the dome mountain that guided us in.

Just about dusk we were treated with a gorgeous full moon. Bright stars and the full moon made walking after dark very easy.

I spent an hour or so standing around a group campfire running my mouth.

Our camp spot taken from just over the ridge.

We picked a spot so the wind would hit the front side of the trailer and the awning over the slides would be protected. This also means any dust from the road will be carried away from us when the wind is blowing.

You can see the trucks on Interstate 10 that is probably over a mile away.

We are so happy to be camping in this beautiful area and getting to meet some of the folks I have followed on the internet for years. Really looking forward to the next few days.

Great Verizon air-card coverage but our AT&T phone coverage is limited.

Laughlin Car Show

2012-01-07T21:28:00.008-06:00

About a hundred car attended the car show and I just took a few photos.

Roadsters are always my favorites.

Even "rat rods"

Nice T-Bucket for sale.

I really likes this 1934 Ford three window coupe. It has a fiberglass body and fenders with a metal hood. Very predictable, small block Chevy and turbo 350 transmission.

This 1911 Cadillac was the star of the show.

Read the small sign, "This is NOT a restored auto, It is ALL ORIGINAL".

Outstanding example of early an American engine.

All and all it was a nice little car show.

New Inverter

2012-01-05T09:57:00.002-06:00

Our new inverter is a Power Bright 2300watt modified sinewave, http://www.powerbright.com/pw2300-12.html .

This is a photo of the rear of the inverter. As with all my photos, you can click to enlarge. Inverters are pretty straight forward and very easy to install. The red lug is for the positive (+) 12 volt battery cable, the black lug is for the negative (-) 12 volt battery cable, and the small silver stud on the lower right is for a 8 gauge ground wire chassis. Use the four slotted holes to secure the unit.

The front view shown with the remote to turn it on and off. The transmitter plugs in (shown close to position), secure it and you are ready to use the key-chain bob.

It has two 120 volt plugs. I will use one plug to power our tv, satelite receiver, freezer, and laptops. By doing this I will still have a full 15 amps for the other wire. The other will be used to power the rest of the camper.

The wire for the first plug was already installed as we have been powering it with the smaller inverter that died. I ran a 15 amp extension cord (nicely hidden) to the rear and will attach the regular rv power cord to it. All the camper plugs will be hot but of course only 15 amps will be available to use.

It will power anything in the camper except the air conditioners but we can only use one large (coffee pot, microwave, etc.) appliance at a time.

I can not accidentally hook to shore power and blow the inverter because the power cord will have to be disconnected from inverter to hook to campground power.

I will put switch on the camper converter so it can be turned off when using the inverter. Don't want the converter trying to charge the batteries as it will produce a negative power gain.

I also ran a cord to the generator to run our 55 amp battery charger. When boondocking the inverter will supply our household needs and the generator will supply the charge to the batteries.

One Year Today

2012-01-04T11:13:00.002-06:00

Our one year anniversary of being on the road. January 4, 2011 http://1948model.blogspot.com/2011/01/finally-on-road.html

Running the numbers for the year.

Driven................21,615
Towed..................9,215

Diesel...........$5,025.38...1508.007 gallons..average 14.33mpg

Propane..........$304.02

Nights.....................361
Dry camped............141
Camp fees.....$3158.04
Gen-gas...........$413.50
________________
Total...............$3571.54......for an average of $9.89 a night.
These camping numbers are under $10 a night thanks to a nice long stay
in family members yard. (Thanks Steve and Beverly).

Right place, right time

2012-01-03T11:29:00.003-06:00

Yes we are still in Laughlin, Nv. because our inverter died and we are waiting on a new one. It was suppose to be here last week but we are still waiting.

We have been dry camping in Riverside Casino free rv parking lot for over six weeks and thought we would have been long gone by now.

The free rv parking lot is being used for a charity car show for a few days and we were asked to move. Actually we were in one of the few spots that could have stayed but we would not be able to leave until the car show was over.

Riverside Casino could have just asked everyone to leave (after all this is free parking) but for those of us that had registered (as opposed to just parking), we were given a week free camping in their campground across the street with full hookups.

Since we are fulltimers with plans set in jello, we will stay the full week even if our inverter comes in before then.

Day-Night Shades

2011-12-30T19:40:00.003-06:00

This is the Day-Night shade over the kitchen cabinet . For those not familiar with day-night shades, they pull up and down with the night position (as shown) not letting anyone see in or out. Raise the bar that appears white (plastic reflexs the light while the fabric absorbs it so it appears white) and the curtain is sheer for day and you can raise the bottom bar and have no curtain at all.

The whole shade is like an accordion with strings running top to bottom to control the action.

A string in this shade broke shortly after we bought the trailer but we didn't have it repaired because we live in it fulltime and it would have to go into the shop for it to be repaired under warranty. After the warranty had expired and we could take it to the shop for repair the cost was over $100.

Last week the strings in the big day-night (it has four strings) shade in the living room broke and fixing them was now a priority.

I googled the string and came up with http://www.fixmyblinds.com/ , it showed how to fix the shades and I bought the strings at a craft shore.

The sight says the rv day-night shades use 1.4mm string but the smallest I could find was 1.8. I bought it and repaired the small kitchen blind but the 1.8mm was smaller than what came in the shade. I bought a larger size string for the living room shade because it is raised and lower every day.

Total cost for both shades was less than $15 including a large needle I purchased to thread the shades.

Our shades are tan colored and the only thread I could find was white but they actually blend in better as the original thread was a much darker color than the shade material.

London Bridge

2011-12-16T16:57:00.002-06:00

No we didn't take a trip to England. The London Bridge is in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Originally constructed over the Thames River in London, England in the 1830's and dismantled in 1967 piece by piece and reconstructed like a puzzle to become a tourist attraction for the newly formed Lake Havasu City.

It was all over the news at the time and people my age knew about it but many may have forgotten.

Even the original light fixtures are on the bridge.

If you want to read more, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City .

More changes, maybe

2011-12-11T11:22:00.002-06:00

We will soon be parked here for a month and I see solar panels in our future. We are using about one gallon of gas a day in our generator. I know $3 and change a day for gas will not make solar panels cost effective for some time, but not having the generator noise is worth something.

We are energy hogs but I think 400watts or so will be about right for our rig, as we have 450amps of battery capacity. We plan to buy them when we get close to Phoenix.

Dang it's cold

2011-12-06T20:53:00.002-06:00

We are still in Laughlin and the days are pleasant but the nights are in the mid to upper 30's.

We still don't seem to be making any effort toward leaving here. We plan on attending the RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous) held by Bob Well of
http://www.cheapliving.com fame in January.

I have never been around Quartzsite, Arizona and it should be quite an experience.

Hey Buddy

2011-12-03T18:59:00.008-06:00

The temperature is suppose to drop to the mid 30's Sunday night and I did not want to hear the inefficient rv furnace sounding like a jet plane so I purchased a

"Mr. Heater Buddy" . It has an output of 4,000btu on low and 9,000btu on high. It operates on the small 16.4oz propane bottles and with a larger bottle if you buy the optional hose. The white looking pad glows orange but the camera flash hides it.

A 1500 watt electric heater puts out approximately 5100btu on high as 1watt=3.41btu. As you can see, this little heater puts out almost that on low and nearly twice that on high.

I plan to use the bottles so I can move it where it is needed. I will buy an adapter so I can fill the little bottles from our 30 pound tanks.

Even though this is a short lived cold front, I know this heater will be a nice addition as it uses far less propane than the rv furnace and no amps from our batteries.

Much Better

2011-12-02T19:02:00.003-06:00

We awoke to a very cloudy day but the wind subsided to a more manageable breeze. We extended our slides and puttered around the house all day.

We are headed to see a move tonight and for the first time in over 2 weeks we did not gamble today. We are still ahead of them and that is very satisfying considering how often we have frequented the casinos.

We saw J. Edger last week and I can say it was the worst movie I have paid to see in a long time.

Slideless

2011-12-01T09:42:00.002-06:00

High winds started last night and we pulled in our slides because high winds can damage the awning that cover our slides when they are extended.

Woke up to a light sporadic rain and it appears the wind will last three or four days. Just enough rain that one has to say it rained or be disingenuous.

Appears we will be "slideless" for a few days.

Time to hit the road?

2011-11-29T19:34:00.005-06:00

I think not. We decided to stay a few more days so we drove across the street to Riverside RV Park and payed five dollars to use their rv dump and fill our fresh water tank.

I have been using the casino restroom during the day to help not fill our waste tank as fast.

Katherine's Landing is located on the Arizona side of the Colorado river seven miles from Laughlin just up lake from Davis Dam. It is part of the Lake Mead National Recreational Area.

Nice campground with no hookups for $10 or $5 for Senior Pass holders. The Senior Pass holders also do not owe the day use charge.

If you enlarge this photo you can see our red Dodge just to the right of the building in the center. We used their laundry and I have taken two showers in their pay shower house. This let us stay longer without dumping.

They have a free dump and water refill but it would cost more than the $5 in diesel I paid across the street to dump.

All this makes staying at Riverside Casino very easy.

Still hanging out in Laughlin

2011-11-27T19:30:00.002-06:00

Sunday night finds us still hanging out in Laughlin at Riverside Casino. Probably head out in a day or two.

Tomorrow is wash day, just goes to show that life still happens when you are having fun.

In case you haven't heard, "the weather here is great."

What an ass!

2011-11-23T21:47:00.016-06:00

Oatman, Arizona was on the original Route 66 but the road changed in 1953 and left the town to die.

The town in now only viable because of the tourists interested in the Mother Road as Route 66 has become known.

This is old Route 66 through town,

the main drag is about 1/4 mile long, actually the only street through town.

as you can see the road is very narrow. I am taking this from the opposite sidewalk.

This guy "works" in the street so it makes a very narrow street, one usable lane.

By far the most notable building in Oatman is the Oatman Hotel circa 1902.

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned here in 1939. Don't know who they are: why are you up this late on a school night?

Now the burros are the main attraction as they roam the streets. It was getting late and they had left town where tourists feed them carrots (readily available in any shop in town) and heading back to the hills for the night.

They are descendants of the burros left behind from the miners of the 1915 gold rush.

This one ass was looking for a carrot. I laughed so hard I cried.

Have I mentioned lately how great the weather is?

Secret Meeting

2011-11-20T22:32:00.002-06:00

I can't proof it but I think the Laughlin casino CFOs has a meeting last night to discuss their resent losses and conspired against me and finally recovered 25% of their money from me.

While they were having their way with me, they took their eyes off Judy and she slipped away a winner.

No Mercy

2011-11-19T20:39:00.003-06:00

I continue to show "no mercy" toward the Laughlin casinos. If you own their stock, I think I would unload it quickly. ROFLMAO

We checked out the other casinos that offer free rv parking and while Riverside is the most convenient, it is by far the most crowded. Tropicana has the best with extra wide spots to accommodate slides on both sides and they have a dump station for those that register for free rv parking. All require proof of ownership and insurance.

We had a gourmet meal for lunch, two polish dogs combos from Sam's Club.

To my b-i-l Steve, eat your heart out sucker.

99 cent breakfast

2011-11-18T22:59:00.002-06:00

We had breakfast at Avi Casino where their breakfast of two eggs, hash browns, ham, and toast costs an outrageous price of $.99.

After that we left with $25 of their money. Did our usual Wal-Mart shopping, hit two more casinos and again escaped with their money. At this rate we may close all the Laughlin casinos down. Yea, right!

Highs in the 70's and about 55 tonight. I need help, this life is hard work.

Laughlin, Nv.

2011-11-17T23:17:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we drove about 150 miles and parked for the night in Mojave, California. Sierra Trails RV Park is another great Passport America member park that has long drive thru sites so we didn't have to unhook. The price was $13.25 tax included.

I grilled hamburger steaks and Judy nuked a couple of potatoes. First grilled food in over two months.

A bit longer drive at 240 miles but we are safely snuggled into the Riverside Casino parking lot that is designated for free rv parking. After unhooking we learned we had to move to another spot about 50 feet away. No big deal, just hookup and move.

Paved parking lot with just dry camping and no hookups but you can't beat the price. We will probably be here for at least five or six days.

Again I will just say, "Life is good".

Last Night

2011-11-15T22:06:00.002-06:00

Seems strange to be leaving here after two months. It really has been a nice place to call home but it is time to "get the hell outa Dodge".

1 Week

2011-11-09T12:20:00.002-06:00

One more week here in Kingsburg, California. It will seem strange to be traveling again after being planted here for two months.

I have been doing several minor maintenance jobs including but not limited to:
Changing the oil in the generator
Checking water in the Trojan batteries
Cleaning the battery terminals
Repairing the bent arms on one of the stabilizer jacks
Washing the bugs off the front of the camper

I have been walking for exercise in the field behind the rv park and was stopped by the owner of the property and invited to glean anything I want from his garden.

Mostly regular tomatoes, roma tomatoes, bell peppers (green, red and orange), several variates of hot peppers and egg plant. Needless to say, tomatoes are being eaten at every meal.

Fresh garden vegetables are the best.

2 Weeks

2011-11-01T17:23:00.002-05:00

If things work out we should be pulling out of here in two weeks. We will be heading for the Arizona/Nevada line. Should take about two driving days as it is about 400 miles.

We will spend at least one night getting there but that is always subject to change.

Still kicking

2011-10-26T15:28:00.002-05:00

We are still in Kingsburg, California and I am doing great. We will probably be here another month.

The weather here is fabulous, highs in the upper 70's and lows in the lower 50's.

My hands are 95% well for the first time in three months.

Heart Attack

2011-10-02T18:02:00.003-05:00

This is long overdue update. We did Cody, Yellowstone, Custers Last Stand, Sturgis, Deadwood, Mt. Rushmore, and Crazy Horse.
We moved though Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and finally into California.

We signed up for a month in Kingburg, Ca. to be close to my wife's aunt for awhile.

Two weeks into the stay I decided to have a heart attack. I am now the proud owner of a stent.

I'm doing great but will be here longer than we thought.

Lander, Wy.

2011-07-17T21:55:00.000-05:00

Lander is a interesting "cowboy town" and we stayed 4 nights to soak it in. We drove out to Sink Canyon and was treated with beauty and a little enlightenment thrown in for good measure.

The Sinks Canyon received its name from a very unique feature of the Popo Aque river.

Two photos of the river before it "sinks"

This is where it reappears,

looking downstream after the pool where it reappears.

Driving deeper into the canyon and the road climbs with a series of "switchbacks" that will take you breath away (just ask the wife!).

This was taken about 2/3 the way up at the first pull out and I was duly informed that we WOULD be turning around and heading back down.

Lincoln Highway

2011-07-12T21:37:00.002-05:00

Interstate 80 is "The Lincoln Highway" and at a tourist information center we were greeted by this statue.

We then drove a few miles and spent the night at Curt Gowdy State Park (yes the sports announcer). Very nice park on a lake.

Cheyenne, Wy.

2011-07-11T10:59:00.001-05:00

We are south of Cheyenne a few miles and just 2 miles into Wyoming.

Terry Bison Ranch is a real ranch raising bison and they have a campground and several building to replicate the frontier experience.

They offer train and horseback rides through the ranch and try to be a mini Six Flags but that part of the business seems to have fizzled out. Could be a different story during Cheyenne Days.

The feed lot for the ranch sits several hundred yards (thankfully) behind the compound but I thought there might be bison grazing in the pasture beside the highway.

No bison in the pasture close enough to take pictures, just a couple camels.

Taos

2011-07-09T21:17:00.006-05:00

We are camped at Raton, New Mexico for a couple of days so we drove over to Taos for the day. Lots of antelope, mule deer, and goats were beside the highway and the Boy Scouts of America own 137,000 acres (no, that is not a misprint) in the area with a large compound that looks like a small college.

Taos is your typical tourist trap town but still an interesting place to visit, but the real reason we went was about ten miles out of town on hwy 64.

The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is very unassuming as you approach it. Just looks like a 1280 ft. bridge over a shallow river like so many others you cross out west.

Walk on the bridge and look over the end and these little mt. goats are playing.

The real attraction is the 650 ft deep gorge the bridge crosses. The bridge has apeared in several movies including Wild Hogs and Natural Born Killers.

New Nexico

2011-07-08T14:10:00.003-05:00

We are finally out of Oklahoma. I never thought of Oklahoma as being so wide but the narrow strip of the panhandle seems to go on forever.

We are Raton, New Mexico at a private campground for a couple of days as we want to drive over to Taos (yes, I know it's a tourist trap) tomorrow.

Fort Supply Lake, Ok.

2011-07-07T15:58:00.004-05:00

We are camped at Fort Supply Lake in western Oklahoma just east of the panhandle. We have a nice covered picnic table on a concrete slab with paved camper and truck spot.

At about 1,800 acres this is not a large lake but it sure is a nice one. We are about 20 feet from the water. A breeze has been blowing the whole time we have been here.

There is a historical Fort Supply but it is closed. This will be our third night here and we will be moving westward tomorrow as this spot has already been reserved for the weekend.

We have just kicked back, played on the internet, watched satellite and local tv, and grilled.

Remember we are fulltiming and not on vacation so there is no urgent need to be going and doing.

Fort Gibson Lake

2011-06-27T21:43:00.003-05:00

We are nestled in at Taylor Ferry South CG on Fort Gibson Lake just east of Wayoner, Ok. We signed up for 8 days to be off the road on the 4th of July weekend.

Our sight is lower on the slide (left looking forward) side and I plan to purchase 2x8 lumber tomorrow to augment my leveling blocks. 30amp with water, our satellite tv and internet air card are working fine.

We are just outside Wagoner and it should provide all our needs for the next week.

Time to kick back, rest, read and play on the net for a few days.

Beaver Lake

2011-06-25T21:40:00.002-05:00

We are a few miles northeast of Fayetteville, Ar. on the southern tip of Beaver Lake.

Camped at the top of a hill over looking the lake with 30amp electricity and aircard internet service. The trees are positioned so I can't get satellite tv but the local channels are great.

Our fresh water tank is full and our waste water tanks are empty. War Eagle Park is an older COE park with smaller sites but ours is one of the larger ones. Plenty of room for the Cardinal (about 39ft. hitch to bumper) and our Dodge 2500.

We plan to leave on Monday but those plans at set in Jello.

Westward Swing

2011-06-24T21:15:00.002-05:00

We picked up our Cardinal today and everything is back to factory specs. Leaving Little Rock and heading west was very rewarding.

We are spending the night in Alma, Ar. before heading north to Fayetteville for a couple of days and try to figure out where we are going to spend the 4th of July weekend.

C.O.E. parks

2011-06-21T10:11:00.005-05:00

U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Parks, a.k.s. COE parks are always nice and a bargain for older or disabled people as we get 50% off the normal camping fees.

Camping for 14 nights is allowed before you have to move out of the park. Not a problem as most areas have more than one park and you can alternate between them.

This 2 week limit is generally extended during off season to 4 weeks. Most sites have electricity and water. You will find a few parks without individual water hookups. A few COE parks will also have some sites with sewer hookups.

Maumelle Park on the Arkansas River in Little Rock is a park that we consider our "home park" as we have stayed here numerous times over the years.

This is the view from our front door and out our living room window. Our site for this stay is A17 and is a pull-thru site about 75 feet from the water with 50 amp service and water hookup.

We chose a 50 amp site we can run both a/c units as it is near 100 degrees here. 30 amp sites are $22.00 and 50 amps sites are $26.00, so this great spot costs us $13.00 a day total.

COE parks are great because the sights are so large, our neighbor in the Airstream is about 100 feet away,

our other neighbor is at least 150 feet away and the position of our camper makes the distance seem greater.

I am standing by the bathroom and shower house just a short walk from our camper.

We have a shower and bathroom in our camper but our holding tanks will only last 7 to 10 days max, then we would have to hookup and head for the dump station. With the bathrooms and showers across the road we could extend to our 14 day limit if we so desired.

We are here for just two days as our Cardinal goes in for repairs tomorrow morning.

Alternative energy

2011-06-18T10:32:00.006-05:00

Nice home and garage with a pool in the back yard owned by a gentleman that has worked at a coal powered electric generating plant for decades.

What makes this home "special" is the wind turbine and solar panels in the front yard.

He has nine TriStar 210watt solar panels with a vertical and horizontal tracking system producing approximately 2000 watts,

and a 10,000 watt Ventera wind generator on a 100ft. tower,

all controlled by this panel in the garage. It is set up for net metering.

Net metering means his system is tied to the electrical utility grid and will make his home electrical meter run backwards when he is producing more electricity than he is consuming.

He has had the system for almost 11 months and has zeroed out this utility bill. He does expect to use more energy this summer than he produces as it will be his first full summer of a/c usage and his pool was installed late in the summer last year.

Litchfield, Illinois

2011-06-13T11:49:00.008-05:00

We are in Litchfield, Illinois for a week and the weather is cooperating. Mid 70's and a gentle breeze.

We are staying in a nice campground far enough off the Interstate to be quite and right on old Route 66.

A small park with mostly overnighters.

I am not a bird watcher and I know these are not the best photos as they were taken thru a window but these little Yellow Finch birds are beautiful.

They are at a bird feeder and spend more time eating upside down than right side up.

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

2011-06-09T20:49:00.002-05:00

We traveled over 200 miles today and are now staying the Cape Camping & RV Park in Cape Girardeau, Mo. for one night and plan on moving to a C.O.E. park in Illinois for 2 days.

Plan B

2011-06-08T16:09:00.002-05:00

We are pulling out Thursday (tommorow)morning for Litchfield, Il., Judy's family reunion is on Saturday the 18th.

We had originally planned to stay the whole week leading up to to reunion and then head west on Sunday or Monday.

It's a little over 400 miles and I can but don't plan to drive it in one day. The soonest our camper could go in for repairs was Tuesday of next week with repairs taking two or three days. That is cutting it too close and if problems arise then all bets are off.

Since our camper is still livable with only the slightest inconvenience, we have decided to just take it to Litchfield for the week and put it in the shop when we return.

Fulltiming added flexibility to our lives.

Still Waiting

2011-06-06T10:43:00.003-05:00

We are just sitting and waiting for the second insurance estimate to hit our agents desk.

Things could be a lot worse. We are very happy to be in an area we know and at one of our favorite campgrounds.

Happy Camper, NOT !

2011-06-02T21:22:00.004-05:00

I washed the camper over the weekend for our move on Memorial Day to Little Rock, Ar. for a week or so.

Our Cardinal TT came with Karrier Load Star 10 ply tires, made in China!!!! Before we started out west in the heat of the summer I intended to change them out for a national brand. The tires looked great having traveled about 4500 miles since new. I washed the tires and wheels, checked them over for problems, and made sure they were aired to the recommended 80 psi. I know what to look for when inspecting tires having worked and later owned a tire store in my earlier life. Everything was OK to make the 100 mile trip to new and better quality tires.

Forty miles into the trip, BOOM!!!, I have a blowout. Tears off the plastic fender, puts a hole in my water line and rips out some 12 volt wiring. I call Coach Net, my road service provider and was back on the road in about and hour and half.

The wire on the floor inside the door is what was ripped out ( all that I know of).

This photo shows how the tread shredded from the carcass before or after it blew. It did not damage the tail or stop lights.

I found the front tire on the other side to now have a knot on the side wall. With no spare we managed to make it to Maumelle Park and get setup for the night.

Now we see the extent of the damage. No ceiling lights, no outside lights, slides will not operate, and several other 12 volts circuits in the command panel have no power.

I am hot, tired, my nerves are shot but we are safe and unharmed. After calming down I was able to jump across the terminals on the hydraulic pump that activates the slides and get them to open. The pump is fine just the wiring is ripped out.

Tuesday we head out with the blown tire and wheel to have a new tire mounted so we will at least have a spare should another tire blow on our way for the other tires. Sounds easy doesn't it?

Having already done research on tires, I knew the choices were slim. I knew they had to meet my criteria; name brand, 10ply, and Trailer Service Only.

I considered GoodYear G614 tires as they are 14 ply and the same tire used on 18 wheelers only in a 16 inch size. Costs nearly as much too, after checking my wheels I knew they were not rated for the 110 psi the G614 tires needed to carry maximum weight.

So I knew the GoodYear Marathon 10 ply Trailer Service Tire was the only thing left. Damn, there are none in Little Rock and will have to be ordered.

I already have an appointment where I bought my Cardinal to have an insurance estimate written on Thursday. No way I am moving the Cardinal without a spare and then only to have tires put on it.

Camping World gave a great price on the tires and could have them Thursday about noon. As fast as anyone as they had to come out of the Ft. Smith or Memphis warehouse.

I called and had my estimate appointment moved to Friday because the place is 25 miles south and again I am not moving without tires.

Camping World called Wednesday morning and said the tires had been delivered ( they made it on the truck even thou the warehouse said the truck had already left).

I drive the 25 miles east to Camping World and have one tire mounted and came back for the Cardinal. Can not believe we made it back to the store without another blowout.

They mounted the tires and wrote an estimate for the damages, over $2,300. Now I just need to get the other estimate tomorrow and fax them in to the insurance company and should have the OK in about 2 or 3 days.

Then made an appointment to have it fixed. Should take 2 or 3 days.

As for now, we are still able to live in it as we can work around the 12 volt issues and I made the repair to the water line.

On the move, almost

2011-05-29T07:31:00.002-05:00

We are moving to Maumelle Park in Little Rock, Ar. for a week before we resume our travels. We still have an item or two on our "to do list" to get accomplished before heading out west after a side trip to Illinois.

It really has been an enjoyable two months spent with the inlaws and a very productive time as well. Several needed repairs and upgrades were completed with the two largest being a generator box to help get it out of the weather and stop a lazy thief and slow down a determined one.

Also put new tires on the pickup (ouch!). At 64,000 miles the Michelin LTS A/S 10 ply tires still had life in them but we will be heading west in the hottest part of the year and I felt it prudent to replace them while I could shop around with tire dealers I know.

We have spent quality time with the inlaws while living in our own camper in their yard. It constitutes the best of both worlds.

Long time no see

2011-05-05T11:02:00.004-05:00

I know it has been awhile since I last posted. We did the Williamsburg tours and moved on to DC for an amazing week and then to State College, Pa to see my son.

Bad weather (freezing rain and snow) plagued us the whole way and we went 14 days in a row with no hookups. Most campgrounds in the area didn't open until May 1 because of freezing weather. With my battery pack, inverter, and generator we didn't even notice.

After visiting with Zac, we headed to Illinois to visit one of Judy's aunts for a week and back to Arkansas via Tunica, Ms.

Lots to do before we head out for a least a year after May 20th.

Williamsburg, Va.

2011-03-10T19:18:00.008-06:00

We arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia yesterday after a three and half hour drive from Medoc Mountain State Park. We are staying in Anvil Campground near Colonial Williamsburg.

This is entering the campground.

Office and store looking back.

The family home is across from the office.

The founder was a blacksmith and made the original wrought iron work for Colonial Williamsburg from 1929 to 1935. This part of the office complex was his blacksmith shop.

He also owned a motel on the main highway thru town (directly behind the campground just across the railroad track).

People were constantly asking at the motel, "where can we put up a tent for the night?"

So he let them camp beside his blacksmith shop. These tent sights today are the same place they were back then.

Our campsite is across from the tent sites.

We chose Anvil Campground because the city bus stops at the campground and we can even transfer to another bus that will take us to Jamestown and Yorktown. We rode the bus around to get a feel of the three different routes and were planning to start seeing the sites today.

Mother nature had other plans as it rained off and on all day so we just shifted gears and did the mondane chores of everyday life like shopping, banking, and doing laundry.

Since we have no schedule we can just wait out the rain and not worry about it. Fulltiming is great because we can stay as long as we need to explore and then we can hit the road for more adventure.

2011-03-09T10:36:00.002-06:00

A bateau ( also spelled batteau and batteaux for plural ) was a flat bottomed shallow draft boat pointed at both ends used to transport goods along the rivers in the late 1700's and into the 1800's. They were propelled by using long poles
over the side reaching the bottom.

This system worked great and these batteaux could carry 5 to 8 tons. They came in all sizes but generally about 8 feet wide and 60 feet long for the larger ones and a cross between a canoe (easily navigational) and a raft (great carry capacity).

Being pointed at both ends, they didn't have to be turned around exposing the long sides to the rivers current. They could "poled" up river by keeping to the side of the river with less current.

Rapids posed two problems, going down stream the boats could become uncontrollable and damage the cargo, and going upstream over the rapids was sometimes impossible.

The Roanoke river had such rapids located in city of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina (go figure) and to alleviate the problem the Roanoke Canal was began in 1819 and built using mostly slave labor. The canal diverted water thru locks ( same as today but on a much smaller scale) to raise and lower the boats over the rapids.

The canal was 8.5 miles long and was in operation until 1875.

One of the locks survived and now has a museum to preserve its history. As you can see in the photo (click it to enlarge), the lock could be filled or emptied in less than 5 minutes and operated by one man when the water levels stabilized.

They have a bateau in the bottom of the lock. There was two locks at this location that raised or lower a boat a total of 38 feet.

A power plant was later constructed to make use of this abandoned lock.

I find this stuff very fascinating as I can relate to the technology used.

Medoc Mountain State Park

2011-03-09T06:09:00.004-06:00

We spent a couple quite nights in this state park just south of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Electricity only, and we needed it to run our electric heaters (rv furnaces run on propane and 12 volt but they are very noisy) as we had a frost last night.

We are heading north a little sooner and faster than I would like but we have sights to see and miles to travel before we have to be back in Arkansas for a few weeks in April or May.

I have filed an extension on my taxes and we have to be back in May for a graduation. I would prefer to be back in time to file by April 15th as filing later is just another excuse for an audit.

Boondocking

2011-03-07T06:03:00.003-06:00

"Boondocking", does not always mean you are out in the boonies. The rv term generally means you are camping without hookups, etc., electric, water, and sewer.

You may recall I added 4 six volt golf cart batteries, an inverter, battery monitor, battery charger, and generator to our standard rv equipment so we could "boondock" when we want to.

The last two nights we have stayed on two different Wal-Mart parking lots. Don't laugh, when it gets dark and you close the shades you really don't know you are in a parking lot, except for the traffic and night lights.

We pay nothing in parking fees but it is not totally free. Our little upright freezer runs off the inverter when we are traveling (or any time we are not hooked to 115 volts power). The inverter pulls power from the 4 six volt golf cart batteries.

When we stop with no hookups, we can watch satellite tv with the inverter also. Depleting the batteries means they have to be recharged. We can get by about one day and one night before the batteries need charging.

If we stayed in a campground with electricity every other night we would be just fine. When staying two nights without electricity we just run the generator.

Our inverter is not large enough to run our coffee pot, so I crank the generator in the morning to make coffee and at the same time it powers the battery charger to recharge the amps we have pulled out of our batteries.

Sounds simple enough but we are power hogs with our 32inch LCD tv, satellite, freezer and lights in the camper. Then we are using everything at night we are pulling about 25 amps out of the batteries.

I have 450 amps in the batteries but only have 225 usable amps because one should not regularly use more than 50% of the battery capacity if one wants the batteries to last. I prefer to use even less when possible.

After running the freezer all day the batteries have about 85% remaining and if we watch tv for three hours, the batteries are about 71% by next morning (remember the freezer is running 24 hours a day).

I found it best to run the generator at least an hour of our tv watching (remember with the generator running everything is on 115 volt power and the batteries are also being charged as opposed to being discharged). Running the generator for one hour while watching tv will have the batteries at the same state of charge (charging batteries as opposed to discharging the batteries) as watching tv and then running the generator for two hours.

Again if only off grid for one night before hooking to electricity, no use of the generator is needed as the battery charger is working when we are hooked to electricity.

When we swing back thu Arkansas in May, I plan to add solar panels to cut the use of the generator to a bare minimal.

There is no "free lunch" because our rv refriguator uses propane when we are not hooked to electricity or running the generator.

We used Wal-Mart parking to lower our over all monthly camping expenses, to test our equipment, and to save time.

Campgrounds are seldom close to the road and just driving 10 miles out of the way to camp overnight adds 2 hours when you consider the driving time and hooking and unhooking. Add in the added fuel costs and camping fees and it can amount to $20 to $50 dollars plus 2 lost hours. All for just a few hours sleep.

We can boondock about 4 days using our normal amount of water ( we carry 41 gallons of fresh water) and about a week if we really conserve. Should we need the air-conditioning, then we whould have to run the generator. At that point we might as well stay in a campground if one is nearby, if not, at least we still have the option of supplying our own electricity via our generator.

We are leaving Wilson, North Carolina heading north and plan to stay at Medoc Mountain State Park for 2 days. Most state parks are out in the boonies so we may not have internet via our our card or cell phone service. Out in the woods away from most everyone ( at least this time of year) and DARK at night. Hey, someone has to do it.

Charlestown, SC

2011-03-05T06:02:00.000-06:00

I took my camera when we went to Charleston but then I put it my coat and then left the coat in the truck as we took the city trolley around the Market Street District as there was no way I would try to get our 3/4 ton Dodge in the little pay parking lots.

Several blocks around and including Market Street was crawling with people and just one large tourist attraction. Guess it's just a younger persons thing.

Had we done a little research we could have used the bus and trolley service more to our advantage.

Walterboro, SC

2011-03-03T18:44:00.002-06:00

We moved north to Walterboro, South Carolina for a couple of days and plan to head over to see Charleston, SC tomorrow.

Walterboro's main claim to fame in the 20th century was that it supplied advanced flight training to about 500 Tuskegee Airmen and housed over 250 German POW's.

Tensions flared because the POW's had more privileges than the black pilots. Nice county museum with a whole floor dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen.

Small town America holds its share of stories and Walterboro is no exception. Glad we stopped here for a couple of days.

Jekyll Island, Ga.

2011-03-01T22:10:00.000-06:00

We have moved to Kingsland, Ga. for a few days and today we went to Jekyll Island. The island is about seven miles long and a mile and a half wide. It is now a state park and accessed by a causeway and bridge.

William Horton arrived on Jekyll Island in 1736 and started a farm.

This is the remains of his house,

the house used tabby construction.

The state of George has made a wonderful state park of the island,

we walked the boardwalk out to the beach,

the wind was strong causing the Atlantic to white cap.

Jekyll Island Club

2011-03-01T21:08:00.013-06:00

The Jekyll Island Club was formed in December of 1885 by selling 100 shares to 50 individuals for $600 a share to start an exclusive hunting club for the very wealthy.

The large club house opened in 1888 and soon the wealthy elite starting building winter homes on the island.

The Morgans, Pulitzers, and Vanderbuilts all has winter homes on the island,

This is the winter home built in 1891 for Gordon McKay and sold in 1905 to William Rockefeller the younger brother and partner in Standard Oil.

The rear view shows its three stories and twenty five rooms. His wife's bathtub had four faucets, hot and cold regular water and hot and cold salt water from the Atlantic to help with her arthritis.

When the club members all invade the island during the winter season one fourth of the worlds wealth was on the little island.

The first transcontinental phone call by Theodore N. Vail, president of AT&T, to Alexander Bell was made from the Jekyll Island Club.

In November 1910 on Jekyll Island the draft for what is now The Federal Reserve was written.

The rich loved the privacy they enjoyed on the island as the only way to reach it was by boat and they had armed guards on horseback patrolling the beach.

Horseshoe Crabs

2011-02-26T18:41:00.001-06:00

The Horseshoe Crab had started to show up at Cedar Key just the day before we visited. This is one of their breeding grounds.

The female is the larger of the two and the male attaches himself to her so he can fertilize her eggs as she lays them.

The horseshoe crab is one of the oldest species on earth and they have changed little in over 250 millions years. Contrary to popular belief, they really have been around longer than I.

Their blood has no hemoglobin and is blue because it is copper based. Our medical industry uses it and much of what we know about our eyes were learned by studying theirs.

The Keys

2011-02-25T17:48:00.001-06:00

No, not the Florida Keys but Cedar Key, Florida. A small island of the western coast of Florida. Quaint little place with about 1000 full time residents, it's is a haven for artists and writers with very narrow street and golf carts are a popular mode of transportation.

Fishing and seafood abound plus just doing absolutely nothing but kill a few hours seem to be the standard.

From the parking lot for the marina,

from the pier looking back, porpoises were playing about 100 yards off the pier but there was no way to get a photo of them.

this is First Street, about 100 yards long. The is full of bars and restaurants and one lawyers office.

This small village seems not have the big tourist trade and likes it that way.

Manatees

2011-02-24T18:22:00.015-06:00

We spent over three hours in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and enjoyed every minute. It is really just a zoo of sorts but I had here for the main attraction.

From the visitors center there is a tram or boat ride to the back of the park. We took the boat out and the tram back.

As we left the visitors center, this alligator was sunning on a log,

once inside the park the bald eagles had a flag in their cage,

Pink flamingos were fun to watch,

they have one hippopotamus,

beautiful cougar ( the wild animal type but I guess the applies to the middle aged female too),

The main attraction, sorry but my photos didn't turn out very well,

here is a picture of a manatee I found on the web. The manatees live in the ocean but come into the warmer river as the ocean cools off in the winter. The river is fed by Homosassa Springs and its 72 degree water. The manatee have to have warmer water to survive.

They move slowly and over 200 were lost this winter because they couldn't make it to warmer waters as this winter came on quicker tha usual.

Suwannee River

2011-02-23T18:39:00.009-06:00

This is the view from our lawn chairs. Very laid back rv park.

Dakota Winery is a small father-son affair that grows several varieties of Muscadine grapes for their bottling operation. They have a very nice Blush that we purchased.

This nice little day use park is on the Suwannee River.

They saved one side of the Fanning Springs bridge trestle and have it on display.

A little closer look,

and even closer so you can read the sign.

The Suwannee River looking up stream,

the dock floats and as the river level changes, it rides up and down on the metal pilings.

Old Town, Fl.

2011-02-22T17:02:00.003-06:00

We are settled in Old Town Campground in Old Town, Florida. We are west of Gainsville about forty miles, about fifteen miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and a couple miles from the Suwannee River.

It is a privately owned park that is more like a fishing camp. No pavement and the sites are haphazardly scattered about. Sounds terrible but really pretty nice except for the sandy roads but everyone knows about them and keep their speeds down.

Only 30amp and water, no sewer. They have some sewer hookups but none were available when we checked in.
We are here for a few days as there is a lot of things to see in the area.

Leaving Tomorrow

2011-02-21T18:12:00.006-06:00

This is our view from the picnic table

From our lawn chairs.

From the couch.

Some of our neighbors.

Chattahoochee, Fl.

2011-02-19T11:16:00.006-06:00

OMG, does life get any better than this. We are on Lake Seminole just about 3 miles north of Chattahoochee, Fl.

Our C.O.E. campground is just over in Georgia. Beautiful spot just off the water. High temps in the 70's and night time it drops to the 50's.

As soon as we were set up, I started the charcoal grill, grabbed our lawn chairs, and while the grill was getting hot for burgers and dogs, I kicked back with a beer or two. Don't tell anyone but I might have even smiled a little. We had our burgers and dogs outside in the shade of the Cardinal facing the lake and enjoying the sunset.

Our front door faces away from the water with a picnic table and grill just outside. We are on a peninsula and also have water in front of our truck .

This is the view out our living room and dining room windows. Nice park to spend the weekend.

Great temps, satelite tv, internet, water and electricty. I think I could get used to this.

New Brake Controler

2011-02-18T10:38:00.006-06:00

As previously mentioned, I was not happy with the performance of my brake controller. I ordered a top of the line Tekonsha P3 brake controller,

very compact as you can see side by side with a 12 oz soda can.

When I removed the old controller and makeshift wiring (the new controller came with "plug and play" wiring designed for my Dodge), I found the old controller was actually broken.

The new controller worked great on the 200 mile trip to our next destination, but that is for tomorrows post.

The beach

2011-02-17T21:58:00.000-06:00

On Thursday we did our shopping for or upcoming move and fueled the truck. We also went to the beach at Gulf Shores to collect a few seashells and was surprised at so many young people on the beach in the middle of the week.

Bikinis were everywhere (not that I would look),

even a beach volleyball game.

USS Alabama

2011-02-16T18:13:00.005-06:00

U.S.S. stands for United States Ship.

Mobile, Alabama is home for the USS Alabama and a small aviation museum plus a submarine.

Please click on the photo to read about the ship.

The self-guided tour could easily take a half day on the ship, add the aviation museum and submarine and it can take all day.

Walking the deck where so much history has accrued is quite humbling.

Super Bowl Party

2011-02-07T12:08:00.004-06:00

A couple dozen of the campers at Azlea Acres rv park assembled in the clubhouse for a Super Bowl party. Not one Steeler fan was in attendance.

Lots of snack foods and a few adult beverages were consumed.

One couple left early and I wonder if they were undeclared Steeler fans.

We enjoyed ourselves but I found the political undertone a little too far to the right for me.

3 weeks = a month

2011-02-02T11:56:00.000-06:00

As of yesterday we have been here for two weeks. The weather is better than most parts of the country but still a little chilly today. The temps are back to the low 50's after a thunderstorm came through last night.

I vowed not to pull our Cardinal in the rain if at all possible and also due to the fact that we have not been up to par, we have decided to stay a little longer.

I could have signed up for another week but the price of 3 separate weeks is almost as much as the monthly rate. They prorated what we had already paid toward their monthly rate.

There are still things to see around here so it is a win-win for us.

A Little Trip

2011-01-28T19:42:00.009-06:00

We took a little trip over to Pensacola today. Hey, we had to fill the new freezer, didn't we?

Just a few miles east on I-10 and we stopped at a Florida rest area. Very modern and very friendly people and a nice place to take a break if you have been traveling for awhile.

Since the Navel Air Station at Pensacola is home to the Blue Angels, this plane is in the parking lot of the rest area.

We visited the National Naval Aviation Museum on the airbase for a few hours. Easily could have spent all day and not seen everything. They have over 150 planes and more than 4,000 artifacts.

This is just a small portion of the main floor. Airplanes sitting and hanging everywhere.

Being a gearhead I had to get a closeup of this WWI ambulance.

Just had to take a picture of this TOMAHAWK (similiar to a P-40). Yes this is the plane that make the Flying Tigers famous or was it the other way around.

The Flying Tigers were immortalized in films like The Flying Tigers and God is my Co-Pilot. They were members of the 1st American Volunteer Group under the command of Chennault and one of the most famous pilots was "Pappy" Boyington. Do you remember Black Sheep Squadron tv series?

I couldn't resist sitting in a cockpit. They also have a flight simulator where you can "fly with the Blue Angels", all for $5. I passed as I saw no need to upchuck.

2011-01-27T16:17:00.003-06:00

This is the freezer that arrived today. Basically it is 20 inches square and 34 inches tall. Very compact (for a freezer) and it will sit by the wall leading to the bathroom. We will move it to the kitchen when we pull in the slide for traveling.

Inside it is slightly over 14 inches square. Did we need it, well NO!

Maintenance

2011-01-25T14:48:00.002-06:00

We have been here a week today and I payed for another week. Since this is our lifestyle and not a vacation there is no hurry to move on. The weather is nice and Judy did the laundry while I cleaned the spark plug on the generator.

The generator ran out of gas before we left and after adding gas I have not been able to start it. Took the plug out today and it was black with smut. A quick rub with a wire brush and it was as good as new. Reinstalled it and the generator roared to life. I need to purchase a spare spark plug to have on hand.

Another reason that we are staying another week is that we ordered a compact chest freezer to supplement our rv freezer. Small at 2.1cf but it is lightweight and about all we need.

LuLu's Beach Party

2011-01-24T20:42:00.012-06:00

We had lunch at LuLu's Beach Party, a very iconic restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

A totally cool place on an inlet to the gulf.

It was a little cool today so the plastic curtains were down.

This is a better photo take with my camera by the waitress. Judy had a shrimp salad and I had the "Cheeseburger in Paradise". Does that sound familiar? Yes, it was named after the Jimmy Buffett song.

Will LuLu get in trouble? I doubt it as LuLu is Jimmy Buffett's sister!

An outside bar is used when the weather is nice .

More of the ambience.

These are docked behind LuLu's.

Satellite TV

2011-01-22T10:57:00.008-06:00

We have been Dish Network users for over 15 years and I have had a tripod to set up when moving.

I have a meter to help with the aiming of the dish and usually have it up and working in under 15 minutes or less.

Now that we are on the road I really did not want to deal with it as sometimes we might just be spending one night. Then there is the possibility the we would not be allowed to set it up at all.

The simple solution is the Winegard Carryout. It will find the satellites when you are in a stationary position. There are systems that will lock on to the satellite while you are travelling but since no one will be riding in the Cardinal there was no need to buy the more expensive model.

The Carryout is designed to be used anywhere within 50 feet of your rv. It comes with 50 feet of coax and 50 feet of 12volt power cord. The 12volt power cord is the limiting factor. One can go out further but the 12volt will loose the amps necessary to run the motor that finds the satellite.

You can run a 120volt extension cord and use a ac to 12volt adapter to overcome this problem. Add enough coax and you are in business as you can place the Carryout on the ground or use a tripod.

I chose the optional ladder mount and it will stay there unless trees block its view of the southern sky. It has one bolt that must be removed if I need to remove it and place it in a more favorable location on the ground.

Overnight locations (Wal-Mart, truck stops, rest areas, ect.) should have an open southern exposure. I don't foresee moving the Carryout and I brought along my regular dish and tripod to use instead.

I read the instructions (didn't know I could do that did you?) for the ladder mount and quickly had it all set up, or so I thought.

After mounting and wiring the Carryout, it would not find the satellites. Back to drawing board. Now I read the instructions for the Carryout and find it is factory set for Direct and not Dish.

I remove the one bolt and take the Carryout down, remove the dome cover and throw a couple switches on the inside and return it to the ladder rack. Even simple jobs seem to be overly complicated for my feeble brain.

It now works great with only a momentary pause if the channel selected is on another satellite. The Carryout supports all of my Dish satellites and I am pleased with every thing about it but the price. I justified the purchase because we are not on vacation but this is our life style.

The unit draws about 5 amps of 12volt power but once it locks onto the satellite it can be turned off and only needed to be turned on if using another satellite.

Robertsdale, Al.

2011-01-20T09:18:00.005-06:00

We arrived safe and sound at Azalea Acres in Robertsdale, Al. and are here for a week.

While their mailing address is Robertsdale, we are several miles from Robertsdale and a mile or so off Exit 53 on I-10. About half way between Mobile, Al. and Pensacola, Fl.

It is a nice adult park with friendly people. We are just miles away from the beaches of Gulf Shore, Alabama. Nice level sight with FHU, WiFi, and laundry room.

Hard to believe the closest Wal-Mart is 25 miles away in Foley, Alabama. We stopped by on our way to the beach yesterday. Nice beach but I forgot my camera, but I am sure we will be heading down there again before we leave.

Cooler today, 65 as opposed to 70+ yesterday. Maybe my lock will not freeze!

Wiggins, Ms.

2011-01-17T15:25:00.002-06:00

While our spot at Maynor Creek Water Park was nice, we had no cell phone service, internet, or satelite tv service (just too many trees) so we headed south to Wiggins, Ms.

We stopped at Lake-A-Way RV Park but decided it wasn't for us, so we headed for Flint Creek Water Park just outside of Wiggins and settled in for three nights.

We picked an area with a view of the southern sky for satelite tv and we had cell phone service but the aircard internet service was marginal and very slow.

We were in a section all by ourselves. With no one around I could cuss, yell, and have wild sex........two out of three ain't bad.

Had the internet been better, I could have stayed for a week or so.

We took a day trip to Gulfport and Biloxi. Judy donated to the gulf economy and I played on the computer in the casino parking lot.

Waynesboro, Ms.

2011-01-15T15:01:00.003-06:00

Leaving Philadelphia, Ms. after a week was not without its problems. We have been having inclement weather and that caused a problem when hooking up.

I use a lock on the tongue hasp to keep it from coming unlocked and just lock it back when unhitched to keep anyone from hitching to the trailer.

It was still well below freezing when we hooked up and the lock was frozen. I tried the key but it was tight and would only go in part of the way. Frozen solid!

I carry my key to the campground restroom and heat it with the hand air dryer and it still is frozen. I climb over the bed (the slides are already pulled in) and get the hair dryer. Back out side I get an extension cord from one of the outside compartments and heat the lock. Still no go, that sucker is really frozen, the key is still tight. OK, I really heat the lock up and when I reach for the key.

Damn, I have been using the wrong key!! Right key slides right in and unlocks it. Did I mention I'm freezing my butt off this whole time!

We finally moved to Waynesboro, Ms. to Maynor Creek Water Park. It sounds like a commercial water park but it really like a state park on a lake.

This is our "coffee view" out of our front door.

This is the Cardinal nestled into our spot.

Off Line

2011-01-13T16:40:00.000-06:00

I will be off line a couple of days but catch everyone up shortly.

Rear Bumper

2011-01-11T07:23:00.007-06:00

We are not moving today, so I will show you my modified rear bumper I put on the Cardinal.

The original bumper bolted to the I-beam trailer frame and was made out of schedule 14 steel bent into channel. I needed to add about 18 inches to it.

I unbolted the bumper and used my angle head grinder to grind away the welds that were holding aluminum covered box tubing bumper. The box tubing bumper holds the stinky-slinky (sewer hose) and I wanted to keep it for appearances.

After designing, I had 4-inch channel (big improvement over schedule 14) cut to lengths. One for each side and one to run crosswise. I brought the pieces home and drilled the holes to bolt it on. I then contacted a retired welder that has a small home shop and he welded everything. It is now stronger than before and the right length.

Back home it was just a matter of bolting it on. I now have a place to carry my generator. As an afterthought I decided I wanted a box on the back also. In retrospect, I really couldn't do without it.

To save weight and for appearances I wanted a polished aluminum box. After checking several websites I found the right size box at Tractor Supply and they were 20% off before Christmas making it cheaper than a metal box.

I used some spare angle iron I had and built rack to hold the generator and bolted it to the bumper. I had originally wanted the generator on the right and the box on the left but after investigation realized it I put the generator on the right I would have to raise the taillight.

So box on the right and generator on the left and of course the ladder bolted to the rv ladder. The exhaust of the generator clears the box over an inch but I want to add a tail pipe and run it upward to lower the noise of the already quite generator.

Looks like the factory built it and it is strong enough I can add a receiver hitch to haul my motorcycle if I choose to do so.

Staying Put

2011-01-10T09:49:00.008-06:00

Hoping for the "best" but at least we didn't get the "worse". We did receive some ice and a little snow but it should be gone today. It is suppose to get to 38 degrees today.

We are warm, dry, have the internet,Dish tv, and plenty of food. What more could we need.

We are staying one more night and hope to head further south tomorrow.

Snowbirds are too slow

2011-01-09T08:10:00.003-06:00

We hit the road to get away from snow and ice but I guess we are moving a little too slow. We should have moved further south yesterday and now we are going to be hit with a brief snow and ice storm. It will be short lived but we are holding up here for another day or two. There is no way I am pulling this rig in inclement weather.

One hundred miles south and we would be dealing with rain only. Story of my life, woulda, shoulda, coulda!

I thought I was back in Arkansas last night. We made a Wal-Mart run and there was absolutely no loaf bread of any type and less than one dozen total of hotdog and hamburger buns, and milk was going fast.

Being retired from the milk business, I know all about the snow and ice storm effect. People that normally use one gallon of milk a week will buy at least two for a one or two day storm. It is the same way with bread.

We bought a loaf of soft sliced French bread from the deli that is very delicious. We normally buy wheat bread so it is a pleasant change for us.

We have developed a water leak when we turn on our 12 volt water pump. The fitting to the tank must have worked loose as it does not leak when hooked up to campground water. No biggie, just need a nicer day to tackle it.

Mississippi Giant House Party

2011-01-08T17:19:00.008-06:00

Neshoba County Fair grounds is home to about 600 campground cabins and families come and stay for an eight day block party during fair week.

I stole this one picture from the Fair's website that shows the cabins around the racetrack. All the rest of the photos I took standing at the entrance gate.

The cabins are handed down from one generation to the next but every once in a while one will come on the market.

These are just a small sampling of the 600 or so cabins, they are everywhere. Can you imagine the memories these families share year after year. It would be like a giant family reunion.

Williams Brothers General Store

2011-01-07T14:03:00.005-06:00

Amzie and Brown Williams opened the general mercantile store in 1907 and the original part of the store is the right part in this picture. Second and third generations are now operating the store that has continuously served the farm and city population through changing times. In 1939 National Geographic featured it as a "needles to horse collar" store.

The store is truly a step back in time with individually priced items with no bar-code readers. Right in the middle of the store is a meat cooler and they are slicing and packaging bacon any thickness you want and having trouble keeping up with the demand.

The Williams Brothers store has one other "small" piece to it's heritage, that being Olivia Williams. Say you never heard of Olivia Williams, how about Olivia "Williams" Manning. That's right, that Olivia Manning, Payton and Eli's mother.

Marty Stuart

2011-01-07T13:01:00.001-06:00

Philadelphia turned out to be an interesting little town, driving down Main Street we spotting the Marty Stuart sign and later drove about seven miles out of town to see the Marty Stuart Drive monument.

Philadelphia

2011-01-06T21:17:00.000-06:00

NO, not that Philadelphia but Philiadelphia, Mississippi. We left Tunica about 10:30 am and headed south. I used the distribution hitch to add a little weight to the front end. I hooked it as before and took up one more link that deceased the front bumber height by a little over 1/2 inch. It handled better but next time out I will add a little more air to the air bags.

Stopped at a rest area for lunch and one more stop at a Wal-Mart for groceries and arrived at Frog Level RV Park about 3:30pm. After an uneventful 207 miles, we checked in for three nights.

We plan on resting a little, sight seeing, and I still need to attach our tv so I don't have to take it down every time we move. Can't beat the location, there is a Lowe's across the street.

Tunica, Mississippi

2011-01-05T19:14:00.001-06:00

Robinsonville, Ms. is really where the Tunica county casinos are but everyone just refers to it as Tunica. We are at SamsTown RV Park for two nights and will be leaving in the morning.

It was a lazy day for us as we visited the Tunica Museum and had lunch at Harrah's at the Paula Dean Buffet, the food was great and of course we had to add to the profits of the Harrahs Cooperation.

I fueled the truck in anticipation of us leaving tomorrow. I don't want to pull in for fuel with the Cardinal in tow unless it is necessary.

Our overhead mpg monitor was spot on, after fueling I calculated the mileage at 12.16mpg.

Finally on the road

2011-01-04T17:56:00.004-06:00

All hooked up and ready to leave Bryant, Ar. for the last time. I started the day by weighing the truck and after hooking up to the trailer we returned and had it weighed again. Overall we are a little under the towing limit for our truck and that is with 40 gallons of fresh water. I will not normally be carry that much fresh water but wanted the tank full when it was weighed.

The surprise was the tongue weight. I know I added the 4 Trojan T-105 to the tongue but I also extended the back bumper and added a generator and tool box. The trailer added 2500lbs to the drive axle and took off 800lbs on the steer axle. I will have to play with the distribution hitch and air bags to add the 800lbs back to the front.

After stopping at Camping World one more time we traveled I-40 to Brinkley, Ar. (62mph) and hit the two lane to Tunica, Ms., I prefer to travel at 55mph when possible.

We fulled into SamsTown rv park and will be staying a couple of nights before making our way south.

We started with 56100 on the odometer and 56294 when we parked for the night. Our MPG readout showed a little over 12 mpg for 194 miles of towing a heavy trailer.

False Start

2011-01-03T20:16:00.002-06:00

We thought we were leaving today but our living room slide decided it did not want to retract. I called a mobile rv tech and it was finally determined it was a loose ground in the distribution box.

It was one of those things where we tried everything and finally it seemed fixed. So $200 later I have my fingers crossed but at least I have a better understanding of how the slides work.

Well hopefully we are "out of here" tomorrow.

On a side note. The rv tech was the same guy that did our PDI when we bought our Cardinal.

Speeding Along!

2010-12-30T17:26:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I called my heart doctor to try to reschedule my January 13th appointment and was able to see him yesterday and then I scheduled by 6 month follow up for May 18 because we will be back here for Judy's granddaughter's high school graduation on May 20th.

Last night I received a call from the people that bought the deck and wanted to pick it up this morning because we had a window of decent weather.

After the deck was gone I almost fell out the door because the deck was not there but was able to catch myself in time. Not a pleasant experience.

Doctor done, deck done, our storage shed almost done. We should be out of here Monday or Tuesday.

I meant to write about extending our back bumper but forgot to take photos, so that will be another post for another day.

The Best of Two Worlds

2010-12-26T18:29:00.005-06:00

We needed to sell the deck (porch) I built when we purchased our travel trailer

but was not looking forward to not having it until we leave. Problem solved, sold it and they are not picking it up until next weekend and we should be out of here the following Monday or Tuesday.

I have a doctors appointment on the 13th of January so we will not be traveling too far for a couple of weeks. May stay at a nearby campground as we still have some things to take care of before we really hit the road. Really depends on the weather.

The main objective is move out of this mobile home park and get our new mailing address and make sure we have everything needed to live on the road. We have been here so long it will take awhile to remember what we need.

I need to modify our entry steps as the steps are a little to far apart for Judy and until the deck is gone I can not get to them.

I would make my purchases while here so I know where to find things.

So it looks like our fulltiming adventure starts the first of the year!

Reading the Trimetric meter

2010-12-24T17:08:00.004-06:00

The Trimetric meter measures at the batteries and is very useful in its normal functions.

Click on the picture to enlarge and you will see the square "select" black button in the middle of the meter. This button toggles thru its functions. This first picture shows the percent of charge remaining in the batteries. This is the most used function on the meter as you can tell at a glance your battery condition and most of the time I just leave it on this function.

This photo taken at a different time and shows the current voltage of the batteries.

Hard to see the green charging light in the upper left but when lit it show how many amps are flowing into the batteries.

Again a little hard to read (forgot to turn off the flash on the camera) but the red minus light to the left of 01.7 is lit and the meter show 01.7 amps are being used from the batteries. This function is very useful and you can see how many amps every appliance or light is using just by turning them on and reading the meter.

By knowing how many amps are being used from your batteries, you will know how many amps need to be replaced no matter if using a battery charger or solar panels. After all, solar panels are just battery chargers using the sun and not electricity to charge your batteries.

Battery Charger

2010-12-23T20:18:00.011-06:00

I installed a IOTA DLS-55 amp battery charger to compliment my campers converter. A converter is really just a battery charger that puts out extra amps when you are using 12 volt power in your rv. A typical 55 amp converter will supply up the 55 amps when those amps are needed but only about 2 amps are dedicated for battery charging. Plus the voltage is not enough to fully charge the battery.

My converter is additionally handicapped by being at the rear of our trailer, nearly 35 feet from our batteries. With the voltage loss from the long cables, only .4 amps makes it to the batteries.

Trojan (our battery manufacture) recommends charging at 14.8 volts and most charger only charge at 14.3 volts.

http://www.backwoodsolar.com/ modifies the IOTA charger to charge at 14.8 volts and 15.4 volts when needed to equalize the batteries. Order their catalog, the first 30 pages is a "how-to" on "off-grid" before they even offer to sell you anything.
These people "walk the walk".

The charger is very simple to install (therefore no installation pictures), comes with standard three prong wire and you add your own 12 volt cables to the batteries and a ground wire for the case.

Use the small cable with phone jack end to plug into charger to up the voltage for equalization.

I hard wired the charger in a forward compartment a short distance from the batteries, ran the circuit through a switch to control its operation and mounted it in the lower part of the kitchen cabinet.

My Trimetric meter registered 54 amps when I threw the switch. The charge tapers off as the batteries are charging and by the time I decided to take a picture it was putting out 41.6 amps.

I can now read my Trimetric meter (fuel gauge for the batteries) and charge as needed via the switch. No hooking and unhooking needed. The charger cannot be on all the time or it will boil the water from the batteries. It works whether I am using campground power or our generator.

Camping with no electricity, no problem. Watch satellite tv using our inverter at night and run the generator to fire up the coffee pot in the morning and recharge the batteries at the same time.

I have a inverter large enough to run the coffee pot or microwave that is yet to be installed. Probably will wait to see if I install solar panels because I now need the generator to charge the batteries anyway so I might as well power the coffee pot also.

S-10

2010-12-18T05:59:00.005-06:00

After owning my little S-10 pickup for over 12 years, it has moving on for someone else to appreciate. While not being a lover (a huge understatement) of full size Chevy pickups, I can say I was very fond of this smaller Chevrolet.

I rank it in the top three vehicles I have ever owned. It did every thing I ever asked of it and returned great value in mpg's, repair costs, and resale value.

It had 41,000 miles on it when I purchased it in August of 1998 and 230,000 miles when we parted company yesterday. Not sure I will very be as pleased long term with another vehicle. Even if it was a !#&# Chevy.

Firestone Air Bags

2010-12-16T18:03:00.007-06:00

I installed Firestone Air Bags on the Dodge today. I didn't take any pictures because it was pretty straight forward and truly a "bolt in" project. Just follow the directions and allow a couple of hours for the whole job. Wait! You will have to drill a couple of 5/16 inch holes for the valves so you can add air to the bags. I placed ours on either side of the licence plate.

Our camper's tongue weight squats the truck and I can now level it for better control and shift the weight bias.

Since I have a generator and small air compressor, I chose not to buy the on vehicle 12 volt air compressor that is optional. You "air up" the bags to carry a load and "air down" the bags when not pulling the trailer.

Could we have done without them? Yes, but I feel safer with them installed. It's like the 15,000 hitch I installed, just adds safety and piece of mind and my mind needs all the help it can get.

Inverter and Trimetric meter

2010-12-14T12:54:00.013-06:00

Right or wrong, this is how installed them. Works for me.
I installed the XS400 inverter and Trimetric meter that I previously mentioned. It involved mounted two extension cords (one forward to feed the tv and one reversed to feed the transfer switch in the inverter) and two small wires about like phone cable. One phone cable (4 wires) connects the Trimetric meter to the batteries and the other phone cable connects the inverter and remote.

Here are those wrapped with electrical tape.

The 1/8 stiff wires laying under the medal clamps in the packages were wrapped the length of the wires to stiffen them so they would not sag when bolted along the frame with the clamps. After a total of 4 wraps with electrical tape the cables were attached to the frame with the clamps.

This is the "shunt" that in used in the negative battery cable for the Trimetric meter. One of the phone type cables lead (it contains one white, 2black, and one red cable) from the shunt to the Trimetric meter.

This is the fuse that goes in the positive battery cable.

Here is the "shunt" installed. I needed containers to keep everything dry so I used "loaf pans" from the kitchen department of Wal-Mart and cut down a cookie sheet for the top.

This is the fuse installed. The covers will be bolted on the top and everything painted black to blend in.

This is the inverter (an inverter takes 12 volts in and gives 120volt out). The 2 white plugs on the front are the 120volt outlets. One of the two extension cords will plug in and run our tv and satellite receiver, the other will power our laptops, printer, and router.
The black cord plugs into a wall socket and feeds the inverter transfer switch when the camper is plugged in or we are using our generator. The inverters uses regular 120volt power when available and automatic switches to battery power when needed. No need to move the wires from one plug to another.

This is the back of the inverter and show the 12 volt battery lugs (red=positive and black=negative. The small silver lug is a ground for wire for the inverter case.

Here is the inverter installed in a front compartment. The extension cord with the black end is for the tv and the other with the yellow end is for the laptops.

This is the Trimetric meter (showing our batteries are 91% charged) and the remote switch for the Xantrex inverter.

It is Gone!

2010-11-28T18:34:00.003-06:00

I sold the motorhome today, our driveway sure looks vacant after seeing it sitting there for over two and a half years.

Now I need to offer my little S-10 for sale and maybe we can be "out of here" my the end of the year. It is getting closer every day.

It must be official!

2010-11-24T11:07:00.000-06:00

I guess you can say I am now officially retired. My first Social Security check hit the bank today.

Things are moving along and I put the old motorhome on Craigslist to be sold.

Here is the link I generated so I could tell everyone on Craigslist.

http://1985itasca.blogspot.com/

I feel I have it priced right @ $3250

Hopefully it will sell quickly and we can start to move to our traveling faze.

Don't ask

2010-11-17T21:42:00.002-06:00

We (as in "she") decided to replace our 4 year old printer with a new one because the difference between new ink cartridges and a new printer was very small. The new printer has wireless capabilities but now easy to set up.

"She" starts asking me questions. Me! an in "a guy that sometimes puts the wrong socks on the wrong feet".

Now you say socks makes no difference. That is simply not true, my feet are larger than hers.

Smokey Yunick

2010-11-15T09:15:00.003-06:00

Smokey Yunick, who the heck is that? Now I know most have no idea who "Smokey" is unless you are old as dirt and a gear head.

Smokey was arguably the best racing innovator of the 50's, 60's, and early 70's. He ran the racing programs for Hudson, Ford, Chevy, and Pontiac as well as racing and inventing as an independent. Some called him the "biggest cheater" of all time but cheating is in the eyes of the race inspector. Innovator better describes the way he interpreted the rule book. If here was no pacific rule against it then he assumed it was fair game.

Why am I mentioning Smokey?

I have the utmost pleasure of owning his book, "The Best Dawn Garage in Town", this is a hard book for me to have a change to read because of the price and the fact it will never be in a library. Used this book sells in the $125 range.

What makes this book so special (besides the fact it is "Life and Adventures" of Smokey) is the style that it is written. Smokey wrote the book and his wife typed it. It is really written just like a bunch of guys sitting around about 2 sheets in the wind and telling true stories that they all remember. It will never be in you local library because of the language, subject matter (and you think music artists have groupies), and him telling like it really happen.

Six hundred pages of pure reading pleasure. Never have I enjoyed a book more.

Got matches?

2010-10-31T12:16:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I wish everything I have not needed in the last two years would just go up in smoke. I will be glad when we are on the road and if something comes in the travel trailer, something must exit it.

I put a few things on Craigslist that we were going to throw away that were still very usable and while I priced them very low it still put nearly a C-note in my pocket plus I don't have to deal with disposing of them. Not suppose to put anything but household stuff in our park dumpster.

Our motorhome

2010-10-25T18:45:00.004-05:00

Our old 1985 motorhome has been sitting in the driveway since we bought our new Cardinal travel trailer and now we have to get it ready to sell.

I have it running great and this week we are starting to unload everything from the inside as we have been using it for a storage shed. Not as easy as it sound because we have to go thru everything and decide if it goes in the Cardinal (no not more weight) or our storage building or to the trash (yes, yes, yes).

Happy birthday Little Man!

2010-10-22T23:03:00.003-05:00

Leroy (a.k.a. Zachary) is a year older today. Dang it is hard to believe he is 33 years old.

So how is be celebrating his birthday? He is in Lafayette, Louisiana delivering a presentation at a French Conference for LSU @ Lafayette. He flew down from Penn State for the weekend. Last weekend he drove to New Haven, Connecticut to give a presentation at Yale. About as polar opposite as they come.

Now before Zac was born, I swore I would not be "one of those parents". You know the type, can't shut up about how great their kid is. Little did I know I would have the best kid ever!!

Happy birthday Zac,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I love you, dad