Friday, August 1, 2014

Sooner Than We Thought!

Another episode in an Emergency Room, this time in Lakewood, CO, accelerated our plans to come off the road.  Rosie was not feeling well so we went to a clinic, who sent her to the ER with concerns about her heart.  The ER tests ruled out heart problems.  It turned out to be a reaction to a too drastic reduction in the dosage on her thyroid medication.  So we decided to pull the plug on the RV lifestyle while in the ER waiting for test results.

We left Colorado 2 weeks early for Idaho Falls.  This week we found a condo we liked and were able to get it financed.  Expected closing date is August 22nd.  So we will go from 320 sq. ft. to 1,052 sq. ft.   It will seem like a palace to us.  The pooches won’t know how to act with all that room, and there is a fair sized deck also.

So our camper and truck will go on the market in about a month. 

Thanks for following along all these years.

The end.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Hanging Up The Keys

It has been over two months since I last wrote in this blog.  The truth is that I don’t feel I have anything exciting, interesting or meaningful to write about.  Our great RV Adventure has become a routine of staying in the same places for one month to 5 months at a time.  We haven’t been anywhere “new” in the last 12 months.

So we sat down in early June and talked over our situation.  Frankly, I have lost my enthusiasm for full time RV living.  The original plan was to go to different places exploring the western US, particularly the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to do that.  It costs about $100 a day to pull the camper about 300 miles.  If we travel 10 days a month, that is $1,000.  Even at a low average of $25 a night in campgrounds, 30 nights is $750 a month.  That is $1,750 a month before insurance (our big expense), food, etc.  So we have ended up staying long term in campgrounds to get a monthly rate, plus camp hosting for a free site for several months.  We can continue to do this, but what is the point if you don’t get to go to new places.

So we have decided to give it one more year on the road, then return to Idaho Falls in July of 2015 and look for a low cost rental to live in.  Once we find a home, we will sell the truck and camper to pick up some cash.

I want to thank all of you who have followed this blog and let you know I have appreciated all your comments.  We have met some wonderful, interesting folks during this journey and we don’t regret making the choice to go full time.  Reality just never caught up with the vision.

This will probably be my last blog.  We are returning to Tollbridge Park in August for three months, then 5 months in So. Calif. for the winter.  We will try to return to Tollbridge in the Spring of 2015 for 3 months.

Thanks for stopping by and for all your support in the past.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Rosie’s Photo Essay!

Rosie went around the campground taking photos today.

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The beginning of the firewood pile before splitting.

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After using the splitter, we have nice neat rows of split firewood, courtesy of our co-host Jim Schrankel.

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Then we load of the firewood wagon and tow it around to the campsites.

Here is a series of pictures of some of the blooming going on in the campground, including wild strawberries and a dogwood tree:

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There is a story behind this last picture.  Most of the pile of pine needles and other wood slash behind the golf cart and wagon were gathered in the campground and brought here and piled up by Rosie.  Can you imagine how many trips that little red cart had to make to get that pile of stuff; and the picture doesn’t do justice to the size of the pile.

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Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Spring Is In The Air!

Finally!  Two days in a row with solid sunshine and no rain.  And the forecast for Thursday is 82 degrees.  I didn’t think I would ever thaw out.

Campers have been pretty scarce these last few weeks at Tollbridge County Park.  Rosie has kept busy with site cleanup.  I have helped (a little bit) our co-host, Jim Schrankel, with the wood pile.  Jim LOVES splitting firewood.  He is a man possessed with turning out the perfect piece of wood to put into a fire.  I will have to get a picture of him with the wood splitting machine for a future blog.  Yesterday our county manager, Cory, cleared a path in the woods so Jim could get to a downed tree.  The tree has been down for about 2 years so the wood should be nice and dry.  Jim will start getting it out next week.

We took some pictures today on our way into Hood River for shopping.  Here is a fresh picture of Mt. Hood:

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The pear orchards are blooming:

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Here is a picture of a local barn with a special feature.  This person has way too much time on their hands:

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Other than that, things have been pretty uneventful here.  The weather improving should bring in more campers, which will add some excitement to our lives.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Time Flies!

Wow!  A whole week has gone by since I last wrote.  I swear the roller coaster of life is speeding faster and faster.

We had four campsites filled over the past weekend.  During the week we had one or two more wander in.  The daytime weather is so nice that folks are out looking to get in that first camping trip of the season.  Tuesday we ventured down to Hood River to do laundry at the EconoWash and shop at Wal-Mart (not a supercenter) and Safeway.  Had lunch at Ixtapia Mexican Food near the laundromat.  I noticed a new BBQ joint in the the shopping center and we agreed we needed to give that one a try on  a future laundry run.

Rosie is continuing her quest to clean out all the tent sites.  What a trooper she is.  I have helped her a little bit, but she is taking on the challenge mostly on her own.  I completed painting the new rail in front of the host site.  The county agreed to put it in last year to “discourage” folks from coming and knocking on our door at all hours.  Our fellow host, Jim Schrankel, is working on some wood signs that say “Off Duty” that we can hang under the Camp Host signs when we are away or don’t want to be disturbed.  The day use area is getting a lot of use.  There are families playing games and using the playground almost every day.  We went to the local library on Monday and checked out some books.  I am also reading books on my Samsung Tablet that I can “borrow” from the Santa Paula, CA digital library.  Ain’t technology wonderful.

I have been having a small campfire almost every night.  In the past, I was not so much into the campfire thing, but now I am more inclined to light one up.  Maybe I am getting a little “confined” in the camper and need an excuse to spend more time outside.  It also lets me be readily available to help campers check in or simply answer questions.

We took the camera along on Friday when we went into Parkdale to get a broasted chicken for dinner.  Took a couple of pictures including our first of Mt. Hood this season, another of some trees that are blossoming and Rosie took a picture of a piece of art work on the lawn of a local museum depicting a little girl petting a horse.

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Thanks for stopping by.