We decided to make our last trip this year to the place where we made our first trip last year (are you following this?). So here we are at Ririe Reservoir about 15 map miles from home, but is seems like another world. This is a County Campground with full hookups for $16 a night for us Golden Age folks. It is set high on a bluff overlooking a man made reservoir. The sites are large and paved. The site we wanted was the one we stayed in last year, but it was taken. There is dirt moving work going on adjacent to Loop B. It appears that the campground is being expanded. It looked like all of the other campers were construction workers staying near the job site. We got here on Monday and on Tuesday, our desired site was vacated. So we moved into it today, Wednesday. We took the pups for a walk on a trail leading out from the site. When we returned, Rosie spotted a snake near the back of the trailer. When I took a look at it, I discovered it was a baby rattlesnake about 6 inches long and the thickness of a pencil. It was actually coiled up in striking position. I hate snakes. I really hate poisonous snakes. So I killed it with my mighty axe. Yuk. I don’t like to kill natures critters, but I make an exception for insects and reptiles.
Since we returned from our 6 week reunion trip to South Dakota, we have been working hard on the camper getting it in shape for going full time next summer. We washed down the walls and ceiling inside; then painted the walls a very light tan color. We put in a wallpaper border at chair rail height. The biggest part of the project was adding wood trim to the top and sides of the slide outs. Here are some pictures:
We think the bathroom really turned out pretty nice. In the spring, we are going to replace the carpet with a light beige color. That will really finish off the redecorating project in a nice way.The plan for this winter is to pack up boxes with the stuff (albums, books, collectibles, etc.) we want to put into storage. In late May, we will have the packed boxes and the furniture in our bedroom and the guest bedroom put into long term storage. At that point, we will move into the camper and set it up at a local campground while we clear out the house. The first weekend in June we plan to have a “We are moving into our RV; everything must go sale.” That should be interesting, selling off most of the “stuff” we have accumulated over the years. Whatever is left, we will either trash or donate to Goodwill. We will keep Idaho Falls as our base by getting a mailbox mailing address at the local UPS store. We can call them and go over the mail by phone at any time and they will forward the mail we want to where ever we are. I checked with the DMV and we can change our driver’s licenses to the UPS address. If all goes well, we should hit the highways and byways in mid June. My family reunion is moving up from mid August to July 6th next year. so we will head towards South Dakota first. Not sure where we will go after that. We plan to be near Simi Valley for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Then off to the California and Arizona deserts for the winter.
This week we have been “pretending” to be full timing; just to try to get the feel of what it will be like to not have a “home” to go back to. We really feel comfortable with the space in the camper. It feels good. We think of it as having a small home, but a really big yard; and we don’t have to maintain the landscaping. We really feel like this will be a final “adventure” in our lives. Hopefully our health will hold out and we will enjoy many years before we have to to give it up and move into an apartment or condo somewhere. So this will be my last post until next year. I plan to keep on writing about our travel adventures. We hope you will follow along and enjoy it with us.
