Pikes Peak or Bust

It's hard to believe that I have been retired for three years now and we are starting our fourth journey across the country. The trip is all planned out. Like Eisenhower said, "Planning is essential, but it all goes out the window when the battle is engaged." We didn't make it to our first overnight stop.

Day one, I couldn't pull the kitchen slide in. I called an RV mobile service guy and he disconnected the motor and we pushed it in. We were ready to leave the next morning. The service tech said I was good to travel. Wrong! One day on the road and I realized I had to get the motor replaced in order to continue the trip. The slide was creeping out enough so that the gasket was not tight and rainwater would ruin our rig. We made it to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where we found a Camping World, and got the motor replaced under warranty. The repair was done so quickly that we were able to stay on schedule.

Every year we have stopped at Bowman Orchards in New York, a Harvest Hosts stop. However, to stay on schedule, we skipped it and went straight to Donaldson's Farm in Hackettstown, NJ, another Harvest Hosts stop. This was close enough to Jersey City that we could see my daughter Sarah and Max, and have a play date for Jake and Falcon (their new pup) at a dog park. After that, we found a restaurant with tables on the sidewalk (where our dogs were allowed) so that we could stop for some supper.

Russ, Sarah. Kay and Falcon

Day 4 was an interesting stop at another Harvest Hosts. The road through the mountains of Virginia approaching the winery was extremely narrow and winding. Then the GPS said "you have arrived." There was no sign. I had two choices, continue on the even narrower road that had just changed to dirt or go down the narrow dirt driveway to my right. As we started down the driveway, I kept thinking, 'I hope we don't meet anybody coming out.' and 'I hope that there will be a spot big enough to turn around.' Mountain Cove Vineyards was a lovely, extremely quiet, and dark overnight stop. The wine was good, too.

The setting sun after the storm at Mountain Cove Vineyards.

Day 5 brought us to Heritage Farm Museum and Village, another Harvest Hosts stop. Once again, the access road was extremely narrow. If I had stayed to the right of the center line, I would have wiped out every mailbox on the right side of the street with our trailer. Fortunately, we did not meet another vehicle as wide as we were, either going in or coming out. I think I will scratch these last two Harvest Hosts stops off my list for future stops. 

Day 6 took us into Kentucky, and another Harvest Hosts stop, Boundary Oak Distillery. This one was an easy in and easy out. We parked on a nice level paved parking lot, not on a slopping grass field like the last two stops. I bought a couple of bottles of spirits to share with our friends in El Golfo, Mexico. I might have to stop here again next year.

Day 7 on the road and we stopped at another Harvest Hosts, Fox Creek Vineyards, in Olney, Illinois. We bought a bottle of their chilled raspberry wine. It helped make the oppressive heat bearable. I am thankful for the built-in generator on this rig because we have needed it to cool down the trailer when off the grid at all of these Harvest Hosts stops. Next year, I will definitely plan a more northerly route.

Fox Creek Vineyards

Days 8, 9, and 10 took us into Wildwood Estates, an RV resort in Steedman, Missouri. We stayed three days, with full hook ups. However, there was no WiFi or cellular service available in the campground. While we were here, we got to go to church with Kay's cousin Jeannie and her husband Mike. It was an interesting service with a half hour or more of contemporary Christian rock music led by a Christian rock group using guitars and three big screen TVs so we could sing along. The collection was done in a unique way, as well. After a prayer, we were invited to bring our offerings to the front of the stage and place them in one of the offering boxes.  

Christian Fellowship Church, Columbia, Missouri

Day 11 we traveled to Smihville, Missouri, and we stayed at Our Savior Church and Academy, another Harvest Hosts location. And you thought we only stopped at wineries! 😃😎😃 Here, we met with Karen and Mark Seneker, a friend and fellow blogger. Mark and Karen have become full-time RVers and will hit the road in October when Mark finally retires. Mark writes an interesting blog about the process of becoming a full-time RVer, including how he chose his truck and trailer: https://ourfutureinanrv.wordpress.com/.

Day 12 and we stopped at the border of Kansas in a rest stop on I-70 just before entering Colorado. What a beautiful place. Kansas rest areas have dump stations but no potable water. This rest stop had a huge picnic area loop away from the noisy trucks where RVs could park overnight. Kansas is definitely RV friendly.

Kay and Jake relaxing at the Kansas rest stop.

Our picnic area at the Kansas rest stop.

Jake checking out the picnic area at the Kansas rest stop.

Day 13 and suddenly my guardian angel was working overtime. We turned off of I-70 onto US-24 and headed for Colorado Springs. We got stopped at a construction site where they were allowing only one lane through at a time. The driver behind me jumped out of his pickup and ran up shouting that I had a problem with one of my tires. I got out, checked, and, sure enough, I had a big time problem. I pulled over, but the shoulder wasn't wide enough for me to safely change the tire. I limped along the shoulder until I got to a spot where I could pull off the road to change the tire.

Ready to blowout.

Jacking up the trailer with a 12-ton bottle jack.

Putting the spare on. Ready to torque the lug nuts.

Phew, spare is on and blowout averted.

The next seven days, we stayed in a campground in Monument, Colorado. We got to visit with my son  Bill and his wife Denise several times. We also got to visit with my cousins, Harvey and Marylou Richardson and Clyde Hagan and and his daughter Kim. It was a nice break from the go, go, go that we had while crossing the country. On the day we left Colorado Springs, we bought four new tires from Big O Tires. They did a great job of replacing the tires and getting us on the road right away.

Clyde, Russ, Kim, Marylou, Alexandria, and Harvey.

Denise and Bill

Back by popular demand, this year's picture of our route.

Last year's trip is blue. This year's trip is pink.

Thanks for stopping by. Leave us a message so that we know you visited. Kay loves it when you take the time to say hi.

And the Beat Goes On.

We returned from Mexico on April 8th.  We were going to replace the useless 1000 watt inverter with a 2000 watt inverter. We also asked RV World to submit our entertainment center for replacement under warranty. We played 2 CDs on it and it quit. So we pulled into their remote parking site and I opened the windows to get a breeze. The bedroom window exploded into a thousand pieces. So I asked them to submit it for warranty. It was denied by Forest River. I then called Forest River and complained. They decided to send a replacement window, but I would have to pay to have it replaced. So not right, but what can you do when getting back on the road is your primary goal.

When we were in Iowa, Camping World said the window needed to be replaced because it was hard to open and wouldn't latch in the open position. We decided to put it off until we got to Arizona. Camping World in Mesa wouldn't even look at it for 6 weeks. So we waited until we got to Yuma. RV World fiddled with it and we could open the window and latch it in the up position. No replacement needed. How did we do? Four months later the window exploded into a thousand pieces. Forest River refused to warranty it. I will never buy another Forest River product.

I think my next trailer will be a used trailer. All the problems should be fixed. 🌝🌝🌝

It took four weeks to get the new window and an hour to install it. The 2000 watt inverter was installed and didn't work. Another three days to get the parts and get it fixed. Oh the joys of full time RV living.

Our time in Yuma was pleasant. The weather was warm. 102 degrees warm, but mostly in the 80s and low 90s. We had friends to visit with. We were able to visit with John and Linda Wilde who we met a couple of years ago on RVillage and live in Yuma for the winter. Several of our friends from El Golfo, Mexico were staying at Yuma Lakes RV Resort and so we were able to visit with them. Then, of course, there was the inevitable exploring for places to eat. The American Veterans post became our favorite place, especially for breakfast.

Check out the prices on the menu. The coffee is free.

I loved the biscuits and gravy, but I started getting a half order because a full order was too big. So $2.00 plus one egg for 50 cents. I don't understand why this place doesn't have a waiting line stretching around the building. It is open to the public. It gets even better. A glass of wine is $2.25 and from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM draft beers are $1.00. Hold on then there is Karaoke three nights a week and live country music three nights a week. We spent a lot of evenings at the Am Vets.

Dancing to the country band at the Am Vets. These old folk know how to have a good time.

Julieanna's Patio Cafe in Yuma was one of our favorite lunch places. I love the birds. When it wasn't too hot we would sit outside right beside the birds. The food is terrific too.

Now that everything is fixed, we are on the road headed home. We do occasionally stay in a rest area or a Walmart, but our favorite places are Harvests Hosts.

Hangar 25 Air Museum, Big Spring, Texas

Hangar 25 Air Museum, Big Spring, Texas

Tennessee Valley Winery, Loudon, TN.

Tennessee Valley Winery, Loudon, TN.

 We also like to stay at a Coast to Coast campground for two or three days in order to dump our tanks, take on water, plug in and take a soothing, longer than normal, shower.

Our campsite at Stoney Creek Resort, Greenville, Virginia.

Our trip so far. September 2018 to May 2019. Almost home.

Soon we will be home for the summer. Leave us a comment so that we know you visited our site.

The Saga Continues

We made it into Yuma. Our mail finally caught up with us. Thank you Teri. We were stuck in Yuma Lakes. Not a bad place to be stuck. The temporary tag expired on the trailer and I had to fly back to New Hampshire to apply for a New Hampshire title and registration for our trailer.

While we were in Yuma we decided to buy an awning sunscreen, which we have not needed to use yet, so you don't get a picture of that. However, at the same location was a sign company that made decals. We decided to have a decal made.

While in Yuma I worked hard at getting the trailer set up so that everything was stored nicely. This is all the storage that there was in the garage.

I thought that I would take it down and relocate it. First, it had no left side because it was built against the wall. Secondly, it disintegrated when I tried to remove it from the wall. So I bought 3 cabinets to replace it.

This was the start of the changes that we made to make the garage an extension of our living space. The TV doubles as a monitor for the computer. 

The artist is in residence. Pictures have been added to the walls. A two drawer nightstand has been added against the sidewall. The printer fits nicely on it.

Racks for linen have been installed above the bed. Easily removable when everything needs to be raised  to accommodate a toy. Bench seat is open on the left, and the right side is made up for Jake's bed.

The desert is in bloom here in Mexico. I took this picture on one of our rides.

I also took this picture of a lily while on one of the rides in the Sonoran desert.

Up on a high plateau.

Down in a canyon.

Out in the desert. A lot of desert verbena in bloom. 

Stopped for a break.

At the grocery store buying two to three weeks of groceries for six needy families. The members of the RV park in El Golfo support a weekly outreach program that feeds six needy families every week. We are blessed to be part of this program.

One of our stops. Besides the food we take several buckets of shoes and clothing. There is always a box of toys as well for the kids. You would think it was Christmas from the big smiles on the kids faces after they choose a toy. It is so heart warming to be a part of this wonderful program.

Across the street from one of our stops was this fellow making repairs to his home. He was nailing up scraps of wood to close up the gap between the roof and the walls. The wind must have torn the fabric back that was covering his roof and the gap. He will have to pull his roof cover back in place when he is done. There is always work to be done around the house when you own a home. Let's be thankful for the things that we have.

Sunset in El Golfo.

Sunrise reflecting off the side of the trailer.

Gorgeous sunrise in El Golfo.

Everyday of the week there are activities in the clubhouse. These two pictures are from Sunday afternoon when we get together and play cards. It is such a blast. 

Until next time. Adios, desde Mexico mis amigos.