Good enough to roll... but not too far

Much to our relief, we finally heard back from the trailer repair folks. The trailer is back.

The repairs aren't perfect. They did the best they could within the agreed budget. It's good enough to roll and will continue keep our stuff safe and dry while traveling.

The thin aluminum skin on the front of the trailer has some new patches and some of the bumps aren't smoothed out perfectly, but we're OK with that so we loaded it up and are feeling less scattered around the state now.

Chics Dig Scars

The new tires and rims perform perfectly - no sign whatsoever of the terrifying tire-destroying wobble.

When we were dealing with the original house > RV downsizing the part we struggled with the most was the garage. We tried to imagine the things we'd be doing on the road and packed those relevant tools and hobbies on the bus and trailer first, leaving a giant mountain of tools and hobbies in the garage still that had to be re-homed. The problem with this method was that each of the things in the garage let-go pile had been acquired the same way. So letting go of the drysuit meant letting go of my dream of scuba diving with a giant octopus in Puget Sound. And letting go of the mini motorcycle in dusty pieces on the garage workbench meant letting go of the hope of the grandson someday riding it around the neighborhood.

This second purge with the trailer was significantly less emotional. We had imagined we'd be doing all our own RV and motorcycle maintenance on the road. Sadly, we've yet to find an RV park that is OK with this so we let go of half the tools and the waxing stuff since we'll have to hire most of these things done on the road anyways. My shoulder still hurts remembering the last time we waxed the boat so the wax tools were chucked with a gleeful giggle. We shed quite a bit of weight out of the trailer, in fact I can now move the tool bag myself, a big win because it means I can extricate my bike without Lance's help while he's recovering.

Which brings me to... surgery #13 is scheduled for March 8th. We tried to avoid it but can't. Hopefully this will be the last one - it should be a simple procedure with weekly follow up cast changes until healed - we expect all this foot drama to be behind us for good by early May. In the meantime we are on a short leash - we have to report in to Vacaville Kaiser once a week. Thinking back to our impromptu stay in Paso Robles, I expect there's a lot to see here in California that we typically drive right by, so we'll pick some one-day drive destinations for our weekly assault. This should help relieve the wanderlust somewhat. The first one will be a pre-surgery Death Valley National Park trip in early March. Maybe we'll get lucky and the timing will be right to witness a desert wildflower superbloom.

In the meantime we'll enjoy this part of California and all it has to offer. This time of year that means all the dungeness crab we can gobble. Yum.

Oh yah baby - dungeness crab cooked to perfection

Peace, love and family in Northern California

We handed over the trailer and Loretta to the shop to get the body work done and settled in for the long wait. Lance's Mom was kind enough to let us beach ourselves with her in Napa, and the two cats and the dog enjoyed being house-dwellers again, taking advantage of her good nature by asking her to open/close the door all day long. She'll need a new hobby now that we've moved along. And probably new floors because they are wearing pathways in and out.

Mandarins from the Loomis, CA area - the best in the nation

Lance went to check on Loretta and the trailer and got a "we really don't want to do this" price for the trailer repairs - more than the trailer is worth so Lance found a trailer specialist and moved it down the street to a different shop.

We have a long project list but couldn't get much done with stuff being sprawled everywhere - the trailer in one shop, the bus in another with the tools, the trailer contents in Mom's garage in Napa, the boats stored in Mom & Dad's backyard in Lincoln... so we focused instead on being present where we are: visiting friends and family and enjoying Northern California. Dad's finally retiring and so there was an epic party to pull together. And lots of good food and laughter. Win/win.

Gifts representing Dad's long and successful truck-driving career:
a 53' freight trailer, a set of triples, and a double tanker.
The award is for a million incident-free miles,
a truly impressive accomplishment.

In less time than we expected we got Loretta back from Dr. George's RV Repair. They did an amazing job matching the paint and the fiberglass repair is flawless. All in all, impressive work. When Lance went to check on the trailer however, the shop was disturbingly empty and he had a weird moment where he wondered if it was gone for good along with the technicians, they are now almost two weeks late handing it back to us and not returning his calls. Time will tell. Good thing we emptied the contents out before handing it over to the repairmen first but I don't want to start my sticker collection back from zero. Well, on second thought I suppose that wouldn't be the worst thing...

Ladder #3 and the newly refinished bumper, on a peaceful Napa morning

We expanded our Thousand Trails membership to add the California/Arizona zone (another $50/yr) and checked Loretta in to a quiet little park outside of Lincoln, CA. This part of the Sacramento Valley is within a stone's throw of the Sierra Nevada foothills, not far from Sutter's Fort where the gold rush kicked off; it's a very rich agricultural area too; the park is surrounded by walnut trees, almonds, and some sort of wet grasses that are too short and green for us to identify yet. There's a little pond with assorted fish stocked by the park and lonely dirt and grass roads where Chloe can run free. And the birds... oh the birds... they are everywhere. Many folks in the park wander around with binoculars, and I find myself mesmerized by the large flocks that undulate together over the wet fields while hunting just before sundown.

We've dubbed him "sweater cat" and we serenade him
with his own song to go along with Chloe's barking

The neighbor has a pair of cats that patrol the park wearing red sweaters. It makes me giggle every time I see one of them, if they were children they'd definitely be receiving all the bullys' attention. Chloe, apparently is a bully at heart because she comes un-freakin'-glued every time she sees one of them. Funny at midday; less funny at 6am.

Since the boats, paddles and fishing poles are scattered across the state there isn't much for us to do out here at the Thousand Trails in Lake Minden except enjoy the silence, so we are gleefully soaking it all in. Last night we sat with cocktails and watched the sun set, a nearly everyday occurrence in our RV life but a daily habit that quietly slipped by the wayside when we were hotel- and house-guests. Soon enough our trailer will be back (or we'll get a different one if it has truly disappeared), then we can wrap up the projects, pull our stuff back together and make our plan of attack for the Spring and Summer. For now a little downtime is just what the doctor ordered.

The Cost of RV Living

We often get asked what it costs to RV full-time. Now that a complete calendar year has gone by in our life as full-timers, I have gathered some real numbers.

As our regular readers know, our rig is a 34' 1996 Tiffin Allegro Bus and it hauls a trailer with motorcycles and we take turns driving a separate chase car. We became full-timers in July 2017. I am a professional bookkeeper by trade and these figures reflect our real figures for the year of 2018.

RV Parking/Resort Fees: just under $1000/mo

Important to note: this includes an annual prepaid camping contract at Thousand Trails parks which we purchased in July 2018; we broke even on the purchase price within the first month of purchase. We will continue to reap the rewards of free (well prepaid anyway) camping through July 2019.

Fuel for the RV: $255/mo

Fuel for the Subaru chase car: $180/mo

Our diesel pusher always gets around 10mpg, regardless of whether it's pulling the trailer or not, city streets or freeway, hills or plains, rain or shine. When it's parked at camp we hop in the Subaru for most of our exploring and photography errands.

Maintenance for the RV: Annual Grand Total of $10,500

Very Important to Note: $4000 of this was for an engine exhaust manifold replacement (part value was only $350, the rest was labor and assorted related parts), the unexpected kicker was another $4000 to repair subsequent damages to the engine caused BY the repair shop when they went in to remove/replace the engine exhaust manifold. So if we exclude the $8000 for the whole Rocky Mountains Cummins Albuquerque fiasco, the figure is closer to $210/month of normal maintenance, which is consistent with our figures for the first half year as full-timers Jul-Dec 2017. Realistically though, our rig is older, and so maybe this $10.5k/yr figure reflects our upcoming reality too, time will tell. In any case it's still thousands less per year than we spent maintaining our house.

Dues/Subscriptions: $57/month

You name it, we are members of it: CoachNet, AAA, KOA, GoodSam, Elks, Escapees, Harvest Hosts, Rever, FMCA, Cummins Club, Costco, the list goes on and on. As each comes up for renewal this year we'll be considering its value to us carefully before committing to another year. So far we know for sure we will absolutely renew Elks and Harvest Hosts because we use these all the time, and CoachNet because although we have only used their services once they were so impressive we became lifelong fans.

Propane: less than $20/month

We didn't do as much boondocking as we'd expected in 2018, this figure will probably go up in 2019 in direct correlation to RV park costs going down.

Internet/phone: $264/month

Yes it is a ridiculous amount of money, but a constant internet connection is mandatory to keep my business running smoothly and we have found wifi at parks to be unreliable. Lance has a Verizon phone and the bus has a Verizon Jetpack which are both unlimited but get throttled. I have an AT&T phone with tethering capability, which is not throttled but running over the allowance means additional $ so we keep a very close eye on the usage, and the bus has a Calyx Institute puck which is truly unlimited and lightning fast when we can get a Sprint signal (mostly guaranteed if in a sizable town, unlikely to get any signal at all in the countryside). We have found that we can almost always get a Verizon signal of some sort but the throttling makes us crazy, so although it is the most reliable provider it's also the plan that causes the most bouts of spontaneous cursing in our otherwise peaceful home. We are definitely looking to make a change here to bring down costs while still maintaining constant connectivity at a workable speed.

Other travel/entertainment expenses: $466/month

This includes hotel stays while the RV was in the shop here and there, a total of four flights throughout the year, planned meals out and entrance fees to events, museums, etc.

Television: $0/month

Totally don't miss it. Not even a little bit. If we want to watch a football game we check ourselves in to an Elks Lodge or a sports bar.

In looking at the coming year, we will likely be making some changes to our traveling style. Like most full-timers we covered a lot of ground in our first year, and while I don't regret any of it we already plan to slow our roll quite a bit in the coming year. This will help in two ways: we will save on RV park fees because monthly rates tend to be cheaper and we'll spend less on fuel with less running amuck.

The bottom line is this: whatever your style of living before becoming a full-timer, it isn't likely to change if YOU don't change. If you are the type who enjoys hiking or paddling in your kayak and pack yourself a lunch, that is likely to stay the same - entertainment dollars spent=near zero. If you enjoy buying new things to fill your closet or are constantly upgrading your home, those habits are likely to remain the same, albeit on a smaller scale. If you enjoy top-notch dining experiences and high-end hotels there are RV resorts that will cater you, too. If you prefer to eschew all of this and live alone on the open range far from human interaction there's a beautiful life for you out here, too. Your monthly budget will follow along accordingly.

We find that we are a little bit of all the above. In fact one of my favorite parts of being a full-timer is that we can change our lifestyle as we feel like it. And take our own bed with us.




****EDITED 1/10/19 to include spreadsheet

Stuff all over the State, Some Downtime for Repairs

 Leaving Parker and heading for the Mojave Desert, our stretch goal was Bakersfield for the night. The plan was to visit a Sound Bath along the way; we thought it might be a silly, quirky and kitchy little stop, apparently people take it seriously though...  it’s booked solid until late February. Oh well, we’ll catch one the next time around.

Oranges trying to get in the drivers side window

Just West of Needles I noticed the driver’s side trailer tire looked wonky. All the tire gauges read well, albeit running a little warmer than usual but all the same I decided to have it checked out. We found a truck repair in Barstow called In and Out Truck Repair, they said they would look at it but then continued to work right around us without so much as a nod hello. After about 20 minutes of that I gave up and found Koch Mobile Repair, we met at the Barstow Loves truck stop and John repacked the trailer bearings which were rather dry and loose enough to allow some slop but otherwise undamaged. A few minutes later we were rolling again. The trailer tire wobble was much improved but still there. I didn’t want to alarm Mom so I simply dialed down the speed a little bit and tried to be subtle about obsessively checking on it at every opportunity. We made it uneventfully over the Tehachapi Pass to Bakersfield and found the most adorable little RV park hidden among the orange groves at the foot of the mountains. At checkin they handed us a bag and invited us to pick all the oranges we wanted.

Mom picking oranges for breakfast

Oddly enough, at the exact moment we were settling in with our orange bounty Lance was many miles away with nomadic friends in Napa discussing their favorite RV parks and the same park came up: Orange Grove RV Park. Apparently in the Spring the scent of orange blossoms is intoxicating.

The next day we rolled on to the parking spot I’d prepaid in Loomis close to my folks. The whole time Mom and I have been on this rescue-Loretta-from-Albuquerque mission, Lance has been meeting with surgeons and planning the strategy for the 13th and hopefully last surgery. We knew this was going to be a long pause and we have been accumulating a lengthy project list, and it wasn’t a mistake that Loretta and the trailer will be close to Dad’s toolbox and helpful family; so Loretta, the trailer, and Lance can all get in some healing together.

As usual we broke our list down and prioritized it.

Loretta project #1: fix the cracked kitchen vent to prevent leaks. We first noticed the vent leak way back in August's Syracuse squall, caught up with the the replacement vent delivery in Denver and have been driving around with it ever since waiting for the right repair window. We expected the simple remove and replace project to take an hour but it took 3 hours (that rooftop sealant takes persistence and patience to remove properly), now she can safely shuffle around the shop yard without taking on rainwater damage. Loretta Project 2: find a repair shop that will coordinate with the insurance company and get the bumper repairs rolling.

Trailer project #1: fix the tire situation. The wobbly tire is wearing weirdly. Newly greased bearings are healthy and happy, axle and springs appear undamaged... final diagnosis: the rim is bent. Time for new rims and tires. Of course nobody sells them both together, so it took some running around to get it all sorted but now the trailer is good to roll again.

Lance putting the new wheels on the trailer

We got a good repair shop recommendation in Sacramento, and they were willing to take on both Loretta and the trailer jacknife-repair project, so we left them both at Dr. George's RV Repair. They had hardly rolled in the shop door before our Allstate rep showed up and started writing checks. Huzzah.

We've been considering some modifications to the boat rack, so we'll be tackling that project while we wait.

I feel a bit like George Carlin in that skit about Stuff. Stuff over here, stuff over there, little bags to transport the stuff I really need, stuff being stored elsewhere. Our stuff is spread all across the state of California right now.

Wild, Wild West

Historic Cochise County Courthouse in Tombstone AZ

After leaving Roswell we continued South to Carlsbad Caverns which has long been on Mom's bucket list. The wind was really kicking up as we climbed the hill and parked on the mountaintop.

Typically there are thousands of bats in the caverns, and the Thing To Do is to wait for them at sundown at the cavern exit. But these bats don't like the cold, so most of them migrate to warmer climes as the weather cools, the few remaining hardy critters that are left hibernate deep in the caverns. All the same, it was an excellent tour. We chose to skip the flashlights and camera flash and enjoy the ambient LED lighting as laid out by the rangers, which was haunting and magical. We were very grateful for the elevator as the Big Room is almost 1000' down - a very long and steep hike.

 

The winds continued to grow in strength while we were touring the caverns, and we were getting slapped around on the highway so we nestled into the Guadalupe Mountains State Park and called it an early night. The site was only $8 but had no hookups so Mom got her first boondocking experience.

Red Sunrise at the Guadalupe Mountains Campground

The next morning's sunrise was stunning and red (you know the saying: red sky at night sailor's delight, red sky at morning sailor take warning) so we packed up and rolled quickly to get ahead of the wind. We got as far as Willcox which put us within reach of Tombstone, AZ.

The Guadalupe Mountains were once an ancient seabed. On the other side of this mountain was beautiful white sand which looked very beachy.

Tombstone is the home of the OK Corral shootout. Basically this gang of cowboys was runnin' their mouths and the local sheriff family of Earps didn't like it much, and it all culminated in a shootout with three cowboys dead and some injured Earps. The re-enactment was worth the $10 entrance fee. The rest of the town is as original as possible considering it's burned to the ground three times and was left abandoned for quite some time. In its heyday the town ran on silver, bordellos, and whiskey and when the silver mines flooded beyond hope most everyone simply left, the population overnight went from 10,000+ to less than 200 folks.

Earps patrolling the main drag in Tombstone

As I was wrestling Loretta out of her parking spot in Tombstone I jacknifed the trailer, causing damage to both the trailer and Loretta's bumper. Rrrrgh. This was followed by a sleepless night turning it over again and again in my head, thinking of all the woulda, coulda, shoulda, and what if moments that would have resulted in less damage. So here's what I've learned:

1. If in doubt, get out and look.
2. Ignore advice from strangers standing around - they don't have all the facts and they don't know what you/your rig need.
3. Get out and look again.

The next day we continued on through Quartzsite to the Blue Water Casino in Parker, AZ and settled on the Colorado River (if you're an Angeleno this region is simply called The River as if there was no other river in the world). This location hosts an outdoor bar at the marina, an outdoor theater, a multi-level pool with slides, and a wakeboard island where a zipline-type contraption propels you and your wakeboard over the ramps. All was quiet in the off season but I'll bet it's a hoppin' place in the summertime.

The pool playground at the Blue Water Casino Resort

There's ugly weather ahead and ugly weather behind, so we'll wait here for a moment before launching across the Mojave Desert.

Springing Loretta / Roswell, New Mexico

The mechanics were finally ready to release Loretta, it was time to fly to Albuquerque and pick her up. Lance couldn't go - he's meeting a new foot surgeon - so my Mom volunteered to ride shotgun.

The International UFO Museum & Research Center was $5 well spent

While waiting in the Cummins guest lounge for the final paperwork to be drawn up, we anxiously watched the weather news - a big storm was bearing down on Albuquerque and promising epic snow. We fidgeted with our luggage and passed worried looks to one another, the other folks in the waiting room looked like they were wilting, they'd been there long enough to lose faith. Their dog lay farting and snoring on the floor at their feet while they recounted their long tale of repair shop woe. When I couldn't stand the wait any longer I went hunting down the necessary paperwork to wrap things up so we could flee.

Shortly thereafter we were rolling with haste, up the mountain and away from the approaching wall of black storm clouds as quickly as possible, wallet still whimpering from Loretta's 7-page long repair bill.

Destination: Roswell, New Mexico.

We escaped the snow but the wind followed us down the mountain.
Mom's hanging on for dear life while gale force winds blow through town.

This town has embraced all things alien. The street lamps have painted eyes on them, currently decorated for Christmas with little red bow ties and Santa hats. Many storefronts hosted chainsaw carvings of aliens, and even the City Hall has green tiles on its domed roof.

Roswell City Hall

 The winds are predicted to start slowing down soon, we'll make a short jump to Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow, and start making our way West as good weather windows appear.

Meeting the alien from the Day the Earth Stood Still.
It was rather creepy.

Happy Rain Dance

The collective rain dance done by all Californians has been rewarded. Rain, heavenly rain, how happy we are to see you.

The whole town of Napa, probably like the rest of the state, emerged from their homes, blinked and smiled up at the downpour, and took a long-awaited deep breath. Followed by some dry hacking that went on for a few days. The smoke is finally gone. The firefighters can go home. And we can start the process of rebuilding. Again.

The Pacific Ocean on a beautiful Fall Day (Bodega Bay, CA)

Lance and I went for a drive yesterday.  It started off as a casual conversation over breakfast "it's been so long since I've seen the ocean" followed by deep sighs from both of us; 5 months since the Atlantic and 13 months since the Pacific... but who's counting? So we loaded up the dog and drove to the coast.

The Pacific at Bodega Bay welcomed us home with fluffy clouds, birds cruising comfortably on the consistent ocean breeze, whales spouting in the distance, Chloe running happily along the ridge, and bellies full of dungeness crab and bay shrimp happily gobbled at our favorite outdoor restaurant by the working boats' marina. All better now.

It's always better to take the scenic route. The grapevines are stunning this time of year. (Sonoma Valley)