I am the Bug Slayer!

 Bugs!

One of the annoyances of driving a motorhome is keeping the bugs off the glass and the front of the coach. When you stop you don't want to look at a swarm of bugs that failed to get out of your way - you want a nice view. I would not trade our large windshield and the view it gives us. It is so big and tall that Rick takes the responsibility of cleaning it when we stop for a couple days. (Thank you for keeping me off the ladder!)

I took this photo while Rick was cleaning the front of the motorhome and it looks like the seagulls overhead are setting up for a bombing run!

What sun?

I love our interior sun screens, both for privacy and for blocking out the hot sun. When we get to our destination we always put them up in the big front windshield and the driver side window. However, being in Oregon there isn't much sun. It's got lots of moisture, just not much sun. I don't think we've hung up the screens since we entered Oregon. We want to let all the sun and natural warmth in that we possibly can. Having a small electric heater keeps us warm and toasty.

Privacy is not an issue for us (we could close the curtains), partly because we are in a secure campground and there are no close neighbors that we feel we need to hide from. And I'm doing a pretty good job of obscuring the view on my own. It seems I get the urge to make chili or soup on these cold days, totally fogging up the windows. I tell Rick having some moisture in the air is good for us. No more dry heat for us.

If you're interested in some nice interior sun screens for your RV contact Tim & Crystal at http://www.rvsunshades4less.com/home.html. They also sell Sea Eagle inflatable boats!

Miss Muffet & her friends

After writing this I had to come back up to the top and make a note. It seems like a lot of writing for such a silly topic, but this is so much a part of our lives in Montana. You just wouldn't understand if you haven't experienced it firsthand.
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I have to smile when I think about friends and family who might visit us here in Montana. Some friends and family that is. What makes me grin is wondering how they would react to the daily spider visitors in the motorhome, the daily sighting of slithering snakes in and around the river, the mice that make themselves at home under the tents & in the rental trailers, and the squadrons of mosquitoes that are so combative. The spiders and snakes don't bother me, but the mosquitoes are terrible. And thanks to the cat and dogs in the campground, we don't have mice.

Whenever we come into the motorhome we're quick and careful not to let mosquitoes follow us in. At least we try. Most times it seems that one or two get in and we usually attract them to us before we go to bed. Nothing worse than getting woke up at 2 AM by buzzing 'squitoes in my ear. When that happens, about twice a week, I have to get out of bed, turn on the lights and hunt it down. A couple nights ago I was bit 3 times and the itching woke me up, not the buzzing. I got up, turned on the lights and looked for the culprit. Rick woke up and just buried his head under the sheet. I couldn't find it and figured that since it had bit me, it was done for the night. The next morning Rick found it with the dust buster (aka bug vac) and said it was so big it was super-sized.

About a week ago, late one night, Rick had fallen asleep in his recliner chair. I noticed a dark spot on his cheek and took a closer look. I was surprised to see that it was a mosquito and I did what any loving wife would do. I ever so gently slapped it and killed it. Rick woke up, but literally didn't know what hit him. Or how hard.

Just a couple nights ago, after 11 PM, Rick had started to doze off in his chair and I woke him up to go to bed. He stirred and said OK. I checked the door and windows and looked back at him and saw a mosquito on his upper lip. Oh no! What to do?!? Thoughts went through my mind. He was asleep and didn't know it was there. He didn't remember the last time I saved him from a mosquito. Could I do it again without him knowing? If I didn't it would buzz my ear at 2 AM. So I gently, ever so gently, touched my hand to the 'lip biter'. Rick stirred and I pointed to the mosquito that was now on his shirt. It was still moving so I slapped it and it made a blood spot on his shirt, which I quickly wiped off. The only thing Rick remembers is that I smashed it on his shirt and made a spot. However, his lip started to puff up so I had to tell him that a 'squito had bit him. Liquid benedryl works wonders. It was barely noticeable the next day.

We actually like the spiders so we use the dust buster to gather them up and release them outside. We like them because they eat mosquitoes.

Oh, I forgot the worst of all -- the deer flies. They are the worst because they hurt so bad when they bite, they make a large red welt, and it takes a very long time for the itching to stop.

Hanging pictures in the motorhome

Making it feel like home. I finally decided which picture frames I wanted where and which photos I wanted in the frames. And I haven't put any holes in the walls of the motorhome to hang things. I use the 3M removeable hooks that stick on the walls. And hope that when I do remove the 3M fasteners that they don't damage the walls. They're not supposed to. I removed the glass from 2 of the frames to make them weigh less, but put some extra photos in the back of the frame so I can easily change the photos when I want to.

We use the 3M hooks for keeping hand towels, keys and ball caps handy. For the picture frames we use the 3M products specifically made for frames - removeable picture hanging strips. They are a Velcro-like product and seem to hold the frames without slipping or falling off the wall. I plan to remove the photo frames when we travel because I don't think the fasteners can withstand the bumps and jarring of most highways.

I was reluctant to put things on the walls because there is so little wall space. We try not to have too many things out and in the way because in the small space of an RV you can quickly become overwhelmed with clutter. (I mean we would become overwhelmed with all the clutter.) There is so little clear wall space in RVs. Having wall space showing makes the rooms feel a little more spacious. However, I need to have some decoration and feeling like we live here. This is home.

What did we forget to bring?

We made it to Las Vegas safely and the traffic was light. The motorhome drove like a dream! The wind was blowing a 'little' during the last half of the 6 hour drive and here in Vegas it's blowing at  38 mph. The next couple days are supposed to be very windy so we're very happy to be settled for awhile.

Everything is in the motorhome and I wonder why we keep the few items we left behind. If we didn't bring it, do we really need it? Rick and I agreed that the good thing about moving in and out of the moho is that we realize how much we've accumulated. If you have to move it from here to there a couple times a year, it makes you stop and think it over.

We were very fortunate to have friends in our community who let us park on their lot while we took a couple days to load the motorhome. It was so convenient to not have it parked on our narrow street and I didn't worry about someone crashing into the Cayman. We were able to take our time and store everything in it's place before we got on the road. On the last day we were finished by 5PM and after checking everything 3 times, sure we had everything we needed, we locked up the house and went over to the motorhome. It worked out so well that we thought we'd sleep in the motorhome that last night and get an early start. Around 10:30 PM we were more than ready for sleep and we pulled back the bedspread to find NO SHEETS on the bed! We'd brought our pillows, but had forgotten to take the matching sheets. Since it was 10:30 at night we decided to use one of the spare sheet sets and make a quick trip to the house in the morning. No big deal! Rick thought maybe we could just use the bedspread, no sheets for one night, but we've got extras of everything in the motorhome. In the morning when I made breakfast I realized that I'd  removed the small skillet from the motorhome so I got one from the house. Could have done without it, but nice to have it.

Pretty good packing I thought, just a set of sheets and a small skillet. As our neighbor said, if you forget anything, buy it or do without.

Road to Vegas

I'm looking forward to driving over the Hoover Dam one more time. Not sure how much progress has been made on the new bridge since last year, but we know there will come a time when we won't be able to drive over the dam. And we understand the reason. Tomorrow we'll have to pull over for the inspection station, but we understand the reason. I don't even mind the slow traffic. The view is nice.

All Systems Go!

We're loading the motorhome for our next trip. Rick's been flushing the water tanks and has cleaned the batteries. All systems go!

I was worried that we would be loading the motorhome in 100 degree heat, but the weather has been absolutely gorgeous and in the 60's! At least a dozen more motorhomes left the resort today and soon we will be on our way also.

(The cliche 'all systems (are) go' means everything is ready and was originally used when preparing to launch a rocket. "All systems go!")

Slow Mo to Fast Forward

Sunday was very relaxing, almost in slow motion compared to what we're going to accomplish on Monday. Monday we'll move the Cayman out of storage and start to load it. Yipeee! Action time! I'm soooo ready!

We're both getting our computers ready for the move into the motorhome, so we've been synchronizing files and I've moved what I don't need on my laptop to DVDs. I've removed more than 6 years of photos to DVDs and made copies of the DVDs for off-site storage. In addition to the DVDs, we also back up to other hard drives.

Along with loading the food and clothes, we'll go over the "on the road again" pre-flight checklist and then we'll be on the road. Most of our snowbird neighbors are on their way north already. Although we've had fabulous weather in the southwest, its supposed to be in the 90's next week and hotter temps are right around the corner. I can't wait to get my bare feet in the cold river.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Some friends sent me a question about tire pressure monitoring systems so I thought I'd answer here. They remembered we had a tire pressure system and asked which one we use and wanted to know about our experience with it. We met them last year at a Thousand Trails park when we noticed that we had similar motorhomes. We struck up a conversation and started comparing motorhome features, floor plans, and modifications.

There are a few different types of tire pressure monitoring systems, but I'm only familiar with the one we have and it's made by Advantage PressurePro. http://www.advantagepressurepro.com/

We've used it for more than a year and we feel it's done a very good job for us and the company has provided good customer service. We have the 6 wheel system for the motorhome and 4 additional sensors for the tow vehicle (toad). The small sensors screw onto the valve stems of each tire. The small flat monitor is attached to the left of my driver's seat with Velcro and is very easy to check the status of each tire. Because our motorhome is only 36' we don't need an additional receiver to get the signals from the toad, but larger motorhomes might need it.

We purchased our system at an FMCA rally from one of their many dealers. They were very helpful in answering our questions and getting the system set up initially. It may seem a little complicated when you first learn about it, but after you've changed the pressure in your tires and reset the sensors, or changed out a couple sensors, you see how simple it really is. You set the monitor when the tire pressure level is where you want it and it has thresholds for low and high settings. If it reaches a specific low or high level, an alert is activated. There were a couple times when we were parked overnight in Montana and the outside temperature dropped quite a lot and I'd left the monitor on. The beeping alert got me out of bed because the cold weather had caused one tire to drop pressure more than 12%.

From the Advantage PressurePro website you can read all the details and see photos of the components and accessories. I noticed from their press release section that you can even get the system from Costco.com. And they price seems really good from Costco.

It's a convenience to be able to check the tires any time we want from inside the motorhome. Rick also manually checks the tires every so often with a gauge to double-check the monitor. On the mornings before we get on the road it's one of the first things we turn on. We've heard about the horror stories of tire blowouts with motorhomes. It's very reassuring to know that we've taken another precaution to keep us safe. A sudden change in tire pressure, low or high, will sound an alarm. Just another way to keep us, and others on the road, safe.

"Blue Boy?" you ask

Not 'The Blue Boy' by Gainsborough that hangs at the Huntington Library along with 'Pinkie' by Lawrence. I remember visiting there as a child and doing a school report on the two paintings. No, this Blue Boy is not so pretty or refined.

You can see Blue Boys in campgrounds where RVers don't have full hookups. We saw a lot of Blue Boys in Quartzsite. Lots! Being towed behind ATVs, jeeps, trucks and bicycles. On the back of homemade trailers and being pulled along by the Blue Boy owner. Eeeuuuu! Who else would tote a Blue Boy, but it's owner?

Last year when we were staying at Thousand Trails Lake Minden, where they have limited full hookup sites, we'd been there for a few days and needed to move the motorhome to dump the holding tanks. Rick had become friends with the neighbor and had seen him dumping his holding tanks into his Blue Boy, then he pulled it over to the dump station. After watching the neighbor, Rick said to me "Do you think the neighbor would let me use his Blue Boy to dump our sewer tank?" I just looked at Rick, and with one eye squinting and the eyebrow arched, I said, "I think there must be some type of campground ettiquette that doesn't allow the sharing of a person's Blue Boy." Rick quickly agreed and never brought it up again. We moved the motorhome to dump the sewer tanks.

A Blue Boy is the common name given to a container, blue in color, used to transport sewer waste from an RV to a dump station. Blue Boys usually are 15-20 gallons or more, with a couple wheels, a handle, an intake connection and an outflow valve. The smaller the blue Boy, the easier it is to manuever and store, but the more trips you'd need to make to empty it. The larger sizes hold more (yipeee) so you make less trips, but being bigger makes it oh so much more heavier.

One day while in Quartzsite I decided to follow a guy hauling his Blue Boy down to the Blue Boy dump station and catch a few photos on the sly. Never having used a Blue Boy before, I learned a lot just by watching. I'm sure the guy wondered why I was so interested in such a private moment.

Keep it clean

One of the guys who camped with us in Quartzsite, Harry, has car washes in Arizona so I knew he would be a good one to ask about "keeping it clean". In fact, one day while we were there, without water, Harry cleaned the outside of his entire motorhome. It looked spotless when he arrived and it was even cleaner when he left the dusty desert.

Harry is a guy who likes to do all the modifications and upgrades to his motorhome himself. Judging from the finished results, he's very meticulous and thorough in whatever he does. My question for Harry was simple, one we're all faced with at one time or another. "How do I get the water spots off the shower glass?" I was most interested in cleaning the shower in the house and keeping the shower in the motorhome clean. Harry had a quick answer for me, "Eliminate" and it's available at Home Depot. Harry went back to his motorhome and brought me a bottle to use and keep. I've since bought another bottle of "Eliminate" for about $5. The smell is not too bad either. No harsh fumes like some caustic cleaners.

Harry said it was good for glass, faucets, sinks, and other areas. He said to spray it on and leave it alone for about 30 minutes, then wipe off with a cloth or sponge. No need to scrub. It's OK if you need to spead it around with a sponge, but then leave it to do it's job. It did a fairly good job of removing the hard water spots on the glass and did a really good job of removing the build-up on the shower door and the surrounding framework. Give it a couple of applications if necessary and remember to let it do the work. The 20 year old shower looks about 95% better.

BE SURE TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND TEST THE PRODUCT BEFORE USING. There are certain surfaces you should not use it on and you need to be sure not to get it in your eyes. Keep it away from children.

De-clutter De-clutter De-clutter

We've been motivated once again to de-clutter our shed Rick's shed. When we retired 13 months, 8 days, and 6 hours ago we dropped off "stuff" at Goodwill and gave what we could to family. For a few days this past week, we worked with Rick's family to de-clutter his parent's garage. We had 3 fun days working with Rick's sister and her husband, and his parents, to organize and weed through their closets and cupboards. And boy, does their garage look good! Very motivating!

Well, since we've lived in the motorhome for a year and have now been home for a few weeks, we've got a whole new idea of what we need to keep for the motorhome and what we can leave at home. Rick took almost all of the stuff out of the motorhome storage bays and is organizing what we need for the next trip. He's building shelves, installing 'J' hooks, building compartments, and moving stuff around.

I know it's common to over pack for a trip and RVers are no different. Especially when you're going to live in the RV for a while. We both brought things along last year that were never ever used. Rick brought all the extra sewer parts, connections, and hoses that he owned, thinking that if he ever needed it, he'd really need it. That makes more sense than me bringing along the wire shopping basket on wheels. You know, the wheeled-basket with a handle that you take to swap meets to haul all your purchases. Or in my case, I thought I'd need it to haul dirty clothes to the laundry center at the campgrounds. We were always camped close to the laundry so I never got it out from under the bed. Yeah, it'll stay home next time. (What am I thinking? It needs to find a better home through Goodwill.)

Another thing that we kept under the bed with the wire wheelie-basket was a single oak TV tray. I thought it would make extra counter space for when I use the printer, but we've got the nice wooden table from Quartzsite now. So the TV tray stays home. And I definitely need to use the printer more often. Rick refills the ink cartridges and they dry up before I can use them. So I need to print more photos. With all that photo paper that I packed in the overhead cabinets.

We brought too many clothes, extra books that didn't get read, wood carvings that didn't get carved, and afghans that didn't get crocheted. Rick did tie lots and lots of flies to fish with and I hope to tie some myself. We've learned how to pack well and we have a motorhome that can carry much more weight (thank goodness). We'll probably take too much stuff again. I guess if we fished less we'd have more time for other hobbies and time to use all the stuff we bring along. But you know we aren't going to fish less. That's not gonna happen.

Our 2008 Monaco Cayman XL

One of our friends from Quartzsite took this photo as we were getting ready to head out. I think I might use it on our new business cards.

We had a blast and are looking forward to next year!

Favorite find in Quartzsite

Last year our friends Tim & Crystal showed me a wooden table they had found while in Quartzsite. They use it in their motorhome for extra table space. It was made of different types of wood and it folded up for easy storage. I believe they purchased it from a guy from Yuma. I told them I'd like to have one if they ever found the vendor again.

Well... Crystal called us towards the end of the RV Show and said the wood table guy was there and they had some of his tables. And that they were saving one for me!! Yippeeee! I was able to choose the one I wanted and I love it.

The guy who makes them demonstrates how sturdy they are by standing on it! I guess everyone goes a little crazy when he gets up there and they are convinced to buy one. They fold up real skinny and I was able to put it under the dinette while we were driving. I think I'll make a cloth bag for it to keep it from getting scratched. I already have plans for Rick to make another table a little taller. I love the table! It's the best find of the entire show!

Boondocking = Conservation

Boondocking, as in living off the land, cheaply, without hookups.

Conservation, as in saving water, electricity, propane, diesel and battery power.

Boondocking, at least for us in Quartzsite, means living within our means. Oh, the cost of staying at a BLM area is cheap. Only $40 for 14 days or $180 for September through April. Pretty affordable if you can live without being constantly hooked up to electricty, water and a sewer dump. What I mean about living within our means is being able to be self-sustaining with what resources we have within the motorhome.

I don't think I'm going to get into anything too terribly technical here, but rather, just give you an idea of some of the ways we conserve during our 2 week stay in the Quartzsite desert. Once you're parked and have set up camp, you try to not move the RV in order to save on fuel. However, there comes a time when your grey water and black water tanks fill up and you either have to drive to the dump station, have a honey wagon come to you and drain it, or you use a "blue boy" transporter. More on "blue boys" later.

Lets start with the number one necessity in life = water! It helps that we have good size holding tanks in the motorhome. Some people carry 55 gallon barrels in the back of their trucks so they can bring more water to their RV without moving it. We had to move the motorhome after about a week to get service done, so we dumped and filled up with fresh water then. How long you can last all depends on how much water you use to wash dishes, take a bath, flush the toilet, brush your teeth, etc. You learn real fast to not let it run freely like we do at home. Or used to do at home. You want to be clean and sanitary, but you want to conserve. We've used some paper dishes, but like the real silverware. We drink some bottled water, but we also trust our filtration system. When we shower (every day) we get into the shower sooner, when the water is still cold! Once we are thoroughly wet, we push the button on the shower head to stop the water. We soap up and shampoo, then we push the button again to let the water flow. I think I've heard this called a Navy shower. I've thought of one way we could conserve more water during the shower process, but haven't really felt the need. When the shower water is warming up, a lot of water is wasted down the drain. We could capture that first water in a bucket and later use it to wash dishes or even to flush the toilet. That would really be conserving water! In the morning when I'm preparing to wash my face, I turn on the hot water and fill up my water bottle. That gets the water a little warm before I splash it on my face! And you only let it dribble. Well, I only let it dribble so I don't waste too much. When you flush you want to use all the water you need. There can be other problems if you don't use enough water in the toilet. You want the solid material to have enough water to drain out of your tanks.

Using the BBQ to cook also helps to conserve water by not having a lot of pots and pans to clean up. It does use propane though. We've probably used more propane in these 2 weeks than we did all of last year. While here we've used propane to run the refrigerator, freezer and the stove top burners. Also to heat the hot water tank. Although we have a propane furnace, we haven't used it but instead run the electric "big heat" portable heater when the generator is running. It just hasn't been cold enough.

Talking about heat and cold weather, you learn to open your window shades to let in the warm sunlight. Or to pull a window awning out if the heat is too much. Being in the southwest desert, our temps have been very moderate. It does get cold around  4 AM, but I avoid the tile floors at that time of day, preferring to stay between the sheets. There were a couple afternoons when the motorhome heated up and all I did was open a couple windows to cool it off. Rick says he's like a cat sitting in his recliner in the sun, absorbing the heat through the tinted dual pane windows. The dual pane windows help to keep the warmth in and the cold out, as well as noise reduction. Love our windows!

We run the generator morning and night. Not FROM morning to night, not all day long, just a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours before going to bed. The electric heating blanket sure is nice to have, warming up the sheets before we hit the sack! The quiet hours here are from 10 PM to 6 AM, meaning no generators through the night. When the generator is running we have a full 50 amps of power, enough to run everything in the motorhome. Well almost everything. Everything installed. There is an energy management system that 'regulates' the appliances. I admit that I overloaded the generator one morning. I still claim it was the cold medicine that made me do it. I was multi-tasking when I started making breakfast. The generator was running so I said what the heck! The TV was on, the coffeemaker was on, and the small electric heater was going. I turned on the microwave, dropped some toast into the toaster, and turned on my hair dryer. I also had the laptop running and the electric hot water heater. Of course the electric heating blanket was still on as well as many lights. Anyway, you get the idea, multi-tasking. It all came to a sudden stop and Rick had to find the blown circuit breaker at the bottom of the generator. The 8K Onan generator is located at the very front of the coach, in an outside compartment. He came back in after resetting it and once again we had a talk about electricity. Someday it will be clear to me and I'll be able to explain it, but for now I'm blaming the cold medicine for the temporary mental lapse.

The generator uses diesel fuel, the same diesel fuel that powers our diesel engine. I think Rick is keeping track of the hours on the generator so he can calculate the fuel use of the engine and the MPG. This last year we averaged almost 8 miles per gallon while driving, sometimes better, sometimes not. We've used our generator more in these last 2 weeks than we did all last year. But that's a good thing. They say you need to run your generator every month and with it pulling a full load. For more on "pulling a full load", see the paragraph above.

While we have the generator running, it also recharges the 6 batteries in the coach. And we recharge the camera batteries, the cell phones, toothbrush, hand vacuum, and razor while the generator is running. Having well charged house batteries allows us to use the invertor for power. The inverter makes the 12 volts into 110 (or battery power to AC power). We're able to run the TV, computers, and other outlet plugs with the inverter for several hours, until the batteries get low. They get recharged when the generator is running again.

Some people have solar panels on the top of their RVs which recharge their batteries. This means they don't need to run the generator (as much) and they save fuel. Most generators use diesel or gas fuel, both costly compared to using the natural energy of the sun. Here in the southwest there's usually plenty of sun to keep the batteries charged. Not sure of the cost of solar panels, but we did have them on our 5th wheel trailer 20 years ago and used them when we didn't have electric hookups. If we were to spend much time boondocking, the cost of the panels would be recooped, especially if the cost of diesel stays high.

I didn't get into the details of electricity and batteries, how long they will last pulling so many amps, but Rick could explain all that if you wanted. Me, I just want to know how long I can use my laptop before it goes black.

Like spokes of a wheel

There are about a dozen motorhomes gathered around our little campsite. The 'Drifters' were the first to stake out our domain, and then we arrived along with a couple others, and it seems the coaches haven't quit arriving. Some are only staying a couple days, others may stay a couple weeks. As some leave, others are pulling in to take their place.

It is very beneficial to be camping with others who also have Monaco Coaches (including Holiday Rambler, Safari, and Beaver) because we're sharing what we've learned about our motorhomes with each other. Rick has gotten a lot of help from Mike to make modifications that he's been wanting to tackle. I think on the first day Mike moved and turned our sewer macerator which we've never used. Now that it's easier to get to, we will! Rick is also going to re-arrange all the switches near the front door so they make more sense to us. Rick helped another guy install their new interior sun shades. With everyone around for a few days, any questions that someone might have will be easily answered by others who have completed the same task.

The Big Tent Event - Quartzsite

We have arrived once again at the winter desert campground known as Quartzsite. We're boon docking with a group of friends we've met on the Internet and camped with before. Right now there are 6 rigs, all manufactured by Monaco Corporation, with maybe another 10 joining in a couple days. You don't have to have a Monaco, Holiday Rambler or Safari brand to join us, but that's what we've got with us right now. The website we have in common is iRV2.com, a site we've found to be very friendly and helpful regarding all things 'RV'.

After getting settled in today we drove the 2 miles to the big tent and saw friends Tim & Crystal who sell RV Quick Shades and Sea Eagle Inflatable Boats. When we got back to QZ Camp it was only a short time before I saw Rick and the other guys looking into each other's storage bays, sharing and comparing. Next thing I knew, Rick & Tom were up on Tom & Jo's motorhome inspecting the roof and taking photos of the neighboring desert campers. For me, the best part about QZ is seeing how others live in their motorhomes - where they put everything, how they're organized, how they live.

We're on limited Internet access, but will post more photos and share more of this experience soon. There's a lot to see and do here, some of it bizarre and unusual.

Why Rally? (Part 1)

Why? To learn about new stuff. To connect with friends. To see different RVs. To know more about our RV. To have fun. To learn a new craft. The entertainment. To meet new friends.

A year ago, as (sort of) new RVers, having just purchased a motorhome, we wanted to attend a rally. We'd had a 5th wheel trailer many years earlier and lived in it full-time for about 7 years, but living in a motorhome was going to be a little different and technology had changed quite a bit. We were looking for information on all the new gadgets, devices, and systems to make RVing easier. In January 2008 we attended the FMCA Western Regional Rally in Indio, the same rally we are currently attending. Yep, we've come full circle and are where we were a year ago. Only a little older and wiser.

Last year was fun! It was the thrill of a new motorhome and being on the road once again. It was the hope of meeting new friends. It was anticipation of all the new high tech thingies that we "needed". It was definitely the experience of being at a rally with 1500 other motorhomes, each RVer hoping to also find what we were seeking. Having also attended an FMCA International Convention and a Monaco Coach Pre-Rally in 2008, I'd say the Monaco Rally was the best. The Monaco Rally cost more, but they catered to Monaco coach owners. There were Monaco technicians available to resolve most issues with your coach. They provided lots of good food and entertainment, as well as drinks all day long for those who like to start happy hour at 10 AM. It was also specific to our motorhome and the major vendors were there to offer assistance with all our systems and appliances.

It was a good FMCA rally here in Indio in 2008, but we thought it was only a so-so rally this year. Because we have done the same rally twice in 12 months, much of it was familiar. It did not have the awe and excitement that it did the first time. I heard a couple attendees say the number of vendors was less than last year which may be true. In 2009 there were approximately 1400 RVs attending, 1700 day passes in 3 days, 14 coaches sold and 8 more coaches ordered.

Since the seminars covered pretty much the same information, we skipped many that we attended last year. Sitting through some of these a second time didn't sound like fun - "GPS Systems", "Let's Clean the RV", "Dinghy Towing", "Low Voltage", "Water Filtration", "Insurance Can Be Easy" - especially since most were put on by vendors hoping to sell their product.

I'll finish with the rally posting tomorrow in Part 2 and let you know more about the activities and entertainment. What was hot and what was not.

Parking the rig

You know by now that I love to drive the motorhome. Rick is fantastic with maps, the GPS, and navigating and I love to drive so that makes for a good team. When I pulled into the Thousand Trails at Palm Springs, there were, as usual, a few campers who gave me the long stare that I've learned to smile at. And I usually wave. It's mostly the men campers who look surprised to see a woman driving a motorhome, and this time it was no different. Rick and I both get a kick out of it. This TT park is really tight quarters with all the date palm trees lining the skinny streets and with palm trees situated in all the wrong places within each campsite. It was intimidating when I first visited there, but now it's no big deal. When we arrive we pull to a small parking area and unhook the toad, then drive the car through the resort to pick out a campsite. When I drove the motorhome to the campsite I noticed a guy get on his bike and follow me to the site. I also noticed a couple other curious on-lookers, but un-intimidated by the trees or the curious, I backed the motorhome into the site on the first try. A few minutes later I saw a guy back his truck into a palm tree while parking his 5th wheel trailer. A little while later we watched someone else do a 10-point maneuver to get their motorhome parked. I actually enjoy the challenge of parking and as long as Rick is guiding me, I haven't had a problem so far.

We spent a couple nights at the Thousand Trails Palm Springs park and had fun while there. Rick likes to get the local newspaper delivered to the steps of the motorhome and we like to plan our day over morning coffee. Most mornings Rick and I played a few games of pickle ball and made new friends. In the afternoons we did some shopping and visited family.

We're close enough to Rick's sister and brother-in-law to be able to drive over and spend time with them and share a few meals. They are always gracious hosts and we always enjoy visiting with them.

After a few days at the TT park we moved to the FMCA Western Area rally in Indio. We had friends, Tom & Jo, staying in their motorhome at another campground and we planned to go to the rally with them. We called them to see if they were ready to head over to the rally and they gave us a 20 minute head start. They were coming from one direction and we were coming from the other. It was amazing when we got to the intersection to turn toward the rally entrance and they were at the intersection also. We turned left, they turned right and they followed us into the staging area. It was amazing that we each traveled across town and met up at the same time. After a short time we were guided to our camping/parking places and wouldn't you know it! We have some of the best parking of all the attendees! We are in row 1, space 1 and our friends are facing us.

So far the rally is lots of fun and I have some photos to share with you on the next post.

Hope I never lose the amazement

I was very excited and anxious to be on the road again with our motorhome. We took about a day and a half to put our clothes, food, and other stuff in their respective storage areas. The day before we left, Rick plugged in the electricity so we could get the frig and freezers cold. Rick had flushed the water tanks, we'd fueled 'er up and we were ready to go!

I love the feeling of driving the motorhome with the car being towed behind. I love sitting high in the seat, having a view of it all going by. I love the idea of being able to drive as long as we want and stopping where we want, for as long as we want. I love the idea of having a different view when we stop. I love the ability to change our view by turning the motorhome around or by moving on down the road. I love it all.

So having to spend a little bit of time reloading it was well worth the effort. In fact, it was fun. I enjoyed emptying the pantry and frig, and having it fit in the motorhome with lots of space for more. We took a lot of things to do this time, and we still have room. We definitely don't feel cramped for space.

Since we are going to spend a couple weeks in the dusty desert around Quartzsite, we didn't take our fly fishing gear. In it's place we're taking firewood for the evening campfires. As with most RVing, "living" outdoors is what we do. Having your mobile patio overlook the desert, stream or forest is what RVing is all about. Sharing it with good friends just adds to the enjoyment. I'll be sure to get some photos to share with you here.

We love our motorhome, all 36 feet of it. It is very comfortable and just the right amount of space for us and our things. It's so comfortable that I find myself staying inside more than I should. This year I'm vowing to spend more time out on the patio looking at the view instead of sitting and looking at my computer screen. Did enough of that while I was working. Now it's time to be amazed by the scenery.