National Park Passport

I heard about the National Park Passport book from Kimbopolo, one of the bloggers I follow. She described how the National Park Service developed the guide and keepsake to help travelers discover and collect memories of the wonderful treasures that exist throughout our beautiful country. I knew I wanted to get a book and begin collecting stamps from the parks, monuments, memorials, forests and recreation areas that I visit in my RV. So I ordered one online.

On my recent cruise to Alaska, I realized I had forgotten to pack my NP passport book. We visited Mendenhall Glacier, a federal recreation area which sits in the Tongass National Forest. As I listened to a ranger talk at the visitor's center, I was very disappointed not to be able to collect my first stamp.

A few days later, we visited Denali National Park, and again I was lamenting not having my passport book with me. So I went into the visitor's center to buy a new one. They told me they were out of books, but that I could get a stamp at the main desk and put it in my book. I walked over to find people stamping small pieces of paper, so I did the same. As I pushed the stamp down on that scrap, I said to the ranger, "I forgot my passport book," and she replied, "You're the only one who ever has." (wink!)

When I got home, I carefully cut around the stamp and glued it into the Pacific Northwest & Alaska Region page. My first stamp in my book, and it's from the king of all National Parks, magnificent Denali!

It passed

The warranty inspector came yesterday to inspect my motor home and ensure everything was in working order. Everything checked out, as my brothers thought, and I am now covered under a 48 month / 48,000 mile extended warranty/service contract. Those things are expensive, but if I have a break down, I'll be very glad to have things covered. Buying something used, you never know just how precariously something is working at the moment, or how well the previous owners took care of things, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

I got Roadside Service coverage added to the insurance package I bought, so if I break down somewhere I can call for help or a tow truck. This seems really important for a woman on the road alone.

Since it's been 113° or higher all week with no relief in sight for the next month or two, very little is going to get done inside to clean or update. I just don't have the energy or desire to do much of anything like that when it's this hot. I am going on an Alaskan cruise in a few weeks, so I'm not planning to go anywhere in Winnie Minnie until at least August anyway. For now, it's parked in the side yard and Hanna is making sure it doesn't drive away without us.

It just fits!

Getting the gate ready

The gate into my side/back yard was only ten feet wide, and was directly under the 20 inch overhang of the roof eave, so it was too narrow for getting my RV through. I had to have it widened to twelve feet. Here's a few before and after pictures.

Old gate

Widened the opening

New gate

These trees need to go

My landscaper is going to remove a couple small palm trees and grade and level a driveway through the yard, so I won't drag the rear end coming up the hill. That won't be until after I bring the coach home, so if I can't get it up through the yard, I will have to park it at my brother's house for a couple of days. Getting closer!

Spending money like it's going out of style!

I knew the base price of my RV was not going to be the only cost I would incur to become an RVer. But I am quickly finding out there are a lot more hidden and unexpected expenses that are taking a big bite out of my savings.

Of course, I knew there would be license and insurance, plus all the items that I want to stock the inside with. But I didn't anticipate the expense of widening the gate to my back yard, grading and leveling the entrance to that gate through my front yard, and ramps to get up over the curb to my yard. And frankly, I never even thought about a service warranty for my new (used) Winnie Minnie, but it's certainly a requirement for me since I can't handle repairs should anything go wrong. All of these things are adding up to many thousands of dollars.

I have been slowly purchasing some items that I want to have inside the rig (mainly the kitchen). I'll take a lot of the things I use on an every day basis from the house to the MH for at least the first year, but over time, I want to purchase as many duplicates as makes sense so I don't have to pack and unpack so much stuff every time I come and go.

My rig will need new curtains right away, as the ones in there now are pretty sun damaged. Other than that, there's really nothing urgent that some Mr. Clean or Comet won't fix. I may eventually recover the dinette cushions if I can find something that coordinates with the existing color scheme, but they are fine for now.

But amidst all this never ending drain on my bank account, I don't have any buyer's remorse about the coach I bought or my plans to hit the road.

I Did It!

I am the proud new owner of a Winnebago Minnie 27 ft Class C motorhome. It's the one I've had my eye on at RVTrader.com for a few weeks, and today I talked my brothers and sis in law into going with me and we drove down to Tucson to check it out. It was everything that I want and more, so I put a down payment on it and signed the contract. They are going to keep it for me while I get a wider gate installed in my side yard.

Here are a few pictures I copied from the seller's website.

This is going to make working for another 10 months that much harder. I already have short timer's disease. Now I have an RV and I'm anxious to get on the road.

A Woman's Perogative

I can change my mind, can't I?

After all the analysis and arguments for why I wanted a trailer, I've changed my mind. I've been visiting lots of RV shows, and to tell the truth, those fifth wheels kind of scare me. They are really big and intimidating, and thinking about towing one on an interstate or through a big city is kind of  overwhelming.

I read a LOT of RVer's blogs, and a few that I have been enjoying lately are written by women who travel solo in motor homes. I would really love a little Class B for road tripping, getting in and out of cities and towns, better gas mileage, and being able to stealth camp; but I just don't want to live in such limited space. Even if I am only going part time, I still want a little more room. And my original requirements still stand: separate shower in the bathroom, a bed that stays a bed, a small slide out to give a bit of extra room. That's why I have been thinking more and more about getting a Class C.

My [expert adviser] brother agrees that it would be a wiser option for me. He also says I could tow a small car and hardly even know it's back there. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I actually have driven a motor home. My folks owned a small class A back in the 60s and 70s and I drove it quite a lot.

So I've been shopping online and found one I really like. It's in Tucson, and I think I will try to drive down and see it and maybe give it a test drive this weekend. It's a 2005 27 foot Winnebago Minnie. From the pictures on the web, it looks like it's in fantastic shape. I guess I'll see, and then I'll update more.

RV Show

I went to my first RV Show last weekend with my brothers and sister in law, who are long time full-timers. It was all the way out in Glendale at Cardinals' Stadium, but a beautiful spring Sunday in Arizona made it a nice day out, and we stopped for lunch on the way home.

I went with the hopes of seeing some small (~20') travel trailers like I've eyed on the internet, but never been inside of. There were a few examples, plus a lot of larger, beautiful beasts that make one drool. Mindful of my budget and ability to tow, set up, and maintain such a monstrosity on my own, I only went inside a couple that were larger than about 25 feet. Until we came to the fifth wheels.

One of my brothers, who has lots of experience with a variety of recreational vehicles, advised me to consider a fifth wheel instead of a travel trailer. He pointed out the benefit of towing ease and  longer floor plans. He said I could tow a 26-28' fifth wheel easier than a 20' travel trailer. Wow, did that throw a whole new spin my way.

I haven't made up my mind yet, but I am looking at some different options. The smallest fifth wheel trailer with a single slide out I've been able to find online is 26.5 feet (with the exception of Escapes or Scamps which don't have a shower stall). That's a little more trailer than I need, but if it would tow easily, the extra room might be nice. And the extra storage space would definitely be nice! They are more expensive than my original budget plan, so that's also a consideration, but I might be able to find an affordable used one.

My Walter Mitty dreaming continues, as does my web surfing.