Eight Legs and a Tail- We Made It!

No Wifi!  Where's the power cord?  How about the dog food?  Where the heck did we put our toiletries?      Are those windmills? (that's an inside joke for my Man of La Mancha friends) This was the soundtrack  of the last days of the journey. 

The highlights of the last two days included an impressive  mosquito population in Indiana.  Clearly they have wintered there.  Here's hoping they don't continue the journey back to New England for the summer.  Then we drove by endless burnt fields in Kansas. This must be a Kansas thing as I've never seen a burnt field in Vermont.  My husband, who is a wealth of little known facts, regaled us with factoids on windmills, oil refineries and farming practices in the prairies of the midwest.  The windfarms are quite stunning. No tilting at windmills for this merry band.   We made a quick stop in Sharon Springs, CO for lunch on our last day.  You would have thought the year was 2019.  There was not a mask in sight!  Weird. 

Then we crossed over into Colorado.  What joy to see our two grands.  Everyone was so excited to see us.  Smooch headed right out to the backyard to hunt down the squirrels who frequent the bird feeder.  Mabel is entranced with the Trailer and is signaling that she wants to move in. We all went out for story time after supper.  It's pretty cozy.  We hope to do an overnight or two which will certainly be an adventure.  And Warren, who arrived in December, is now a big, roly poly, happy baby.  If there's anything more joyful than meeting a roly poly grand baby for the first time, I'm not sure what it is.  

So we will be here for a few weeks with a week planned at a campground in Golden, Colorado.  That will give us a chance to really try out the rig for more than a quick stop-over.  We'll see if we can't finally figure out where to put everything where we can find it. 

Thanks all for coming along on our journey.  Perhaps we'll do an update from Golden and later on our return trip home.  Happy Trails!
 

Eight Legs and A Tail- Smooch’s Tales from the Road

Look at that face!  Does that look like the face of a dog who would disappear into the forest in the night? Does that look like the face of a dog who would try to explore every culvert she comes upon?

My Mom has been doing most of the blogging but I thought it was my turn. I thought I should tell you what it’s like for me traveling on this great adventure out to Colorado. 

I have a pretty sweet set up. I have a very comfy bed in the back of the truck and I get to sleep in the big bed with my mom and dad in the trailer. That suits me just fine..

Last night  we camped at Daniel Boone State forest in Kentucky I went on a little adventure. Most of the time I’m tied up at our campsite but once in a while my mom doesn’t tie me up. I sit very innocently on the grass looking like I’m not planning to go anywhere. But last night my Mom and Dad were playing a game inside the trailer and they weren’t really watching me so I thought I would take a little walk-around. By the time they realized I wasn’t there it was dark. I could hear my dad yelling at my mom. He’s such a rule follower and I could hear my Mom calling to me with her flashlight in the dark. She sounded a little freaked out. But I came back soon enough. I also discovered so many amazing culverts. I love a culvert no matter where it is. My Mom didn’t particularly like me exploring in them.  She always says - you never know what you might find in there- especially in Kentucky. But that’s exactly why I do it. You never know what you might find. It might be something awesome.

Today we drove to Indiana. We are at the Harmonie State Park which is actually quite lovely. But here’s the most fun thing I’ve done all week. I got to swim in the Wabash River. Oh it was sweet. After each swim, I would go onto the bank and roll in the mud. That felt sooo good, like having a massage. So now we’re back at our camp- just chillin, getting ready to cook our supper.

Tomorrow I hear we’re going to really  put some miles on. We plan to have two long days on the road before we get to Denver. Boring. But when we get to Denver I get to see my Mabel and her new little brother. His name is Warren and I haven’t even met him yet but I love babies. I am also going to see Sydney, my cousin, the black lab. She and I are great friends and I’m also going to see my Aunt Ames. I’m very excited to see everybody. So that’s my report. See you on the flip side.

 Eight Legs and a Tail-  Take Me Home Country Roads

Day two on our grand adventure.  We arrived at our first stop after dark which was not ideal.  We were also flanked by two gigantic rigs which made us feel downright petite.  In the morning, there were lots of groups of guys playing frisbie golf.  We think there was some kind of tournament.  It actually reminded me of camp.  Being outdoors, lots of people having outdoor sporty fun.  It felt like where I am supposed to be. 

After a lovely stay in Pine Grove, PA, we got on the road early and headed for West Virginia.  The good news is that it's already summer here.  Well, okay maybe not, but it sure is warmer than in VT.  Now that we've arrived at the KOA campground in Sutton, West Virginia, it is raining.  Yup, having that awning would have been clutch.  But we'll get to it sooner or later.

Here's the really big news.  We had a great night sleep in our big old trailer bed.  In fact, all three of us fit quite happily. Smoochy slept down at the foot of the bed next to me.  She woke me up once or twice licking my legs.  What's not to love about that? But all in all, we were all pleased with our our set-up.  

Highlights of today's journey.  Apparently it's the first day of fishing season in Maryland as we drove by piles of trucks and fisherpeople out in the rivers.  It looked kind of sweet.  Too bad we didn't bring our poles.  And we are, after all, on a mission to get to CO. 

There must also be some kind of motorcycling rally as no less than 100 motorcycles drove by us.  I wonder if they're going where we're going? 

What I am most aware of is that we are finally breaking out.  After a year of staying at home, we are on the road.  We are chatting with strangers.  It is thrilling. I suspect many of our friends are living vicarioulsy through us.  So come along friends.   

 I am going to collect the lessons here for future posterity.  

1. Start the trip with an overnight with your very best friends. (the Hornets)

2. DO NOT drive near NYC on a Friday afternoon.

3. Don’t arrive at a campground after dark when you’ve never hooked anything up before.

4. Do play a fun game when you’ve settled into your cozy rig.

5. Invest in an awning for rainy days.

6. Always camp near kids who will play with Smoochy.

7. Remember that you love your spouse no matter what.

Eight Legs and a Tail - Packing the Rig!

The last road trip that I blogged about was aptly titled- Ten Legs and a Tail.  I traveled with two of my very best girlfriends and my trusty sidekick- Smooch.  3 Women x 2 legs each plus one four-legged friend = Ten Legs. The tail of course belongs to the dog.   On this trip there are sadly no girlfriends along for the ride. There is me, my husband, Michael and Smooch.  So, this saga will be dubbed Eight Legs and a Tail.  

 

This time we’re traveling in our Ford F-150 pick-up and towing a Little Guy Mini-Max travel trailer.   It is 17 feet long but comes complete with a kitchen, a bathroom and a sitting area that turns into a bed.  It’s going to be a cozy bed, but it’s a bed.  Anticipating that we may want to bring our grand-daughter Mabel camping with us in Colorado, Michael has also outfitted the back of the truck with a bed with a very long slide-out drawer underneath it.  This will give us another sleeping space and more room to store things. Michael has named this the dog house. We’ll see if he is relegated to the dog house on the first leg of the trip.

 

We’ve been packing for days. Buying endless pieces of gear for the rig- special tools, storage containers, new pots and pans and hoses.   The list goes on and on. If we learned anything on our first RV road trip, it's that having the right hoses is paramount.  See our famous blog about the big dump. 

There have been heated debates about our sleeping set-up.  I, being the queen of naps, have naturally tried out the bed  and decided that it needed some kind of mattress topper.  I’ve done lots of online research.  There are Facebook groups galore and people are very generous sharing their tips and modifications of their rigs.  There is almost unanimous consensus that you need a little something to soften the bed set up.  But Michael woke up this morning and pronounced that the memory foam mattress toppers were going to be a disaster and we weren’t even going to need them. HA!  We’ll see about that. He hasn’t yet even laid down on the bed.  This afternoon, we plan to bring all of the bed accoutrement to the rig and try them all out.  Not only must we decide if the mattress toppers will enhance the sleeping experience but we need to figure out what the heck to do with them when the bed converts to a sitting area.  

 

Fitting everything in is the supreme challenge.  Mercifully, the refrigerator is a good-size, at least as RVs go. But where to put the clothes, the dog bed, the dog food, the snacks, the toiletries, the towels, the electric bike, the chairs for sitting outside at the campsite, where to put everything?  This is one area where Michael excels.  It must be his architect's brain that allows him to pack things efficiently and neatly. Despite that, we will be packed to the gills for sure. 

Our plan is to leave tomorrow afternoon, do a modest three hour trip tomorrow and spend the night with our dear friends, the Hornets.  Justine was one of my companions on the last road trip so she will have a discerning eye for all things we are bringing along for the trip.  She'll make sure that we have our quiddler game, our wine, our flashlights- the essentials. 

Various friends are placing bets on when Michael will be sleeping in the truck or better yet, when we will give it up and check into a motel along the route.  I am more optimistic.  I think we are going to have a blast, make some new friends along the way, and see the country.  After all, what awaits us at the end of the journey is our sweet Mabel and her new brother Warren who we have not yet met.  I can put up with alot of discomfort, knowing those two morsels are at the end of the rainbow. I hope to continue blogging and share the adventure.  Stay tuned for tales from the road and as you settle into your own cozy bed later this week, think of us and wish us sweet dreams.