On Our Way...Alaska Here We Come!

We are officially "on our way." Yesterday, we left the Denver area after quick visits with family and friends. We travelled through desolate places in Eastern Wyoming. It was beautiful...but the HUGE extra-sturdy snow fences and gates to close the interstate left us feeling that we don't really want to try going through winters in this area! Brrr!

Today we visited the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, which was EXCELLENT. (See our reviews at http://journey2wonderreviews.blogspot.com/ )

Tomorrow we are headed to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in northern Wyoming. By this coming Monday, we plan to have crossed the border and be in CANADA.

I have made a detailed itinerary so we can estimate costs and so that we can make RV site reservations (and won't have to "boondock" with no electric or water when all the local RV sites are full...) I'm not so sure we really want to have to stick to a tight itinerary---we've gotten used to and are enjoying freedom in wandering in an RV over the past few months. But, we have scheduled regular rest days with no specific plans at all. Hopefully, that helps!

If you want to see some of the planned stops on our itinerary---check out preliminary posts on the journey2wonder reviews blog (listed above) that were all posted on April 25th. As we go to each place, the kids and I will update the post, will add photos, and will re-post it on the correct date. Some of you might like looking ahead of time at where we will be going! (Others of you will read about things after we see them, and that's okay, too.)

Whenever I get a little panic-y about such a long trip I remember two things: my dad survived (and enjoyed) making this trip on his MOTORCYCLE just two years ago. Also, when I think we must be crazy to be doing such a thing, I am reminded of a friend's response to that worry---"Yes, you ARE crazy! You already KNOW that!"

So...wish us well on our long, long journey... We will try to keep in touch!

PEACE and quiet...

We are back in Golden Colorado. The only site available when we got here (they don't take reservations) is electric only. Since we had been here before, they suggested we could stretch our hose to the neighboring site for water. This site is so short that most bigger rigs (like ours) set up sideways along the boundary fence instead. The manager was apologetic that this was all they had available... Gee, what a pity! We have a cheaper site with the best view in the park! (We are parked sideways to the creek, so it is visible through all the windows in the living room area. YAY!)

So, I'm sitting at the table while I type this. It's sunny with a mostly blue sky. The water beside me is rushing and burbling along its way. Right outside my window there is a little snow hiding in bits of tall grass, right beside a path leading right into the water. Seems to be inviting me to come explore...but I have no intention of putting my toes into that freezing, snow-melt-from-the-mountains water! I will just enjoy the look and the sound of it dancing along!

Soon the kids will be up, talking and getting breakfast. The RV mobile repair guy will be here in a little while (I'll tell you about our awning another time...) All is at PEACE, for this moment at least!

Water WOES...

grumble...grumble...mumble...grrrrrrr...

You know, this hooking-up-to-a-spigot-so-you-have-running-water thing may be overrated. It's only been 4 months and look what we've faced so far:

• Your hose to the RV freezes...(wrap the line with heater tape and try again).
• Your RV water lines--enclosed under the trailer thus unreachable--freeze...(build an insulation wall under the RV and move the space heater in there to thaw everything out).
  
• Their water hook-ups freeze...(build a little shelter out of insulation and insert a heater to thaw their pipes).
• Their water hook-ups are way too far back (what WERE they thinking?!) for your hose to reach...(find a store and buy a longer hose).
• Some kid runs through and bumps over the water spigot causing a 15 foot high FOUNTAIN from the broken line...(run get the campground manager, then, whew!, be thankful it was your NEIGHBOR's water line that was affected and be thankful it was NOT your kid that did it!) (That fountain sure was pretty while it lasted!!)
• Your truck bumps one of the multiple spigots while maneuvering into a pull-through site---causing a slow FLOOD to occur...(sheepishly go get management to turn off the water...we dry-dock tonight!)
• The water connection port on your RV slowly bends more and more til it breaks leaving water slowly leaking down...oops! another wet spot inside...(unscrew and pull the connection port to the OUTSIDE of the RV...at least the leak then runs down the siding rather than into the walls)
• Park too far forward from the hook-ups, find your hose doesn't reach with the slide-out extended, decide to fill the fresh water tank and use the pump for water, start to fill the tank and, OVERFLOW, you forgot to empty the tank last time...(meaning you pulled an extra 500 pounds through the mountains, DEEP sigh...)

See what I mean? Is this running water thing REALLY worth all the hassle? Well, when it works RIGHT, it surely is...

The real question is...are you a plumber?!

Do the "back-in-dance"

What's that you say? You don't KNOW the "back-in-dance"?? It's what you do when you back a 5th Wheel RV into a site...

YOU know...line up just right to back the RV 90 degrees into a site...(or pray for an empty site across the lane so you can pull FORWARD into it, then back (more or less) straight back into your assigned place.) Now, shuffle forward, jiggle back, a little left, a little right, don't turn too sharp or you'll be in a fix. Too far right (don't hit the tree!), too far left (don't hit the hook-ups), pull forward again. Now, eeeaaassseee it back...lookin' pretty good! Let's check the level. Add a few levelers (aka giant orange stackable LEGOS!) and do-si-do. Now slowly slide back (hope and pray!), get those RV wheels on the narrow orange path. You're doin' okay...keep on comin'...keep on com...!!!STOP!!!

Whew! You just did the "back-in-dance"! YAY!

Now it's time to hop down from the pick-up cab and do a little jig of your own!

(Oh...did you think the "back-in-dance" was for a PERSON??! Nope...it's the dance you do with truck and trailer with helpers yelling along side!!)

(PS...I successfully completed my first "back-in-dance" for the first time last night---in the DARK, no less! Aren't you PROUD of me?!)

What is NORMAL?

It is quite obvious that we spent entirely too long in the deserts of Arizona! As midwesterners we would drive over bridges that spanned huge riverbeds of...SAND! We would marvel at how absolutely dry land could be called a "river." Yes, we could see the ripple marks of water flowing in the past...but no moisture visible when WE saw it. It was all a bit surreal to us.

Then, we crossed into New Mexico. Eventually, we crossed a bridge over a river and, of course, there was...water??!!! WOW! The kids and I all laughed that there was actually a thin little stream of WATER flowing down the mostly dry creek beds! It was absolutely AMAZING!!

By the time we got to Santa Fe, we were also excited about all the GREEN on the mountains! It wasn't just dry, rocky, sandy, desolate land! Again...it was AMAZING!

What's funny to me in looking back at it is that it took such a short time for our eyes to find dry, desert, arizona landscape to be "normal."

Ahh well, we are now enjoying the GRASS in Colorado. So I guess we still have some adjusting to do before we truly get back to "normal."