Summer in Yelllowstone!

I applied for a work/camp job online this morning and got a call and hired this afternoon! As of May 10th, I will be manning the front desk at the Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV Resort just outside Cody, WY. You can check it out at http://www.yellowstonevalleyinn.com/

Teddy Roosevelt said that this hidden valley, located just 30 miles from the entrance to Yellowstone Park, was the most beautiful 50-mile valley in the entire US.

I am totally excited. There are 4 other work/campers besides myself, one couple and 2 single women, plus kids from all over the world.

You're all invited!

Soon-to-be Cowgirl Re

Stuck in Texas!

With thunderstorms and wind gusts up to 35 mph, I made the decision to stay put at the lovely Buckhorn Lake Resort in Kerrville, TX (just west of San Antonio). As you can see from the picture taken last night, that this park is really neat.

The big red barn is their activity center where I enjoyed a home-cooked pot roast dinner ($9) in the company of a really nice bunch of folks from WI.

Today I'll do some re-arranging of stuff, scrub my floor, take care of my finger - which I sliced almost to the knuckle yesterday when slicing some chicken for lunch. Thank goodness I had bought a First Aid kit. I got those steri-strips out and patched myself up - had thought for a while I would have to find an emergency room and get stitches. Plan on doing some reading, napping, and just let this weather system pass before I head out to conquer the cities of San Antonio and Houston.

Tip of the Day from fellow RVers - the power of Scrubbing Bubbles. Yes, the bathroom cleaner. They use it for everything. When my tech guy did the walk-thru with me, the carpets were still damp from cleaning and he didn't take off his big boots which were filthy with dirt and grease. They said spray the carpet with Scrubbing Bubbles and rub - it worked!

Until later....take care of each other

Re

Whew - Driving Winnie Sure is Fun?!

I woke and began my check list to 'unhook' Winnie from a campsite and prepare for my first day of driving. Thanks to Al, who helped me put together a list of what I had to do to 'decamp'- making sure my hoses were detached, TV antenna down, steps in, all those little things that you don't want to leave up, down or connected when you pull out of your campsite, all went well and I was on I-10 heading East by 8:30 a.m.

What's it like driving a big, square box down the highway? Hard! There have been wind advisories in the southwest for several days and though it has died down enough to drive, big semis make their own wind. The first time one of these big rigs went screaming past me (did I mention I am driving at the very staid and easy pace of 55 mph on an interstate who's speed limit is 75?) I screamed and grabbed the wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.

I held on to the wheel for dear life most of the day, and pulled into the first rest stop I found, just to breathe and stop my knees from shaking. Got a lot of chuckles from RVers parked next to me when I explained why I was just standing next to the door and taking deep breaths. They assured me that I would be up and running with the big boys with a day or two - NOT! I also filled the gas tank - all 55 gallons worth. Sure hope as I cross the country the price of gas will drop from the $1.89 a gallon I paid.

I stopped at almost every rest stop along the way and you will see from the pictures that Winnie and I have been traveling across the a little bit of Arizona and into New Mexico - all desert, sage brush, flat and brown except for some amazing rock formations. Winnie, and even the big rigs, were dwarfed by these huge, red rocks. I kept expecting to see Indians or John Wayne come riding into view.

Made it all the way to Demming, NM for the night. All of 187 miles from Tucson. Al had suggested this RV park. When I questioned why I should stop after such a short drive, he just laughed and said - you'll be ready! And was he right. The stress just wears you out and I was so happy to see the exit for Roadrunner RV Park. Of course, had completely forgotten that though Arizona never changes it's time, New Mexico 'sprang back' last night and I had lost an hour when I crossed the state line.

So here I am, all snug and plugged in, watching 60 Minutes, having a nice glass of wine, getting ready to install my new printer and thinking about what to eat for dinner. Tomorrow I'm going to hope to go about 300 miles - which at my great speed is only a 6-hour drive. But I look at this way - I'm not chugging through as much gas as those who are flying by me at 75!

Thanks for everyone who emailed me and said they were glad to be 'on the road' with me. I appreciate it and for those who asked, the Cruiser got traded in on Winnie. I just couldn't imagine towing a car behind the coach before I learned how to drive the coach.

I'm Homeless!

As you all know, because of major safety and security issues on St. Kitts and differences that could not be easily resolved between the PC and it's older volunteers, I returned to the States on January 20th to resume my normal life. Ha!

Major problem was that my house in Wilmington is rented for the next year and a half. Wonderful friends and son stepped forward and allowed me to bunk in their spare bedrooms for a few days and even a few weeks at a time, but of course, I couldn't continue living out of my car and a suitcase. So what options did I have? Well, I could rent a furnished apartment and stay in Wilmington; I could rent a furnished apartment anywhere I wanted and stay there. But hey, why stay in one place when the option of trying out new places is available just by driving and taking your furnished home with you? How cool is that?!

So I decided I would become part of the very large, full-time RVer bunch. First I did a lot of checking on the web to see what I thought I would like best. Fell in love with Airstreams but couldn't get over the fact that I would have to trade the Cruiser in for a truck, learn how to hook and unhook and pull a 6,000 trailer behind me. So started looking for what is known as Class C's. These are drive inside, turn-around and walk into your living space. Rated extremely safe for women traveling alone. My first choice was a Winnebago, the oldest and still considered the best-made coach on the road. (They're manufactured in Iowa and made one-at-a-time.) I knew I didn't want to buy a brand-new model as wasn't willing to pay the depreciation as soon as I drove it off the lot. So started in looking on-line for a used, Winnebago, Class C Minnie Winnie but soon realized I needed to see what all was out there by attending the Spring RV shows. So....

I packed up the Cruiser and headed to Charlotte. Thanks to my wonderful friends, Rich and Sandy, for once again hosting me in their lovely home. The RV show was fairly small and I didn't find anything I really liked, but I did meet a very nice dealer from Hickory. So headed out one bright, cool morning and made my way to Carolina Coaches. Took a good look at what they had and still wasn't thrilled, so......

....I headed West to St. Louis. My dear friend Ellen invited me to stay with her and attend their much bigger RV show the coming weekend. Easy drive and how fun to be invited one night over to my high school buddy, Carol's, for a great dinner and to meet all her friends. Ellen and I had a great time attending the show and especially checking out the $250,000+ 'pushers' which are HUGE and have everything from fireplaces, granite countertops, massive flatscreen TVs to washers and dryers! A little out of my price range and when I sat behind the wheel of one, I was totally intimidated! All that glass - I felt like I was driving a Greyhound bus - and they're just as long. Just a wee bit bigger than I needed. But we did see a couple of really nice Class C's, including several Winnebago's. We visited a couple of dealerships but still didn't find my perfect home.

One of things I did when I decided this was what I wanted to do, was contact my good friends and our old neighbors from MN, Al & Sue. They have RV'd for many years and knew they would be an excellent resource. Al suggested I check out the RV dealerships in Tucson and low and behold, prices were much, much lower West of the Mississippi. So when they said 'come on out' I once again headed West.

With a night in Weatherford, OK and another night in Las Cruces, NM (Al had me take the little known, but beautiful, 4-lane, Hwy 70 out of Amarillo, across the the mountains into Las Cruces.) Perfect day, top down, even when I saw snow still lingering under the trees at the top (6000 feet). Sue and Al winter in Voyager's RV Resort. They have a beautiful home (with a very nice den/guest room) and welcomed me with open arms though we hadn't seen each other in 9 years. Al directed me to 3 of the largest RV dealerships in Tucson. How fun! But a great saleswoman at LaMesa told me about a 29' Minnie Winnie they had just taken in on trade at their Yuma location. We looked at pictures online and 'she' looked perfect. They offered to have the rig driven up to Tucson for me to see - and it was love at first sight!

So with a few days of lots of paperwork, the detailing and repairs of any all little things that needed fixing, I took off for Phoenix and a visit with my cousin Nancy and her husband Tom. How great that her sister, Rita, was visiting from CO, so we 3 cousins had a blast catching-up and shopping.

Yesterday I took possession of my very first and very own 'mobile home.' I spent 2 hours doing a walk-through with LaMesa's tech guy. I took copious notes and pictures and do I remember anything? It was total overload and when I pulled out of their drive and drove across the street to spend 2 nights in the big campground directly across the street, I swear I forgot everything.

I managed to check-in, find my spot and not hit anyone or thing when I parked. Then came the hooking-up of the electric, the water, the TV, finding the switches for city water, water pump, pushing out the 2 slides (living room and bedroom). Thank goodness for nice 'neighbors' as I didn't know you had to throw a switch for the electricity once you plugged-in and could not remember where the water connection was. Between my fellow-campers and surprise, the instruction manual, I managed to get everything running. The next few hours were spent unpacking and finding places to store all the 'stuff' I had to buy to equipment my new house. After a late dinner, I fell exhausted into bed and lay and listened to all the new sounds I will have to get used to. In the middle of the night the temperature dropped into the high 50's so had to figure out how to turn on the heat. Blowers are loud but the coach warmed up nicely and I went back to sleep until the sun came up at 5:30 a.m.

After breakfast, Al and Sue came over and we ran to Camping World (the RVer's answer to everything camping.) We picked up a few little items I was still missing and needed and then Al and I had a long talk about 'dumping.' You do not want to know the details - neither did I, though I realize it's something I will learn to do - yucky - if I want to keep my home sweet smelling and operating correctly.

It's a little after 1:30 p.m. and here I sit- sun shinning, watching golf on cable, thinking about what to have for lunch and loving being in my own space once again. Tomorrow, depending on the wind forecast (a biggie you have to take into consideration when you're driving a big, flat box down the highway) I will head out on my first road trip - from Tucson to the Florida Keys! Good friends Laura and John finally bought their dream, retirement home and invited me down for a visit. Laura took pictures of their driveway to show me that it's plenty big enough for me to park!

So off we go - again. I hope you enjoy the ride!

ReAnn