Tag: Camping

Gillette and the FMCA rally

I just found out all the iPhone pictures I posted in the blog were turned sideways on non-Apple products! How embarrassing. I discovered a fix finally, but it needed better internet than I was able to get in Gillette, so I just got around to fixing them. So far everything looks good since December 2016, and I will get the older pictures fixed when I get home to a high speed Internet.

I ended the last post with us getting parked at the FMCA rally. We actually had a pretty nice time. We met up with a few friends from RVForum.net, bought a new flagpole that attaches with suction cups plus a convection oven cook book and gear in addition to the SeeLevel. Kevin tried to buy a new TV antenna that mounted on the roof, but they were all sold out. I don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing! Our current movable DISH antenna works great, but it is a bit of a pain to set up each time. Because it is portable, it works in more locations than a roof top antenna ever would. The rooftop is just push a few buttons, and it works. The portable requires putting together a tripod, mounting the antenna, chaining it down, etc. We will keep talking about it and see later. It is the kind of thing we can easily get installed at Quartzsite in January.

The main reason to attend a big rally like this, in addition to seeing friends, is to go to seminars. They run seminars in 14 rooms, 6 time slots a day. Many are very product specific, but some are good for general interest. As an example of product specific seminars, Cummins puts on seminars about their engines and generators (the Onan brand). Kevin got some really good laminated handouts about maintenance and such. Examples of general interest seminars were ones about boondocking and planning long trips. Both of those were excellent. We did take one entire day off and did some sightseeing in the area. We went to a little museum in Wright, about 40-50 milesfrom Gillette. It exceeded my expectations. Fun fact: Wright is a company town for the local Black Thunder coal mine, but it is a public entity. It was incorporated only in 1985. That explains the modern city buildings and school. The guy the town was named after was a real character too.

We left on Sunday morning, and we went to a lovely little campground outside of Custer, SD called Beaver Lake. It was a private campground with lots of trees and a variety of activities. It was mostly full of people obviously in for a week vacation with kids and bikes. The site wasn’t very level, but we made it work. Have I mentioned how much I love the automatic leveling on the motorhome? I will,post more about the Black Hills later, and I will include pictures!

Spearfish Canyon and on to Gillette

We definitely had a nice trip through Spearfish Canyon. I wanted to check out the Forest Service campgrounds, and we did. Sadly they were either too small for our rig or too crowded. We took the loop through Lead and Deadwood back to Spearfish. The only pictures I took were of Bridal Veil Falls.

We also visited the High Plains Heritage Museum in Spearfish. Wow! I highly recommend it. The exhibits were very good and obviously recently refreshed. It covered some Native American history and lots about the western settlements, mining, and forestry. Veterans got in free, but Kevin made up for it when he bought a raffle ticket for a gorgeous commemorative rifle. I assisted by buying a raffle ticket for a beautiful painting. We also enjoyed a lovely dinner at Guadalajara Restaurant almost next door to the KOA. They had a sangria special that I really enjoyed in addition to the food.

We didn’t get in a huge hurry to leave Spearfish, but we were still in Gillette just before 11:30. We saw lots of pelicans, geese, and quite a few pronghorn along the way. The FMCA rally was a zoo. The parking guys obviously were new at their jobs, and they didn’t communicate well at all. Kevin and I were both steaming by the time we got settled in our (very close) site. We got a site with 50 amp power and water, but no sewer. We would be fine for a week without a dump, but it is more comfortable if we have one. They do have a pumper service available, so we will see about using that on Thursday or Friday. We will leave on Sunday morning, and I just got reservations for Sunday night at a private campground just outside of Custer, SD. That will let us get all the laundry done at least since we are going to an electric only site after that for a few days.

We did get one item installed already, a SeeLevel tank monitoring system. The installer had said Monday and Tuesday were the only days he was available, so we called him as soon as we got settled. Our current tank monitors are just 1/3, 2/3, and Full. That isn’t nearly enough knowledge about status to comfortably dry camp. This system shows in 10% intervals, and it uses inductance through the side of the tank instead of internal sensors.

Made it to Spearfish, South Dakota

We left Ely on Thursday around 11:00. We had just over 200 miles to go, and we weren’t supposed to check in before 4:00 so we definitely took our time. The road wasn’t too busy which is good because it was narrow and windy. I was very glad to be on a wider state highway after Virginia. We did get to see some minor wildlife. Not far outside of Ely we saw a pond with two swans on it, definitely a surprise. We also had to slow down while a momma turkey hustled a chick across the road. There were more chicks and another adult turkey waiting for them on the other side.

When we neared Itasca Lily decided she was going to be adventuresome and see what was going on. Normally she hides under the recliner, coming out rarely to express her displeasure, eat, drink, and use her box. This time she climbed right on the dash and looked outside the window for 5 minutes or so.

I was hoping this meant she would finally get brave enough to come out more, but it didn’t. She hid all day today.

We got set up at Bear Paw campground a bit before 5:00. The campsite was plenty long enough, but the interior roads were a bit narrow. It took two attempts to get it backed in correctly. Then we just enjoyed the park. We took the Wildlife Loop, but didn’t see any wildlife. We did see lovely green forests though. We ended at the big park lodge where we had a lovely dinner. I had a wonderful walleye stuffed with wild rice, cranberries, and blueberries with a side of perfect asparagus. Kevin had pot roast that he said was quite good. Here’s a picture of the campground.

The campground had a number of vacancies on a Thursday in mid summer, something that is good to remember for a future weekday trip when we can spend more time.

We left the campground by 9:00 am. We only had 300 miles to go to our destination – the Walmart in Bismarck, ND. There weren’t a lot of choices; North Dakota gets vacant really fast. The Walmart was clean and quiet though it was hot. We easily got leveled and turned on the generator since tonight was definitely going to be a night for AC. I feel pretty good about the generator since it was definitely quieter than another camper’s Honda 2000. We watched the evening news, and I was in bed by 10:15. Of course there was a little noise from the campround’s sprinklers going off at 10:00, but I took a cyclobenzoprene for back pain and was out like a light.

We left Bismarck by 8:30, headed another 300 miles to Spearfish, SD. We are at a KOA with reasonable tree cover and lots of grass. Full hookups mean that I am doing laundry in the coach. Have I mentioned how much I love the washer and dryer there? Yes, it takes a lot longer than going to a laundromat, but I get to do other things while it is running. It is lightly raining right now, and I am sitting under the awning writing this. Pretty good gig! Tomorrow we will head up Spearfish Canyon for some sightseeing. We leave on Monday morning for our first Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) rally in Gilllette. We will be going to a number of information sessions, seeing entertainment, and visiting friends from the RVForum.com.

I am definitely feeling more comfortable driving the coach. My arms aren’t stiff and my shoulders aren’t sore because I am much more relaxed. I do have a sore back though because of the seat. It has this odd bump out on the seat back just about where my shoulder blades are. I have started padding the lower part of the seat, and that is much better.

The rain is getting stronger and a bit of a breeze is with it. I think I will go inside, or at least take the iPad inside.

A lovely few days in the north woods

I really like the Ely, MN area. We are staying at Fall Lake campground, and it is the nicest Forest Service campground I have ever been in. The campsite had room to spare for our 40’ motorhome plus parking for the Jeep. We backed in the site, so I have a lovely view of Fall Lake from the big window. 

The campsite across the road is a tent only site, and it has been vacant for much of the time so my view is unimpeded.

We had a fun time with friends from the RVForum plus friends I know in Ely. We had a nice visit in the motorhome with one couple, lunch with another, and we also spent time with RVForum folks at the Winton Roadhouse while Pat Surface was playing. He did a great combo of covers (Elton, Dylan, the Beatles, among others) plus some of his original songs. Note for the future the pretzels are huge and the honey mustard sauce was lovely as was the stout they had on tap.

We decided to head out a day early to make the travel days to Gillette easier. We snagged a site for tonight in Itasca State Park which should be fun. The next night will probably be in a parking lot somewhere, then into the Spearfish, SD KOA for 2 nights.

Some more pics from this stay.

Friends at the Winton Roadhouse.

The road to Lake One at sunset after the rain.

T

Times like this is when I wish I brought my camera instead of just my iphone. The colors of the picture does not do justice to the real thing. The sky was orange/scarlet.

 

Finally finished a quilt and back on the road

A good friend of one of my sons had a baby in April. Knowing this was coming, I started a quilt for the baby in February. Then we decided to rush moving and buying the motorhome, and the baby quilt didn’t get done on time. 😢 Little Roman (it turned out to be a boy) was born in April, and he just got his quilt yesterday. It did come out cute though.

The pattern is called Irish Chain. The parents chose not to find out the gender, and they didn’t have a theme or color picked out, so I went with the simple two color quilt. The colors aren’t true in the picture; the red is a brick red and the lighter color is a creamy golden.

I quilted it with a variegated King Tut thread with red, brown, green, and cream.

I used a feather stitch on the binding. I really like the look of this.

We also took off today for a trip! We are headed to Ely, Minnesota tomorrow. Tonight we are staying part way there at the Hinckley Grand Casino campground. It is a really nice campground with asphalt pads and patios but with grass and trees or so, but nice. We had dinner at the Casino buffet because it was easy. Food was standard “nice” buffet, but not great.

We will stay in Ely until Friday morning when we gradually work our way to the FMCA rally in Gillette, WY. Then off to Hot Springs, SD for a few days. We haven’t decided what to do after that.

I did drive the motorhome well over half the trip so far. We stopped for a CAT scale weighing to see how heavy we were. The front axle was just barely under the 12,000 pound capacity with full tanks of both diesel and water. The back axle still has 800pounds of capacity, and we are pretty full of “stuff” so I feel very comfortable with the residual capacity. Getting a real axle weight means we could adjust the tires appropriately for the weight they are carrying. The front tires were 118 pounds each, so they got lowered to 110 pounds. The rear tires were about the same, and they got brought down to 100 pounds. Wow but does it handle better! Much less tiring to drive. The motorhome is still more tiring the the truck and trailer, but it was certainly better than the first 1000 miles we drove.

Getting the hang of this

We have now been at Pleasant Creek Recreation Area for 8 nights. It was lovely. Some of my kids came out a few times for dinner and boating, and we were close enough to home to pick up a bunch of things we needed for the motorhome. I made two racks of beef ribs in the Instant Pot one night that my son in law finished on the grill. We also grilled burgers one night. It has been nice!

One of the things I have gotten organized is my sewing area. I tried using the machine on the dining table, but that just didn’t work. It was the wrong height, and the chair just wasn’t right there. I brought my little Gadget table from home, and it is perfect sitting in front of the TV. I will put my supplies on one end of the sofa, and the machine can travel on the sofa using the seat belt there.

Notice the little Ott light on the left and the purple Sip and Snip on the right. I love both of them! The Ott light provides just enough light from the back of the machine to make sewing much easier. It just sits wherever I want it. The Sip and Snip has a big cup holder and a trash bag for thread and other items. It is clamped on the edge of the table. I not only finished a baby quilt top but I also made some bowl cozies for the coach using some Native American pot fabric I bought in Arizona near Ft. Huachuca. I slightly rounded the corners of these, and they were easier to sew that sharp corners.

The site here is really lovely. There was hardly anyone here until the weekend. Three fourths of the sites accept reservations, and they are pretty empty during the week. We took one of the 7 non-reservation sites which were luckily not occupied.

The last picture shows the motorhome in a much truer color than the other one I posted. Most Tiffin paint schemes have black on the top. The lighter red should be somewhat cooler. Besides we like bright colors!

We are headed back home today. We won’t head out again until a couple of days after the 4th when we see friends in Ely, MN for a week then head west to Gillette, WY for a FMCA rally. It will be fun!

Back in Iowa in the motorhome

We left Alabama intending on staying at Cuivre State Park in Missouri, basically between St. Louis and Hannibal. We got there, but we didn’t fit! The park website said we did, and the reviews on RVParkReview.com said we would, but that must have been before they stopped trimming the trees above and next to the road. We actually scratched the coach, something that made me very sad. We then headed back north, but we couldn’t find a nice campground with openings. The campgrounds in the Hannibal don’t have good reviews, and Mark Twain Lake, a great place, was just too far off the road. We ended up staying in the Hannibal Walmart parking lot, running the generator pretty solid because it was so hot. I didn’t feel too bad because everyone else was doing the same thing!

We stopped at Center Point, Iowa, about 45 miles from home, to dump the tanks at the Travel Plaza. After we finished, we realized we were within 5 miles of one of our favorite camping spots – Pleasant Creek State Recreation  Area. We decided to stop there for 6 days. Luckily it was Monday so the few no-reservation campsites had openings. It is a huge pull through site with 50 amp service at the princely cost of $16 a night. We decided to stay here until Sunday morning.

It was miserably hot on Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday were rainy and hot. My daughter, her husband and son, and my second son came last night for dinner. I used the Instant Pot to make pulled pork (cut into 1 pound chunks, use vegetable broth, garlic, and onions as liquid, pressure cook 70 minutes, natural pressure release after 10 minutes – delicious). I also made my daughter’s favorite chocolate cherry dump cake. I usually make it in a Dutch Oven, but the rain put a kabosh on that. I made it in a 6×10 baking pan I had. Put 2 cans of high quality cherry pie filling in the pan, spread about 1/2 a package of chocolate cake mix, and apply liquid margarine in a cross hatch pattern. I baked in the convection oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Today it was absolutely lovely most of the day with mild temperatures and just a bit of wind off and on. I tried to sew just to see where things would work best. I have already decided I don’t like seeing at the dinette table, so tomorrow we will pick up my little portable sewing table and see how that works.

In summary, it was awfully nice to have a comfortable place to really try out the coach. We are close enough to home we can pick up things, and we have packed a number of things we will be wanting to take with us.

We are ready for the road!

We finished our 2 day RV driving class today. It was very helpful. The saleswoman at the dealer had done some quick instruction, but we found out quickly that it didn’t work for all situations. The instructor (Jimmy Johnson from RVDrivingschool.com) showed us all kinds of methods to doing turns, backing, and just moving around in traffic. Both of us feel much more confident in traffic now, so I think it was well worth the money.

One nice thing about being with a local is finding all kinds of good places to eat. Yesterday at lunch we ate at Fiesta Mexican in Tuscumbia, AL which was very tasty. Last night we ate at Swamp John in Florence, AL, a hole in the wall fish place. I had a nice meal of fried catfish, fried okra, and hush puppies along with sweet tea – a truly southern meal like I grew up with. Today at lunch we ate at Smokin’ on the Boulevard in Florence, AL with the best smoked chicken I had ever had. Wow! A whole smoked chicken was $10, and it was worth every penny. Kevin got a smoked pork loin that was also good. We were disappointed they were out of brisket and ribs, but we can try them if we ever get here again. I ended up buying a second chicken that I will piece apart and freeze for later.

The motorhome is doing great. We closed the bedroom area off and ran the generator so we could have the air conditioner in the “living room”. The dahs air is cold, but there is a lot of space to cool down, so it is common for motorhomes to drive with their generators running when AC is needed. It was well into the mid 90s with a dew point of 70+, so I was quite pleased at how comfortable the coach was.

We head back to Iowa tomorrow morning. We plan on staying at a state park in Missouri tomorrow night then being home on Monday. It turns our Mississippi only gives 7 day temp tags, so we won’t be legal after that. It will be an expensive trip to the DMV!

More about the new motorhome

We made our first drive in the motorhome successfully. The Jeep followed behind us just fine as a “toad”. My toe was killing me since I stubbed it badly on the raised section of the floor by my side of the bed, so Kevin drove here from the dealer. I did drive about 20 miles with the saleswoman we had though including rural highway, town, and interstate so I am not worried. We are at a small campground in Tuscumbia, AL until Sunday morning.

We can successfully hitch and unhitch the Jeep using a Blue Ox brand tow bar and a AirForce One air brake system (installed on the Jeep). The instructions for setting the transmission correctly in the Jeep are complicated enough that Kevin wrote them on an index card. We bought this particular Grand Cherokee (Trail Hawk model) because it could be towed “four down” – all four wheels on the ground – but it takes some fussing with. The OTA television antenna works fine. We didn’t bring enough cabling to try the cable TV at the campsite. I even ran three loads of laundry in the washer and dryer! I really like the Splendide brand washer and dryer we have.  The guy doing our PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) warned me that they took a long time to wash and dry, but it wasn’t terrible. The washer on PermaPress took 1 hour 28 minutes after I added a second rinse, and my big washer at home takes 58 minutes for the same thing. The dryer certainly is slower, but I dried 5 pair of Kevin’s heavy jeans in about 100 minutes. The dryer only runs on 110 v instead of the 220v at home, so I wasn’t surprised it took longer. The washer and dryer are also smaller. The five heavy jeans was a full load whereat home I wash 7 pair at once.

I even used the convection microwave to make brownies. The oven itself walks you through the button pushes which was handy since it took a series of them. The brownies turned out nicely though. I also used the convection oven to roast potatoes for dinner and to brown the boneless country ribs I cooked in the Instant Pot. I am definitely “RVing”, not “camping”!

Not everything is good though. Lily is not happy with me. She has a tendency to hide under the bed, and she hasn’t come out for her normal lap time with me. Kevin says it is because I didn’t bring a lap quilt for her to lay on, and I hope that’s what it is. I was the one who put her in her crate a lot on the trip though, so I worry she is mad.

Tomorrow and Saturday we have an instructor from RVDrivingSchool.com, Jimmy Johnson, coming out to take us through our paces. There will be a total of 12 hours of instruction, and we should be very confident with driving the 40 foot beast when we are done. I have no trouble remembering his name. It is the same as an Oklahoma State University football coach when I went there who later became coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The coach Jimmy Johnson was an ass, but I have heard good things about this instructor. Guess I won’t hold his name against him. 😁

 

We own a motorhome!

We headed to Sherman’s RV in Sherman, Mississippi on Sunday. We made it to Holly Springs, MS before we gave up. Eleven hours of travel, and I hit my limit! Monday morning we made the last 45 miles, and we bought our new Tiffin RED 37PA. I love it, but it has been tedious getting it ready. The dealer was late getting started, and a few things still needed to be done. We also had our Jeep Grand Cherokee modified to be towed behind the motorhome, and that also took longer than planned. Sigh. We still don’t have everything done, so we are staying a second night in the dealer’s full hookup site. It is just a gravel parking spot, but it looks out on a lovely pond.

Here are some pictures:

Living room has a sofa air bed and a movable recliner
Lots of televisions, and even a fake fireplace which is a good electric heater.
We got a table and chairs instead of a dinette.
Bedroom with a RV king. It is 6” narrower than a regular king.
Really nice bathroom with big shower and two sinks.
It is much brighter than this picture taken under overcast clouds.

We eventually got all the gear unpacked we brought from the travel trailer. Lots of room left! Lily seems to be adjusting well.