Merry Christmas and Happy New Camera

I like taking pictures and since I'm planning a trip out west to see amazing landscapes, ghost towns, caverns and canyons, I decided I needed a new camera.  I first decided I should have one with changeable lenses but I usually hike and do lots of walking.   I remember years ago when I had such a camera, with different lenses - carrying that thing on hikes was not much fun.   So, I opted for a camera with a good zoom, good lens and a decent price. 

I like to do closeups and most cameras have good closeup options.  I did get some filters for getting extra close, and hopefully I'll get some good photos with those.  Below is a picture of a cormorant with beautiful eyes.  This was taken with my telephoto and great lighting to pick up his eye color.  These birds fly and also swim underwater to catch their food. 

                                          

I take lots of flower pictures and probably will end up taking pictures of desert foliage - cactus, most likely!  I'm going to have to practice taking videos, I've never really done that before to any extent.
 

So stay tuned to this blog, you can subscribe by email on the right side of this blog.  I'll be having updates of my travels, videos and more pictures. 

 

 

 

And have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love my Duct Tape

As a new RVer,  I'm learning something new almost every day.   Easier ways to do things, getting organized in the basement as well as inside.    I’m also learning about the operation of my different systems.

The other day, I learned how to deploy my awning.  I had started it (with my instruction sheet in hand), and my neighbor came over and helped/showed me how to do it.  OK, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.   Today, I wanted to wind it up because it was gusty, and there's no use beating it up when I knew I wouldn't be home.  So, again with my instruction sheet, I went out and was doing fine until my wind-up strap came loose. 

The strap was stitched to a rubbery length of material that went into a slot so it could slide from side to side on the rollup tube.  The stitching had frayed, a ridiculous problem, since the awning was new just before I bought my 5th wheel trailer.  We all know that duct tape cures lots of problems.  I looped the strap over the rubbery piece, duct taped it to itself and slid the rubbery piece into the slot in the windup tube. 

 Simple fix, right?   Yep, love that duct tape, I have multiple rolls of it.  Years ago, a partner and I had a class C that we used for weekend camping.  We were coming home late one night and the radiator hose blew in multiple places.  Nothing was open, deserted stretch of road.  I jokingly said that we had a brand new roll of duct tape.  Quite a while later, most of that tape was wrapped around the radiator hose and it got us home - I really should have taken pictures.  Of course, that's no fix for poor maintenance - which was a major problem with that partner........  and we won't go any further on that.

 My point today is to have all your tools together for a project.  As I was winding up the awning, I realized that I had forgotten to get out the long wand used to unroll the awning and then to roll it back up again.   It’s the first thing you use to deploy it and the last thing you use to stow it.  I stood there, realizing I would have to roll it all out again, call for help or somehow deal with it.  Luckily, I was able to climb up on the picnic table and get it rolled in the rest of the way.   I bet I’m gonna remember that wand for the next time I deal with the awning.

 

Moving Right Along.......

 

 

Just about a week ago, I finally sold my car to a gentleman who had been to see it earlier in the day.  Thank goodness this guy was easy to deal with, as I’d had a man arguing with me earlier in the week about the price - he just would not go away.  Obviously he did not know me at all, because arguing made me more stubborn!  Still, I wish I had gotten more for the car, but I was glad to have that over with.

Last weekend, I had a yard sale for 2 days to empty my house of stuff I had accumulated in the past 6 years.   Thank goodness the house wasn’t any bigger and I hadn’t been there any more years!  It took me hours to set up, both the day before and starting at 4:30 that morning.  Friday was a great day and I sold some large items and got rid of a lot of small ones.  Saturday was not very busy, there were too many group sales in the area, but I still managed to get rid of lots of things. 

Saturday afternoon I spent a few hours packing things up to take to the Hospice Thrift shop where I volunteer.  I took that load over and left the rest on the porch to pack up the next day.  It took me several hours to pack up stuff the next day – plus deciding what I should just trash.  I ended up ruthlessly trashing lots of things - I’ve become hardened to it!

Obviously I slept like a rock after those long, hard days – my first nights in my 5^th wheel; and it was very comfortable.  I thought I had moved everything in here prior to the sale, but all of a sudden I had piles of “last minute” items that had to be brought over – and stashed.   I have a feeling I’ll be organizing things as soon as I figure out what is convenient.

I have spent the last 3 days cleaning the house for sale.  You’d think it would be easy to clean an empty house.  All cabinets had to be wiped out.  I even did the windows!  I put up a new blind in the living room, after a trip to Lowe’s.  After a few more fixit projects, I had to clean out the fridge and freezer.  I haven’t brought over all my food yet, so I had to clean around what little was left over there. 

I met with the broker who assures me he can sell the house for a price that I can live with.  Even though I was skeptical, I signed the listing form, hoping that he sends over a great photographer to make it look wonderful.  We will see if he can do what he claims he can. 

The house is the last major obstacle to be dealt with before I can leave.  Of course, I have other things that need to be done, and I’m getting the 5^th wheel trailer set up.  I ended up having to buy a propane alarm and a CO2 alarm as both of them had expired.  These alarms have a shelf life of about 5 years – what a way to insure that the company will be making money in the future!

I figure I won’t be out of here until the first of the year anyway, but even that will depend on the house being sold.   Hopefully, it will be sold to really nice people, since I do like my neighbors on each side. 

 

Cattitude Adjustment

 

 

 

My Trinidad cat is now 14 years old, feisty as ever and believes that I am here just to serve her.  For the most part, she’s been healthy and hasn’t had to see the vet much.  But when she does – watch out!   As soon as I put her in her carrier and in the car, she howls all the way to the vet – thankfully a very short trip!

Because we will be traveling in a 5^th wheel, she needs to be trained to sit up in the truck with me – without the vocalization.  So I have a cage for her now instead of the carrier, maybe that will make her happier.  I’m putting her in it every day and sitting outside with her to acclimatize her to the cage and different scenery.  She doesn’t seem to mind, she’s had a strong interest in “outside” since she’s lived in a house.  She loved “outside” when we were on the boat and sat in the cockpit and watched other boats, dinghies, birds and fish in the water.

Yesterday, after sitting outside with her, I put the cage in the truck passenger seat, where she will be traveling (hopefully silent).  She didn’t seem to mind that either.  I found the seatbelt will go around the cage nicely to hold her in.  The true test will be when I start the engine – we’ll just sit there in the truck in the driveway.  After a few days of that, we’ll take a little drive around the neighborhood.  I’m hoping that this gentle, slow introduction to RVing will enable her to be a pleasant traveling companion instead of a howling monster. 

I’ll let you know how it works……


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More blogs and photos coming as I prepare and go traveling.

Learning to Hook up a 5th Wheel

Today was a productive day for me.  Since my truck was delivered yesterday, I decided to take time today to get acquainted with a few things in my truck - the shiny new Reese hitch and the Sirius XM radio my brother put in for me.  I also loaded all the safety gear from my car to the truck. 

I got out the instructions for the radio, tuned to the FM station as instructed and started playing with the buttons.  It was so easy to find the ones I wanted to put on the preset buttons - they made it pretty easy to figure out how to get around in their program.  So now I have music, comedy, or whatever else from the extensive list of channels they have on there.  OK, that was easy - let's hope the hitch is just as user friendly.

I had a general understanding of how the 5th wheel hitches worked.  In looking over the book, I found that mine doesn't have the jaws I've seen on most of them.  Instead, it has a heavy bar that pulls back with the handle, when your king pin goes in there completely, it clicks into place.  Makes sense to me.  There's a padlock that goes on the handle to keep it in place,  so I decided to give that a little squirt with some T-9 so it won't rust up. 

Later in the day, I met a friend of mine over at the storage unit where my 5th wheel has been incarcerated until this weekend.  This would be the first time in my life that I have ever attached any kind of trailer to any kind of vehicle  - in my whole life!  I had not driven this truck much, and in truth, I am very used to cars and very rarely drive a truck.  Not any more!  So, I put tailgate down and pull in front of the 5th wheel and prepare to back up the truck to put that king pin into my shiny new hitch.  This is just practice, to see how close I can get it - we're not planning on going anywhere.

I start backing up, trying to line up that small pin with the hitch I can see in the back of my truck.  I go slowly, trying to keep them in line, and when I get close - I can see that I'm only an inch or two off to one side.  OK, I pull forward a bit and back up again, not coming closer, but now about 3 inches short of success.  My friend explains that I need to pull further forward than I did, since the minute changes I made in steering don't work when I'm too close because the hitch is right over the axle.  So, I pull way forward and start my slow trip back again, lining up the pin with the hitch.  This time, it works and the king pin is in perfect position to jump right into the hitch.  We closed the tailgate because it looked SO close, and I backed up just a teeny bit and heard the hitch lever clunk into place.  Success!!   

Since it was solidly on, we decided to hook up the power cord; we checked the lights and they all worked fine.  I retracted the forward landing gear and we could see the weight of the 5th wheel settle into the bed of the truck.  OK, great, things are working nicely!  It was late in the day, so that's all we planned to do.  So, we put down the landing gear, unhooked the power and pulled the truck away from the 5th wheel - yes, remembering to lower the tailgate again.

I feel better about hooking up now, since the first lesson is usually the worst (I hope).  We'll see on Saturday when I hook it up again and take it up the road about 20 miles or so to get her roof cleaned and coated and get her some new tires. 

More fun to come!

Utah - Goblin Valley State Park

I haven't been to the Goblin Valley State Park, although I have seen many pictures of the rock formations in this area.  They are amazing.  People should be in awe of these rocks perched on edges of rock formations - etched by millions of years of wind, rain and storms.

After all these years, a few people come along and decide they have the right to push over one of these giant boulders, thereby destroying something that has withstood time and Mother Nature.  If you have seen the video, they look like a couple idiots who have had one too many drinks.  http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/18/21023331-utah-scout-leaders-who-topped-ancient-rock-we-did-something-right-the-wrong-way?lite  These guys are Boy Scout leaders?  So says the news - unbelievable that these guys are allowed to be leading anything, including themselves.  What makes them think they are allowed to destroy something that belongs to the State of Utah and get away with it?  What makes them think they were right??   I believe that they were just showing off - their You Tube video sure confirms that fact, as far as I'm concerned.

Now that they have realized they have made a gigantic blunder and face charges, they are claiming they did it because they expected it to fall over on someone.  They are claiming they were saving someone's life.  I don't buy it.  Sorry, that does not make sense.  Lame excuse for being stupid.  If it was dangerous, I'm sure park rangers would have been in the area and cordoned off that particular rock formation.  I'm sure the park rangers wouldn't have pushed it over - that's not the way to handle a natural treasure that has been centuries in the making.

I'm beyond mad, I'm planning a trip out there and was planning to see this area.   Yes, there are still lots of rock formations in that valley, but now there's one less.  If nothing happens to these vandals, and that's exactly what they are,  the state and national park treasures will be fair game.  Will graffiti show up next?  How about cutting down a redwood, or maybe a sequoia instead?  We could all take bits and pieces of the Petrified Forest for souvenirs too, until it's all gone. 

This has had too much national attention to let these vandals get away with it.  They need to be sentenced with the strictest punishment allowed by law.  If they receive just a light sentence, the message will be that it's not a problem if you vandalize fragile national treasures.  Everyone will be watching the outcome of this situation.  Let's hope it will be a warning for everyone to protect our environment and respect what nature has given us.

Getting Ready

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While I'm waiting for my truck to be delivered from up in New York, I've been buying things for my new home.  Most of it is small stuff, to make it safer and more comfortable.  I ordered some LED lightbulbs that will save on electric when I'm not plugged into a campground.  I had them on my last boat and they were terrific.  They hardly use any power at all.  Now that I know the ones I ordered will work and emit enough light, I'll order another batch to put in all the rest of the fixtures. 

The biggest purchase has not been made yet, but I have tracked it down and know exactly what I need.  The tires that are on the 5th wheel now are new - only a year old and they haven't been very many places.  But, in doing research, I'm finding that the "load range" of tires, for my unit, should be a step higher than the ones on it now.  This means that I'll have tougher tires, capable of carrying more weight, thereby being safer.  Also, I'm getting a different brand that has been rated quite good on some of the forums I've been searching on.  These forums are strictly RV people - some with decades of knowledge.  I don't know how many hours I've spent researching this, on the internet, visits to tire shops and reading pages of forum comments.  It's great to learn all about this in the beginning, and not out on the road after there's been a blowout.

Most of the other stuff I've purchased,  have been small items.   I got a fire extinguisher, flares and reflective triangles for the truck - just in case.  My theory is that if I have them - I won't need them - I hope it really works that way.  I ordered a nice cutting board cover for my stove, since the previous owner tossed out the metal stove cover.  The CO2 detector should have been replaced last year, so I have one on order -  these things only last a few years and it expired last year.   

I have an anode for the water heater - if only I can get the old one out.....   I have penetrating oil on it now and will find someone with more muscles to try to get it out. All these systems keep reminding me that this is very similar to living on a boat.  I found a website where I can enter all my maintenance tasks and the dates they need to be done - it will send me an email reminder a couple days before. 

Things are moving along nicely and when I get my truck, I will take the 5th wheel in to get the roof cleaned and coated and the furnace checked out.  Then it goes for the tires and at the end of the month, I plan to move it to a campground and move in completely!   Then I'll need someone to buy my car and house and I'll be ready.   Oh, yeah, and I have to practice driving, and backing up, and hooking up and unhooking and........

As in sailboat cruising, I'm sure these plans are written in the sand at low tide.....

My New Home

Wildcat will be my new home - it's a 5th wheel, Forest River Wildcat.  It's only 26' long, but tons of storage space for that size - way more than any other unit I've seen in that size.  The floor plan is perfect and it has been meticulously maintained by it's previous owner, who was the only owner. 

A thought just hit me - a 26' boat would be TINY - it would be cramped to live aboard - but this is totally different.  Even my 47' boat didn't have this much room, and storage space!  About 15 years of my life has been spent mostly on boats so I know how to live in small quarters.  This should be a piece of cake. 

I had been looking at 5th wheels for about 5 months, any size, make or model up to 30'.  A few days ago, I took a trip to Ocala and Gainesville, Florida to see what was available over there.  I spent the first day looking at units that either weren't in my price range (but they were very nice) or units that had lots of water damage and/or other problems - some I just didn't like. 

At the end of the day, I looked at a unit for sale by a private owner and as soon as I walked in, I knew this was a well cared-for unit, and I really liked it.  I could tell the owner had enjoyed the trailer, he indicated he was reluctant to sell, but his wife was done with traveling in it - and that was final.    He had made multiple upgrades to the unit and I could tell he was attached to it.  I really liked the layout and felt it would be a good match for me.

After looking around and talking to him for well over an hour, I left and found a place to stay for the night.  I sat in that motel room and planned my next day, deciding what RV sales lots I'd visit and seeing what they had available.  Most of them were units similar to ones I had seen in other locations, I had seen the layout and it was just a matter of condition.  There was really nothing new that I hadn't seen in other places.  While I was contemplating this, I went through the pictures I had taken of this unit - going over the pictures that had been on his ad.

During the night, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got on the computer to look at the pictures again, and pictured myself living in it.   The more I looked at it and remembered the feeling when I first walked in the door, I started to think it was a waste of time to look at similar units I'd seen before and wasn't that impressed with.  With only 2 hours of sleep, I convinced myself I needed to go back to sleep and decide in the morning.

In the morning, I checked my list again - ho-hum.   And then I checked the pictures I'd taken the previous day.   Yes, definitely, I did like this unit, it was clean and well maintained, even the tires and battery were only 1 year old  -  why should I look any further?  So, the decision was made - I would call the owner and set up a meeting to discuss the purchase. 

The rest of the day was spent discussing the deal, having him get the title and meeting me at the bank where I'd do the wire transfer.  I decided to go to the tag office then and get the title sent in to be transferred to me and get the registration and the plate for it.  While I was waiting for that to happen, I called my insurance company and got the insurance set up.  By that time, I was ready for the three hour drive home.

And so a new chapter in my life begins.  I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time.   It's another big learning curve, possibly not as big as when I went cruising.  In any case, my gypsy spirit requires travel and adventure, and I bet it's gonna be great!

Sign up with your email in the upper right hand corner of this blog to follow my preparations and travels.  I will be posting videos of places I'll be visiting also -
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Sjk6aQnK8EmA0-698i5A/feed    Hope you enjoy riding along with me.

Betty Karl

5th Wheel Delivery

Wow - what a day I had.!  A friend took me to Gainesville to bring my "new" 5th wheel home.  Since I don't have my truck here yet, we drove over in her truck.    Actually, she made me drive part of the way, to get used to the truck.  I had a feeling I knew what she was up to.

We got there a little early, so we had a quick breakfast/lunch and then met the owner at the storage lot where my 5th wheel was.  A quick walk-around, the previous owner giving me tips on the unit he really didn't want to sell, but his wife was done traveling in it.  Same story I heard while I was cruising by sailboat a few years back - boat for sale - wife wants to go "home".   I was always happy being "home" wherever the boat was.  Obviously, I was not made from the same mold as these wives!

I've never towed anything, so I watched while the previous owner and my friend hitched up the 5th wheel and brought in the landing gear, connected and checked lights, etc.  We got in the truck, waved goodbye to the previous owner, who stood at the gate gazing sadly at us going down the road.  I felt bad for him, I had the same feeling when I sold some (most) of my boats. 

Not only have I never towed anything myself, I don't think I've ever been in a truck or car hauling anything larger than a small boat or utility trailer.  I was a bit nervous at the noises it was making and kept looking back to be sure everything was OK.  In a short time, I got used to the fact that it was following us as it should - after all, hundreds of people do this daily, things would be fine.

We drove out of town and the road home was a nice road mostly through less populated areas, not much traffic,  a few curvy parts, a few little hilly parts  - hills in Florida can be 25' and we're impressed.  In a short time, my friend told me it was my turn to drive and my anxiety level went up a few notches.   She found a shaded area to pull over and we switched places.  I adjusted the seat, put on the seatbelt, took a big breath, looked in the mirrors to see what I could see.  I slowly took off and after a while, I realized that towing wasn't that hard - at least on a nice road with little traffic!  Oops, someone passed me and I noticed that I had a little parade going.  OK, I had adjusted to 40 MPH, I added a little more speed and finally got up to the speed limit.  0-60 in about 8 minutes!

We drove on and we came to a more populated area where I had to make a few turns and get into a parking lot.  Thank goodness I had a general idea of how it should be done, plus I had input from the passenger seat veteran.  I had been reading lots of information about towing, and You Tube is wonderful for instructional videos about anything you need to know about.   Really, I'm serious - I had watched videos about driving an RV, making the wide turns, backing up and all sorts of things - even dumping the black tank, which I'm sure will be another story later.

We pulled into the parking lot, made a loop through and parked way out in the lot, taking up numerous spaces - I can see I'm going to love huge parking lots.  My time at the wheel was done, I would get in my car and my friend would follow me to my home town.  What a sense of relief when I turned off that truck motor!.  My first time towing was over, but there's still a huge learning curve - on towing as well as everything else that goes with this lifestyle. 

There is a lot of knowledge out there about RVing and the more I read and talk to other RVers, the more I'll learn.  They're friendly and helpful, very much like the cruisers in the Caribbean that I had known and learned from, and in some cases they learned from me.   Maybe someday, some new RVer might learn something from me.

New Adventures

A restless spirit has been urging me to go somewhere.  The spirit did not mean a week long vacation, it did not mean a long weekend - it meant go away for quite a while.

I did go away for quite a while back in the middle of the 1990's - all the way to the Caribbean in a boat, sailing around from island to island for years.  My story is told in my book, Island Fever, available on Amazon in Kindle or paperback.   I also have slide shows of my travels on You Tube - IslandFeverCruising channel.  My blog that's mostly about cruising and a few other things is on http://landcruisingadventure.blogspot.com/

So, now the spirit has decided to send me somewhere totally different from tropical islands, palm trees, oceans, sailing tropical rum drinks.  The spirit has decided I should be going west to visit mountains, deserts, canyons and caverns.   Yes, pretty much the opposite of what I did for 10 years on the boat. 

In order to accomplish that, I need to divest myself of most of my belongings - house, car, furniture, etc.  My brother helped obtain and outfit the pretty blue truck you see on this blog - this will be my tow vehicle.   Thanks to Bob Karl - Bob Karl Used Cars in Troy, NY.   (Yeah, OK, it's a plug for him.)  I am now looking for a fifth wheel camper to go with the truck, that's the kind that hooks up into a hitch in the bed of the truck.   There are so many of them out there, all different sizes, makes, models and colors and floor plans.  I have to take a deep breath and step back from it sometimes.

As soon as my truck arrives from New York, I'll be selling my car, buying my camper and moving into it in order to facilitate the sale of my house.  It will be easier to sell if I'm not living in it, it will appear cleaner and more tidy without me and the cat.   That cat is so messy, I can't keep the house looking nice with her around.

As things happen to get me closer to blast-off day, I'll be writing here about what's going on - taking pictures and sharing.  When I'm on the road, I'll be writing about where I am, what I've been seeing and sharing the sights along the way. 

So, join me for my journey.  Let's hope it's fun, safe and exciting. 

Betty