Florida for the winter

I’ve been traveling for 9 months and I haven’t had a single mishap - until now.  The last park I stayed at in Oregon didn’t have pull through sites, only back in ones.  I’m very good at driving forward, but backing up is another matter.  I can back myself into most sites, but it’s not always quick or pretty.  My friend Angela came along with me this time because we were going for lunch after I parked.  I got myself lined up (poorly) and started backing up.  The road was a bit narrow, so I had to go back and forth to get my truck lined up correctly.  At one point Angela said, you’re really close to the water faucet.  I clearly heard her but looked at the electric box which was farther back.  I thought, OK I’m watching the water (electric box).  I moved forward and backed up once more.  At which point Angela said, well, you just took out the water faucet and there is water gushing up out of the ground.  I can’t really explain why I clearly heard her say water yet I looked at the electric box.  It’s not as if I can’t tell the difference.  I’m happy to report, although the broken water pipe was a mess and 3 park rangers dug in the ground for quite some time to repair the line, there was absolutely no damage to my RV.  And really, that’s all that matters in a world where it’s all about me!  My first night on the road I got a site on Gowen Field, a guard base near Boise Idaho.  Of course they are all back in sites, and I thought, oh crap, this is going to take forever.  I’m happy to report, I must be getting the hang of backing in, because I got it in straight on the first try!

I decided since I was in a hurry to get home, I would just boondock at Wal-Mart.  They are convenient, quite and safe and Wal-mart is very RV friendly, allowing us to overnight in their parking lot.   I drove through Idaho and Utah with nothing much to see.  I stopped for a few hours outside Ogden to visit with my brother and his family.   After a very nice visit and a late lunch, I hit the road again and made it to Rock Springs, Wyoming that evening.  The next night I stopped in Lincoln Nebraska; I have never seen a more crowded parking lot.  There were at least 20 RV’s and even a bunch of 18 wheelers.  It looked like a campground and truck stop all in one.  With the 18 wheelers there, it defeats the point of staying there vs a truck stop because of the noise.  Just as I was going to bed, a refrigerator truck parked next to me and kept his generator going all night.  When I left at 4AM, I wished my diesel truck was a lot louder!

The rest of the trip was uneventful until I got to Tennessee.  I stopped for gas and as I was getting back on the highway, I went under a bridge.  I thought nothing of it until I heard  scraping sound.  Oh shit, what was that!!  I looked in my rear view mirror and the dome for my satellite dish was laying in the middle of the road.  I parked and retrieved the dome - it was crushed.  I looked at the roof of my RV and saw no damage except the dish, which was bent on both sides.  Well, considering that I now see the bridge height was 12 feet and I thought my RV was 13, I could have pealed the roof off the entire thing.   My next investment will be a trucker GPS.  You plug in the height, length, and width of your RV and it warns you of sharp curvy roads and low underpasses.  I thought the $175 for a GPS, in addition to the built in one I already have, was an excessive cost.  But considering the $750+ cost of the new satellite dish, it’s worth it!

I finally made it to Florida and spent my last night in a state park.  As I was packing up that morning for the last time, Brutus was sniffing around in the weeds.  I heard 2 owls in the distance and decided to put him on a leash.  He’s the perfect size for a large bird of prey to snatch.  (I’ve recently heard several stories in the news of small dogs being carried off).  Just then, I looked up and saw a cat in the empty site next to mine, watching Brutus.  I called here kitty kitty.  As it took off, I realized it wasn’t a big cat, but a small fox.  Well, Beefcake was almost breakfast!

So, I’m here in Kissimmee for the foreseeable future.  My grandmother is ill and we have lots of family coming in. It’s nice to have my own little oasis nearby.  I feel truly blessed to have some great friends who are sending prayers and well wishes my grandmothers way.  I’ll keep you posted.