Nevada – Canned Comfort

My Turn To Drive The New Rig!

We are planning a trip that will take us from Henderson, Nevada to Ft. Lupton, Colorado via Spokane, Washington through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado! All using old highways, limited exposure to major highways. Our 2 Australian Shepherds, are also new to this smaller rig. Wish us luck.

Our plan is to utilize as many Harvest Hosts, Cabella’s and mooch docking as much as possible. Our goal is no more than 4 hours on the road per day. Pre planned meals and at least 3 – 30 minute walks with the dogs per day. They are going to be so stressed not to have their regular trip hammock. Do any of you have safety ideas for dogs in a class B+ van? We are used to pulling a rig not driving it.

Many RVs use the same brand of refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Microwave/Conduction Ovens, wiring and plumbing. We have never had or utilized an onboard generator or slide out.

Previously I would pack our Airstream and not fill it with our equipment, clothing etc. This new rig is so much smaller it takes a lot of reorganization to prepare for the trip. This was really not that much of challenge but the murphy bed is daunting. It is really heavier than we realized and the living space is impacted. We really are like newbies in many ways, especially space use with our pups too.

I was proud of myself that I did do some minor decorating in our rig to make it feel more ours.

Galley, added peel and stick tile and command strip shelf. Oh yes and paper towel holder!

Packing the galley was easier than I thought it would be. It is small but the large window and burner cover make it look larger and comfy. It makes me smile to see it and use it. When the Murphy Bed is open. The doggies can easily place their paws on the counter. Another training moment. Goodies are to be placed as far away as possible after dinner.

I do like that we do not have to go outside in the in the cold dark, rain or snow to utilize the interior for our comfort. The automatic steps are a death trap for short people with knee problems. The doggies are small and the smallest one takes a minute to prepare to hop into the rig. Once the battery had dropped and the steps did not come out. My hubby did not notice, jammed his right knee and even the doggies were challenged to go out of the rig.

All new learning experiences. In my next blog I will review what we did as far as planning and you can shake your head and laugh.

Until the next time.

So We Re-Start

The learning curve begins and what a gift.

Discussing the future way of travel was our first step; 1- learn how to use the many apps for finding “free” overnight camping spots and non-national private ie, KOA type places, 2- we set a goal of only driving 4 hours a day, 3-stop, plan for an easy setup for a relaxing evening and enjoy walks with the new puppies.

We are planning a 3 week family visiting trip covering 5 states. Looking at an Atlas book of current maps of the United States and Canada we penciled in 3 different routes. The route had to be different than our usual one. On our previous trips from Nevada to California were from our home off I-15 south to Hwy -5N to Hwy 46 to Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz, California. Whew. This time we went North on Hwy – 93 to Hwy 6 W, Hwy 395 to Angels Camp California and then winding our way to Felton, California for the duration of our first leg of this trip. Yep, that doesn’t sound like much until you look a a real map. Oh boy.

Ok, to say the “best laid plans oft go astray” is too true. We were up early, rig already packed and hitched the night before. Doggies prepped. Then our real day began. The two, 9 month old miniature Australian Sheppard puppies spotted a young coyote across the road. They were already in the car. We had decided to try traveling without their crates and put them in a safety hammock. Hubby left the driver side window open. They both jumped out the window. The chase began!

It was a beautiful young coyote that was chased by two doggies. It then turned around as to say “I’m supposed to chase you!” He turned around and began barking at the dogs and then the dogs decided they had better get back home. They of course ignored our calls to report to us and then kinda went to the busy street above our road and we started worrying. They quickly returned to home after seeing big cars. We were now grumpy and frazzled. Coffee, Coffee, Coffee. NOW. We were behind in our timed start. Big breath, go to the drive through bakery for a croissant breakfast sandwich, large coffee and water for the pups. We had driven about a mile. Oh my. We laughed, wished we had filmed the coyote express and realized we had planned a 3.5 hour drive and it was only 7:00 am.

Our first stop was Mina, Nevada. Our first overnight. Never heard of it? Me either. It is a very small, dusty hamlet on the way to somewhere else. It was empty of campers when we arrived. Fine for us. They had long “pull through” spots with well defined hook ups. Very clean, near the highway but quiet with an amazing view of the desert hills of eastern Death Valley. It was very reasonable, $35.00 per night. Very good for our budget. The sun was still up, warm, gentle breezes wafted through the camp. It was a quiet I associate with the late spring of the prairies. We could hear the occasional hum of a semi-truck. Just quiet and calm. Our pups loved the walk around the grounds and sniffing a bunch of everything. I took a big deep breath and almost cried. It was a space out there without the noise of the city, My hubby poured us a beautifully chilled Marianne’s Rose from Six Sigma Ranch in Lake County California. We felt so accomplished. We drove for only 3.5 hours, on a less traveled road, identified places we would like to explore on a recreational trip. We were not stressed and puppies were also less cranky.

528A26A8-4F64-45FE-9E00-22E52DTheB182EB — The end of the day refreshment

Our dinner was one I had prepared the day before and we heated it up in our kitchen while enjoying our view. We ate inside as the wind was picking up and the temperature was cooling down.

We took the doggies for another quick walk about, then into the coach for our dinner. It was so nice not to feel wrung out and stressed. We were able to eat dinner with a beautiful view of the desert landscape and birds, not worry about a crowded, noisy campground – we listened to the quiet, even the highway noise was muffled and slight. We heard a faraway train going through during the night. Ahhhhh

The morning was bright sunlight, not warm yet. Quiet, no people, many birds and deer scattering as we make human noises. Big deep breath and sip fresh coffee on our outside chairs. Doggies nudge us for the morning wake up walk. Just what we need. Simple, quiet, not people. A fresh new day. We had camp fire toasted, homemade cast iron bread. Home made jam and a smile. The doggies little wiggle butts were happily wagging too. It was an easy, un-rushed re-pack, to secure items and pack the dogs. We knew it was May. The day would heat up and we would melt. Onward and westward we charge!

Brrrrrr Happy New Year. . . . Or every road is a different adventure

Such excitement! We are winter (snow) traveling for the first time on purpose! We received a new Nesspresso Pixie and Nesspresso frother as Christmas presents and of course just right for our trip. We planned our New Years Eve dinner and began to prepare for the road. My spirits lifted and a happy calm prevailed. Hmmm that is until the sniffles crept upon us. Oh how we fought our symptoms and denied the same. I worked my regular two days before we left, all the while happy for the opportunity to hit the road again and see my little girl.

The coach is winterized per the owner’s manual and I cleaned every nook and cranny, cleared away any dust that may have accumulated, washed all the linens, pillow shams and bed linens. I was using cleaning tools and products from H2O, that are green and Eco friendly just like our Airstream. These chiffonettes, as they are called, do not use cleansers or soaps. Water is the vehicle, the towels are the dust and dirt cleanser picker uppers. I really enjoyed the ease of use, gleaming results and no annoying fragrances. Makes the aluminum walls shine brightly without a lot of work either. I felt like a queen in fresh, bright like new, Flying Cloud. Then I started with a little cough. But that was nothing just annoying. I mean, I emptied the cabinets, wiped them clean inside and out, throughout items that in five years we have NEVER used and restocked and planned for our new ways of movement and traveling. Ahh start the New Year clear of the old, in with the new and open for joy.

Wednesday morning dawned, we both had snuffles, dogs and truck cleaned, packed with travel necessities, ie., cough drops, audio books, water, maps and stuffy heads. We left one hour later than we had planned but we knew no snow on Donner Summit! All seemed well, weather nice, just a little cool but comfy. Stopped for gas, sure enjoy the lower prices, dogs pooped and piddled and on we go.

As we approached Donner Summit we noticed the wind picked up and the temperature drooped way cold! We stopped at a rest stop and the wind picked up enough to grab doors to open or slam them. The doggies did not even want to do their business but did a abbreviated relief. The chill went right thru us all and made our snuffles worse. All of a sudden the feeling of the trip seemed to get just plain COLD. It was early afternoon as we drove through Reno and thought in no time we will be at the new Frontier RV park in Winnanucca, Nevada, then we turn on our heater, oven, pop in our dinner and get cozy in the freezing cold.

Freezing then became the operative word for our adventure! It got darker and darker, we forgot time change and shorter days too. It seemed as though we were blowing our noses at more frequent intervels and the trash bag was getting full of kleenex, cough drop wrappers, and empty water bottles. The day really really seemed to not end and the lanscape was the same brown grass and sand with an occasional antelope and then darkness! Cold still got colder and we got sicker. My sis kindly informed me the whole family was sick with colds all acquired during our Christmas Day celebrations! Oh boy what a New Year’s Eve. We just wanted to get to Winnamucca and rest!

We arrived at our destintion and found we were the only overnight guest in this brand spanking new, clean, modern, RV Park. We were so happy we hurridly set up to find the temp was 25 degress F. Below freezing. No fresh water hook up through the night as it would freeze. We trid to empty the waste water but it was frozen already! Well not the actual grey/black tank or water tanks, only the outlets! We happily just wanted to get to bed and get warm. We did roast the herb crusted lamb chops from Six Sigma Ranch and prepped the mashed potates and green beans for our celebratory evening. Well ok we were very much frozen from settling the Airstream for the night, exercising the doggies and getting our trailer warm and cozy. We also had colds and stuffiness and really could not taste our dinner, just a hint. We finally got warmer, preppared for bed and called it a night it was 9:30 pm! Happy New Year!