RV'ing

12-5-08 Friday (Home is Where the Trailer is)

I forgot to mention yesterday, our bathtub is leaking again. The only good thing is that when it leaks, it happens outside and not inside. Jim spotted the water when he was disconnecting the shore lines. After we arrived to Spokane, he resealed the drain area again. The stuff he used takes 36 hours to dry so he put a space heater in the tub to hopefully speed it up.

I do plan to take more pictures of the RV park here today. It's important that I make fun of my surroundings. The humor is a good way to deal with it. After I published yesterday's entry, I told Jim it's Karma, biting me in the ass. Remember the entry I made directed to Jim's ex co-worker, Sonia? Ya know, me being so proud of our view? Maybe it was that.

A couple of weeks ago, I found a website for a door hardware company, based out of Spokane. Knowing we'd arrive here soon, I saved the address. This morning we went to their showroom. The handles on display were gorgeous and many unique ones as well. I leveled with the woman "we have 51 handles and 67 hinges to replace and can't spend a fortune. The handle has have large bases to cover the missing lacquer finish. I want it all in a silver finish." I was surprised I didn't get one of those looks like, "yeah right". She found a handle that we liked but at $6 each. She worked a deal for $4.58 each. We'll have to think about it. She didn't have them in stock which poses another problem. There's work arounds. It could be shipped to my Aunt Claudia in Folsum, CA or the clerk would have them shipped to the store and then 3 day mail them to where we specify. The hinges are $2.39 a pair. $233 in handles plus $82.00 hinges. That's almost 8 days of campgrounds. I'm thinking I'll try the spray paint. Sigh.

The tub still leaks. Jim resealed it again. If it doesn't work this time, he'll want to buy some super duper strength something or another. He's got a little bit of a headache so he's taking a nap.

The Internet is crawling with various Christmas wishes websites. Some have been around for years while some I've found have had a face lift since the last time I visited it. Here's one of my favorites. Click here. This one is cute too. I had one made last year but now it seems they have several backgrounds to choose from. Click here to see this one.

We've found out that the RV propane heater has 2 settings. Why won't it come on and why won't it turn off. The heat will cycle on, I'll glance at the thermometer and see it's 63. OK I was cold, great. Now I'm burning up at 82. Probably something falling apart.....

Here's more shots of the RV park. I filmed a video. Below is the passenger side. Yesterday I showed you a photo which is included in this.

Below is from the driver's side.

Pretty, eh? We like to call it "home". It's been a busy day here on the blog. 2 more people who have been reading the blog, decided to sign onto Google and become followers. As a reminder, to comment, you don't need an account. Click here for easy instructions. I've never used it but you can select "OpenID" and use your AIM (AOL Instant Messaging) account, if you'd like.

12-4-08 Thursday (Run Bambi!)

What an interesting start of the day we had. As we're leaving Missoula (with 19 degree temperatures), we pull up at a gas station, to get, you guessed it, gas. As the fuel is a pumpin', a guy pulls up with one of those platforms that fit at the hitch receiver. Ya know, the kind for wheel chairs, electric carts, luggage, and dead deer? Oh yes, it was several dead deer. I guess it would have been stranger if they had been alive and just sitting there, huh? Anyway, I was grossed out. It was right next to the coach door. Much like a train wreck, as much as I didn't want to look, I couldn't help myself. Each time I passed by it, I'd look again. Deer carcus o'plenty. A leg/hoof sticks up out of the pile. I've been kind enough to put the picture of this mess, several spaces below so that as you read this text, you don't have to see the picture if you don't want to. If you want to skip it, just scroll down until you see text again. I couldn't resist a picture. I can't believe he's driving around without a tarp or somethin'. ewwww. It looks like Santa and all of his reindeer, crashed into the back of Ernest's vehicle. Christmas has been cancelled.

Wasn't that nice? We crossed Idaho today. While there, at a rest stop, Jim parked next to a semi. He wanted me to take a picture. He's amazed that he's driving something nearly as large as a semi truck.

We crossed into Washington. I totally missed the welcome sign. It was on the left side of the road! Oh well. As we approach the RV park/motel (Spokane), we weren't sure we had the right place. The sign indicated it was correct, but I didn't see any RV's. Just cabin-type places. After Jim checks us in, he comes out and reveals the plan. The RV area is behind the cabin-esque buildings. The road is narrow, and we'll need to unhook the Cherokee to make the turns. That already seemed stupid to me. A dog tied to a median is barking constantly. Roofers are working away on some of the cabins and the office. The area is cluttered. Anyway, we complete "saucer separation mode" and follow a guy through the lot. It's older trailers, campers, 5th wheels and motorhomes. Most look like people have been here a long time. Sheets of plywood adorn the bottoms of trailers, as if to say "hi, someday I hope to be decorative, but for now I'll be an eyesore." This feels more like a trailer park than a campground. Here's the view from our patio door.

No, really.

We could leave, we could ask for a different spot, but at least there's no neighbors on this side of us. It's fine, it's only 4 nights. We'll live. We can't have great campgrounds everywhere. Let me explain something before my next comment. There's 2 major RVer type clubs. One is Good Sam's and the other KOA. You pay a membership, get a perk here or there, a directory, a newsletter and a discount here and there. Typically, a campground has to have certain standards to get into the network. Maybe a pool, maybe something else, but nonetheless, they have to qualify to get in the network. Jim picked this place because it was a Good Sam's. Were they blind? When did they last qualify? Who knows, but it's humorous. I have to give Jim credit, it's very hard to pick out a campground from pictures or reviews. Most of the places have been nicer. It's gonna happen from time to time.

Our time zone has changed again to Pacific. That's 3 hours earlier than Florida for those of you Floridians who may need a reminder. After we setup camp, the sun set at 4:30! Very strange to us. Oh, how the McDonald's golden arch top from a block away twinkled in the sunset. So calming. It's so beautiful how it illuminates the roofs of the neighboring hotel. It's a beacon of hope, complete with a dollar menu. AND my cat is snoring. OK, I'll stop.

(End Bitching)

12-3-08 Wednesday (Uncomfortably Numb)

I have to tell you, it was one of those cold days. I think Hell may have frozen over. It was probably 35 but we spent hours outside today. We ventured back to the Montana Prison and Auto Museum, for another "try" at it. If you'll remember, we drove 1.5 hours and found out it was closed. It looked closed today, but it was open. We walked into the museum entrance. Both museums enter through the gift shop. It was just as cold in there as outside. We took the car museum on first. Again, did I mention cold? I put my damn hood up and kept my hands in my sleeves. I don't think Jim minded much, he was in Car Heaven. He loves cars. He subscribes to three car magazines (He's letting them all expire out). He smiled the entire time as he browsed each car and read each story board. Speaking of board, I was bored. I knew I would be. I read a few of the information thingies here and there, but didn't really get into it. There were over 150 cars on display; I thought it would never end.

My very first car was Christmas gift from Mom & Dad. The keys were wrapped in a box, with a Mustang key ring. It was hidden in the landlord's garage. I opened it and said "really?" several times. It was a 1977 Mustang II, hatchback. I liked it. Hell, I liked having a car in general. I had just gotten my license. Dad insisted I back it out of the driveway. I was nervous. I backed it out, onto the road, and crunched the fender onto a parked car. My first reaction was "Oh shit!" followed by "see, I told you I didn't wanna back it out." OK, now that leads me back to the car museum. No, Mustang II. I felt cheated.

We exit back into the gift shop, which again, is slightly warmer. So, now I'm still freezing, apparent theme for the day, and we go to the adjoining prison. We open the doors and are outside. Outside! We briskly walk to each numbered area and Jim reads from the self guided tour book, adlibbing some of it to speed it up. You know, like "...courtyard, building was here, moved to new prison in nineteen blah blah, by some guy..." Next exhibit was a building. Oh goody, let's get inside. Oh, no heat, most windows open, concrete walls to retain the frigid air, great. Loved the old prison, though. Really neat to see.

Back to the Cherokee. My finger tips hurt, my cheeks feel like a squirrel carrying ice in them, and my toes don't seem to exist. I'm labeling this a MISadventure.

A stop off at McDonalds and the don't believe in heat either. No sweet tea either. A drive back home was heaven. Oh the warmth of the heater.

On our return home, I read an email from John Anderson. It said it was "appropriate for Y'all". In this email was this link. Check it out, click here. I've I have the song and we've seen the video before but it is funnier now than ever. Enjoy.

I also caught up on some blogs I follow. Mike Gabbard has a way with words. He doesn't blog as often as I'd like, but when he does, he's got a way with words. See it here! In his entry today, he talks about tolerance. It so hits home. It's so true.

Tomorrow, we're off to Spokane, Washington. We'll meet ya there!

12-2-08 Tuesday (Dishin' it Out)

It's frickin' raining. I can't wait to go to California. We'll of course start in Northern California and then slowly head south. It's inevitable that in the future, I'll be blogging about how it's so hot. I've been told that California has the perfect weather. We'll see.

It feels as though I constantly battle washing dishes and laundry. I so miss a dishwasher. Reminding myself that I don't work and have tons O' fun, helps me to get past these minor inconveniences. It's a giant slap that says "STOP BITCHING" and move on. One final comment on this subject, they do make dishwashers for RV's. $369.00 plus losing valuable cabinet space or it can be table top to lose valuable counter space. That's me in the background.

I started a things to do list. All of it is for me to do, Jim has his own list he put together. I knocked out 4 things. Not like any one of them are an all day affair. Remember, I'm unemployed and lazy so cut me some slack.

Jim took a nap, I played video games. It's been a laid back day. I have that inner cold feeling going right now. You know, when it feels like a fever, with all the chills.... can't get warm. It's not a fever though. I feel fine. Just chilled to the bone. Outside it's 39, but the wind is high. It's that whole windchill factor comin' into play.

We're going to try and catch up on Heroes and Chuck this evening. My great HP laptop that is even named the "Entertainment PC" has volume issues for one. We have to connect external speakers. It's 2nd issue is that it locks up while watching streaming video too often. It happens with many different sites. Piece of *&$@.

12-1-08 Monday (Plant Killing Sweeteners)

It's so damn foggy out today. The weather here has been less than stellar. Tomorrow is forecasting snow and the rest of the week partly cloudy. Here's what the fog looks like:

What did you expect? Oh, something like this?

We're combating condensation in the coach. It's a common problem in RV's when it's cold out. Several sources say to vent when showering and cooking. Of course this makes the heat go out. It's a lose lose situation. There's moisture in the closets/cabinets where it typically stays cold. The windshield is single pane, so it's always wet. The house windows are double paned so we don't get moisture there. Between the mattress and the wall is also wet. We have several Damp-rid's all over the place. We'll start opening the roof vents a little and see if that helps.

Today, we're going to the car museum and then on to Butte to see their downtown. It's about 2 hours each way so we'll have to bring Dasher. He'll have to sit in the car while we're in the museum. I hate doing that, but it's not at all hot out. In general, even if the temperature is perfect, I still hate leaving him in a car. I don't want to leave him alone for 6 hours in the coach, for fear of pee. We have peepee pads but he's not necessarily been trained to utilize them.

On our roadtrip, we stopped off in Drummond for a potty break. I snapped this photo: I thought it was humorous:

OK, we're back. 6 hours later. Missoula is still covered in fog. The trip to Butte: The car museum was closed. They're only open Wednesday through Sunday. I guess we should have called ahead. Next door to the car museum is an old prison built in the 1800's. It was closed as well. Across the street was a Prison Hobby store. I just had to see what they sold there. Errrrrr, it was closed too. Sigh. No really. But it did have a back in 5 minutes sign hanging. I'm sure it had already been hanging there for 40 minutes. Why not put the time you'll return rather than be back in 5 minutes. 5 minutes starting now or 2 minutes ago? It's cold out there, and with the common household microwave to thank, 5 minutes is eternity.......must get air...... OK, I've pulled myself together. I looked in the window and saw nothing of interest, so we skipped it. The sign itself was worth my time.

We then went onto the downtown area. Really neat looking old buildings. Lots of historical goodies there. Stopping at the visitor's center, we asked for a unique place to eat. As she watered her plants, she babbled 2 places and gave us directions as if we had lived there all of our lives. HELLO, you're a visitor center and I'm a visitor. How about a friggin' map? We winged it and found one of the places she had recommended called Metals Sports Bar which was an old bank (called Metals Bank) complete with a large vault. The woodwork detailing was awesome, and the window surrounds were in copper. Oh, and I hope her plant dies.

Speaking of copper, Butte was a large copper mining town back in it's day. It still has 14 headframes (mining towers) although I believe all mining has ended.

Another rant (much like the past 2 in this entry), so, I ask the waitress if they have any kind of sweet tea. She picks up the sweetener packet holder and waves it saying "No, but we have this." My first impression was RUDE, but she ended up being nice and attentive. That's not my bitch though. For any of you readers who work as food servers: Do not assume your customer is experiencing their first time eating out. In fact, you can simply say no to the sweet tea, and NOT suggest the sweeteners on the table but rather, shove them up your ass. I'm not stupid; I'm well aware of the stupid sweeteners. Is their a restaurant on the planet that doesn't have the sweetener caddy? Jim had a vidalia burger and I had a popular Butte dish. I breaded, fried, pork chop sandwich. I omitted the pickles and mustard and then added cheese. I probably should have had the mustard on it because it was kinda bland. I like pickles, just not on anything. Mustard is good for hotdogs only. Well, that's me, anyway.

Butte was also the birthplace of Evel Knievel. They have a festival each year.

We're going to go back to Butte on Wednesday. Jim wants to see the Auto Museum and we both want to see the prison..... as long as we can leave.... voluntarily.

There's still more! Keep reading!