With Montana behind us and Texas somewhere down the road our adventure continues. It was a great summer in West Yellowstone. We got to meet some wonderful people and make what we hope will be lasting friends. Yellowstone National Park did not disappoint and we found some hidden gems in the surrounding countryside. But now we have other things to do.
If you have been following us, you know we had an eventful trip northward bound in the spring. Some damage was incurred on the rig and we are stopping in Arizona to have it repaired. We will be there for a few days and hope to be back on the road to our winter destination in the Rio Grande Valley.
Yes we drove past the turn-offs to Bryce Canyon and Zion National park. We also kept the wheels rolling as we left Salt Lake City and Las Vegas behind us. Many of you are saying that we are driving too fast and missing many things worth seeing. Well that may be true if we were on a vacation like most people who travel the country. But we are NOT on vacation. As I have mentioned many times, this is a lifestyle and not a vacation. We have places to go and people to see and things to do just like everyone else does in their life. Ours is different than most and it maybe hard to understand but every drive is not a sight seeing tour. Just because a trip to the grocery store or the mall may take you near a museum or beach or other attraction doesn't mean you have to stop. It just means you live near places that other people would love to see.
I grew up just outside NYC and went into the city many times. Sometimes to work with my Dad, sometimes to visit family, and even sometimes to see a show or museum...but it wasn't until I moved to Florida and was well into my 40's that I went to the top of the Empire State Building. Why? It was always in my own backyard, so to speak, and that was what "tourists" did. Mary went to Disney a gazillion times, mostly when friends or family visited from out of state and that was what they wanted to see. As Mary puts it, "she doesn't have to see that #@#$% mouse again...EVER!". Why? Again it was in her own "backyard" and we tend to take things for granted that are just "there".
I know that we will go to many of these places that we pass on the road at some time, and we have seen many of them already. But right now we have places to be and people to see and things to do and that is the life we live. As a friend once said, "the RVer's neighborhood is 3000 miles wide". That makes everything in this country right here in our backyard.
So for now we are just rolling on down the road taking care of business in our home in Golden Valley Arizona ( just for one night) because.......
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
18/#27 It's NOT Jello And It's Frozen!
There are only 5 more days on the calendar until we leave West Yellowstone. We and all the other work campers are getting anxious about hitting the road and moving on to the next adventure. Like everyone else we are starting to get the rig ready to travel. Things need to be stored and secured, final loads of laundry are being done, and food is being prepared so we can travel without having to spend too much time cooking.
All this time we are still working our jobs here and dealing with the cold weather. The last 3 days the high temperatures have not gotten above freezing. Water hoses have been disconnected and we have been working off our on board fresh water supply. We have also been keeping an eye on our propane supply and make good use of electric heaters, blankets, and mattress pad. The last was a recent purchase and it is wonderful on these cold Montana nights.
Everything was going smoothly so we knew that somewhere we were going to run into our "jello" moment. After the cold spell had broken I went outside to dump our waste water tanks. I pulled the handle and glug, glug, stop. What the .....! I checked the sewer hose and lo and behold (always wanted to use "lo and behold") it was frozen solid in a couple of spots. I hadn't payed attention to the low spots that had developed and the water there froze solid in the shape of the corrugated hose. Well that wasn't good. Now I couldn't dump my full waste water tanks!
Soon Mary was out there with me trying to solve this dilemma. First we tried a blow dryer but the ice was too thick and hard so we got nowhere fast. Then we thought we might be able to disconnect the hose, hold it vertical, and maybe the ice would slide out. Nope, not happening. Finally we boiled water and Mary poured it down the hose while I held it vertical and eureka! (Always wanted to use "eurika" also.) The ice started to break free and all the nasty sewer water and frozen waste water flushed down the campground's sewer connection. That was great but there were 2 more hoses to do so more hot water more frozen poop water and finally the hoses were clear. Mary called them "poopcicles". Did not sound appetizing.
But were we done? No! Now I had to get back to dumping the full grey and black tanks. As I pulled the handle to empty the tanks we had a little geyser of waste water squirting through a hole the ice had punctured in one of the hoses. Out to the hardware store ( which by the way has a decent RV section) and one new hose later we were able to dump our tanks without creating a bio-hazard situation.
This could have ruined our whole day or put us in a lousy mood but like I always say "there goes the jello". Patience and a sense of humour may be the best tools an RVer can carry with them on the road. You never know what will happen next but whatever it is you just have to deal with it. Later on it becomes another story to tell around the campfire.
Well we are tired and don't feel like cooking after our poop water ordeal so we are treating ourselves to dinner out. Tomorrow we go back to work to finish our commitment and earn a substantial bonus. It may have been the only thing keeping us here the last few weeks. So I will sign off with empty poop tanks and a brand new sewer hose in our home in West Yellowstone because.....
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
All this time we are still working our jobs here and dealing with the cold weather. The last 3 days the high temperatures have not gotten above freezing. Water hoses have been disconnected and we have been working off our on board fresh water supply. We have also been keeping an eye on our propane supply and make good use of electric heaters, blankets, and mattress pad. The last was a recent purchase and it is wonderful on these cold Montana nights.
Everything was going smoothly so we knew that somewhere we were going to run into our "jello" moment. After the cold spell had broken I went outside to dump our waste water tanks. I pulled the handle and glug, glug, stop. What the .....! I checked the sewer hose and lo and behold (always wanted to use "lo and behold") it was frozen solid in a couple of spots. I hadn't payed attention to the low spots that had developed and the water there froze solid in the shape of the corrugated hose. Well that wasn't good. Now I couldn't dump my full waste water tanks!
Soon Mary was out there with me trying to solve this dilemma. First we tried a blow dryer but the ice was too thick and hard so we got nowhere fast. Then we thought we might be able to disconnect the hose, hold it vertical, and maybe the ice would slide out. Nope, not happening. Finally we boiled water and Mary poured it down the hose while I held it vertical and eureka! (Always wanted to use "eurika" also.) The ice started to break free and all the nasty sewer water and frozen waste water flushed down the campground's sewer connection. That was great but there were 2 more hoses to do so more hot water more frozen poop water and finally the hoses were clear. Mary called them "poopcicles". Did not sound appetizing.
But were we done? No! Now I had to get back to dumping the full grey and black tanks. As I pulled the handle to empty the tanks we had a little geyser of waste water squirting through a hole the ice had punctured in one of the hoses. Out to the hardware store ( which by the way has a decent RV section) and one new hose later we were able to dump our tanks without creating a bio-hazard situation.
This could have ruined our whole day or put us in a lousy mood but like I always say "there goes the jello". Patience and a sense of humour may be the best tools an RVer can carry with them on the road. You never know what will happen next but whatever it is you just have to deal with it. Later on it becomes another story to tell around the campfire.
Well we are tired and don't feel like cooking after our poop water ordeal so we are treating ourselves to dinner out. Tomorrow we go back to work to finish our commitment and earn a substantial bonus. It may have been the only thing keeping us here the last few weeks. So I will sign off with empty poop tanks and a brand new sewer hose in our home in West Yellowstone because.....
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
Thursday, October 11, 2018
'18/#26 Counting Days And Watching Weather
We are still in West Yellowstone and checking the calender every day. It has been a lot of fun here but as I've said in the past, our house is on wheels and wheels are meant to roll. After today we have 10 more days before we get those wheels rolling. We made a final trip to the big city of Bozeman for our last big shopping to prepare for our journey south. We always try to pre-cook some dinners that will be easy to heat up on the road and we will be doing that over the next week or so. Also we are doing some major laundry before we have to close up the bath house and laundry for winterizing. In other words, we will soon be on our way.
Over the past couple of days we have also been watching the weather. First of all, like everyone else, we have been following Hurricane Michael. With a lot of family and friends all over Florida it is a concern to us. Fortunately none of our extended family is in the panhandle and all are doing OK as far as we know. Some wind and some rain from the outskirts of the hurricane is all that has impacted them we are happy to report.
We have also been watching the weather here in Montana and checking the long term forecast. All the work campers are hoping for clear skies and roads when we leave West Yellowstone. No one likes to drive in inclement weather and coming down the mountain with a 40 foot RV is, well.....more excitement than any of us want. For two days we have had rain, sleet, and snow in small amounts. Nothing has accumulated but it has been a little sloppy out there. This morning we woke to about 3" of snow on the ground. It is pretty and we are enjoying the views but hopefully it will all be gone when we are ready to leave.
Now is a good time for me to sign off and get on with my day in the campground that is home for us for the next 10 days because......
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
Over the past couple of days we have also been watching the weather. First of all, like everyone else, we have been following Hurricane Michael. With a lot of family and friends all over Florida it is a concern to us. Fortunately none of our extended family is in the panhandle and all are doing OK as far as we know. Some wind and some rain from the outskirts of the hurricane is all that has impacted them we are happy to report.
We have also been watching the weather here in Montana and checking the long term forecast. All the work campers are hoping for clear skies and roads when we leave West Yellowstone. No one likes to drive in inclement weather and coming down the mountain with a 40 foot RV is, well.....more excitement than any of us want. For two days we have had rain, sleet, and snow in small amounts. Nothing has accumulated but it has been a little sloppy out there. This morning we woke to about 3" of snow on the ground. It is pretty and we are enjoying the views but hopefully it will all be gone when we are ready to leave.
Now is a good time for me to sign off and get on with my day in the campground that is home for us for the next 10 days because......
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
'18/#25 Short Timing And Full Timing
We have been doing this work camping thing for a number of years now and have found that there is one thing that has been consistent with every work camping job we have had. There is a point somewhere around the 3/4 mark of the season, and it doesn't matter how long the season, that attitudes change. Everyone is already looking down the road to the next adventure. We are all wondering how soon can we leave and get those wheels rolling. And almost without exception we are finding reasons to and not to stay.
The group we have been working with is great and we all get along but little things are starting to bother everyone. Some times it is the weather or maybe the camp site we are on. Work campers have even been known to turn on each other. The little quirks that we all have may have gone from endearing to annoying. Fortunately we haven't seen any of that here and hope not to through the end of the season.
It is now October here in West Yellowstone and that means the weather is changing. We have had several nights with below freezing temperatures. That means we have to get all the campers to disconnect their water hoses overnight. There was some grumbling but for the most part everyone understood. On a personal note we have been making good use of our new electric mattress pad. That and a couple of blankets keeps us nice and cozy all night. The furnace and a couple of electric heaters warm things up nicely for our morning showers and we start our day. There is talk of snow and/or freezing rain in the forecast so we will stay inside and try to keep warm and dry.
With 3 weeks before we leave our hope is that there won't be any snow on the ground or at least the roads so we can safely get out of West Yellowstone and head south to warmer climates for the winter. For now we are counting the days as short timers while living the full timers dream here in our home in Montana because......
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
The group we have been working with is great and we all get along but little things are starting to bother everyone. Some times it is the weather or maybe the camp site we are on. Work campers have even been known to turn on each other. The little quirks that we all have may have gone from endearing to annoying. Fortunately we haven't seen any of that here and hope not to through the end of the season.
It is now October here in West Yellowstone and that means the weather is changing. We have had several nights with below freezing temperatures. That means we have to get all the campers to disconnect their water hoses overnight. There was some grumbling but for the most part everyone understood. On a personal note we have been making good use of our new electric mattress pad. That and a couple of blankets keeps us nice and cozy all night. The furnace and a couple of electric heaters warm things up nicely for our morning showers and we start our day. There is talk of snow and/or freezing rain in the forecast so we will stay inside and try to keep warm and dry.
With 3 weeks before we leave our hope is that there won't be any snow on the ground or at least the roads so we can safely get out of West Yellowstone and head south to warmer climates for the winter. For now we are counting the days as short timers while living the full timers dream here in our home in Montana because......
Home is where we park it,
Frank and Mary
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