Showing posts with label August. Show all posts
Showing posts with label August. Show all posts

Sunday, November 21, 2010

August 3, free on public lands camping

If you enjoy with free public lands for Recreation? camping, hiking, fishing, kayaking, canoeing or Wildlife Viewing?you need to know that there are proposals to start charging for access to public lands in more areas of charging. But I firmly believe that there are things we can do to keep free access.Typical free national forest campsite
(Firewood included, bring your own table.)

Practice awareness, conservation, compliance, respect and gratitude.


North America today, We?re happiness exists in that country for the public noch.Landen That?s available for all, young and old, rich and arm, residents and visitors to Enjoy?for free!


We?re luck, the most beautiful areas of the continent are also the most rugged and that often Doesn?t land this is suitable for any other use but rest.This allows us access to the most amazing scenic camping


free of charge.


Are you afraid, like me, this Won?t remain the case?


Indians believed that just like the air, the Sun, wind and water, the Earth was one for all people and creatures that the white man came bewohnen.Dann and led the idea that someone has a claim on a piece of land the game and own it. The natives was this idea completely absurd.


Today rights and the waters are bought and sold not only land and mineral, by our rivers.We?re, expect drinking water come in bottles from the storage and I?m said there are even people who sell a piece of the moon.


The Today?s culture of the company stay in possession and greed public land free for all to Use?for now.

Typical free camping at the Bureau of land management lands
(Bring your own shadow and water.)

Free relaxation is a privilege we risk unless we practice the following principals: compliance with the rules on the use of public land.

The best place to get the rules is at regional level.Call you or visit the local Office of the forest or public land, you need to use beabsichtigen.finden out what the rules are and follow you.You can vary from one location to another. Questions about distributed camping, bonfire, to collect, collect plants, minerals, etc. dealing with human waste, off trail hiking, firewood.


If you Don?t a Rule?ask as why there typically is set it useful It?s easier you to respect.But even if it Doesn?t?remember that does not comply with often loss of privileges. would this area to available to you the next time be visit?

Respect for nature and other people

Enjoy the flowers where you grow.Don?t get you.


Practice No Trace? ?leave camping.Take with you all garbage.If you find garbage left behind from other rooms it on and leave the campsite better than it think gefunden.Ich, this as one of "pay it forward" camping rules.


A lot of garbage we find nearby public land camping areas is displayed, for a long time been.Often there are most less than enough, to a garbage bag filling and spending 10 minutes pick it up, improves our camping experience for 2 or 3 days, we here to bleiben.sobald we pick it up, we find that even two years later, when we return the is still clean.All for the next visitor to the site, adjusted (it pays forward) soon we will be rewarded by arrival clean camping.


If you are paid employees on the other hand, public lands, to our mess clean must, it makes sense that we ultimately will be a fee to cover that pay costs.


Respect other campers.Don?t generators run or play loud music or radio within earshot.


Keep an eye for einander.Je more remote your location more dependent on you to others, and an emergency are one click Security and in the case.


The other problems that reported the more likely due to lack of respect, the rules will change free recreational use.

Conservation of resources

Conservation of forests.Don?t cutting or damaging of trees from any Grund.Verwenden downed wood for campfire.Don?t a campfire unattended lassen.Achten you sure it is from before you leave. Don?t have Campfire where and when you due to the high risk of forest fires are limited.


Water to erhalten.Trinken you plenty of water, but Don?t waste in the desert and other dry areas. Don?t verschmutzen.Verwenden you biologically friendly soaps and shampoos and wash dishes not less than 50 meters away from streams and rivers.


Conservation of the Earth. Don?t drive off-road, where prohibited, and even if allowed; minimal impact and damage to the area aware sein.vermeiden you walking or driving on wet muddy ground.


Save wildlife. Don?t hunt or fish out of season. Don?t to leave where you get your food or animal feed can remember that you the visitor to their homes.

Awareness of the surrounding area

Are those about local Hazards?natural like poison ivy, rattlesnakes, bears, etc made and people caused, such as abandoned mines or crumbling buildings.


Consciously discover the activities of other people sein.Bericht at the local office, any danger or damage that natural or artificial.

Gratitude for the use of the land

Stop by public land Office and say, the staff about your Erfahrungen.Danke will give you the es.Das guestbook to unterzeichnen.Ihre financing based often on will be able to show visitors.


Delete a map or a letter after your visit or send an e-Mail to the local Office your gratitude expressed bringen.Diese gestures are interpreted as votes and can carry weight if political decisions.

It?s my hope if enough people follow these principals compliance, respect, conservation, awareness and gratitude, our children and grandchildren continue to allow the free use of public land - our country enjoy!

Back from public lands to frugal RV-travel main page


Saturday, November 20, 2010

August 17, live where you ride

Now can also now keep you in touch, learn, when new pages are added to this site and travel to receive updates from us on our next trip, you subscribe to our RSS feed.

Here is the basic principle behind RSS:

Instead of having to check our website for new information can now short advertisements (such as the sections below) delivered to your desktop have, or your My Yahoo page, my MSN page or Google page, when we add a page or something new on the site.

Just click on the small colored RSS buttons on the left side of this page (located under the regular navigation buttons), then follow the simple instructions.

Or If you need to learn more about RSS, please click the link below the first orange XML/RSS button that reads, what is an RSS feed?


Red mountain, an amazing hiking destination is North of Flagstaff.It is a dormant volcano and almost no one seems to know it.I can not even remember


Permalink--click for full blog post "Red Mountain is awesome"


Question: I was on the Web a while back and discovered a Government BLM sign that read suggest caution against drugs trafficking and abduction everywhere in this area


Permalink--click for the full blog post "Arizona is safe from the Mexican drug cartel and the abduction?"


(English translation below)


Si le Bilinguisme fait la Fiert? des Canadiens, the ne ?tre DOIs PAS une Tr?s Bonne Canadienne.Mais, attention, J?ai beaucoup D?amis Canadiens Fran?ais. ? leur proposal, ? L?aide D?une Traductrice professionnelle et un ?diteur Chevronn?, je Peux maintenant offrir une Premi?re ?dition Fran?aise D?un guide voyage pour ceux qui Pr?f?rent ?viter L?autoroute Tout en ?conomisant (en anglais: frugal Shunpiker?s Guide). En effet, le Guide voyage ?Boondocking dans le sud du Texas? est maintenant disponible en Fran?ais!


D ' après la demande leads je consid?rerai Traduire Tous MES autres qui seront ALORS disponibles dans les deux Langues Officielles du Canada? Finalement ? bien y Penser, PAS SI ?a time que la canadienne! if bi-lingual, means Canadian, I'm not very good but I have some Canadian Freunde.Auf your suggestion and with the help of an experienced translators and professional French editor I am now in the position, the first French version of a frugal Shunpiker's bieten.RV Boondocking in South Texas is now available "En française".

If there is enough demand, I will consider all the guides I write available in both official languages have Kanadas.vielleicht I'm not such a bad Canadian, after all:-))

Permalink--for the full blog post, click "new - especially for French Canadians"


As summer down many Canadians is winding begin to plan a trip south of the border.

Here is a "must read" before choosing a claims examiner for insurance written by a Canadian gal earlier your travel insurance.


Click for more info


I just got this link to a video channel: it's called live where you ride.

"We build a NO homeowners association, toy friendly community in Central Florida! we hope that the community building with neighbours financially smart and don't want to life where restrictions relating to campers, boats, motorcycles and more!"


The above is a quote from the person the link gesendet.Die housing estate in Lake Weir, Florida, has just started me affordable new homes (prices in the 1990s) on large lots along a forest reserve function.


~ Marianne


Click for more info


Just a quick note to let you know that, once again, all national parks and national historic sites across the United States surrender fees at this Wochenende.Wenn there is a park near you...Why not take advantage?


Permalink--click for full blog post "All national parks are free this weekend"


Affordable Ontario - I discover lots of economical and fun stuff to see and do in my home province of Ontario.


Permalink--click "Affordable Ontario", for the full blog post


Our GPS still back on 101 South its constraints up-to-date 101 leads you through many picturesque Gemeinden.jedoch street detail on the


Permalink--click for full blog post "Our winter trip to Arizona .......(Part_2)"


After a great summer on the Lake, we saw the leaves begin to spin and the smell was the case, in the Luft.Unsere thoughts turned more and more in our planned


Permalink--click for the full blog post our winter trip to Arizona (part 1)


The rv blog is the best way to the economical RV travel.com website with all additions and changes to date sends to halten.Es also


Permalink--click for full blog post "RV blog for frugal RV travel"


The frugal RV traveler newsletter


Permalink--click for full blog post "RV Traveler Newsletter"


Choose a small camper for affordable adventure.


Permalink--click for the full blog post "A small mobile home is your best choice"


If you use public lands for camping or recovery, you should know that the rules can be changed.


Permalink--click for full blog post "free camping on public lands"


17 Tips help you freely find overnight RV parking anywhere


Permalink--click for full blog post "Overnight RV Parking"


You can afford, this way of reisen.Ein Guide for the active RV lifestyle includes proposals free and low-cost scenic camping.


Permalink--click for full blog post "affordable RV adventure travel"

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

August 28, new - especially for French Canadians

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Offrant un climat similaire ? celui de la Floride, le sud du Texas reste ? d?couvrir. Le camping gratuit, directement sur la plage et ? d?autres endroits sc?niques est toujours possible au Texas.


Que diriez-vous de cette vue, disponible ? partir d?un site de camping gratuit?


Si vous avez la possibilit? de vous ?vader pour un mois ou plus cet hiver ... vous pourriez vivre l?exp?rience d?explorer l??tat magnifique du Texas.


Pas du tout. La v?rit? est que vous n?avez pas besoin d??tre riche, loin de l?. Dans mon livre ?lectronique de 81 pages ?Boondocking dans le sud du Texas?, je vais vous montrer comment deux canadiens bien ordinaires ?quip?s d?un campeur qui a d?j? vu des jours meilleurs, passent l?hiver au soleil du Texas ? pour moins de 250 $ par semaine.


Vous pourriez m?me explorer tout le sud ouest des ?tats-Unis si vous le souhaitez pour environ la m?me somme que vous auriez d?pens? en ?picerie et en factures de services ? la maison!


Et comment est-ce que je sais ?a? Parce que ce couple de canadiens ordinaires, c?est mon conjoint et moi.


Vous imaginez-vous visiter les attractions du Texas?


Et d?couvrir les points chauds connus par seulement quelques Winter Texans?


"C?est bien beau tout ?a," me diriez-vous. "Juste parce que vous pouvez le faire ne veut pas dire que je le pourrai aussi."


Oui, je crois que vous en ?tes capable. C?est pour cette raison que j?ai ?crit le guide... pour vous montrer ?tape par ?tape EXACTEMENT comment nous le faisons.


Dans ce guide, je partagerai avec vous mes exp?riences des 10 derni?res ann?es pass?es ? explorer les routes secondaires du Texas et vous ferai d?couvrir les sites de camping gratuit. Toutes les recommandations et les conseils contenus dans le guide sont bas?s sur mon exp?rience personnelle cumul?e durant mes nombreux voyages dans cette r?gion.


Non seulement vous profiterez de ce qui nous a pris des ann?es ? apprendre mais vous ?tes assur?s de vivre un voyage rempli d?aventures m?morables sur un si petit budget.


Ce guide ne s?adresse pas uniquement aux caravaniers. La moiti? des 80 sites de camping propos?s dans ce guide conviennent aussi au camping en tente. Un index d?accessibilit? des sites vous informera ? savoir si une tente peut ?tre utilis?e ? cet endroit. Le m?me index vous laissera conna?tre la grandeur des VR qui peuvent utiliser ces sites ? prix modique ou gratuit.

Boondocking dans le sud du Texas
Un guide voyage pour ceux qui pr?f?rent ?viter l?autoroute tout en ?conomisant

Ce livre ?lectronique imprimable contient 81 pages offrant:

Directions d?taill?es pour chaque visite propos?e et chaque site de camping. Une carte du Texas vous montrant d?un coup d??il les routes sugg?r?es et o? vous trouverez les sites de camping gratuit propos?s dans le guide. Facile ? utiliser : Le guide est divis? en trois sections de couleur. Chacune correspondant ? une r?gion g?ographique de la carte. Un index complet est aussi offert ? la fin du guide. Un itin?raire d?taill? d?un voyage d?un mois pour les destinations les plus populaires du sud du Texas : suivez l?itin?raire et profitez des suggestions de camping gratuit et d?pensez moins de 110 $ en camping pour le mois complet. Id?es de visites, des meilleurs endroits pour camper ? prix modique ou gratuitement, o? magasiner, o? trouver de l?eau potable gratuitement, o? se trouvent les stations de vidange gratuites, le propane, les buanderies, les douches, les services wi-fi et Internet et beaucoup plus. L?index d?accessibilit? des sites de camping : un point de r?f?rence rapide pour les quelques 80 emplacements de camping sugg?r?s dans le guide afin de d?terminer si on peut y monter une tente ou jusqu?? quelle grandeur de VR peut s?y installer. Suggestions de randonn?es : nous adorons la marche. Alors nous avons ajout? nos randonn?es pr?f?r?es du sud du Texas. Une section bonis : En route vers le Texas. La plupart des caravaniers qui se dirigent vers le Texas viennent de notre coin du Canada ou du nord est des ?tats-Unis. Si vous faites partie de ceux-ci, vous profiterez de cette section qui liste les endroits de camping gratuit et nos arr?ts pr?f?r?s sur la route vers le Texas. Tout ceci pour moins que le prix d?une nuit pass?e dans un camping moyen.
$17.00 US


T?l?charger et lire votre guide voyage Boondocking dans le sud du Texas fut la joie de ma journ?e! Fantastique! Vous avez bien r?ussi ? r?sumer l?information et l?organiser dans un format plaisant et facile ? utiliser. J?adore toutes les suggestions qu?on y trouve.


J?ai vraiment h?te d?aller faire du boondocking maintenant. Je reviens d?un voyage de 13 mois en VR avec mes trois enfants. Nous avons parcouru 28 pays. Maintenant, il est temps de visiter les ?tats-Unis. !


Merci pour votre bon travail ? nous l?appr?cions vraiment.

Tessa Hill
Houston, Texas



Nous n?aurions jamais pu le faire sans vous!


Nous nous servons de l?Internet et du livre de Don Wright pour les terrains de camping mais, en fin de compte, nous avons trouv? le plus d?endroits pour s?adonner au camping gratuit dans votre guide (Boondocking dans le sud du Texas). Puisque vous veniez de faire le m?me trajet, nous savions que nous pouvions faire confiance aux informations contenues dans votre guide. Vous ne nous avez pas laiss? tomber. Toute l?information ?tait exacte. Merci!

Greg Harrison
Sherbrooke, Quebec




"Encore, encore, encore !! Bonjour ? vous. J?ai command? votre livre ?lectronique la semaine derni?re et je l?ai tout simplement d?vor?. J?aime bien m?informer comment faire du VR tout en respectant mon budget.


J?ai ador? votre livre ?lectronique, encore plus que les autres sur le sujet car nous sommes sur la m?me longueur d?onde. Nous voulons vivre simplement. Le temps pass? ensemble en libert? est plus important qu?un gros compte de banque. Aussi, parce que vous ?tes canadiens, vous comprenez les lois pour traverser les fronti?res et voyager aux ?tats-Unis.


Il semble qu?? tous les jours, je fais un brin de r?verie, je me vois sur la route, explorant notre grand et magnifique pays.


En lisant vos guides voyages, ?a me donne l?encouragement n?cessaire pour poursuivre mes r?ves.


J?ai bien h?te de recevoir mon prochain livre-?lectronique et je voulais vous laisser savoir qu?il existe un couple de caravaniers dans les prairies qui attend impatiemment les nouveaut?s sur votre site web et le lancement de votre prochain guide voyage!! Bravo!!!

Trent and Teresa Shipley.
Regina, Saskatchewan




Lors de notre dernier voyage d?un mois en VR au Texas, notre version imprim?e de ?Boondocking dans le sud du Texas?, tout tach? de cernes de caf?, a vraiment servi. Nous avons ?t? tout simplement ?tonn?s d??tre camp? directement sur la plage et dans d?autres superbes campings et ce, gratuitement ou presque. Nous n?aurions jamais d?couvert ces endroits sans votre guide.


Nous n?avions jamais fait de boondocking alors nous avons vraiment appr?ci? les conseils ? cet ?gard. Vos guides accompagneront tous nos prochains voyages aux ?tats-Unis.

Lucy Ferguson,
Guelph, Ontario




Nous recommandons fortement les ?Guides voyage pour ?viter l?autoroute tout en ?conomisant?.
Nous sommes des Winter Texans depuis des ann?es et avons visit? le sud du Texas ? maintes reprises. Malgr? toute notre exp?rience, votre guide nous en a appris sur les lieux ? visiter, ? camper et les id?es ?conomiques pour vivre sur la route.

Julie and Kel Kohlhaas,
Paw Paw, Michigan




Voici une mise ? jour suite ? mon voyage :


J?ai trouv? le guide tr?s tr?s utile. Surtout les informations concernant les endroits o? camper gratuitement puisque je ne les aurais jamais d?couverts sans votre guide !

Merci encore! Jeff Mapes
Grand Haven, Michigan

Click to Read More Testimonials

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to Frugal-RV-Travel Home Page

Monday, November 15, 2010

9 August, our winter trip to Arizona... (Part 2)

 

Back on the 101 south our GPS continued to have its limitations. The 101 takes you through many picturesque communities. However the street detail on the GPS was very limited and going through some of the towns presented a few challenges. At one point I missed a turn which took me to a part of the town that was not designed for large traffic. My GPS dutifully pointed out my error and instructed me to make the next left turn. I now find myself on a narrow residential street with cars parked on both sides. The GPS then calmly instructed me to make the next right turn which took me down another residential street. Getting out of that pickle was not pretty but we finally made it back to the entrance to the highway. It was a very steep approach that I was sure was not going to be good for the trailer. As I expected there was a loud scraping noise as we pulled back onto the highway. Almost immediately our travailing companions got on the radio and told us there was a problem with the trailer. I pulled off at the first opportunity to find that the ball had been ripped off the hitch and the trailer was dragging by the safety chains. It had also ripped all of the trailer wiring out at the hitch.

Oh Well?. at least it had quit raining.


I dug out my tools and got to work. Within a few hours I had a new ball on the hitch and the wiring was fixed.


By now I had my fill of the 101 and I was ready to move over to the I5. I was soon overruled and we were on our way to see the California Redwoods. Wow they were truly impressive. The rain stopped long enough for us to get some great pictures. The girls wanted to see every hollowed out tree on the brochure so I found myself negotiating through more narrow windy roads in the pouring rain. Now I am watching for a station that sells diesel. As we come around a corner there is a small station with a diesel sign. At this point my mirrors were almost useless as they were covered with water droplets and the side window was the same. As I swing in to get access to the pump there is a crunching sound. Yes now one of my basement doors has a dint in it. One more for the ongoing gong show. We eventually get to every spot on the brochure and are soon heading further south.


We stayed a few nights at a California coastal RV park. As we pull in to book our spots, the park manager had just come back from pulling his crab traps. Wow several traps loaded with live crab. I jokingly said if he had too many we could find a home for them. To our surprise there is a knock on the camper door around supper time and he is standing there with a large bowl full of freshly cleaned and cooked crab. Wow what a surprise. We thanked him and dug into our fresh crab meal.


Oh yes?the ongoing gong show. The next day I am walking around the motor home and discover the extension sewer hose that I left laying under the motorhome is now nicely flattened under one of my levelling jacks. I guess I should have put it away when I set up.


Soon we were off to Santa Rosa, California.


Getting around in some of these larger communities can be intimidating if you are driving a large unit and Santa Rosa was no exception. The instructions we were following to get to our RV park took us into the town fair grounds. We soon found ourselves in a place we should not be. Again it was necessary to unhook our cars so we could get turned around. John discovered it is not a good idea to unhook your car if you are on a slight slope. Gail found herself chasing her new car across the parking lot. Oh well I guess that is what insurance is for and the damage was only minor. We soon managed to find the RV park and got settled in for the night.


The next morning the girls did some touring while I did some more repairs on the trailer and John caught up on his sleep. It turns out the creator of the peanuts cartoon came from Santa Rosa and the girls enjoyed the museum. Our next stop was going to be San Francisco and I was not looking forward to dealing with the traffic. In a conversation with the RV park manager, she suggested we take the ferry across the bay. What a great idea! We were about 3/4 of an hour away from the terminal. The next morning we took one of the cars to the terminal and had an exciting ride across the bay to down town San Francisco. The next several days we did the bus tour, Fisherman's Wharf, the seals, the submarine, the liberty ship, Alcatraz island and much more. We had a great time.


Soon it was time to move on. Gail and I were heading over to I5 and San Diego while our friends were continuing on down the 101 to catch a few other places they wonted to see. We leave together and find ourselves on a rush hour 6 lane freeway, as we are taking separate exits Gail and John find a large highway transport dangerously close to them. The driver is busy talking on his cell phone as the mirror on their motorhome is being ripped off. The driver suddenly sees what is going on but it is too late for the mirror. Of course there is no place to stop so Gail was on mirror duty until they could replace it.


It was sure great to be out of the rain on a 4 lane highway with no hills or curves. It was the first time on the trip where I could just sit back and enjoy the drive. After one overnight at a truck stop our next stop was just past Los Angeles. Finding a place to park the motorhome for the night was not easy. Every RV park was full and we ended up at one that wanted $100 a night. It was very old with small parking stalls but we had no choice. The next morning we continued our trip to San Diego, enjoying the straight highway and some really unique scenery. The San Diego RV park we ended up in gave us less then roomy stalls but they were adequate. Gail and I spent the next few days hitting some of the tourist spots and soon John and Gail hooked up with us again. One of my neighbours told me of a bug problem he was having with one of the trees near my motorhome. He said he had sprayed them and things should be OK. The next day I was checking my sewer hook ups and noticed my fresh water hose was alive with bugs. I followed it up to the motorhome and found them all over the outside plumbing on the motorhome. I made a panic trip to the local garden shop for some bug spray. The spray did the job but for the next several months we would find a few ants in the motorhome from time to time.


Soon we were off to Yuma, Arizona. There were lots of things to do and places to go. It was only a half hour or so to Mexico and we managed to make several trips there during our stay in Yuma. Gail and I got new glasses and I picked up two genuine Rolex watches for only $15.00 each. To my surprise they are still running after several months. Gail and John had several snowbird friends in Yuma they wanted to visit so they stayed in Yuma a few days longer while we headed for Mesa.


The Mesa Rv Park was everything we remembered from the last year and we had a great time. It was the first time we had spent Christmas in a summer climate. It was neat to see all the RVs and Park models decorated in Chirstmas lights. I could go on and on about our time there but this story is about RV travel.


By mid April it was time to come back to Canada. About 3 hours into our trip we are sailing down the highway listening to 50s and 60s tunes when there was a loud bang and I saw in my mirror a large slab of rubber tumbling down the highway beside me. The left outside dual had blown. It damaged my jack as well as part of the wheel well. Of course we were in the middle of no where. Fortunately we were still in good cell coverage area and called our friends at AMA. Within a few hours our motorhome was on a flatbed truck heading back to Goodyear, Arizona. The RV shop they took us to told me my great looking tires were 5 years old and would remain a risk for us. They told me we were lucky as they get many like this. They said in most cases there are thousands of dollars in damage caused by the shredded rubber coming off the tire. They did the needed repairs to the coach and directed us to a tire shop that had the tires. We decided we did not want to have any further tire problems and opted for new tires all the way around.


Within a few days we were back home reminiscing about our adventure.


That was the second time old tires had caused serious problems for me and I have concluded I will never go on another trip with old RV tires.
The new tires helped to sell the motorhome and it was time to shop for a new one.


But that is another story.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

9 August, our winter trip to Arizona (part 1)

After a great summer at the lake we saw the leaves starting to turn and the smell of fall was in the air. Our thoughts turned more and more to our planned winter stay in Arizona. We had made reservations with a Mesa RV park and I was anxious to get behind the wheel of my new diesel pusher. ( a 1999 Beaver Contessa ). A departure date was set for late October and we found ourselves counting down the days. Our surprise early snowfall the first of October further stimulated our anticipation.


Gail had always wanted to see the Oregon coast and it was decided we would drive first to the west coast and then south on the US 101. This would mean we would need to drive through the Rocky Mountains in late October, which I was a little concerned about. I was also told by a few experienced travellers that taking a 40' motorhome towing a car down the 101 could present a few challenges.


As the end of October grew closer I was watching the weather forecast for the best time to make our run through the mountains. A date was soon set and the motorhome was loaded and ready to go.


Departure day gave us an overcast morning with an optimistic weather forecast. The first 3 hours was great driving conditions with a few sunny breaks. As we drew closer to the mountains the weather started to deteriorate and we soon found ourselves in a winter blizzard. I had almost decided we would stay overnight in Hinton (the last stop before the mountains), but soon the clouds parted and it became a sunny day. We decided to proceed and were soon driving past the town of Jasper in very light snow. The light snow soon turned to heavy wet snow as it started to get dark. This is just what I was trying to avoid and it was 10 times worse then I ever thought it would be. The headlights on every motorhome I have owned have always been marginal and this one was no exception. Now the wet snow was clogging up my wipers leaving me narrow streaks that I could just see through. Now the road was white with one set of tracks that left no reference to where the shoulder was. If I tried to stop I would be risking someone running into me, if I tried to pull over to the shoulder that I could not see I could end up going down the side of the mountain. I can honestly say I have never been so scared in a driving situation in my life. But it gets worse!


In the dark and through the tiny slits of view my wipers have left me I can see a few cars and trucks pulled to the side of the road. Of course there are no pull over spots left for me as I go by the sign that says chain up area. Hmmm? I am driving a 40' 15 ton motorhome with summer tires on and dragging a car and I am about to try to climb one of many mountain grades. All I could do was put the peddle down and grasp the steering wheel even tighter with my white knuckles. The next few hours of driving was an experience I never want to live through again but we soon seen the lights of Valemount in the distance. We quickly found a service station that allowed us to park overnight.


The storm we hit was not in the forecast I saw one day before departure, but that is the chance you take when you do mountain driving in the winter.


The next morning was clear and overcast but I was not getting back on the road until I was confident we were past the storm. I could get no radio or TV reception so as a last resort I went to our CB. I quickly got a response from a trucker telling me it was clear through to our next stop Clearwater, where we were going to meet up with John and Gail our travelling companions in their motorhome.


That trip was uneventful with the exception of the washboard. Wow I have never seen anything like it. The storm had gone through about a 10 mile section of highway that left enough snow on the road to create the worse washboard I had ever seen. We were going about 10mph and it was like driving down a railroad track without the rails. That was a long 10 miles.


By late afternoon we were at Clearwater and met up with our friends. They had left two days before us and had smooth sailing all the way.


I decided to do a thorough walk around the unit to see how it had weathered the storm. Before we left I was concerned about my tow car getting rock strikes as it was being towed. We spent much time and expense mounting a bra on the front of the car to protect it. That turned out to be a bad choice. As the sand and rocks accumulated on the hood they worked their way down to the top edge of the bra, sanding the bra edge down to the metal. I was now starting to call this trip my ongoing gong show.


The next morning we were off the Chilliwack. This trip produced some long steep grades. To my surprise John was soon leaving me in dust with his 25' gas unit pulling a small car. I had expected better performance with my 330HP pusher but we were carrying a big load. We were soon in the lower mainland with the fall colors and milder temperatures.


We planned on staying at the Wal-Mart store there but it turned out to be a very small lot. Fortunately there was a larger mall across the road and we spent the night there. This gave us another chance to inspect the units where we discovered much of the rubber was missing from the front tires on John's new car. John was new to car towing and the company that sold him his tow bar went to great lengths to show him how to take it on and off but did not tell him he needed to unlock the steering to tow it. He took the car for a quick test drive and everything worked fine.


In the morning we were off to the US border and then Burlington, Washington. There was a small challenge at the border as they had concrete barriers set up that only left a few inches either side to get a motorhome through. We made it through and were soon blissfully following the instructions of our GPS taking us to Burlington. Unfortunately the GPS gives no consideration to the size of unit you are driving and we soon found ourselves on a narrow windy road in very picturesque countryside. This was OK until the top of the motorhome was brushing trees and some of the corners were putting the right wheel of my trailer in the ditch. You should never blindly follow the instructions of your GPS if you are driving a big motorhome. I would learn this lesson many times on my trip.


The GPS soon had us on a narrow gravel road with a sign that said bridge washed out. Hmmm? Now what are we going to do? The road was very narrow and I had no choice but to disconnect the trailer to get turned around then reconnect the trailer. John ended up getting stuck in his attempt to turn around and it was a two hour wait for the AMA.


The tow truck driver told us how to get to the next town about twenty miles away. By now it was pitch black outside and it was pouring rain. We drove the 20 miles on the narrow windy road in the pouring rain which had us doing about 40MPH in a 60MPH zone. We soon had a long line of cars behind us but there was nothing we could do about it. When we finally reached a main highway and found an area we could pull over, many of the cars going by gave us a blast on the horn. I don't think they were saying hi.


The next morning we made it to Burlington where we had arranged to have a new washing machine installed in the motorhome. We had ordered it several months before to insure everything was ready, but of course there were some surprises and we needed to stay two nights in their parking lot.


We soon made it to the US 101 where we came across many breathtaking views of the ocean surf. There were even a few stop and look points where we could get our big units in. It was slightly stormy which made the surf even more dramatic.


The girls wanted to get in some shopping and were watching for outlet malls. Soon they spotted a sign that led us to one. We found ourselves needing to manoeuvre through some tight spots but finally made it to a large mall parking lot. John and I had our fill of shopping after a few minutes but the girls were in there for a few hours.


We were back on the road again and I was soon understanding why the 101 is not the greatest for a large motorhome pulling a car. Narrow roads steep hills with endless turns. Gail was sitting back marvelling at the breathtaking scenery while I was trying to make it up and down the hills loaded with tight curves. This was not fun for me but she was enjoying it. Oh yes we did run into a straighter section but it was of course one of the many road construction sights we came across. It was already just a two lane highway and they had put up plastic pillions for about a 5 mile section which further narrowed the highway. Whoever decided on the location of those pilons did not understand that the crazy Canucks were coming. As I am driving down that section I can hear the pulsing of the pillions tubing under the motorhome. John told be after that he thought he ended up getting most of the ones I missed.


Of course we are going down the west coast in the rainy season so it was poring rain most of the time we were traveling.


Soon we are at one of our planned stops, Tillamook Oregon, where they have the famous Tillamook cheese factory.
We found an RV park and spent the next few days there. The tour of the factory was quite interesting and we all came out with enough cheese to do us for a while. We even found a great aviation museum in the town.


To Be Continued...