Full Timing for 3 months

[gryphon]

This is the first full year of being retired.
We left Suwanee on May 10th and travel westward towards Pagosa Springs. Arriving on may 17th. Very easy trip cross country. We went across on US 40 rather than the more more southern route I had asked you guys about earlier.
We stopped for one night in arkanas, I offer no comment on that . We just slept.
Two nights at Red Rocks Canyon State Park near Hinton Ok. It was a great park and we will return.
Two nights at Palo Duro, TX, another great park which we will return.
One night at Eubanks', Monte Verde ( or was it Vista) Lynn what was it!!!
RV Resort in Angel Fire, NM. Very nice and Lynn and his wife were very gracious hosts.
And the next night we arrived at the Last Resort R on highway 84 just south of Pagosa Springs, CO.
I didn't know if I would like long time camping, but I do.
We had very few problems with our 96 excella 1000.
The glass shower door came off and kinda skinned up some of the wood, Fortunately the glass didn't break. I am sure we just didn't have the door locked.
The sharpe microwave/convection oven kinda gave up the convection ghost. Seeing as we didn't have an oven we had replace it pretty quickly. Not a real problem.
The slider on the drawer for the pots and pans broke but we fixed that as well.
No more problems than what waits for us when we finally get back home. I am currently home for a short while. My mums health is not doing well and I am home to try to find her a non- witch doctor. I have booked on airtran on 8/30 to Denver where Tom will pick me up. Much cheaper to fly than it is to drive. Gas in Pagosa is $1.99 a gallon. Here it is $1.58.
Bucky the cat did well. The airstream is not large enough for a young cat to get enough daily exercise. So, I bought a harness for him and walk him several times daily. there are lots of dogs at the Last Resort and he had no problems with any of them. He learned the art of snake catching while on a leash and usually caught 2 or 3 everytime we went walking. He just caught them and let them go. Hey, I know there are poisoness snakes out there and I tried very hard to see what he was catching. Just Whipsnakes.
So, if any of you guys wonder what long term airstreaming is like. There is a lot of closeness with your partner. Not a lot of storage so pack carefully as to not create too much clutter. If you are gonna be at one location several months. Get a phone. And get dial up internet service. Life is much easlier if you can do all your bill paying from home on the net.
I had hoped to make it up to Gardens of the Gods, but that happened to be the weekend I left to go home. My brother flew out and we drove my car back. Don't know if we will make any other rallies out that way. But I would love to meet some other airstreamers. Anyone down pagosa way stop by and see us.

Oh you know -- You meet the nicest people rving!!!!


gryphon

[fireflyinva]

Sounds like a great adventure. But I have a couple of background questions...Where is Suwanee? I take it Pagosa is far from Denver? What kind of unit (age, model) do you have? Are you planning to stay in Pagosa or continue travelling?

Mary

[gryphon]

Originally Posted by fireflyinva

... I have a couple of background questions...Where is Suwanee? I take it Pagosa is far from Denver? What kind of unit (age, model) do you have? Are you planning to stay in Pagosa or continue travelling?

Mary

Hi Mary,
Suwanee is a small town about 35 miles north of Atlanta. The town itself is very small, but being in the line of urban spawl of atlanta the population is getting quite large.
We bought a lot on the Blanco River a few years ago and my husband has been clearing the lot for the past two summers. He recently bought a Skip Loader so he is having tons of fun moving rocks around on the lot. He is going up to Nebraska later this month to check out more farm equipment and will pick me up at the Denver airport on his way back to Pagosa. Pagosa Springs is a very small town about 20 miles north of the Colorado-New Mexico state line on the western slope. It is very beautiful out there , But I tell you it was good to get back to Georgia. We may have a lot of humidity here but we have such a green lushness, that even the moisture in the air has felt good to me.
We currently have a 31 foot 1996 Excella 1000. Last summer we had a 1978 Tradewinds and although it was good enough, the excella offers a bit more room and i was thankful for that. Just a few more inches of counter space when one is preparing a meal does wonders. Very nice model.
We plan on staying out there until the end of september and will take a leisurely trip back east . Hopefully seeing some of the things we missed seeing on the way out. Caresbad Caverns and Canyon of the Eagles and maybe a few other things.
Hope that helped some.

Gryphon

[fireflyinva]

Oh! I see! Mom is back in GA! I'm here in VA, so I understand the allure of the incredible vistas out West--but how it takes the "green tunnel" effect to truly feel at home. I suppose you are becoming a modified snowbird--I bet Suwanee gets very cold in the winter, though! Still, what a nice routine--it gives you the chance to try a new route (and detours) twice a year!

Mary