Road Trip! Coast to Coast

[SilverRanger]

Just a few images. More to come.

[Phoenix]

My wife are really enjoying your photos. When you get home, would you mind posting the campground locations where you stopped? We have traveled the same areas, but you seem to be finding different (better) locations than we have. --Thanks.

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

My wife are really enjoying your photos. When you get home, would you mind posting the campground locations where you stopped? We have traveled the same areas, but you seem to be finding different (better) locations than we have. --Thanks.

I'd be glad to post the campgrounds. We'll be arriving in New Orleans tomorrow, and should be there for a few days. Hopefully, I'll have some time to post some more pictures. Off the top, some of the more memorable ones were:

Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Great location and scenery. The campground was very well run and maintained.
http://www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisi...nglakemead.htm

Circus Circus in Las Vegas: An average campground. The location was its biggest asset.
Las Vegas / Circus Circus KOA | Camping in Nevada | KOA Campgrounds

Malibu Beach RV Park: The scenery was astounding. The campground was very well maintained, and the off-season rates were very reasonable ($31+tax).
Malibu Beach RV Park | RV Campground | Malibu | California

Salton Sea State Recreation Area - Headquarters Campground: The photo ops, history, and the atmosphere were the attraction. Someday, I hope to return there.
Salton Sea SRA

Picacho Peak State Park: Speaking as a retired State Park Ranger, this was one of the best parks I have seen to date. I truly wish we had stayed longer.
Arizona State Parks: Picacho Peak: Home

Most of the commercial campgrounds we stopped at for rest along the way were unremarkable, but convenient. Ordinarily we spend more time boondocking, but our furnace went south shortly after we did, and it seems that unusually cold weather has been following us across the entire country.

Right now, we're at the Isle of Capri Casino near Lake Charles, LA. We have no interest in the casino, but at $15 for an electric hookup, and all the freeway, train, and ship noise you can stand, it's a real bargain.

[SilverRanger]

Here are a few pictures from our site at Picacho Peak:

[airstreamhobo]

Awesome Blog ..keep us posted..I really enjoyed your cross country descriptions. Keep the pictures coming.. Obie

[SilverRanger]

Thanks, Obie. Many pictures to come, as time allows. We just arrived in New Orleans, and are at Bayou Segnette State Park. So far, it seems to be the ideal spot. It's a 30 minute drive to the French Quarter, or a shorter drive and a ferry ride (free) across the river. $18 per night with water, electric, wifi, and laundry included. Now I have to tighten up some loose cabinets. We may try to go in town later on.


Bayou Segnette State Park - Louisiana Office of State Parks

[SilverRanger]

The site:

[SilverRanger]

We had an amazing time in New Orleans, and will definitely do it again soon. It was one of our favorite places along the way. We usually stay away from the touristy things, and like to explore places on our own. After 5 days, we didn't even scratch the surface, so it just may be our next trip.

Anyway, as we were nearly 300 miles into slowly winding our way back home, we learned our house had been burglarized. All evidence indicated they had been interrupted, and would likely return to finish the job. So... driving 936 miles in under 21 hours (including a brief stop to winterize the Bambi), on mostly bad interstate highways wasn't a good way to end an otherwise epic cross-country road trip. Apparently, they were looking for guns and drugs. All they got was some mostly expired blood pressure medicine (I hope they take some, because it made me feel terrible ), and a little costume jewelry. There was minor property damage to a window and the gun safe. Fortunately, we got back before they returned to pick up their stash, so things could have certainly been worse.

All in all, we had a great time, and are already planning our next journeys. I took lots of pictures, and will begin posting them after we get things repaired, cleaned, and sorted out. I had forgotten what a bear fingerprint dust is to clean up.

[Phoenix]

Sorry to hear about your problems at home. Hopefully, that was a random occurrence and they won't be back, especially since they didn't get much. Don't let that get you down -- that's what insurance is for. Just start planning your next road trip!

[SilverRanger]

Thanks for your concern, Phoenix. We're already planning our next adventures Perhaps, back to new Orleans/Florida. We're already signed up for Alumapalooza, and will be going to any WDCU rallies.

In the meantime, here a few (of many) pictures I took at one of our favorite stops... Slab City.

1. Not your average tow vehicle.
2. Just one example of the off the grid utilities on The Slab.
3. Keeping a low profile.
4. Some silver and solar.
5. Slab City Public Library. Open 24/7
6. All the modern conveniences.
7. Pirate Radio!
8. We saw many "Welcome to..." signs, but this is the most unique.

[SilverRanger]

1. One of Slab City's social clubs.
2. The Range.
3. Alien Crash site in Artstream's front (or back) yard.. I have a feeling this happens often in Slab City.
4. Part of the International Community.
5. Every city should have a Pet Cemetery.
6. Slab City Naval Base.
7. Another welcome sign atop the community bulletin board.

[SilverRanger]

We had the pleasure to meet and talk with Leonard Knight (pictured), who created Salvation Mountain. He is a truly kind, sincere, and unique man.

[SilverRanger]

Leonard has an Airstream (he wasn't sure of the year or model), but still lives in the truck. He was very proud of that picture embedded in the wall, provided by National Geographic. After he greeted us, he said, " Please come with me. I have something you must see... "

[Aviator]

What a great adventure. Thank you for sharing it with us all.

[SilverRanger]

A sampling of photographs from a small community on the Salton Sea. This first series was taken in the once flooded area beyond the dikes and pumps that protect this below sea level town. On the sea, whatever remains stationary will be salt encrusted over time.

1. Welcome.
2. Salt encrusted pilings
3. The remains of a travel trailer.
4. A prettier view.
5. Have a seat.
6. BYOB
7. While photo ops abound, entertainment potential is somewhat limited.

[nsbcpa]

Silver

Great Pictures!!!

We just purchased a 2006 Bambi last year and have made a couple weekend trips.

What Bambi tips do you have from your trip that you might want to share with another Bambi owner?

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by nsbcpa

Silver

Great Pictures!!!

We just purchased a 2006 Bambi last year and have made a couple weekend trips.

What Bambi tips do you have from your trip that you might want to share with another Bambi owner?

Congratulations on your Bambi!

This was our longest adventure to date, about 5 weeks. It seems every time we go somewhere, we learn something. Not necessarily about the trailer, but about travel in general. As you already know, space is limited in the Bambi. I like to do as my own repairs and maintenance, so I have a tendency to carry too many supplies and tools. I carry almost all of it in the back of my truck w/cap. Actually, some of it came in handy on this trip, but much of it was a waste of space. The more you use your Airstream, the more you learn what is really necessary.

We like to do some back road exploring, and some of those roads were pretty rough. After a few thousand miles of that, I discovered some of the cabinetry was starting to come loose, especially the one over the bathroom sink, (which was just about to drop) and the one over the bed was starting to separate from the vertical wall that divides the fridge from the bed.. You may want to occasionally check for loose screws (everywhere). Fortunately, I caught this in time. We bought the Bambi new, and have traveled many miles on all kinds of road conditions, so I can't really say it happened on this trip.

On a single axle trailer, if one tire goes suddenly it could cause a lot of damage. If you don't already have one, I'd recommend a tire pressure monitor. Mine has already alerted me once when a valve stem failed. The tire was losing pressure fast until it slowed down at 27 PSI. If the TPM hadn't alerted when it did, I'm fairly sure driving on a slack tire would have caused a blowout. The TPM has provided much peace of mind since, but especially on this trip. Check your valve stems, too. I strongly recommend the metal ones.

Some mods I have made:
- Replaced some of the incandescent light bulbs with LED's.
- Replaced the bathroom knob and lever with a smaller knob and a bullet catch. (The lever caught me by the belt loop nearly every time I exited.)
- Made storm windows out of Lexan for the screen door. Allows much more light in.


This is a very useful thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...tml#post821583

Check out post # 170.



Finally, go camping. You're going to have a blast.

[SilverRanger]

Here a few pictures of wind generators from near Palm Springs, California and Sweetwater, Texas.

[SilverRanger]

This nice surprise is what we woke up to in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Taken from our campsite:

[Phoenix]

Hey, I think they have been looking for those guys since last October when they got out of the box in Albuquerque!