Filling Propane Can Cause Damage to Your RV!

Who knew, right?

I wasn't thinking of this as I packed up the motor home at Bolding Mill for a relatively short drive to Cleveland, GA and Yonah Mountain Campground, where one of the few propane filling stations in North Georgia resides. We've stayed with them a few times over the past couple of years, and likely would have been there now if the camp hosting gig hadn't opened up for us. They actually don't make any money off of the service, but do it as a convenience for their campers and residents.

We've had this issue before, because unless you have a permanent residence in the area (we don't), you cannot become a propane customer in most locations across the country. A few exceptions exist, such as our winter home in Chiefland, Florida (Strawberry Fields for RVers), works with the local propane provider to allow propane trucks to deliver to you ON SITE with no contract. It came in very handy last year when we arrived in Florida with low propane after a particularly cold snap in Red Bay, AL during our semi-annual maintenance visit. Propane isn't normally needed in big quantities in Florida in the winter, but our Truma continuous water heater only runs on propane with no electric backup as a tanked water system can do. And since no hot showers = no bueno, a decent supply of propane is a must.

But I digress.

Back to the present. Our propane supply had dropped into the low 20%, and the forecast was calling for at least 10 days where something more than a heat pump was going to be needed, so it was off to Yonah Mountain for a friendly fill-up. As is usual, I mapped out a route with my Co-Pilot GPS RV app that would take me on approved roads to and from my destinations, packed up everything and disconnected from water, sewer and power for the first time in about 3 months, and headed out on the road. Grover was very nervous, as Barbara was taking care of our newest grandson, William, and she wasn't there to provide a lap for Grover to occupy, but he got over his nervous shaking after about 5 minutes on the road.

Everything was going fine on one of the connecting roads from one state route to another, when a “Road Work in Progress” sign showed up. As I crest a hill, there is a power truck and picker blocking 2/3rds of the two-lane road. Enough room for a car to squeeze on thru by going off the side of the road by a foot or two, but not nearly enough for a 38-foot long, 9-foot wide motor home to accomplish. And while they had set up their lane closure near a right-turn intersection, it wasn't your usual 90-degree right turn. No, this was a 130-degree right turn in the OPPOSITE direction (think of the bottom half of a capital “R” to understand the turn I had to make on a narrow road)!

As is usual for two-lane country roads in North Georgia, there isn't a lot of room on the side of the road which stays level. In fact, many roads have a pretty serious drop-off if you get your wheels more than a foot off the pavement. So I really had to worry about both my front and back tires staying on some semblance of flat surface to make this impossible turn, and there would be no chance to back up once I started the turn.

So my front wheels are getting pretty close to the opposite side of the new road, but it looks as if I am going to be all right. Suddenly, the rear passenger tires drop into one of those drop-offs I mentioned earlier, and the RV tips precipitously to the right. Fortunately, the left rear tires remained on level pavement, or this story might have had a much worse ending. The right rear bottomed out on the pavement of the original road I had been on, to the point where my basement bay doors and chassis were the only things keeping me from overturning the RV! The left wheels stayed on pavement all the way, allowing me to continue the turn to complete my journey. Thank goodness my GPS app found an alternate route without my having to reverse course, or this story could have gone from bad to worse.

I had heard some scraping from the rear end as I bottomed out on that right side, so I was pretty mad at the power company for not picking a better spot for an alternative route a bit earlier, but I couldn't stop and inspect any damage until I got to Yonah Mountain. I did keep looking in the side view mirror to see if my basement bay doors were still closed and latched.

Once at Yonah Mountain, I was able to see the three bay doors crunched in various stages, but it could have been far worse. I could have lost or damaged the rear leveling jack, but it didn't touch at all. Didn't even lose the Snap-Pad installed on it.

Last bay door right before the end cap. This will be the second time this door will need to be replaced!

As you can see, no more straight lines moving forward.

 

When I got back to Bolding Mill, I contacted my insurance company to start the repair process. We've had Progressive insurance since day one, and had only engaged them once before – for repairs in the same exact area, btw! I pay considerably more for my insurance than many RV-ers do since I have a policy which covers virtually everything (including replacement cost in case of total loss) because it's our home. No deductibles on anything, and lots of extra perks that cover things such as places to stay in case we can't use the motor home while it's being repaired. It's worth every penny I pay for the coverage. It also helps that Progressive has been inordinately responsive when needed, and doesn't nickel and dime you or take their time in getting back to you when needed.

It also helps that their rates have only gone up $40 per month in the five years we've been covered by them, and they didn't raise our rates after the first claim we made more than 3 years ago.

So now we have yet another repair to be made in our trip to Red Bay next month. It's our semi-annual trip to the mothership to take care of whatever punch list of items have been generated in the previous 6 months of traveling on the road that I haven't been able to fix on my own. On the bay door repairs, they can be removed and worked on without the motor home being kept in the body shop, so we can still get other service done. Well worth it to keep our home in tip-top condition.

However, that trip will be covered in our next report. But for now, you CAN damage your RV getting propane. At least, I can.

No More Reunions!

So, three years ago, Barbara and I ventured up to Massachusetts for one of her high school reunions. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Barbara hadn't seen many of her classmates in years, we were scheduled to head up to New England anyway, so we figured - “What the heck.” The original date for he reunion had been postponed due to COVID concerns, and the delay seemed reasonable. We go, had a nice time, and Barbara came back with COVID anyway!

And of course, what happens when you live and travel in a 38' Class A motor home? The people inside all get sick with the same thing, only a few days later. So Barbara and I both suffered through COVID as a result of her reunion.

Apparently, we learned nothing from that experience, as my 50^th high school reunion loomed large this year. Pretty significant number, and the last time we went to one of mine was 40 years ago. So we figured - “What the heck.”

Took the Jeep this time, as most campgrounds in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were already closed for the season. A two-day drive got us to the Fairfield Inn on the Tewksbury / Andover line at 5:15PM; well after check-in time. Alas, our room (along with quite a few others as we found out) was not ready yet. So we wait until almost 6:30 to check in. Dinner was at the Wendy's next door. At least we'll get a good night's sleep before the reunion the next night (Saturday).

With limited time to spend in MA, we decide to hit the seafood portion of our trip for lunch on Saturday. A relatively quick trip to Ipswich to the Clam Box took care of our seafood craving, and we head back to the hotel to get ready for the reunion. It's being held less than 5 minutes up the road from us at the Long Meadow Golf Club in Lowell, and it's a pretty nice venue.

Our requisite meal every time we visit Massachusetts. Fried clams and scallops!

 

Thank God for name tags with yearbook pictures and names, because with about 4-6 exceptions, I wouldn't have been able to pick out most of the attendees from a lineup! Had a nice time and spoke to some people I hadn't seen in 50 years.

Meanwhile in checking with my banking app, I find out that I have been charged for our room a second time (the first time was through Expedia). Apparently, the new girl at the front desk didn't know how to process Expedia reservations, where they need to initiate a transfer of funds from Expedia to the hotel, so to her it looked as if I hadn't paid. Now I had to get the charges reversed on my card, which of course would take a good 7 days to show up on my credit card.

Sunday is a day to visit with my best friend from way back in Junior High days, Rick Penney. Nice time catching up on all the news regarding other friends of ours, had some great pizza, and we head back to the hotel. We set up a visit the next day (Monday) with my sister-in-law Debby, and look forward to the roast beef sandwich portion of our short visit.

Woke up Monday morning with a seriously scratchy throat, which doesn't bode well. Cancel our visit with the sister-in-law (which was good because apparently SHE was coming down with something as well), and make plans to check out early and head back south to Georgia. Of course, I get worse as the day progresses, to the point where I have to visit an emergency room in Woodstock, VA at 3AM for relief. All tests came back negative for the flu, RSV and COVID, but whatever I have is pretty serious.

Unfortunately, Barbara is stuck in the Jeep with me for about 24 hours, so of course she gets sick as well, even though it's a milder version of whatever I had. But it took a week to get pretty much over it.

So – NO MORE REUNIONS!

Meanwhile, Grover is living the life of Riley at our youngest daughter's house. He's getting a bit overfed, he's getting treats, he's helping himself to blankets and pillows, and he's putting their cat, Ragnar, on notice that feline antics will not be tolerated. He also gets to wait for his buddy, Jace, to get off the bus every day.

Excitement reigns as Grover waits for his buddy, Jace to get off the bus. Ragnar is just a copy cat.

So Grover got into this position without any help. He has a remarkable ability to get comfortable all on his own. The other thing is that this shows Grover / Ragnar detente. You can get close, but we don't cuddle together, cat.

Grover even got to spend a couple of extra days at Alicia's house, because we didn't want to get near them with whatever we had. He wouldn't leave Barbara's side all day. He's so needy!

Travel can be lots of fun, but one aspect of this lifestyle is that we're more isolated from the general populace than many people are, so sometimes our immune systems seem to be more susceptible to picking up bad viruses when we get in crowded situations. At least, that's what seems to happen to us after getting into crowded situations – like reunions. Or maybe it's because we're just getting older. Who knows?

Our Mt. Rushmore Adventure(s)

When in South Dakota, it is a given that Mt. Rushmore, just about 27 miles from Rapid City in the west end of the state, should be a must-see on everyone's itinerary. The majestic carvings of four of our most influential presidents blasted and hammered out of a portion of the Black Hills is one of the most recognizable views in the entire world.

Gifted American sculptor Gutzon Borglum took an idea from South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson, and spent the last 14 years of his life bringing that dream to fruition, passing the torch to his son, Lincoln, who finished the monument as it stands today a year after Gutzon's death. Each head of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt stands 60 feet in height at an elevation of more than a mile at 5,725 feet. The visitor center itself is situated below, and even that is more than a mile up in the mountains. Additional heads have been suggested (Susan B. Anthony at the time of construction, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan in later years), but engineers in 1941 and opinions reinforced in later years have determined that the remainder of the mountain isn't stable enough to add any more. Probably a good thing.

Interesting little historical tidbit: The original design called for each president to be carved from the waist up, but topography and cost derailed that idea. You'll note in pictures that George Washington is the only president carved with more than just his head.

While establishing our South Dakota residency 5 years ago, we had checked into our hotel, had an early dinner, and had little to do that evening after a long drive to get to Rapid City. Just on a whim, we decided that we weren't going to be in South Dakota for just a single night and day without seeing something, so after dinner we drove the 27 miles or so to see one of America's national treasures.

Just by happenstance, we ended up at the monument at sundown, and were able to experience the end of day ceremony which entails a brief history of the monument, a summary of the presidential accomplishments which got their faces on the mountain, the playing of our national anthem, and the lighting of the monument just as the last strains of the Star Spangled Banner faded into the night. They asked if any active duty or veterans wanted to participate in the flag retirement ceremony at the end, but at the time I just wanted to be with Barbara to experience the end of day together.

Fast-forward 5 years, and it's time to renew our South Dakota residency and driver's licenses, both of which have to be done in person due to our being full-time RV-ers. Instead of a single night in South Dakota and a quick turnaround, we decide to spend three days in the area to recover from the 2-day, 24-hour drive from Georgia to Rapid City and back again.

That gives us three whole nights to revisit Mt. Rushmore, and this time I intend to volunteer to participate in the flag retirement ceremony at the end of the day.

Night 1: Our memories, backed up by some pictures taken 5 years previous, was that the ceremony started at sundown, so we found ourselves in the visitor center at approximately 7:30 waiting for sundown to occur at 8:08 pm. The appointed time rolls around, and no hint of a ceremony. It's getting darker and colder, and we're both beginning to wonder if the US Parks Service no longer performs the end of day ritual any more. Now understand, we had packed clothes for expected 90 degree weather based on forecasts. Well, as usual, the forecasts had changed on the way to South Dakota and we're now a mile up, it's dark, and it's also windy, and we don't even have the first layer of a jacket with us. Because . . . forecasts! 8:45 rolls around, and we decide to leave, still not sure when the ceremony was scheduled to begin. After all, we've got two more nights to get this done, right?

Night 2: Back at the visitor's center, this time a bit later. Find out the the ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9:00 and end at 9:30. We are at least wearing long sleeves this evening. Sunset is now 8:07, but in the distance, there is the ominous rumble of thunder. A quick check of our weather app shows a couple of storm cells working their way heading RIGHT TOWARDS the monument area. Now, if you've never experienced a Great Plains thunderstorm, you're in for a treat if you love bad weather (as I do) and a miserable time if you hate bad weather (as Barbara does). So, just when is this bad weather expected to arrive?

You guessed it: right between 8:45-9:00. We hang in for a bit in case it has plans to dissipate, but Mother Nature has decided to NOT cooperate this evening. About 8:40 rain spatters begin. Another check of the radar app and we know tonight is not going to be the night. Ceremony canceled. We do, however, get to experience the full fury of a Great Plains thunderstorm on our drive down the mountain in our Jeep, watching bolt lightning of astonishing power with little attenuation due to the higher altitude. Alas, no joy, but one more night remains.

Night 3: This was it. Last chance. It's back to Georgia the next day. We arrive just before sunset, but this time, we're outfitted in some new fall-weight jackets and hoods to keep us relatively warm, which we had picked up at the local Cabela's earlier that day. No storms on radar.

As we sat along the display of every state flag lining the pathway to the overlook and monument, Barbara and I engaged in one of our favorite pastimes – people watching. I mentioned in my last post that we were in town during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and a lot of bikers visited Mt. Rushmore each of the 3 nights we were there. One biker this evening walked by us with five live parakeets perched in each pocket of his denim vest and colors, while a cockatoo sat on his shoulder. I kid you not. We assume he had a cage or two strapped to his bike in order to get the birds to and from his destination, but who knows?

Finally, 8:55 rolls around, and an announcement is made that the end of day ceremony would begin shortly in the auditorium below the overlook, so Barbara and I headed about halfway down to some bench seats. The Park Ranger gave a very nice and accurate history of the monument and the reasons why each president was enshrined on the mountain. She then asked for military or veteran spectators to be recognized on stage, and between 25 and 30 of us headed further down.

Now it was time to ask for volunteers to retire the flag for the day. This entails the Park Ranger lowering the flag, and a detail of six of us to fold the flag into the traditional “tricorn” to present back to her. I was honored to lead the detail, and my fellow veterans and I did a credible job, given many of us hadn't done anything like that in decades.

The park ranger and I with the fruit our our detail's labor

 

They say that “third time is the charm”, and in our case that certainly rang true. I left the venue both honored and humbled to be part of something few people get to experience, and Barbara and I could now head back to Georgia satisfied that everything we needed and wanted to accomplish in our short visit was done.

If you're going to be in the Rapid City area, a visit to Mt. Rushmore is a must. And the TIME to go is at sunset, even if you have to wait a bit for the ceremony to start.

A South Dakota State of Mind

Five years on the road at the end of this month.

Lots of miles. Lots of smiles.

We've detailed the reasons for setting up our full-time residency in South Dakota in previous blog posts, and if you're members late in our journey you can find them in our early archives on this site. Needless to say, South Dakota is a wonderful state to begin with, and it's one of the best states in which to set up residency if you're going to go full-time on the road.

And with five years under our belts, it's time to renew, well – everything - to do with “living” in South Dakota as an RV-er. You have to show proof that you stayed in South Dakota for one night to renew your residency, and you've got to renew your driver's licenses after 5 years. As full-time RV-ers, we are NOT allowed to renew our licenses online as permanent residents can do, so since we had to stay our requisite one night in SD, we also had to head down to the nearest RMV from our county tax office to get new driver's licenses.

And instead of having our mailbox provider handle our annual vehicle registrations as they do every year (for the paltry sum of a $10 fee), we could also renew them at the tax office as well.

Finally, after seeing what my brother, Doug, went through earlier this year as executor of my Dad's estate (and having to establish power of attorney due to Dad's worsening condition before his passing), a lawyer friend of ours suggested that we have end-of-life documents such as wills, living wills, and powers of attorney originating in South Dakota so as to avoid any probate conflicts. Our earlier wills were rather dated (mine was more than 7 years old – Barbara's was significantly older than that) and had been established in our previous residency in Georgia, so we engaged a local Rapid City attorney to draw up new documents.

South Dakota – and Pennington County in particular – is nothing if not efficient. At the tax office, we were given a number and told we had a 35-minute wait. We were called in 20 minutes. Took the clerk at the counter 5 minutes to process our residency renewal and get our new tags. After a 15-minute drive to the RMV, we were alternated in between people who had appointments (we didn't - hey, we're retired!) and we were out of the building with a warm laminated driver's license in 25 minutes. Almost had a problem, as the guy at the counter asked for two pieces of mail to prove residency. Well, we don't have any mail because we don't get any bills (or most anything else), but when I pointed out that we are full-time RV-ers, he brings out another form for me to sign and we're good to go.

From the time we finished our late breakfast to the time we have everything done, including travel time, it was less than 2 hours.

So now that the important stuff was done, what to we do?

Frankly, after two 12-hour driving days from Georgia to South Dakota, it's nap time for me. After all, we have an evening date with the end of day ceremony at Mt. Rushmore to attend. More on that in another post.

Our second day was the obligatory trek to Wall Drug. Wall Drug is appropriately named for the town approximately 50 miles east of Rapid City, Wall, SD. It's the epitome of a tourist trap. In fact, if you look up the term “tourist trap” in the dictionary, there's a picture of Wall Drug. Cheap t-shirts, relatively inexpensive Black Hills gold jewelry, bison burgers; you name it, it's somewhere in the twenty or so buildings which comprise downtown Wall, SD. We had two goals; trinkets and trash for the grandkids and finding more brass state ornaments for our Christmas tree. We are about eleven states shy of having ornaments from every state we've visited, and Wall Drug has a display of all of them. After our visit, we just need six more to catch up with our travels!

We also made the obligatory drive thru Custer State Park. Some bison were spotted in the distance, but they tend to cross roads earlier in the day. We did however, get to feed carrots to the wild burros who hang around in the same spot waiting for generous tourists like us to drive along. Found out the Jeep could navigate all the tunnels in Needles Pass, but it sure had a LOT more room when we took the Mini through them 4 years ago!

Barbara talked to the burros a lot. Mainly because one in particular kept following her no matter where she went. That burro was a pig!

It's hard not to smile when feeding these burros. Some are shy, some are very forward, but they're all cute.

One semi-sour note to the trip. Don't schedule your visit to the Rapid City area during the first two weeks of August. Three words:

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

First off, IF you can find a hotel room, they will be double the usual price. Local businesses love Sturgis; local residents – not so much. Second, while there are many fine people riding motorcycles across the country, not all of them come to Sturgis. Sixty-something men and women showing way too much heavily tattooed skin, excessively loud bikes revving all hours of the day and night, and - let's face it - were beard braids ever really in style?

This picture below sums up the 7-day trip in numbers pretty well.

 

Overall, the roads to and from were in good condition, except for Illinois. Despite five years of construction, the same stretch of road between the Kentucky border and Missouri is still a mess.

Next up in Parental Parolees – Our Mt. Rushmore adventure(s).

Jace's Summer Vacation and Camper Trash

With end of summer fast approaching, and Jace's summer vacation coming to a close, it's time for a not so brief update on our travel-less summer of 2024.

New grandson William continues to grow into toddler size, well before he's supposed to. If he keeps growing as fast as he has, he'll be a linebacker in about, oh – 3 years or so. Alicia is still recovering from the C-section, but improving steadily.

While Jace didn't spend the full 8-weeks of his summer break with us as he usually does on one of our extended trips, he has spent a great deal of time with us at Bolding Mill COE campground while we've been camp hosting. He got to ride in the Kubota a few times and helped a little bit (a very little bit) in keeping the campground bathrooms clean, but most of the time here he spent on his new scooter or at the lake beach.

He spent a LOT of time at the lake beach.

He met a few kids visiting for the day and got to play with them in the water, got to release a catfish a guy caught near the shoreline, and generally improved on his swimming and floating.

One night we took Jace and Grover out to the local Bruster's for some ice cream. While Jace loved his cone, Grover REALLY appreciated his pup cup, which Barbara complained had the same amount of ice cream her adult cup had – and Grover got the added biscuit!

Jace's summer vacation also included a visit to Great Wolf Lodge with his Auntie KK and her friend Shane. Huge indoor water park and a Magi Quest adventure to keep everybody entertained.

Great set of bunk beds in the spare bedroom of the suite Kristen and Shane booked. Of course Jace took the top bunk!

Jace, Auntie KK (Kristen) and her friend Shane.

At Magi Quest, you're issued a magic wand to use to help you find things. But of course, it's also just a stick . . .

When at Great Wolf Lodge, one must wear the obligatory wolf ears!

 

One day near the end of his vacation, he was able to see his good friend Amie, who we met a couple of years ago while staying in another campground. These two are really good friends and enjoy each other's company so very much. Their faces light up when they see each other. Anyway, we have lived in North Georgia for more than 30 years, and in all that time we never took a tube ride down the Chattahoochee River in the Helen, GA area. It's kinda the thing to do here.

These two always have huge smiles on their faces when they get together. Such great friends.

 

You basically get yourself a very comfortable tube with a head rest if you're an adult, or a smaller tube sans headrest if you're 12 years old or younger. If you're smart, you bring a stout 5-foot stick with you or you purchase one for $5 bucks at the tubing location to help you push off rocks or the shoreline as you travel downriver. It can take a LOT of work on very slippery rocks to extricate yourself from danger if you forego the stick. The $5 investment is well worth it!

If the water is running fairly well (as it was that day), you can take a 2-hour trip down the river, or if there has been little or no rain, you're bussed to a departure spot a little closer to the end of the adventure. Fortunately for us, we had had some recent rains (after a VERY dry summer), so the 2-hour ride was available.

Now, because Jace is 8 years-old and Amie is about a year and a half older (so both are under 12), they had to have their tubes strapped to an adult tube for obvious safety reasons. This does a couple of things: First off, the tubes move much slower together than a single tube does, and the tubes spin in an axis at random intervals, keeping the driver (me) from facing forward to control the course. Having 8 or 10-year-olds acting as lookouts or navigators isn't what anyone would call optimum. Thus, Jace and I and Amie and her mom Elizabeth ended up getting stuck in some precarious places. I ended up getting out of the tube 4 times, slipping underwater 3 times just to get us free from rocks. Jace had to pull us out from a tree which blocked our path.

Barbara had her own difficulties traveling by herself, getting caught in a water chute between rocks and going underwater for too long a time for comfort.

Meanwhile, Amie and Jace were desperately trying to hook up our tubes into a foursome by holding onto each other's tubes, making navigating even more challenging.

Still in all, it was a nice morning adventure that I know both kids would love to repeat again real soon. For my money, I hope they can both wait until they turn 12 so they can travel alone!

Jace having a ball on the Chattahoochee. That's Amie and her mom in the background. As you can see, Amie is desperately trying to get back to Jace while he mugs for the camera.

 

As for us, Barbara continues to work 2-3 days a week at the local West Elm store. It keeps her busy and relatively sane, and brings in a few extra dollars each month. She's earned more than enough thus far to allow us to pay cash for the six new motorhome tires we're going to have to buy this winter while in Florida, and we still have 5 months to go on this camp hosting gig.

The camp hosting isn't strenuous, but it can be frustrating. The biggest thing is the cavalier way all-too-many campers treat their campsite. I mean, let's face it; it's the outdoor version of your living room at home, right? So why would you just discard things on the ground that you wouldn't do at home?

The most annoying things thrown on the ground and never picked up?

Twist ties from bread or roll packages.

Zip ties just cut off from products and left on the ground.

Bottle caps, especially beer bottles.

Cellophane straw wrappers from juice boxes or bags.

And the worse violators?

Cigarette butts. The worst part is when campers use their fire pit as an ashtray for their 2-week stay. Even many smokers don't like to get to a campsite and find their fire pit full of someone else's discarded butts! Non-smokers absolutely hate them! We cleaned up one camp site only occupied for a week, and we policed more than 5 dozen cigarette butts in and around the campsite!

Well, we do get a free campsite with sewer in a Corps of Engineers park for our troubles, but Barbara and I have figured out that this is not an experience we want to repeat anytime soon. After January 8th, it's back on the road for us, and somebody else can clean up other people's messes.

Travel-wise, the RV is staying put until January, but we have a short one week trip in August to South Dakota in our Jeep Cherokee to renew our residency, pay our annual vehicle registrations in person, and renew our driver's licenses after 5 years of being residents of that great state. Full-time RV-ers have to provide proof we stayed at least one night in a hotel or campground once every five years to maintain residency, and we have to renew our driver's licenses in person as opposed to actual residents who can renew by mail. It's no big deal, as we enjoy the state immensely, even if it's just for a short visit. And the paperwork takes us less than a half a day to get everything done.

Doesn't seem that long ago we were driving up there in our old Mini Cooper convertible to get ready for full-time RV living by establishing ourselves as residents there. We've probably driven more than 100,000 miles in the motorhome and both tow vehicles since then. Gas was much cheaper for the most part, much more expensive (post-COVID) for a while, and the Jeep is less fuel-efficient and less fun to drive than the Mini ever was, but it's certainly more comfortable and quieter than the Mini. With new tires all around on the Jeep, the trip should be much easier on our ears and rears than it was 5 years ago.

Camp Hosting at Bolding Mill COE

Over the years, Barbara and I have spoken to many fellow RVers who have taken on camp hosting duties. Their reasons vary from wanting to earn some extra money while on the road, to wanting to save on campground fees by staying in one place for an extended period of time, wanting to visit a particular area or enjoy a particular campground, or like us, to be able to spend time in an area for family reasons.

Camp hosting, or work camping, usually entails doing simple chores around the campground, like cleaning bathrooms, policing campsites when people check out, performing simple maintenance functions, or working in the campground office. It all depends on the campground and the contract being agreed to. All get you a free camp site for the duration of your contract; some pay a minimal stipend for hours worked. All with have a number of days and hours per day expected of you to work.

In our particular case working for Hall County, GA, who has a contract to manage a few Corps of Engineers campgrounds on Lake Lanier, we get a free camp site that has full hookups including sewer, which is not usually available in COE campgrounds, but no addition stipend. We have four days on duty and four days off, with a maximum of four hours per day we're expected to work. So it works out to be a maximum of 16 hours of work every 8 days on average. Frankly, that's a really nice deal, especially on a lake park with sewer hookups.

Our duties thus far are:

• Deep clean the two bath houses once every weekend day, with a cursory clean on a weekend early evening

• Cursory clean the bath houses on Tuesday-Thursday (deep clean if needed). The maintenance guy (Antonio) deep cleans the bath houses on Friday and Monday before and after each weekend as part of his regular duties.

• Once the busy summer season is in full swing, we'll be expected to deep clean them every day and a cursory clean each early evening.

• After Sunday checkout time, we check each camp site for trash left, or things left in the fire rings that don't belong there.

• I've taken to adopting the dump station as my own, as I have always hated a dirty dump station (especially after a rain) when you can't help but track in mud after dumping your tanks. So I sweep or blow the dirt and pine straw off to the side.

We're also expected to serve as camp ambassadors, walking or driving the park in the provided Kubota work vehicle, stopping by camp sites to say “Hi” and ask how their stay is going, and offer help if needed. Sometimes we gently counsel the occasional violator of a camp rule. If we don't enforce the COE rules, the county might lose their contract if the park ranger sees we're not doing our job.

I personally love the camp ambassador part of the job, and do it even on days I'm supposed to be off. The walk is good for my physical health and the socialization is good for my mental health.

Do we miss the road sometimes? Sure. We had a very nice summer vacation planned for Jace this year, hitting some western states we hadn't visited yet, but there's always next year. We've already been able to attend Jace's school's field day, and watched him expend a ton of energy on some pretty frenetic indoor games. Barbara gets some additional William Oliver time when Alicia needs some help with him, and we're available to take her to and from doctor's appointments until she's able to drive on her own again.

Cleaning the campground bathrooms (there are two of them at Bolding Mill) isn't so bad – yet. We fully expect them to be in worse shape as the park becomes full during the summer months, but for the most part, they've been pretty clean during our daily visits.

As for the campsites being vacated, we get a list from the office and check out each one after checkout time to make sure they're ready for the next occupant. I have yet to figure out why some people think the fire rings on each site are trash receptacles. Or that you're supposed to make sure the coals in them are completely out before leaving.

 

47 camp sites vacated on a Sunday afternoon. This is the trash take from all 47 of them. Some people are pigs. Just sayin'.

And why do people think they can just toss used teeth flossing instruments on the ground instead of in a trash bag? What's up with that?

Anyway, with just a couple of exceptions, sites have been left in pretty good condition for the next camper.

I'm sure we'll be chomping at the bit come January to get back on the road to a warmer destination, but we've committed to the first week of January to get Jace back into school after his winter break is over. They'll be some blog posts regarding day trips on which we'll be taking Jace, and of course updates concerning William Oliver. This will also be the first year we will not be taking the motorhome up to New England to see friends and family, breaking a four year tradition; thus proving that the only constant in life is change.

More to come.

Catching Up With May Travel

Lot's of travel, just not in the motorhome.

Usually, I'm writing about some destination in a state we've never visited before, or an interesting spot we think you should try out for yourselves, but this May brings a mixture of joy and sadness in the Richard family. In the span of three weeks time, Barbara and I will drive from our home base of Gainesville, Georgia down to Ocala, Florida for a weekend wedding of our last nephew, head back to Gainesville for a couple of days of rest, then drive 1,100 miles to Massachusetts to say a final goodbye to my father who passed away in late April, then rush back to Georgia for the birth of our second grandson!

Every mile done in our Jeep Cherokee.

Yeah, no RV. Strange beds. No comfortable captain's chairs to ride in.

Now, could we have done this travel in our Class A? Sure. And we had earlier intended to do the Florida portion of this travel doing just that. But our nice cozy and comfortable camp hosting spot at Bolding Mill COE, where we are nestled between and under tall pine trees with a lake view and including full hookups, was just too good a spot to be leaving and backing into for just a couple of days stay in Ocala, Florida.

The wedding was very nice, the room accommodations at the Howard Johnson – not so much. We ended up leaving a day early.

 

Me, Barbara and Kristen at the wedding

Our next travel was slated for a couple of days later; a scheduled two-day drive to Massachusetts for the memorial service for my father, and again, it was determined to be better handled in the Jeep than in the motorhome for a number of reasons. One, we could do the 1,100 miles in two days in the car, where it would have taken three days in the RV due to the slower speed I drive in the RV. Two, there are no campgrounds near the location of the church service and the friends and family we would need and want to see. And three, the cost of gas in the northeast made it cheaper to drive the Jeep and get a deal on a hotel than to pay for the campgrounds we'd need to use and the much lower miles per gallon cost of fuel for the RV. So time, money and convenience worked against us in taking the motorhome up north this trip.

We'd also have an additional passenger in the Jeep; our oldest daughter Kristen, who would be able to help out with driving duties (yay!) but would also be staying in our hotel room (boo!).

Oh, and for those Grover fans out there, he would be staying with our younger daughter, Alicia, and our grandson, Jace, back in Georgia, getting spoiled rotten as usual while she waited to deliver our next grandson. So Grover was just fine, thank you, while we were gone.

The memorial service for my Dad was quiet and reserved, as befitted his nature and his wishes, and his ashes were interred next to my Mom's in the church's memorial garden. He had almost 95 years on this earth, 94 of them pretty good years, so he owed no one anything. It was great seeing friends and family who took the time to come out in support and love.

The Hampton Inn Billerica /Bedford where we stayed was top-notch, with a very spacious room and a great breakfast every morning. While staying up there we were able to check off our Massachusetts meal destinations for Chinese food, seafood and roast beef sandwiches before having to head back South.

 

At the Wu Loon Ming. Cousin Gary and wife Lisa up front, Kristen and sister-in-law Tracey next, Barbara and I after that, and brother Doug all the way in back.

Due to an emergency in Kristen's boyfriend's family in the middle of our drive day back, we decided to forego the overnight stop in a hotel and push through for a single-day drive, doing the 1,100 miles in 18 hours and 45 minutes. Fortunately, I tend to wake up around midnight after 3-5 hours of sleep, so we had gotten on the road early enough to finish the day's drive to Georgia while it was still light outside.

Two days later, William Oliver Ashley made his grand entrance into the world. Now, the delicate balance of helping Jace bond with his new baby brother while giving him the one-on-one attention he needs begins. As always, he'll be spending a lot of time with us in the RV for his summer break, but no big trip to far away destinations this year so that he can be at home with his brother. We'll see how THAT goes . . .

 

Barbara's grandmaternal instincts have already kicked into high gear concerning William Oliver!

Coming up next month – The Joys of Camp Hosting!