July and August 2020

Note-the website appears to be a little wonky- the tabs along the top still work but do not have the labels in them. It appears to be easiest to use the menu lists on the right side of the page.

Life in the slow lane, for sure. We’re at Northport Campground, a small campground and only half full, very quiet most of the time. Pickleball is our major source of exercise and socialization- you can play hard, take a break and chat at a distance. It’s been so great to visit with our Maine friends, again at a distance.
However, we have taken a big step- we bought a piece of land! We have always known that we would have to become “grounded” at some time in the future. And have always had contingency plans for emergencies. We’ve been casually looking at land or a house in the Mid-Coast area for over a year, but with no real pressure. COVID-19 has made us think a little longer and deeper about our future on the road.
So, what are we going to do with this land? Well, we can live in our camper on it, especially once we get utilities in place- hopefully this fall. We can build on it, or wait. We’re looking into modulars and stick built…And as you can see, the lot has a sweet, long distance view of Penobscot Bay:

 

And nice sunsets, too:

We had a well drilled- only 145 ft. to get 10gpm! and the septic system and most of the driveway will be done in Sept.

 

 

 

We still have more miles to travel- Newfoundland, PEI, Indian Pass, FL, Port Aransas Texas for the winter and more exploring in the Southwest, and we didn’t get to see Derek in Utah this spring due to the virus. The open road still beckons us, but now we will have a piece of land to call our own.
btw, Rhylee is thriving! He only rides in the truck to go to the Belfast Harborwalk or our land, which he loves doing.

June 2020
Backtracking to moving in June, as we are currently (July 2020) in Maine at Northport Campground.
It was a month to forget, however, we will record the trials and tribulations for the memories.
Two state parks and one Army Corps campground. The campgrounds were mostly full, especially on the weekends. And many campers were from NY and NJ, where the state parks were still closed.
Not much to do- one trip a week to a Walmart, usually early in the morning to avoid crowds, bought gas when we needed it wearing gloves, but did not go inside the convenience stores (although once Clare had to go in because the card reader didn’t work). Walks around the campgrounds; a little geocaching and lots of sitting around.
In early June, at a stop we had for 7 days, Clare started feeling lousy- muscle aches, than a few days with a headache and then….a fever, and chills. We were in the middle of no where- the closest Walmart was an hour away. So, we waited it out- Linda felt lousy but not really sick. Clare slept and rested, the fever went away, and left him very tired. We had to move and fortunately it was another 7 day stop, by the end of that stop Clare was healthy again. Was it Covid-19? Probably, but there is not way to know for sure, unless he gets the antibody test which no one is giving.
One night stops in NY, VT and southern Maine and we arrived in Northport July 1. Got tested for Covid-19 on July 2 and both of us were negative. Which means, according to the governor, we do not have to isolate, but we are anyway for the most part.
What else have I not mentioned? Well, Clare has become my barber- the last cut was about 4 weeks ago and I just now am able to put a comb through my hair- YIKES! His clippers’ longest setting was wicked short, but, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Laundry- not wanting to go to a public laundromat and looking for a campground that had a laundry that was open, cleaned regularly and not used much- and stretching how often we do laundry.
Rhylee got an ear infection that would not wait until we got home, but to find a vet on the road is always tricky, more so now. We were kind of near State College PA, in a campground with NO cell service. Drove out to call a vet, made an appointment for the next day, and when we got there the vet had been called away—ugh! Called around and found one that would see him- in this new world where you call in from the parking lot of the office, they take the dog in, and then call us to tell us what to do- phew…and of course, Rhylee is now fine.
The truck wouldn’t shift into reverse, one day- can’t hook back onto the camper without reverse. And we were way out in nowhere Oklahoma! It is a totally sealed transmission, which means you can not even check the fluid.Nearest Ford dealer was over two hours away and it was the weekend. A few times of starting, driving and shutting off the truck seemed to do the trick…we hope.
A month to…remember…or forget.

Kentucky
Early June 2020

Kentucky hadn’t opened State Parks when we traveled through, so we had to find some private RV parks- most of those had not opened either…We made two stops crossing the state.
We visited Abe Lincoln’s birthplace, now an interesting National Historic Site (again only open enough to walk around, the visitor center and memorial were not open).

 

Next stop was Red River Gorge Geological Area in the Daniel Boone National Forest. This area has many natural rock arches and a twisty, turny narrow road that motorcyclists love. And, a hand dug tunnel that is only 12ft by 12 ft and 900ft long…ONE LANE- and as got about half way through, cars started in from the other end! Did I mention there is NO light? Drivers are supposed to look ahead and NOT go if they see headlights already inside. Traffic piled up quickly on both ends and our side had fewer vehicles so our side backed out – about a dozen on our side. In case your wondering, we knew about this tunnel and only had the truck, not the camper which is 13 ft. 3 inches.

West Virginia- spent a week at a very quiet, secluded state park. We so needed to rest and de-stress! 20 minutes away was a tiny town with a small grocery. An hour away was a Walmart and Rhylee needed his meds refilled.
Speaking of Rhylee, looks like he had another stroke (or something similar) and pulled through after about 3 days. He couldn’t get his legs to stay under him or move him forward. He stopped eating and looked ever so sad. We were not near a town with a vet, we did not have internet to look anything up, or even phone service. So, we did what we did before- pampered him, made a sling under his belly to help him get outside to do his business, fed him enticing people food.

Each day, he was able to do a little more, and then one morning he sprang up, wagged his tail, trotted down the stairs and he was cured- apparently this dog has many, many lives…

June 28, 2020

We have just completed three years on the road, RVing full-time! WOW!

And we can honestly say that out of the 36 months, the past month- June  2020- has definitely been the hardest- challenging, discouraging, stressful, tiring and full of misadventures. However, not so much as to make us want to stop 🙂 Maybe, do it a bit differently, but then the journey has always  been flexible.

We’re all healthy and still smiling- most days…and we know that everyone has had their struggles during this unsettling time of Covid-19.

We’ve had limited cell/internet service for about two weeks of June, so when we get back to Maine and isolate for the first two weeks- Northport Campground until late October, we will post the sad story of June 2020.

Look forward to seeing those of you in the Mid-Coast area, and would love to hear from the rest of you, too 🙂

 

Late May, 2020

Well, some from this state call it Misery, which we thought was silly, until…

The roads here are narrow, twisty and slow. There are TONS of ticks, many different kinds, they are fast, and they are everywhere.
We made our way across Missouri, using state parks, which are out of the way and not near major roads. Short stop at Stockton State Park- huge lake and dam. This core is from way below the dam, done to insure the foundation was solid.

 

 

 

Montauk SP was SO out of the way, but turned out to be rather interesting.

A trout fish hatchery keeps the river stocked and anglers happy. And we happened by at dinner time!

Our last one In Missouri, we hoped would at least be interesting- Trail of Tears – right on the Mississippi River- we could watch the barge traffic all day long. We arrived mid-afternoon, after a long, tedious drive (at a rest area we watched an old RV catch on fire! The owner was safe, but probably needing a tow). We got ready to pull into our site and a dog came barreling after Rhylee! A vicious little pug broke it’s leash and grabbed onto Rhylee. I tried to move away, but the pug had him. I reached down (duh) to separate them and got bit. Rhylee’s in panic mode and slipped his collar and heads away, I am bleeding and the owner finally gets it’s dog. Then (of course, there is more), the park ranger comes by and tells us the river is rising and the road will be flooded by morning and we have to leave! While bandaging my hand, we use our phones to look for a nearby RV park. Meanwhile, we have to get info about the pug and it’s owners (she is now in tears about me getting bit), the ranger needs a report and my finger is still bleeding.

The pic on the left is taken from where the campsite we had hoped to occupy!

Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. The river was already high when we arrived. The left pic is 4 days earlier than the right one. Flood stage is 32 ft. The right pic is at 36.5 ft.

The left pic has previous flood heights on the flood gate at Broadway in Cape Girardeau. The right pic is the bridge with the clearance for ships marked on it.

The a part of the old bridge was preserved and surrounded by a small park with a view of the new bridge.

 

Much of flood wall, on the town side,  is covered in murals recording the history of the area- from the native peoples, the Spanish, Lewis and Clark, etc. Probably 50 murals!

This mural represents Maine and Missouri statehood! Why, you may ask, are they connected? Well, Missouri wanted to become a state and it would be a “slave state” so to keep the numbers of free and slave states equal, Maine was given statehood at the same time as a free state in 1820.

 

Cape Girardeau was a nifty small city and fun to visit even though, for us, the state has been a bit of misery, on top of the stress of trying to move and function around the virus.

 

Mid-May

Meade State Lake Park, Kansas. This is a constructed pond, which they call a “lake” here since there is not much water here. Just hanging out, walking, geocaching and biding our time.

It takes hours for us to figure out our next stops- looking for low incident virus areas, are the state parks open yet? if not, is there a RV park? how many miles between stops? can we get groceries? Kansas parks were open, Missouri state parks would be open for when we would be there. We picked our route and our parks, went on line the minute reservations opened – along with hundreds of others and got nothing for three hours of work- the site was overloaded, the phone lines were full…The next morning we called first thing and with the help of the reservation agent, managed to plot out three stops across Missouri- not quite the plan we had penciled in, but we have places to be- the last stop in Missouri will be several days alongside of the Mississippi River.
Kentucky state parks will not be open as we travel through there- and we discovered many RV parks have not opened. We found two that would take us for two nights each in a route that works, even if not what we had hoped for. West Virginia state parks are open and we booked one for a week.
Wellington, KS, an RV park near a Walmart. Stock up, rest up, geocache, and move on. So many of these areas we are stopping in have at least a few things we might have visited, but with the virus…

Kansas was pretty uneventful, not even any photos…

May 2020

It is soooo good to be back on the road again. This state park is quite remote- in the corner of OK, close to KS and CO- so we went to the tri-corner marker:

We are in the Great Plains- it is ranch grazing land, pivot irrigation land and grasslands, and not much else. We are seeing wildlife again:

And there were a few things to visit- Dinosaur Tracks – pretty cool!

and Autograph Rock, which is on the Sante Fe Trail, is a National Historic Site, and it on private property on a ranch 15 miles from the main road. We called an received permission to visit with the casual warning that they had just branded calves and they might be a bit agitated- okie dokie, what does that mean exactly? Well, they mooed and mooed, and glared and glared and then surrounded the truck- I guess we looked like the food wagon! This cliff face has hundreds of engravings done by travelers on the Sante Fe Trail- Cimarron Branch.

They were done by people migrating, trading and soldiers in the mid-1880s. A very special place where you could really feel the history.

Out geocaching, we were led to this shepherd’s cave pre- WWI.

 

Early May 2020

But first- HEAT WAVE! Oh My! 4 days of high 90s! AND, it hits 90 by noon and doesn’t go below 80 until midnight! We’ve given our new RV air conditioner a good test, that’s for sure. 98 degrees as a high on Sunday! The humidity is around 50% and it is windy, too!
We found some tennis courts and played a little two person pickleball, on days when the wind and heat were down. And there have been a few sights to see- the wildflowers along the roadside are beautiful- at least five different kinds of flowers, and then up the road these were our neighbors:

So, where are we going from Eastland, Texas? Being full-time RVers has always had it’s challenges mixed in with the adventure and exploration, however now things are definitely more challenging. Which way to go? Which states have campgrounds that are open? Which states are discouraging travelers? Where are areas with lower cases of COVID-19? How do we get back to Maine as safely as possible?

Back in early March, when the virus started to get its grip on America, we smartly realized that we probably would not be able to get into Canada this summer as planned, so we expanded our stay at Northport Campground- July 1 thru October! Four months in one place! Yikes! We are hopeful that, after we self-isolate for 14 days, things will have settled down enough that we will be able to visit friends and family…

Our Spring plans were to go through NM to Canyon de Chelly National Park them boondock in southern Utah and meet Derek in the Moab, UT area. Scratch that whole plan- the Navajo people are struggling with a big outbreak of the virus in the four corners area- the town of Gallup has actually shut down the road in! Lots of state and national parks and lands closed. And how risky is it for us to see Derek, and him us…
After looking at several alternate possible routes, we have a plan- north into the Oklahoma panhandle, then up into Kansas heading east, taking our time while waiting to see what opens up ahead of us.

April 2020

Of course, we always find that if things are already complicated, then the universe will decide to make them even more complicated…
We know that right now best laid plans are really just tentative ideas…The new Arctic Fox 5th wheel RV that we ordered in November was in Baird Texas, near Abilene. We made reservations at Texas State Parks for the way up, and a RV park near the dealer for a week for the transfer- that worked out, for the most part. The dealer was open, although we had to stay out of their buildings (signed 2 hours of paperwork outside at 40 degrees!), did the swap of campers in 85 degree heat 3 days later. And waited on their front porch for the afternoon for the bank to get the UPS package of paperwork (that package got waylaid for 2 days) and then wire the money so we could take our camper home!
We realized how minimally we live when we saw ALL of our stuff in 18 bins! We spent two days stowing all our gear, trying every switch, button and device in the camper…and we found 4 things that did not work, so back to the dealer on our way to a RV park to sit for a month to wait out the virus.

The tech crew at the dealer was awesome about fixing the problems on the day we headed to the next RV park- the big slide was jamming up- lo and behold the limit switch bracket was broken from the mount, which bent a bolt, which allowed the slide to go out too far, which flexed the wood trim on the inside, which forced the carpet to lift, which then jammed a pantry draw…phew…did you get all that? And a few other minor fixes needed. But we did have time to go get takeout BBQ- brisket and sausage! Yum!
In the mean time, Texas closed all of their state parks where we had reservations at two parks to get us through April. So, while we sat on the porch, we searched the web for a RV park that was not near the highway, had at least a few trees, maybe even a lake and seemed well run and clean- we found only one withing 75 miles (needing to stay near the RV dealer for other problems) and as luck would have it, they had just a few sites left and since we have been in Texas since December, they would let us in! another PHEW! We don’t want to be here a month; we are really ready to be on the move, however with the virus, sitting still is probably a good move. We have a view of the lake, but there is not much else to do around here…oh well…

So, the new camper has 50% more space than the previous one! About 340 sq ft, compared to 230 sq ft! It is SOOOO spacious.

In comparison, the Outdoors RV that we spent 2.5 years in:

Our whole rig is one quarter the size our houses were! Tons more storage inside and out- nothing has to be stacked or packed in the cupboards! The fridge is huge…for us- we’ve gone from 8 cu ft to 10.5 (yours is probably 17 to 21 cu ft)! And now we actually have counter space- one section is 24″ x 48″! Why did we not have this size camper before, you might ask..well, the Outdoors RV trailer was shorter in height and length, so we could get in places that this rig will never go- we are a little over 13ft tall now. (remember the pic of us driving through a tiny underpass – about 1 ft. clearance on three sides? we’ll never be able to go back to San Lorenzo Canyon) We will still boondock as we have solar panels, generators and lithium batteries.

Rhylee loves the new camper! mostly…

he can climb the steps on his own! He has three favorite places to lay…so far.  The only snafu, which we expected, is that it has messed up his sleeping so he is wandering and restless at night. But, it’g getting better. He takes his meds and wears his thundershirt at night, he can climb the three steps up to the bedroom and has a bed upstairs as well as his bed downstairs. We are hopeful that he will settle in soon…we so need a good night’s sleep!