Posts Tagged With: Colorado

One Year Later: We’re Still Doing This?!?

Posted on June 29, 2021 by loansbrad

We bought our 24-foot Airstream Interstate motor home almost exactly one year ago. It was the middle of COVID lockdowns and we were desperate to get to Winona Lake, Indiana to see Lisa’s 91-year old father. We named it the Winona Rider, watched a bunch of You Tube how-to videos, and set off on an adventure that was memorable, but, in our minds would last only until the pandemic ended. I figured we could sell our motor home and recoup most of the money we spent to buy it.

Well, the pandemic is largely over for those of us who are vaccinated and here we are driving across country on a month-long trip to Winona Lake and back again with scheduled adventures along the way. Today is day four of this trek. We’ve already experienced reunions and, uh, misadventures. Let’s rewind to last Friday.

Ready to leave (we thought).

Lisa and I had spent the previous three days preparing for our 9:00am Friday departure. We were pros. We had this down. Fill the fresh water tank — check. Empty the black and gray water tanks — check. Groceries loaded into the van — check. Engine fluids filled — check. Packing cubes efficiently assembled — check. Dog food — check. Reservations at every stop along the way — check. I even bought tire pressure monitors to ensure we knew immediately when we had a flat tire!

Lisa gave me the new insurance card and I opened the glove box to put it in the folder with the vehicle registration. Hmm. I know the folder was in here. I clearly remember placing it there. But, the registration was nowhere to be found. We started to search everywhere. Did I really ever have it there? If we can’t find it, how quickly can we get a copy? Lisa went into the house to search and I started looking through the van. The Winona Rider has a lot of drawers and cabinets and cubby holes so this took some time. Finally, I looked under the passenger seat and, on a ledge below the seat sat the little folder we keep the registration and insurance in. How it got there we’ll never know. But, whew. We found it.

OK, well, that only took 20 minutes. Our first night was to be with Mike and Mary Frandsen at their home at Lake Tahoe. Mike and Chris Dittmore had scheduled a 2:00 tee time for nine holes of golf and wanted me to join them. No problem. We still have plenty of time to get there. Except . . .

We opened the back gate where we park the van and were ready to pull out. I leaned over, gave Lisa a big kiss and said, let’s go on an adventure!. I inserted the key, turned the ignition and — nothing.

The battery was dead.

Now, fortunately, the Boy Scout in me was ready. I jumped into action like the father in a “A Christmas Story “ when he got a flat tire. (Note: Lisa never hollered “Fuuuudge” during this process.) It was fortunate that I had purchased a new lithium battery jump starter and I opened the back door to the van, pulled it out, and attached it to the battery. Unfortunately, this process was not quite as easy as advertised and the charger needed to be hooked up for a while until it transferred enough power to the battery to start the van.

While we were waiting, our friend Susan Reckers strolled by. “Are you guys leaving? Have a great trip!” We had to embarrassingly explain that there was a slight delay. She said she hoped she wouldn’t see us here when she came back from getting her coffee.

OK. I got the van started. My Amazon purchase paid off! Here we go! We pulled out of the driveway and started on our way. Lisa drafted a text to Susan that we were on our way when an alarm interrupted our elation. It was the new tire pressure monitor telling me that we had a very low tire on the right rear inside tire (we have dual tires on the rear). We had made it exactly 1/2 mile and we had experienced our third mishap. I pulled over in front of St. Isidore School and went to work again.

Since I didn’t trust the new monitors, I pulled out my trustee old-school tire pressure gauge and learned that yes, in fact our tire was very low. But, Mr. Boy Scout was ready. I went into the back of the van and unpacked the tire inflator. I plugged it in and put another 10 pounds of pressure in the tire. Ready to go. Only 40 minutes late now. I am certain we can make that tee time in Tahoe.

Onto the highway and we’re off. Except the tire pressure monitor is telling me that the same tire is getting low again. At this point, I can’t definitively say that Lisa didn’t say Fudge.

I removed the brand new tire pressure monitor from the inner right rear tire and we took off for Tahoe. I was certain this was the issue because this tire had always held pressure and the only thing that had changed was this stupid gadget I just had to have.

Here we go again, off on our adventure. I must say, however, I was a bit nervous about the rest of the tires and Lisa kept reminding me that the tires were a really important part of the van and we should be mindful of the pressure.

About halfway to Tahoe, I noticed the inner left rear tire was gradually losing pressure. “Fudge,” I said (Only I didn’t say Fudge). It was a slow leak so we soldiered on since I didn’t want to miss that tee time. As we got closer with my attention divided between the road and that stupid tire pressure monitor, I felt a sense of relief. The tire would hold enough pressure to make it.

We arrived at the Frandsens. Mike met us in the driveway, grabbed my clubs, told me Mary had made one of her signature peanut butter sandwiches for me and we needed to leave. You see, he had a new driver and needed to try it out before we teed off. I explained our entire harrowing experience. Mike didn’t care. He wanted to get to the driving range before 2:00. We all have our priorities.

The trip has been a total pleasure since. Golf was fun despite my time spent looking for lost balls. We drove to Salt Lake City the next day where I got to hug my sister Vicki for the first time since the pandemic began. She took us on a beautiful hike and we had quality time to catch up. And, here we are now in Boulder, Colorado, our home away from home.

Our hike with Vicki above Salt Lake City
Vicki and I toasting our reunion. Sophie eying the food.

Our travels will take us to goat farms in Nebraska and wineries in Iowa (?!?) before our two-week stay at Winona Lake, Indiana. We return through Wisconsin, Minnesota and then to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. We’ll even visit my old high school near Rapid City.

After our travels last year, Lisa and I didn’t think we would write a blog on this year’s trip. After all, we are experts now and nothing exciting will be worth writing about. The first hour of our trip humbled us and we decided writing about the trip will be fun and may give you something worth reading. So, join us along the way as we have adventures, misadventures, and, hopefully, experiences worth remembering.

Boulder Creek
Posing in front of the Boulder Flatirons

Categories: RV, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Lessons we Learned on the Winona Rider

Posted on August 22, 2020 by lisablackwell

Now that we are home from our maiden voyage on the Winona Rider, I thought I would share some lessons learned about traveling around the country. Brad and I traveled 5600 miles in four weeks and went to 13 different states racking up over 150 hours in our Sprinter Van. Although we spent some time in our Boulder condo and at the Winona Lake cottage, we did have enough time on our own in the Winona Rider to learn a thing or two.

Simplicity is freeing.  It was unbelievably freeing to live life simply while in the Winona Rider.  Brief showers, no makeup, hair in a ponytail and a hat, and rotating between three or four outfits.  Our dinners were simple with very minimal clean up. Even though we had some really good wine, we used plastic wine glasses so Brad didn’t spend hours shining up his wine glasses like at home.  Yes, you heard me right….plastic wine glasses!

Conservation is necessary and important.  We had to conserve everything because we were  not going to RV Parks and were not plugging in anywhere that we camped.  Conserving fresh water was key so we didn’t have to keep stopping to find water.  We did the shower routine we learned on The Andiamo in our sailing days.  Turn on water.  Get wet.  Turn off water.  Lather up.  Turn on water.  Rinse off.  Minimal water used….minimal time!  Our tiny bathroom converted into a wet shower so you didn’t want to spend that much time in there anyway.  

Our biggest issue was battery power.  We didn’t have enough to feel comfortable each night plugging in devices and using power around the van so we were very careful.  One night we left the refrigerator door slightly ajar and woke up with Zero Percent Battery Power with warning lights flashing at us.  Never a good thing.  We patiently waited for the sun to come up to get some solar to help power up the RV.  It was a race between the refrigerator running and the sun shining that morning.  I really got into all of the solar power vs. battery numbers after that day!

Routines are Good.  We figured out our roles and routines early on and then refined them along the way.  We had a morning routine where Brad got up and took the dogs out and made me coffee and then I slowly got up!  Everyone who knows me knows of that truth.  We figured out the timing of cleaning up breakfast and dinners, making and un-making the beds, when to take showers, and when to charge our devices.  Our best new routine that we developed was having a beer together when we first got to our new camping spot.  We started doing this after the harrowing drive in Kansas with the wicked thunderstorm and decided it was a worthy routine after that!

One of Lisa’s birthday presents. And, it’s true.

Dogs are great traveling companions….most of the time!  Sophie and Ralphie really did well on this trip.  They assumed their positions in the RV and were very patient on the days we had long drives.  They slept like champs and loved the wide open spaces wherever we camped.  We did have a few issues, however.  For one thing, Ralphie is a wanderer and we frequently had to go searching for him as he slowly wandered off to check out a venue that looked more interesting.  We nickname Sophie the Velcro Dog so we never had a problem with her wandering off.  Unfortunately, Sophie got a little case of diarrhea when we were in Boulder the first time and poor Brad had to take her down three flights of steps to the nearby park every two hours for two nights in a row.  Luckily, after some rice and pumpkin added to her diet, all was well.  Our only other issue with the dogs was when my Dad announced he didn’t allow dogs in the Lake Cottage upon our arrival.  We did our best to do a dance where the dogs went out to play or on a walk when my Dad was in motion.   Ralphie and my Dad ended up being fast friends so it was almost a win!

Sophie got tired of posing after her many photo sessions.

You meet really interesting people even during a Pandemic.  Although our main goal was to go to places without people because of Covid, we did encounter some really interesting people and their stories at the Alpaca Ranch.  We met one woman who is the founder of the African Library Project and has started over 1900 libraries in sub-Saharan Africa.  She lives in the Bay Area and, of course, we connected to see how we can participate in the future.  We also met a few other couples who had sold their homes and were living in their RV’s for the foreseeable future and traveling the country.  We met a few novices like us who bought their vehicles during the pandemic and were on their own maiden voyages.  People were from all over the country and were trying to travel the safest way they could figure out during this troubling time.  We also re-connected with some good friends and family along the journey.  We appreciated them all for welcoming us into their backyards with our two crazy dogs and a van that scraped up their driveways.  We book-ended our trip with the Frandsens and Dittmores in Tahoe and can’t thank them enough for their hospitality and we are thankful that their neighborhood bears didn’t want to have a midnight snack in our RV.

A nice visit with Gracie and Arthur Forman
We stayed with Chris and Brenda Dittmore (and new puppy Rimy) on our last night of the trip.

We Loved Our Wide Open Spaces.  Wow, this country really is beautiful.  We loved waking up every day to a new place for a sunrise and sometimes a different place for a beautiful sunset.  Almost every place we stayed at had Wide Open Spaces and we felt so fortunate to just sit outside by our van in the mornings and evenings and look at the beauty around us.  The beauty wasn’t only in Montana but we also enjoyed our stays in Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.  There is a lot of beauty to see everywhere in the United States.  It felt good to appreciate it and not be in a hurry or fly over those places.

Sophie in Montana

Ralphie in Kansas

Masks should be federally mandated everywhere.  We were very aware of the mask issue in each state we visited.  Places like Colorado who have one of the lowest infection rates in the nation had 99% mask compliance.  People even wear masks while cycling and hiking in Colorado.  Other states seemed to have very optional mask-wearing ordinances.  Sadly, most of the states with the worst mask compliance were also those who were seeing surges in cases.  We saw large weddings, a large party, and people in stores without masks. Hard to believe that wearing masks has become a political issue and not one about health… but I digress.

Lisa and Joan hiking in the mountains near Boulder

We slept like babies.    We both haven’t slept this well since before Trump became President.  Our bed was very comfortable but there was something about the fresh air and lack of distractions that made us both have the best sleeps of our lives.  The dogs slept amazingly as well.  Ralphie slept with us and Sophie was right by our feet and would only get up and start pawing us when the sun rose.

A sense of humor with your spouse is helpful.  Things went wrong.  We both made mistakes.  I kept leaving the light on in the bathroom draining our much-needed battery.  Brad mistakenly left the water running in the sink somehow filling up the grey tank and over-flowing the shower.  We went up some harrowing roads with hairpin turns and we backed out of a few driveways and made our mark in the streets. Sometimes it got hot and buggy inside the van and we wished for air-conditioning.  And yet, we enjoyed figuring it all out and laughing about it.  We laughed and sang and talked a lot.  My phone never seemed to work so there were no outside distractions or negative news about the world.   It was nice to take a break from it all for once. (Although we did make sure to catch the Democratic Convention whenever we could find it on one of our devices.  Some things are worth the exception!)

A month is a long time to be away from home and the grandkids.  We loved our time away but couldn’t wait to get back to see Max, Maile, and Noa.  (Oh, and their parents, too)  

A lot changes in a month. California has had record heat and lightning strikes and now fires, smoke, and unhealthy air. Kamala Harris became the Vice Presidential Nominee.   Steph moved into a new apartment in New York.  I announced my retirement from the Town Council.   A rat decided to take up residence in our home while we were gone.  Sophie has doubled in size. Noa has changed dramatically with his moving and smiling and cooing.  Maile is in the process of starting remote pre-school and learned how to swim across our pool and jump off the diving board while we were gone.  Max turned three and has become even more curious about the world.  His favorite word is “Why?”  We FaceTimed almost daily but as everyone now knows, FaceTime or Zoom is not the same as being there in person.  It felt great to arrive in smoky Danville this afternoon.  I was filled with gratitude about being able to go on this journey with Brad.

A smoky Lake Tahoe. Normally you would see mountains and crystal blue water.

The first thing we did after unpacking was to take a really long shower and start planning our next (shorter) trip!  We may not blog in the future now that we are thinking we are pros but we will post some more sunset pictures along the way this fall.

Categories: Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Freedom

Posted on July 26, 2020 by loansbrad

“If you think travel is dangerous, try routine, it’s lethal.” Paul Coelho

Lisa and I have been (trapped?) in Danville pretty much the entire time since March. We’ve largely been in a routine — doing the same thing every single day. For those of you that know us, this isn’t normal. But, then nothing is normal these days, is it?

We sit here in our condo in Boulder, CO and we have been overwhelmed by the feeling of freedom as we’ve reflected on our past three days of travel. The freedom to move around; freedom to see friends we haven’t seen (other than on Zoom calls) in months; freedom to see my sister Vicki; freedom to watch a sunset in Boulder, our happy place we haven’t been able to visit since last October. Freedom to go places was something we used to take for granted. Not anymore.

Things are different, of course. We have to stay socially distanced. No hugs with the friends and family we love. Entering homes through side doors and basements. Wearing masks everywhere we go. But, we are free nevertheless. With the Winona Rider (our RV, for those who missed our first blog episode), Lisa loves being able to go to the bathroom anytime she wants. And, there is no worry about waiting in line for one’s turn or cleanliness.

We stayed at Dollar point overlooking Lake Tahoe on our first night. We stayed with our close friends Mike and Mary Frandsen. They sleep on the second floor, we slept in their basement. It’s a beautiful home and we felt lucky to have dinner with them on their deck even if we never got within six feet of them.

Sunset over Lake Tahoe

As we unpacked our things for the night, Mike mentioned that we needed to remove all food from the RV. Bears. “You’re kidding,” I said. “The RV windows are higher than a bear is tall. ” He let me know that bears are resourceful and their sense of smell is very acute. “I don’t care how cute they are,” I replied. Dad joke. A very bad one.

So, Lisa and I proceeded to empty five bags of groceries out of the RV and bring them into the house. As we went to bed, I did wonder if I had fully cleaned up Maile’s goldfish crackers that I had spilled the day before.

We arose the next morning with a fully intact RV, untouched by cute bears. We thanked Mike and Mary profusely and headed out for our long trip to Utah.

Saying thank you and goodbye to Mike and Mary

Oh. We haven’t mentioned the dogs. We brought along our two canine companions Ralphie and Sophie. Ralphie is our 4 1/2-year-old Welsh Corgi. Sophie, our 4 1/2-month-old German Shepherd mix rescue dog. Another COVID shelter-in-place acquisition for us. They have been great (with a few exceptions) so far.

Ralphie, left. Sophie, right

Next stop, Salt Lake City to see my sister Vicki. But first, we needed to travel through Nevada. If you have never done this, let’s just say it’s a slog. Chris Dittmore and Matt Swinnerton road across the entire country on bikes but the Nevada portion felt like the never ending story to them. We felt the same way and we were driving. But, for those who are wondering how the Winona Rider is handling the trip, Nevada helped us know it is a great way to travel. I am very glad it isn’t bigger. Every ten miles there is a sign that warns of high winds. That’s no exaggeration. Every. Ten. Miles. From border to border. Now, a high profile vehicle feels all of that wind. So, you do need to pay attention. But, it wasn’t too bad and we crossed the Utah border fully intact. I have, however, never been so happy to see those salt flats.

The Great Salt Flats

We arrived at Vicki’s place in Salt Lake City. She had recently relocated from Des Moines and had just bought and remodeled a new home. She had taken us through a Zoom tour a few short months ago and now it was done (I still don’t know how that was possible). It was beautiful. Vicki respected our desire to stay distanced and brought us in through a side door where our very comfortable bedroom and bath was awaiting us. She also had room to park the RV behind a gate in her driveway.

After a fantastic salmon dinner and great conversation, we went to bed. We had time to go on a three mile hike the next morning to a nearby park in the shadow of the Wasatch mountains. I can see why she moved there. It is a spectacular place to live with outdoor activities as the headliner.

Our walk in the park boasted spectacular views

Vicki had to head out before we left. She gave us lockup instructions and we said our thank-yous and goodbyes.

Standing with Vicki in front of her new home

Ralphie, Sophie, and Vicki’s dog Finn, all a bit worn out after our walk in the park.

As we left Vicki’s home we encountered our first, um, hurdle with the RV. Lisa guided me through the gate and back to the end of the driveway. As I backed into the street I felt a lurch and heard a low-pitched scrapping sound. Winona Rider came to an abrupt halt. The dip in the driveway as it met the street was too deep for us to negotiate. We have a cargo box for extra storage attached to the trailer hitch. It bottomed out on the street. Lisa instructed me to pull forward and try a different angle. Same result. Another angle. Same result. Meanwhile, the street in front of Vicki’s house was suffering more and more ruts from the effort. I wonder if she’ll send me a bill for the damage.

We decided to unload the storage box and try again. This time, Lisa had me drive over the curb in the hope that the extra height would help. Success! Despite some slight bottom dragging we broke free. We reinstalled the cargo box, reloaded it and headed off to Boulder.

Wyoming is almost as long as Nevada but slightly more interesting. The one thing we noticed as we drove across the state was the makeup of vehicles on the Wyoming portion of I-80. The number one most sighted vehicles were big rigs. You would never know we are in a recession with the number of trucks on the road. Number 2 — RVs. There were RVs of all types — trailers, fifth wheels, gigantic motor homes, campers. I said to Lisa that despite our RV being one of the biggest things I had driven, we were one of the smallest things on the highway. Last in the procession were cars. Not too many of them.

Lisa and I met in Boulder. We got married in Boulder. Boulder is one of our favorite places in the world. Driving into Colorado, approaching the Flatiron Mountains that overlook the city, and then driving into Boulder was very exciting for us. Lisa put on her Colorado playlist and we sang at the top of our lungs.

Our condo has underground parking with a ceiling height of nine feet. Our RV is 10-feet high. Not gonna make it. Fortunately, Lisa’s childhood friend Joan Stucka who lives in Boulder offered to let us park the RV in her driveway and, on top of that, loan us one of their cars. Good friends are like gold.

Sometimes you go back to a place you haven’t been for a while and you feel like it hasn’t changed. We have only been gone for a few months. And, while there is the deep familiarity things are definitely different. COVID different.

Masks are everywhere, Boulder has only a 2% positivity rate (the Bay Area is 6 or 7%; Southern California is 15%). Boulder is doing it right. Places are opened up. Restaurants even have indoor dining. But, they have adjusted based on the science behind the virus. Tables are spaced very far apart. Stores are open, but, only if they can provide appropriate distancing. And, the residents are taking it seriously. Still, it is surreal. We have gradually gotten used to all the differences at home. It is more jarring to see the dramatic change in a place so familiar.

Pearl St. at Ninth Ave. Closed to traffic so restaurants can expand into the street. Note all the masks.

We grilled pork chops on our back deck tonight and watched the sun go down over the mountains. We were both feeling relaxed, content, and lucky to have each other and this experience.

We haven’t really had a true RV camping experience yet as we have stayed with friends or at our own condo. Tomorrow we head to Nebraska and a night on our own in the RV. We’ll see how much we like this newfound freedom after that.

Stay tuned for more of this adventure as we make our way to Winona Lake, Indiana.

Categories: Travel | Tags: , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

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