After a busy couple of days in Boulder seeing friends and getting the van stocked for our next few days on the road, we headed out early Wednesday morning for our first Harvest Host destination of the trip: Shepherd’s Rest Goat and Sheep Rescue in the Village of Pickrell, Nebraska—Population 199.
When we arrived at the beautiful 100 year old farm, we were warmly greeted by Jen; the owner of the property and hero goat rescuer. We have been listening to the book “Running with Sherman” by Christoper McDougall in the van and there were a couple of chapters about the wonderful qualities of goats so we were primed and excited for our visit.
Jen has over sixty goats with cute names like Oreo, Bam-Bam, Inigo Montoya, Lovey, Eleanor, and Sven on her property and she knows each one, their back-story, and calls them by name. She also has a miniature cow –Moose, a mini horse — Minnie Winnie, four baby red foxes, some deer, sheep, and nightly tree frogs. Jen runs only one of three goat rescues in the United States. The other two are in the East and West Coast so she rescues goats mostly from the middle part of the country. She told us when she turned 50, she decided she could either take it easy and drink margaritas on a cruise ship or she could pursue her passion and rescue goats. She chose the latter!
Jen calling to her goats!She has over 60 goats on her property that she has rescued right now.We seemed to have a staring contest going on with these guys.Sophie meeting Moose, the mini cow and a very large sheep!Wanted to take this little one into the Van with us!! Why not add a goat to our menagerie?
Jen rescues goats that have been neglected or abused and rehabilitates them while providing a goat sanctuary in her beautiful setting. She also educates the public about goats and sheep as therapy animals and provides animal assisted therapy to nursing homes and assisted living facilities nearby. She said she felt her animals truly helped many people get through covid lockdowns who were alone and without family. Jen also has monthly goat yoga classes here on the farm complete with meditation paths around the farm. What a peaceful oasis!
We were all by ourselves in a forest setting for the evening. I will take a Harvest Host setting over a crowded RV Park any day of the week! So glad we found out about them. We ate dinner while watching the sunset and the fireflies put on a fireworks show for us. As we went to bed, the sound of the tree fogs serenaded us to sleep.
Our traditional “We Made It” Beer!Sophie and Ralphie back posing for sunset picturesSunset in Nebraska
All in all, Shepherd’s Goat Rescue was one of our favorite stops yet. If you ever find yourself in Pickrell, NE or even Lincoln or Omaha make sure to make the trip to visit Jen’s Goat Rescue Sanctuary. On weekends, you can play with the goats and even do some goat yoga!
Here is Jen’s website in case you are interested in finding out more. We made a donation so she could rescue a few more cute little critters. Now we are off to a winery in Marenga, Iowa for our next adventure!
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 CityVicki 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.
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 FormanWe 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 MontanaRalphie 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.
So far our blogs about our trip have been written by Brad with editing/suggestions by me. However, I bet many of you are wondering how I really am adjusting to this mode of travel. Do I love it or do I LOVE IT as in one of our favorite SNL skits?
Here’s the reality. I am adaptable. I used to love camping and then on one camping trip each daughter threw up successively in our tent and I swore off camping. We traded up to rustic cabins at Graeagle and I was in heaven. I also loved our sailing trips with Jim and Jayne Taylor on Andiamo in the BVI. I still consider those the best vacations of our lives even though we lived in tiny quarters and barely showered and never wore makeup or used a blow dryer. I knew I could do this but some questioned whether I would “Love It.”
So far…and let’s remember we are really new at this…I am honestly loving it. I love the fact that we are seeing new places. I love the fact that we are self-contained during a pandemic and have our own bathroom and cook our own food. I love that on our road trip we don’t have to stop at fast food places but instead seek out serene parks where the dogs can play and we can eat at a picnic bench. I am enjoying being disconnected to the internet and Twitter and Nextdoor and the news. I love spending time with Brad without distractions.
We ate lunch today at Anita Lake State Park. It was beautiful.
Sophie likes our lunch stops too.
We are learning how to do the dance that we learned from Jim and Jayne Taylor on the Andiamo as we cook and move in a small space. We planned our simple menus in detail and we packed our small pantry and cabinets with precision. We are getting better every day as we figure out more efficient ways to do the dishes or make the bed and manage our water and power. We may not be making the gourmet meals that Jayne Taylor made but we make up for it with a really good bottle of wine!
When packing for this trip, it was clear that we needed to be organized and be minimalists. Something that Brad and I are not known for when we travel — especially me. I have a closet in the RV that is three square feet, so packing cubes (thank you Mary Frandsen), are saving me. I usually show up for a weekend trip with a large suitcase and an extra toiletries bag. So far, we are proud of ourselves with our organization and minimalism. We seem to have brought the right stuff and not too much. (True Confessions: I did ship a box of cute clothes, sundresses, and swimsuits to the lake)
Some of you have asked about the interior of our RV. Here are a few pictures of the couch and bed complete with Tommy Bahama bedding, cute pillows and an adorable dog. The cabinet to the left is my three square foot closet!
Our living area including kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.
Ralphie gracing the sitting area in the back. The two small cabinets on the left are my closet.
The sitting area converts to a king-sized bed at night.
We really like being part of the RV network “Harvest Hosts’. Harvest Host is a collection of wineries, breweries, golf courses, and farms where members can stay for a small annual fee. They allow a limited number of RV owners to park overnight on their properties. So far, we have been the only ones at each site and that is exactly what we are looking for on this trip.
Last night, we arrived at our destination — Thornridge Golf Course in Milford, Nebraska. Milford is a town of 2000 people outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. The Winona Rider looked out at a beautiful golf course and a community swimming pool. There was a gorgeous little park down the street that we let the dogs run around. It was all quite delightful actually.
Our home for the night in Nebraska overlooked a beautiful golf course.
The idyllic park right next door.
The park had nostalgic old-time playground equipment.
When we arrived and set up camp, I was struck by the sound of children laughing and playing at the community pool. There were dozens of kids swimming going down the water slide. Before I knew it, I realized I had tears in my eyes. I haven’t heard groups of children laughing in six months. We live by an elementary school and one of the happy sounds in our home is the sound of children laughing and playing at recess during the school days and families cheering during softball and soccer season. It was a feeling of normalcy that I have taken for granted every other year of my life and might have even been annoyed by. These kids’ sounds brought me to tears. I guess when you live in a very small town in the middle of Nebraska, Covid-19 is not something that kids and parents are as worried about as in the Bay Area.
The community pool across the street.
We are currently staying at the Living History Farm in Des Moines, Iowa. Early in the evening, we connected with our good friends Jenny and Steve Clark for a lovely socially-distanced glass of Walt Wine. They were great sports as we showed up looking a little like the Griswalds with our RV, two unruly dogs and our very casual appearance! Luckily, we were able to back out of their driveway more easily than at Vicki’s!
Jenny and Steve Clark
Brad was in heaven grilling out dinner at the farm. Of course, he bought a small Weber grill and modified it to operate off of the RV’s propane system. We ate Beyond Burgers, drank a nice Chianti, and were joined by some deer and a few geese. All socially distanced, of course.
Beyond burgers with Swiss cheese grilled on a mini-Weber grill.
Tomorrow evening our destination is Winona Lake. We hope to get there in time for a Winona Sunset and a boat ride. It’s been a six day journey instead of a six hour one like past years but this time it really is all about the journey and not just the destination!
Lisa and Brad's Travels 