What a Surprise

For several years as we have driven I-25 north of Denver we have passed St. Vrain State Park. It is a fairly new state park and we really didn't think we were interested because it is right along the highway. This trip we wanted to stay in the area for a few more days, including a weekend, in hopes we could receive the title paperwork for our new trailer and get it registered. Since our favorite parks--Chatfield and Cherry Creek--are booked solid on weekend months in advance, we decided to try St. Vrain.

What a delightful surprise to find a great state park. There is some highway noise in part of the park, but there are also numerous ponds, providing good scenery and trails and, most of all, reflections. And I can take pictures of reflections all day and (almost) all night. Here are just a few of the photos we took.

One view I didn't care for was this one. But when you are in an urban area, you can't have everything.

We did do a few things besides walking 5 miles a day around the ponds and taking photos. We were able to register both the new truck and the new trailer and we met Longmont friends Larry and Betty for lunch.   Hopefully we will see them in Arizona this winter.

Whew! Downsizing is Exhausting

We began RVing in 1988, first borrowing a tent trailer, then buying our own Coleman pop-up. We traveled to the east coast and to British Columbia with that RV. We enjoyed it for probably 9 years before moving up to our first 5th wheel, a 1997 Komfort with no slides. (Our son Eric is still using that tent trailer.) We took the Kombort on many great trips, including one to the east coast. Eventually, about 5 or 6 years later, we decided we wanted at least one slide. We traded it for a 2003 Montana. Enjoying that one, we drove and rode the Alaska Marine Highway to Alaska, returning entirely on land. We also drove it to the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

In 2008 after volunteer assignments in Oregon, we were headed south into California when the front legs no longer worked. We were not able to take it off our truck until it was in the garage for repairs. While it was being fixed we checked out the dealers lot and bought a 2009 10th Anniversary Montana with 2 slides. We traveled extensively in that trailer including another trip to Alaska, after which we returned all the way to the lower 48 on the Marine Highway.

In early 2012 the front landing gear on that trailer failed. When we finally got it onto the truck, we had both front legs replaced under our extended service plan. By the end of the year, when we decided to look for another 5th wheel with 3 slides, we decided to go with a DRV Mobile Suites. We ordered it on line, using lots of advice from the Suites Owners forum and 3 different DRV dealers. After deciding which dealer to buy from, we waited for it to be built the way we wanted then picked it up in Chanute, Kansas, in 2013.

The Mobile Suites is constructed with more quality interiors, more style and upgrades than the Montanas. And it had a Lippert Level-up system that was a dream to use. Put down the front legs, removed the tow vehicle, push a button and it leveled itself automatically. That is done with hydraulic landing legs. Last September we began having serious problems with the hydraulic system ... more serious than the electric legs in either Montana. We had one front leg replaced last September after it wouldn't stay up. We had to keep stopping the truck every 10 miles as we drove on I-70 and I-25 in Colorado. This May, the system again failed: first it came down while we were parked with the RV still on the truck. Then the front end of the 5th wheel got lower and lower while we were parked.

We traveled from Arizona to Oklahoma to have the closest DRV dealer examine it and, we hoped, repair the problem. When we arrived at the dealership we were told our trailer wouldn't even be examined for 7 days, even though we had been led to believe he would immediately work on it when we arrived. Seven days later he spent 2 1/2 hours testing the legs and declared it OK. He then suggested, if we intended to keep the unit, we have the legs replaced and recommended a shop in Indiana. We left the dealership and drove directly to Amarillo. While in Amarillo the trailer legs again failed. We contacted the shop in Indiana and found that the earliest appointment was at least a month out.

We drove to Colorado without disconnecting our 5th wheel. It's difficult to get fuel, to shop for food and to visit when you have to drive a one-ton dual wheel truck and a 36 foot 5th wheel everywhere.

That was enough! No more 5th wheels for us. The living space and storage space in that type of RV is great. We have lived full-time in our last 2 for a total of 7 years. But we are no longer full-timers and we decided to downsize and look on our travels more like camping.

We arrived at Chatfield State Park near Denver on June 7. Since we couldn't take the 5th wheel off our truck, our son loaned us his pickup so we could get around without taking the trailer everywhere. The next day we went looking for a travel trailer. At Windish RV in Lakewood, we looked at several Airstreams as well as a Jayco and Grand Design unit. The latter 2 had slides so there was more living space. But they felt cheap inside compared to the Mobile Suites and Airstream. So that day, we made our choice and said we would get back to them. We then drove to Stevenson Chevrolet in Lakewood. We didn't need a 1-ton dually to pull the Airstream which, fulling loaded, weighs 10,000 pounds less then the Mobile Suites. Once we made a choice there, we returned to Windish and made a down payment on the trailer. Then back to Stevenson and made a down payment there.

Not done yet, we returned to Chatfield and spent the evening with our son Eric and his family on their boat, including another celebration of my recent birthday.

Thursday it was time to begin downsizing our stuff. When we lived in the Suites full-time, we had everything we owned (except for a small storage unit of stuff) in the RV. In late 2014 we bought a small house in Arizona and took what we needed for the house out of the trailer. We traveled in 2015, then returned to Arizona. But we still had way more than we needed for our travels. We have been sorting clothes and boxing up what we want shipped back to Arizona, keeping on what we absolutely need. The 5th wheel has a large basement storage area that we will miss. The idea is the put a cover on the bed of the truck and use that to store those items.

Friday we were out by 9 to finish the paperwork and pay for the truck. Then we returned to Windish to look again at the Airstream storage. Back to Chatfield to sort, throw stuff away and give Eric and Liz what we think they can use.

Saturday there was more sorting and packing. In the evening we attended my 55th high school reunion. Sunday was a chance to relax little. Monday we took the Mobile Suites to Windish and picked up the Airstream. Since the refrigerator wasn't cold in the new trailer, we left all our food in the old RV until the next day. But it took a while to move everything else into the new RV. We had boxed and bagged a lot of it before we got there, but it still had to be carted from one unit to the other. We used the old truck to move it. Back at Chatfield, we began trying to find a place for everything.

Tuesday it was time to trade the old truck for the new one. That didn't take long at all. The biggest task was to have all the new electronics in a 2016 Chevy explained. We still have to read about it so we remember, but all the upgrades are amazing! Then we drove to Windish to pick up our food.

Wednesday we had appointments with our dermatologist and returned Eric's truck. We made a trip to Goodwill, ordered a bed cover for the truck, ran some errands and started changing our insurance to the new vehicles.

We are exhausted. It is an effort to mentally take in all the changes. We try not to get lost when we get up during the night, looking for the bathroom. Every time we want something we stop, look around and try to remember where it might be. Sometimes it takes checking several cabinets before we find it.

Finally, Thursday, we had a full day at our site in the state park. We did laundry and continued working on putting things away. By dinner time, we finally were rid of boxes and piles on every surface. Whew.


I'll post pictures of all this in my next blog.

Change and Being Busy

We bought a new trailer and a new truck to pull it. Doing all of than in just over a week is somewhat overwhelming and very, very busy. Here is a photo of our new Airstream Flying Cloud 28 and new Chevrolet 2500HD crew cab truck.

I will be posting a reflection on the experience in a few days, but right now all I have the energy, focus and time to do is figure out what we need to do tomorrow.

We're On Our Way

Here we are at 9:15 this morning, pulling out of the spot where we have been parked for six months. All 53 feet of RV and truck, reaching 13 ft 5 inches at the top.



Since this is the first time we have pulled the trailer with this truck, we had to take a picture. We drove 196 miles to Willcox, AZ. and the truck worked great and the RV pulled smoothly. We are pleased.

We carry our bikes on the front of the truck, so this is our view out the windshield. It helps explain the quality of photos I take while we travel.



We passed Picacho Peak on our way south. This was the scene of the most difficult hike we have ever gone on. We sat the the very top of that peak.



Texas Canyon is always beautiful east of Tucson on I-10.





It is so good to be on the road again, off to new adventures.

A Friday Outing

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of RVers are parked near Quartzite, AZ, or Q as they call it, for the annual January gathering in the desert. While there, a shopping trip to The Big Tent is a necessity. Well, let me tell you, those folks don't have anything on the snowbirds here in Mesa and Phoenix. Saturday we checked out the Mesa Swap Meet. It is called recreational shopping and provides a mile and a quarter of shopping aisles where 900 merchants stock 1600 booths.



We didn't see much RV-related merchandise, but there were lots of things on sale to decorated snowbird yards and RV lots.

There are larger items for sale, as well.







These fellows were entertaining during lunch. Lots of people were eating and listening.





John liked this man's hair hat



he had to try one on, too.



He checked out this straw cowboy hat, as well.



And look at this woman's hair. It is real, not a hat.



In our first year of marriage, we bought a set of waterless cookware. Other folks of our generation are still entertained by such products.



What an interesting name for a store.



All I can ask is, "why?"



Billiards, anyone?



The picture is a little blurry, but look at these frilly little-girl dresses.



A bag to keep your beer cold.



Some winter hats.



When we finally made it to the back 40 where we parked our looong dually truck, we found two other trucks the same size parked in the same area. This is where we always park since we bought this new truck.

Two Problems Solved

Yesterday our mail included the November utility bill from the resort. I almost had a heart attack. The bill showed we had used 2,368 kilowatt hours of electricity between Oct. 23 and Nov. 23. What? There is no way that could be possible. There had to be a mistake. Fortunately, I have the bills from last spring when we were in the same site. The beginning meter reading on last month's bill was 1,935 kwh lower than the final reading on the meter April 1 when we left. Before calling 911, we decided to go talk to the office about the matter.

They agreed something was wrong. An hour or two later, we received a call saying yes, the beginning meter reading used was wrong. The matter had been corrected and instead of being charged $249.84 for electricity and tax, we only owed $74.40. Whew, that is a relief. I think whoever entered the data in the computer hit the wrong number for the second digit of the reading. Problem solved.

The second problem involved licensing the truck we just bought. It will be titled in Arizona but needs to be registered and licensed in Colorado. Our temporary permit expires in February but we won't be in Colorado till April or later. That means we needed to have the VIN verified by law enforcement here, then send that form, a power of attorney and several other things to our son, who will take it to the county motor vehicle office.

That is the same thing we did with the new RV. Getting the VIN verification from law enforcement in Kansas was no problem. But when we asked the dealer here to have law enforcement verify the VIN on the truck, they said they had never heard of such a thing. They reported they even called the Mesa police and were told they didn't do that. Based on that report, I contacted the county clerk in Colorado and learned we could use the Arizona Motor Vehicle Department VIN verification only if the local police gave us a written statement that they would not do the verification.

Today, John took the form to the local Mesa PD substation to get the verification or have them sign a letter I had written, stating they don't do that. He walked in, asked to have the VIN verified and the female sergeant said, "I can do that for you." Great news. Problem number two solved. What a relief.

At Last!

Five weeks ago today, we signed the papers and took possession of our new 5th wheel trailer. Since then, we have moved everything from the old RV to the new one; driven 1,719 miles from Chanute, Kansas, to Mesa, Arizona; found where we stored most of our possessions in the new RV; bought a new truck and transferred all the extra equipment to it from the almost new old truck, and tried to get settled in our winter home.

Finally in the past few days, we feel we have been able to slow down and enjoy the life we have here in Arizona in the winter. Twice this week, we have spent time in the woodshop, getting started on our intarsia projects. Last night was the annual Welcome Home dinner for the returning snowbirds here at Valle Del Oro. They said 1,700 people were in attendance. The service was amazingly fast. We all went through 2 or 3 serving lines in less than 15 minutes. This shows just a small part of the crowd.



We had a great sunset.



Some of the folks line-danced to the three bands providing music around the area.



We had a good time. We also have taken time to enjoy the rose garden here in the resort. Fall and winter in Arizona are amazing.

Everything's Coming Together

We had installed several add-ons to the truck we traded in on our new 3500 dually. Tuesday, we took the new truck back to the dealer to have those add-ons moved to the new truck. They took it to a local welding shop to have the work done. Yesterday afternoon, we were able to pick it up. They installed our tool box and 5th wheel hitch into the truck bed after putting in a spray-on bed liner.



They also moved the steps or running boards, making it much easier to climb into the truck. Without the steps, getting in the truck involved a lot of upper body exertion.



We carry our bikes on a hitch on the front of our truck when we are towing the fifth wheel, so they moved the front receiver from one truck to the other.



We get lots of comments when we carry the bikes on the front of our truck. No, they don't block our view of the road or get in the way. But, why do we do it? Click here to learn our reasons.

We are glad all the parts of our truck have come together again. Maybe (?) we can start to relax and play. Do you think so?

We Didn't Want to Do It

What, you ask?  We didn't want a truck with dual real wheels.  This spring, when we began thinking about buying a new truck and a new Mobile Suites 5th wheel trailer, we did our due diligence.  We researched the dry weight and pin weight of several models of MS RVs and chose the shortest, lightest one they make.  Granted, it is heavier than our Montana, but that is why we upgraded from a 3/4 ton 2500 HD to a 1 ton 3500 HD Chevy Silverado.  We could see that there was enough additional carrying and towing capacity to accommodate the RV we wanted.  So, we bought the truck.  Then, we bought the trailer.

On our way from the dealer in Kansas to our site here in Arizona, we pulled into the Pilot truck stop in Amarillo and had our truck and trailer weighed.  Then we began looking at the numbers.  Oops!  We were overweight on the rear axle and exceeded the GCWR--gross combined weight rating of the truck.  In both cases, we were overweight by 800 pounds.

We have spent the last two and a half weeks trying to figure out how to loose some weight.  Absolutely nothing seemed to work.  We think we could removed the Reese 5th wheel hitch and the bed saver and the truck tool box and it contents-- and neither of us could get in the truck.  Somehow, those didn't seem to be good solutions.  And we knew we wanted to be both safe and in compliance with the listed weight ratings.

It turned out our own only solution would be a different trailer or a different truck.  Trading in the truck was the better option.  So yesterday, we traded this



for this.



Plus, the new truck is one and a half feet longer--duallys only come with a long bed. So, we have to learn new ways to negotiate corners and park, especially in parking lots.

I guess the good news is, we will get more exercise walking from the south 40 of the parking lots. And, the new truck color matches one shade on our Mobile Suites!

We didn't want to do it....we didn't want to do it...but we did.