Turning the Page

 We went on our first trip in an RV in 1988.  We borrowed John's sister Cindy's popup tent trailer to take our son Eric to a Christian youth gathering--DC88-in Washington, D.C.  That was it for a couple of years, but we had enjoyed it so much that, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, we bought a Coleman popup tent trailer for ourselves.     

    We used that trailer for getaways on our days off and for traveling during our month-long summer vacation.  One year we went to the Northwest and up into British Columbia.  Then, in 1996 we bought a 1996 Komfort 5th-wheel trailer.  Since then, we have owned two Montana 5thwheels and a Mobile Suites 5th wheel.  Downsizing in 2016, we bought an Airstream travel trailer.  

 Fast forward to this year--we are aging and decided it was time to stop RVing.  The parking area next to our winter home in Arizona no longer has a trailer parked there.

   

On April 18, it pulled out of our driveway without us!  

We have so many wonderful memories of traveling in our trailers.  Over those years, we have slept overnight in our trailer in all 49 of the continental United States. This year, we both turn 79. We have been there, done that.  And decided it was time to change our lifestyle.  To turn the page. 

I began blogging about our life in 2006.   In 2009, we moved out of our home in Centennial, Colorado, and began living in our trailer full-time.  We have traveled; we have volunteered in national parks in Utah and Arkansas; we have volunteered in state parks in Utah and Colorado and in a private RV park in Montana. Then, in 2014, we bought a casita in Gold Canyon, Arizona, where we lived half the year, traveling the rest of the time.  We haven't owned a 5th wheel trailer since 2016. The title "5thWheelWanderings" longer relevant.

Each year I have published my blog posts in a book.  Look at the stack of books I have published!

  

I began blogging about our life in 2006.   In 2009, we moved out of our home in Centennial, Colorado, and began living in our trailer full-time.  We have traveled; we have volunteered in national parks in Utah and Arkansas; we have volunteered in state parks in Utah. Texas and Colorado and in a private RV park in Montana; we have volunteered for US Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Fish and Wildlife. Then, in 2014, we bought a casita in Gold Canyon, Arizona, where we lived half the year, traveling the rest of the time.  We haven't owned a 5th wheel trailer since 2016. The title "5thWheelWanderings" longer relevant.

It is time for a new blog.  From now on, you can read about our life at:  changingourfocus.blogspot.com.

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Unusual sights along the way

There are lots of RVs, made by many manufacturers, modified in many ways. We are familiar with them from our 30 or so years of staying in RV parks and state park campgrounds. But once in a while, we see something new.

This small trailer is cute. In the past we have seen RV gatherings of units that have been restored and decorated by women with a taste for something out of the ordinary. I wonder if this unit has such an owner.

The name on the front of this trailer says "Terry Classic" but we have never seen something like this before so I wonder if it has been modified.

You just know this was once a bus in the city. It might have been one on 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. Those free shuttles run up and down the pedestrian mall every few minutes. It's pretty long but it would take a lot of work to make it into something comfortable to live in. It did come with a bike rack on the front. Very convenient.

We've seen this bus conversion in both Chatfield State Park and Cherry Creek State Park. We know that either they didn't make reservations until late or didn't make them at all because every 2 days they are parked in a different site. Sometimes even a full park has a few sites available for a couple of days--if you are willing to wait in the registration office each time to see who has cancelled their reservation. This bus has electric but no water or sewer connection. There is always a large bucket by the water hookup so they can fill a container whenever they need it. I guess this is boondocking with electricity.

We had never seen a van that looked like this one. We don't know if it is homemade or some new manufacturer.

This teardrop looks like it is homemade. The black top is strung on like a well-secured tarp. It is really small.

Not all unusual sightings are RVs. This Jeep is owned either by a talented woman or a man with a girlfriend/wife who likes to crochet.

Odds and Ends #2

We see such interesting RVs and combinations as we travel around the country. This is a 1946 Curtis Wright travel trailer. We thought it was an early Airstream, but learned differently. You can check out this wiki for more information about the RV and why it looks like an Airstream.

The tow vehicle is a 1954 (I think) Jeep. Both units have been restored.

We have seen lots of vintage RVs over the years, but last night was a first. I saw an enormous motor home pull into the RV park and begin backing in an old, small toy hauler travel trailer! They unhooked the trailer and parked the motor home in the site next door. This morning, there was also a tent between the two RVs. There were six men and boys in the party. It wasn't long before the motor home pulled out and backed up to hitch onto the trailer. And off they went. 

On land next to our resort there is an old empty building. It looks like a house but has a sign hanging above the front door. I finally went close enough to read the sign. It says, "Rio Vista Club." I looked on line and found a Rio Vista Golf Club. Since it is in California, I still have no clue what the club here was.

This resort has lots of chipmunks, golden mantled ground squirrels, blackbirds and mountain bluebirds (all of which refused to pose for pictures). We did see this small squirrel who stayed still long enough to be photographed. I think it thought we might not see it if it laid flat and didn't move.

We have seen lots of rain while we have been here in Creede. In fact, the whole state has had more rain than normal this year. One day I took a slow motion photo of the rain near the Woodcarvers Rendezvous meeting facility. It will be interesting to see if the individual raindrops show up in this blog.

Thursday we saw this classic car



pulling this small trailer into the campground at Levi Jackson State Park in London, Kentucky.



A couple of hours later, we saw this car



pulling this trailer.



We couldn't ignore what we saw. So we walked the campground until we found them. We learned that the cars are restored antiques, but the trailers are new, built by their owners.

There was another trailer that didn't have an antique car in evidence as a tow vehicle.



We were told there would be more of the same today. Unfortunately, we left the campground before 9 this morning, so we didn't see them. One of the women gave us a small wooden coin-shaped object with the outline of a tear-drop trailer on one side and the words "lil tin purse" on the other. I would guess tear-drop trailers, at least those made of metal, are called lil tin purses. Googling the term, I found a web site that sells items with the teardrop logo and a Facebook page for Lil Tin Purse.

Rally Time

Our reason for coming to Tennessee this month was to attend a rally at River Plantation RV Park in Sevierville. At first glance, you might think it is a rally of big butt dually trucks.







Take a close look at the above photo. That is an RV hauler like we've never seen before.

But we aren't here for a truck rally. It is a DRV Suites rally. Last October we bought a Mobile Suites 5th wheel trailer and this is an opportunity to learn more about it from the representatives of companies that provide components of the RV, from representatives from the DRV factory, and from Butch and others of RVs for Less, a Knoxville, TN, DRV dealer. And we have learned a lot. However, meetings and speakers don't provide much fodder for my blog.

There are 122 RVs registered, meaning nearly 250 people. The catered meals for the rally have been delicious. And we have a nice large facility to meet in.



There are lots of DRV suites RVs here.





And new ones for sale. And no, we didn't see anything we liked better than the one we have. They are all just too darn big!




Yesterday, the men and women were divided. One group visited the Bush's Baked Bean Museum in nearby Chestnut Hill. The other group met with representatives from the factory to discuss ideas and problems. The museum was interesting and the meeting with the factory reps was really helpful.



You probably recognize Jay Bush and Duke from television ads.



A. J. Bush first opened a general store, then began canning tomatoes in 1904. The family home is located across the street from the museum. Over the years, the company added other vegetables to the items they canned. Such table-ready products became really popular by the 1920s.



In 1969, they began producing baked beans, based on a family recipe. As they say, the rest is history.

This is the Chestnut Hill cannery.



And this is the cool old truck you can see in the above photo.



Baby birds have been hatching here in the RV park. This nest is right outside one of the laundry rooms.



And I spotted this baby robin in front of the RV next to ours.

Oh, the Memories

We visited the RV and Motorhome Hall of Fame and Museum this week. It recalled so many of our early family memories. Early in our marriage, we went on a couple of trips with John's parents in their Airstream trailer. It was fun, though a little cramped. On one trip, John's brother Tim was also there. On the other, two of our nieces, Kim and Tina, came along. The trailer only had beds for 4 people.

We were tent campers for years, after our two sons were born. then we bought a van. It didn't have a kitchen or other RV amenities, but we could and did sleep in it a few times. This Starcraft reminded us of those times.

Next, we bought a Coleman pop-up tent trailer. Today, our son Eric owns it. Before that purchase, we borrowed John's sister Cindy's tent trailer for a trip to the east coast. It wasn't much different from either of these.

Cindy's did have a little better interior than this, to be sure.

The first home we bought was a 12 x 60 mobile home. The interior of this 8 x 42 "house trailer" reminded us of that. It also recalls Lucy and Desi's RV.

The museum had even older RVs.  The Covered Wagon unit was built in 1929, the first production RV in the country.  The company was the largest trailer manufacturer in the 1930s.

Look at these interiors. Today's RVs are certainly more comfortable and attractive.

This unit looks more like a railroad car than an RV--it has a rear platform.

This one has a trunk on the rear end.

This is called the Mae West, built to convince the performer to sign on with a movie producer.

Early RVs, including John's family's Airstream, had gas lanterns with mantles.

And look at this stove.

What's old is new again. We regularly see teardrop trailers in state parks and some commercial campgrounds. They were made in the early years of RVs, as well.

This museum visit brought back so many memories.  After all, camping and RVs are all about making memories, aren't they?