Johnny Cloud (owner of the Cloud Museum) told me his father first purchased a Model TT truck for their farm south of Yuma. (Pictured above) Then he drove it for at least a million miles when he was only eight years old. Now, this Model TT truck is the star attraction at the Cloud Museum. …
How to tow a car behind an RV. Depending on your RV and how you RV, knowing how to tow a car behind your RV is a very important decision. If you pick a trailer then you know what you are going to tow. If you choose a motorhome then the question is how to …
It has been a wet winter in California and when that happens the desert in eastern San Diego County changes. We went seeking early spring flowers in the Anza-Borrego desert. In the summer, in the desert, I look past the small patches of dry vegetation surrounded by sand and instead focus on the dramatic views. …
Seeking Early Spring Wildflowers in the Anza-Borrego Desert Read More »
My goal is to be (electric) energy independent, this includes air conditioning on batteries and solar. I have not yet installed solar. I can now run air conditioning from my lithium batteries. Someday soon I hope to run my air conditioning on batteries and solar with solar replacing the electricity the air conditioning consumes. The …
RV Air Conditioning on Batteries and Solar without extra electricity Read More »
Food Desert — Not in Tucson! As we travel we often encounter both outstanding food choices and food deserts. Tucson is not a food desert. In fact, our anniversary dinner uncovered a great downtown restaurant. Great downtown restaurants alone would not create a blog post. We have been to lots of great downtown restaurants. However, …
Can one lithium battery replace four lead-acid batteries? In my case, yes, I did exactly that. My one lithium battery does everything that the lead batteries did. My one twenty-two-pound lithium battery replaced my previous four hundred and sixty pounds of lead-acid batteries. I didn’t start out with the intent to replace my lead-acid batteries …
Can one lithium battery replace four lead-acid batteries? Read More »
Classic Rotors is a special aircraft museum in Ramona California. One-of-a-kind refers both to the museum and the helicopters. The museum is dedicated to rescuing one-of-a-kind and unique historically significant helicopters. The all-volunteer museum staff is bringing these historical aircraft back to flying condition and then flying them. They have several one-of-a-kind helicopters and some …
Classic Rotors, a One-of-a-Kind helicopter (rescue) museum Read More »
What is in your RV black tank? Thirteen years after it was made, for one time and one time only, my RV holding tanks are both clean and empty. How did we clean out our RV holding tanks? Why did we clean our RV holding tanks? What was in our RV holding tanks? About being …
Scientists have decided that the Cascade chain of volcanos ends at Mount Lassen. Mount Lassen is the last volcano in the chain. The Cascade chain spans more than eight hundred miles. When you count from north to south Mount Lassen is the last one. Mount Lassen is the namesake for Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen …
Campsite Review: March ARB Campground is located on March Air Force Reserve Base in Moreno Valley California just to the east of Interstate 215. This makes for a perfect spot to stop before or after crossing the Mojave Desert from the Los Angles Area. The best way to get to the FAMCAMP (Family Campground) is …
On our cruise, we went to Catalina Island and Cabo San Lucas. For us, the reason we went on a cruise was to go on the cruise ship. We were spoiled rotten on our cruise. We didn’t go on a cruise to go to the cruise ship ports. Instead, our goal was to experience the …
We were very spoiled on our cruise last week. We left our RV in Los Alamitos (south of Los Angeles) and spent the last week on a twenty-two hundred-mile cruise from California to Los Cabos in Mexico and back. This story is all about the ride, not the destination. We didn’t choose a cruise ship …
We have now traveled the entire Willamette Valley southbound going through Oregon. Our previous visits to Oregon included crossing and visiting the Willamette Valley each time with the objective of going somewhere else. This time going to the Willamette Valley was the objective. Tacked onto this journey was also visiting the mountains south of the …
Who can stay at military campgrounds? Generally, the answer is all personnel on active duty, most military retirees, some other veterans, and some DOD employees. Who can stay at military campgrounds? Roughly the groups are outlined as follows: Usually, there is a preference for active duty, but the other categories don’t usually establish a pecking …
Oregon lost the Navy slowly. No, the Navy did not get lost in Oregon but rather, you might say that the Navy retreated from Oregon and has not returned. Where are the active duty military bases in Oregon? The fact is they are all gone. Oregon lost the Navy and all the branches of the …
How Oregon lost the Navy, Tillamook Naval Air Station Read More »
This new RV water system works much the same as the one I installed in my previous RV. The exception is that every part of my RV water system of it is bigger. This is the biggest water filter that I have ever seen in an RV. The filter is about four times the size …
You need an RV water treatment system. Unless of course, your RV doesn’t have water. Nearly every RV, straight from the factory has an inadequate RV water treatment system. This article is an update to our 2018 article by the same name. Since then we installed an even better and more robust RV water treatment …
What are the State Park Passes for full-time RVers that we use? How did we get them? What is the cost and what are the benefits? Which ones are the best? State passes that we use Our State South Dakota I also qualify for different state programs. South Dakota has discounts at state parks. I …
Snippet: Oregon State Parks Special Access Pass is available to any disabled veteran, from any state. This is a great program. Active duty military is also included for this benefit — but in a different way. Thank you, Oregon. This updated article was first published in July 2020. The biggest part of the program update …
Snippet: America The Beautiful Pass is sometimes known as Interagency Pass. There are several different passes all similar all with some differences. Do you need one? Do you need more than one? Who can have one? How to get one and why do I want one? I can’t answer the previous questions for you. I …
Oregon was the only state in the United States directly attacked during World War II. The attack was at Fort Stevens. My bet is that you probably didn’t know this fact. Until our visit, I didn’t know it. Hawaii and Alaska were not admitted to statehood until 1959 well after the war. Oregon however was …
We have achieved a milestone, we have been full-time RVers now for five years. Overall it has been great but not without challenges. No matter which way you look at the dates, we have been on the road for five years. For the last five years, we have been traveling non-stop. Sorry, that last statement …
Tillamook Head is in the northwest corner of Oregon. It is beautiful and very interesting. Tillamook Head is to the south of the Columbia River along the coastline. Tillamook Head is the furthest north mountainous area in Oregon on the coastline. Everything north of Tillamook Head all the way to the Columbia River is a …
The Quinault rainforest and Kestner Homestead are at the southwest corner of Olympic National Park. It is the newest part of the park. Positioned northeast of Lake Quinault, the Kestners tried to carve a farm out of the rainforest and eventually failed. It wasn’t for the lack of effort or associated with lack of water. …
Kalaloch Beach is part of the Olympic National Park overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the west of the mountains in the Olympic National Park. Before planning our trip to the Olympic Penisula I didn’t know that Olympic National Park had two sections. One section is in the mountains and a separate section is on the …
The Hoh Rain Forest is at the northwest corner of Olympic National Park in northwestern Washington. This place is wet. Wet is an understatement in a rainforest, but for us, during our visit, because we timed it in September, it never rained. I am very glad that we were able to visit without the threat …
We made it to the end of the road. Starting in Key West in January our goal was to cross the country from corner to corner. We made it all the way. Perhaps in a couple of years, we will repeat the adventure of crossing from San Diego to the far northeast corner of Maine. …
Lake Crescent is amazing. Its crystal clear water sparkles with colors that range from the deepest sapphire blue to turquoise. It is the largest lake in Olympic National Park and the second-deepest lake in Washington. Even though the size doesn’t match Lake Tahoe or Crater Lake it is just as, or for me, more beautiful. Location …
Hurricane Ridge is the easiest place in Olympic National Park for most people to visit. This is because it is located about eighteen miles south of Port Angeles. Port Angeles has an airport and most of the hotels in the area. Olympic National Park is divided and separated into two sections. There is the main …
I have been hearing about the Olympic Rain Shadow for about fifteen years. The Olympic Mountains get lots of rain, so much rain that I could never consider living there. Not willing to live there also holds true for Seattle, Tacoma, and almost all of western Washington. As a side note even though I am …
Fort Worden shouldn’t be mentioned without mentioning its sister forts. Fort Worden, Fort Casey, and Fort Flagler were linked together as if they were one fort. This was because they all had one task. They created a crossfire that defended Puget Sound from a Naval attack. These forts, all acted as one, even though miles …
In 1890 the people of Port Townsend hoped it would be the New York of the west coast. It was already an ideal port and had a vibrant waterfront. In 1890 Port Townsend was the very first port on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Strait of Juan de Fuca was easy to navigate, …
Here is how solar works. I could have started my RV solar series with this article or I could have avoided it entirely. Some of you might just trust the rest of us who say it works and leave it to that. I find it interesting to know how things work. I hope this article …
I am very happy to announce that our RV floats. Not that our RV floats by itself, but rather our RV floats just fine on a ferry. It is not that I had any doubts, but this is the first time floating our RV. Last year, when we were on the east coast, in Virginia, …
Deception Pass connects the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Skagit Bay. This waterway is between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island. The state of Washington built Deception Pass Bridge in 1935. The bridge connects Whidbey Island to the Washington Road system. Before the construction of the bridge, the only access to Whidbey Island was via …
Whidbey Island sunsets are beautiful. We are so lucky to have been there at the perfect time of year and camped at the perfect campsite. This was a surprise, not that I didn’t know if Whidbey Island had a sunset every day, but rather it was that I didn’t know where our campsite would be …
Working our way west across the Cascade Mountains. During our full-time travel journey, we have done this several times. We might go across the Cascade Mountains again next year. Our route next year is not quite certain yet but firming up. This year’s journey started on January 1st in Key West and crossed the entire …
RVing in a Heat Dome isn’t fun. There I go again, complaining about the weather. Yes, the problem was all self-induced. Our goal for the year was to travel and have fun while crossing the lower 48 states from the tip of Florida in Key West all the way to Puget Sound in the far …
That is right, we are not going back to a wonderful place. It was just too hard, so hard we are not going back. Once and done is good enough. This is not the first time we have declared that we were not going back to some particular place, but it might be the first …
The Lochsa River is wild and remote. After Lewis and Clark crossed Lolo Pass they continued westward (generally) following the Lochsa River. The Lochsa River headwaters start north of Lolo Pass flowing to the west. On both the north and the south banks of the Lochsa River there is a dense forest. When Lewis and …
We went across the Bitterroot Mountains and enjoyed every minute of it. The Bitterroot Mountains connect Montana and Idaho. U.S. Highway 12 starting in Lolo Montana follows the same path across the mountains as did Louis and Clark. We liked the Lolo Pass area (explanation below) so much that we visited it three times. They …
Going the old way across the Bitterroot Mountains Read More »
Lolo Pass – Bad Roads for RVs is located on U. S. Highway 12 between Lolo Montana and Lewiston Idaho. This road has almost no services. This road is steep for five miles westbound from the pass. Following this, it doesn’t have a straight section for the next seventy-seven miles. This is a paved two-lane …
We heard that the Bitterroot Valley was a very pretty place in Montana. I have wanted to visit it for a very long time. There is so much more to the story. Yes, the Bitterroot Valley is very pretty. We spent ten wonder-filled days in a tiny campground on the edge of the Bitterroot Valley. …
In the “big fire”, as they call it, it all burned. Everything of value was gone. The big fire was actually 3000 smaller fires, yes the number is correct three thousand fires. The fire destroyed three million acres of prime, old-growth forest. The big fire Three million acres is three times the area of the …
Our Hurricane Kayaks are very responsible for making our kayak adventures more fun. By following our journey, you already know that we really love kayaking. We promised to and are taking our kayaks to places that Hurricane Kayaks have never been before. I can say this with confidence because some of our next stops are …
For the Oregon Trail Pioneers, crossing the Grande Ronde and the Blue Mountains was near the end of their journey. The Grande Ronde (great round valley) was easy and gentle compared to the last two thousand miles of sage and desert sand. On a wet year, like this spring the Grand Ronde is lush green. …
While going across Idaho we rejoined the Oregon trail in Burley Idaho. The Oregon trail splits from the Mormon Trail at Fort Bridger. Instead of staying on the Oregon Trail, we followed the Mormon trail to visit Salt Lake City. You might see some similarities in the title of this post. Last month I described …
We stopped in Salt Lake City on our way west. Starting in Fort Bridger, we (almost) followed the Mormon trail to Salt Lake City. I say almost because starting in Echo Canyon, the Mormon pioneers took a different route. From Echo Canyon, we followed the Weber (Wee-ber) River, through Weber Canyon, and then to Ogden. …
Before the road was built, all the locals (all second and third-generation pioneers) agreed that this route across Wyoming was a big mistake. Since we are not pioneers and have a motorhome rather than a wagon, we have to follow the roads. We went anyway but timed it carefully. So going across Wyoming, for us, …
Carhenge is a modern interpretation of Stonehenge made by Jim Reinders. It must have been a long coldwinter in 1986-87 to design and erect a not-so-exact replica of Stonehenge in western Nebraska. I can’t come up with a better reason (other than a long cold winter) to stack cars up like Stonehenge in Alliance Nebraska. …
