Who let the dogs do WHAT?? Who? Who? Who?
We made it to Arizona last Monday. It was a long, three-day event-filled trip from Idaho. I suppose we kind of like it that way; uneventful sounds rather boring these days. Smile. This is our first time pulling this rig on the highway, so we were curious how it would do. We averaged 6.5 mpg. Wahoo?
Coming out of Idaho and down through Salt Lake we hit major rain and low visibility most of the way. The winds knocked us around; we are a high profile vehicle, the kind they recommended stay off the road in wind conditions like that, but we were on a mission.
The first stop in Nephi, Utah was welcomed. We were exhausted; seven hours of trying to stay on the road in high winds was tiring. Thank goodness for an RV park close to the highway with room for us. As we pulled out the slides on the RV and could see into the garage…what a mess!!! Doug’s dirt bike had come loose and bounced around the garage causing some damage. His bike took the worse beating, but also our patio doors off the garage. Doug was not happy. It seems a tie down strap compressed and got loose. Happily my bike was okay.
Day two, between Utah and Arizona we stopped in a small (too small to accommodate our 55 feet) gas station, and again the weather was miserable, windy, and cold. Leaving the three dogs in the idling truck we pumped gas and I went to the restroom. When I came out, the dogs had stepped on the power lock and LOCKED US OUT of the idling truck and trailer. I had a small panic attack as I explained to Doug we were screwed.
Or were we? I could almost see the light-bulb over my head as I remembered that the RV was unlocked and our spare truck keys were in there. Disaster averted! Close call for sure! Keep your doggies in line, that’s all.
We arrived in Page safely, and had a great spot overlooking Lake Powell.
We decided to get the bicycles out and go for a ride. As we tried to bring the garage door down, it was jammed. Stuck. Wouldn’t budge. Are you kidding me? We tried and tried…me inside/Doug outside, Doug inside/me outside, pulling…tugging…cussing…something had the door good and jammed. My smarter-than-most husband finally pulled on the patio sides and unjammed it. It IS always something. Just ask my cousin Linda who hears all my details. “YES,” she would say, “you guys ALWAYS have something going on with the RV.” Sigh.
The morning we left Page it was nice: in the upper 50’s, but windy. I told Doug we were headed to Flagstaff…at 7000 elevation…so maybe he shouldn’t wear shorts? BAH! What do I know anyway? As we drove through another wind storm which really wrecked our nerves, a car pulled up next to us on the highway pointing and getting our attention. One of our awnings had come loose and was banging against the RV, blowing carelessly like a parachute in the wind storm. UGH. Always something. There was no place to pull over, NO PLACE. Helplessly we drove slower and prayed the awning wouldn’t just rip off as so many of them do. Once we did get stopped, thank the GOD of all awnings, it retracted fine with only a small tear on the side. WHEW again. This was getting old, folks.
We were happy to finally see Flagstaff but watched with interest as the temperature gauge in the truck kept dropping and dropping. And, what’s this?! SNOW!
Snow was coming down like crazy…. two inches on the ground and road and hubby was thinking about going into 4-wheel drive. (He was also thinking he should have listened to his very smart wife who suggested he not wear shorts, but I digress.) We slowed down, kept moving, and soon we were headed down the snowy slope toward Phoenix, getting warmer by the minute. Still majorly windy, but at least dry roads again. In a two-hour time frame, we went from running the heater to running the A/C as we approached the desert. FUN!
Short of the long story: we arrived safely in Cave Creek, Arizona. FRIED, but safe. YAY!
We’ve had a beautiful visit with the girls (our twins Kallie and Krisanna, 27 yrs old, and Brooke, the baby, who is 23.) Then of course there’s the cutest grandsons of all time: Justice (2) and Lincoln (9 mos), who make our lives whole.
We’ve been hiking and exploring the desert trails. Thanks to our daughter Krisanna who has been our tour guide for hiking and mountain biking. This is my first time mountain biking, what a blast! (Thanks for making time for us Kris; she and her husband run their own media production business and their free time is a gift!)
I always thought there wasn’t much point to two wheels without a motor, but I stand corrected. I truly loved it and can’t wait to add it to our daily schedule! Krisanna is an excellent rider; someday I hope to grow up and be like her.
Kallie (mother of our two grandbaby boys) is living her full-time mission: an excellent mom, even during the hard days of having two boys under two.
I stand it awe at all she does, even when it’s just too hard to do it. We went to the zoo, the train park, and even kept the boys so she could have a much-needed, long-overdue, never-get-to-have-one NAP. I wish we were permanently closer to help her day-to-day; Lord knows she needs it! Our plan will be to spend winters close by, so hang in baby girl, we’ll be back after September! Meantime, you’ve got this Warrior Mom. We are so proud of you!
Brooke we saw the least, as her schedule is super busy. She works full time as an optician assistant, and is a 3rd degree black belt managing and running her own karate studio with many students.
How she does it all is beyond me, and yet she’s successful at all she does. She is changing lives with her students, and is well respected by all. LOVE this kid, so proud of her!
We’ve waited to hear when we start our summer “job” as camp hosts. Finally, today, we were told they want us in Stanley, ID on the 10th. I had a few tears….as I really wanted to spend Mother’s Day with my girls. Bless their hearts, we will celebrate tomorrow, Friday, so as they said, it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow! Love that. Love them.
We will miss our daughters and grandbabies. Our visit was too short, and yet we are also ready to begin the next phase of this journey. Little Redfish Lake, here we come. See ya Tuesday!
Keep it chill people
Thanks for reading the Gone Workamping blog from Workamper News. Join Workamper.com today to see all the new job opportunities for RVers, as well as the training and resources to confidently find the right Workamping job for you – easily and securely.
