Dispatch number 9 Big Boys and their Toys Heaven

Thursday, July 29, Day 21…

Fred on Top of the Bus

Wednesday was a big day in Fred's life.  He actually found a cherry picker  to lift him on top of the bus. We had to drive to the nearby
town of Vergas where they had a ballpark parking lot big enough for the
bus and the truck to maneuver.   He was in “boys and their toys heaven.”
He did some improvements, caulked some, cranked a spotlight and
generally had a ball playing around up there. Our satellite dish is now
all connected and we are spending some of our free time trying to figure
out how to work it.  

I, on the other hand, did the job that follows a woman where ever she
goes....laundry.  The laundromat was in Vergas and was also a restaurant
and bait shop.  There were little bistro tables in between the washer
aisle and the dryer aisle with menus and tent cards warning me not to
sit there unless I was eating. To tell you the truth, the food looked a
lot better than the laundry equipment. The bait looked very fresh. We
have seen many  other odd combination stores. One of note was a
smoke/gas/dinette/hardware store and casino.

Road signs are fairly interesting; especially if you have no idea what
they mean.  Oink Joint Road for instance. Zorba's advertises with an
aging hippie who claims his pizza joint is “nicely baked since 1969.”

Eating and shopping was always interesting.  I created a “Minnesota
Glossery” for you who may visit for the first time.

                      Tap Pop = Fountain Soda
                      Mac Hot Dish = Hangover Hot Dish = Macaroni Casserole
                      Walleye fingers = fishsticks
                      Pull Tabs = Cardboard Cocaine = gambling similar to
scratch off lottery tickets but ya pull
                      Oof da Tacos = Indian Frybread (elephant ears sold
here but I have no idea what they are)
                      Kum pow chicken = Kung Pow chicken (you can choose
your spice level 1-5 here)
                      Scenic Wetlands = Swamp

We are driving to Minneapolis today and will write again after we
experience that new town.
THANK YOU to all of you who have written back after getting my emails.
News from home is one of the highlights for us each day.  Don't forget
to check out our pictures of good and bad campgrounds.

Lessons learned days 20 and 21
There is a difference between a campground (good) and a trailer park
(bad).

Bad Campground!

Good Campground

There is such as thing as too much butter - tummy troubles after Ruth's
Chris Steakhouse

from the road:
-robin

Dispatch number 8 They have tornadoes here? Say what?

Tuesday, July 27, Day 19… When we were in Turkey a couple years ago, I was haunted by two words ....they were......wait for it.......“Turkish Prison.”  The two words scaring me now are.........“Tornado Warning.” Last Thursday night we were greeted by a “Tornadic Storm” in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. I don't think there is any louder sound than pouring rain and howling wind pounding the skin of an all metal bus. At least I hope I never hear a louder sound, after all, the tornado missed us by 5 miles. Our bravery was rewarded and tested with three more storms starting at 2:00  Tuesday morning, only two of which had the potential to swirl us off to the land of Oz. The bus held fast to the soggy ground although the rain held us hostage in our grand metal house for three quarters of a day.

On Friday we headed to Brainerd for the smallest ham-fest I have attended to date.  I did manage to buy  an old table top radio for $10.00 that the guy swore was worth $60.00.  It will make a good addition to our antique radio collection at home.  I need it for the bus because it just has one knob for on/off/volume and another knob to dial up an A M station.  So simple, I can handle this bad boy all by myself!

Saturday we headed back to beautiful, charming, Detroit Lakes where we collected our mail at Terry and Jane Stallman's house on the lake. Jane just happens to be my friend, Vonnie's, big sister. Vonnie is visiting them this week so we all cruised around the lake on their pontoon boat.  Very fun! Sunday was the Flea Market, Art in the Park and more lake time including a swim.  I was surprised to find out that the common practice is to bathe and wash ones hair in the lake.  Since it was 13 feet deep, I didn't think I could tread water long enough to get this mop of hair clean so I passed on the hygiene part of the fun.  When I came home to use my own shower, I was not happy to find out the hard way that Fred had not turned the water heater on. He said lightening was coming out of my eyes when I exited the shower.

In addition to work, Fred has been researching all the parts and pieces of this bus so he is prepared for the inevitable repairs. If the past is predictor of the future, there will be many opportunities to put his new found knowledge to work.  He spent most of Monday improving the toilet and adding a pressure gauge.  He spent the rest of the day cleaning the shower where the holding tank spilled its guts when he flushed the toilet so many times during its “improvement.” It was a good thing I was at the casino all day while it happened or I would have been on the first plane home.  By the time I returned, there was no evidence of his very eventful day except a flawless flush.

That brings us to today, Tuesday....it's raining...a lot...for hours...Chinese food tonight then dispatch.

Celebrations: A royal flush from an improved throne
Surprises:  People with bathrooms actually choose to bathe in a lake
Disappointments:  A shockingly cold, take your breath away, shower

Lessons learned days 14 – 19
GPS is not to be trusted
My recommendations are rarely respected, and rarely wrong
The food in Minnesota is as unusual as the food I've eaten  in foreign countries
This traveling in a bus thing......is hard

from the road:
-robin

Dispatch number 7 Glacier National Park and We sing

July 21st 2010  Day 13… We have traveled 2503 miles, are just outside of Bismark,  and have replaced 400 gallons of fuel so far.  The top local news story in Mandan, North Dakota tonight is the rally in corn prices.  Not something I am used to hearing in Phoenix. It is just so gol darn interesting traveling across this country.  Our campground tonight was carved out of a corn field and the corn stalks are taller than me. It reminds me of the movie, “Field of Dreams.”  I half expect Shoeless Joe Jackson  to appear and can slightly hear some disembodied voice whispering, “if you build it they will come.” Thunderstorms are expected tonight but I  already knew that just by checking out my hair after our evening walk....curly and growing bigger by the minute.

Last Monday we took the roof off the jeep and went exploring throughout Glacier National Park.  We cranked the volume as we drove the Road To The Sun.  Thank goodness we didn't scare the abundant wildlife with our enthusiastic singing.  Time slowed as we tried to take it all in.  It was all so, so beautiful that we kept pulling off to the side at every opportunity. We are posting just a few of the 200 pictures we took. Highly recommended.
http://picasaweb.google.com/flloyd.qrz/GlacierParkJeepRide#

We drove about 400 miles each of the last two days and stopped so Fred could work on QRZ for a few hours. There is no internet provided  here but the WiFi system that Fred set up in the coach is allowing him to work and me to send out this latest dispatch.  We also have TV!

Celebrations: Free WiFi in the rest areas (which are even prettier than Utah's rest areas).
Surprises: They mow the grass along side the highways in this part of the country.
Disappointments: The local KOA charges $50.00 and we have our own room!!...we passed on that one.

Lessons learned days 10 - 13:
With the top removed in a jeep, water from the weeping wall will pour into the car.  Rain is also a problem.
When you forget that you are filling the coach tank with water, the campground manager will knock on your door and remind and reprimand you.
The unbelievably adorable white Shitz Tsu puppy named Popcorn......bites.
Maps and AAA tour books multiply and fill the coach with clutter if not kept in check.

From the road
-robin

Dispatch number 6 lemoncello, plungers and we get TV

We got TV!  Turns out that without Tivo, it is full of commercials with no pause or rewind; a wholly unsatisfying experience.  I guess the rehab worked after all.

Today is Tuesday, July 20th, day 12 of our adventure. Four days have passed since my last dispatch and those days have been chock full of fun and interesting people and experiences.

We set up camp on Friday afternoon at the Glacier-Waterton Hamfest. We were directed to the center of a grassy meadow surrounded by campers of all kinds with a beautiful forest on the outer fringe. Much to our surprise, our arrival was met with a bit of “shock and awe.” Several directors of the festival came over to greet us and were so excited to meet the owner of QRZ.com in person.  Those of you reading this know him as plain ol'  Fred. Within several minutes, a brain trust was formed and a plan was developed and implemented to hang our banner on the side of the bus. We had the banner but were sorely lacking a plan for its display. Our table was set up, chairs accumulated and Fred was open for business.  All things radio, mechanical and electronic related were discussed with a smattering of politics.   The event was attended primarily by local HAM radio enthusiasts from both sides of the US/Canadian border. We met so many wonderful folks, most of whom came to Fred's presentation on Saturday afternoon which I must say was very interesting. I didn't fall asleep once which was good since I was working the power point part on the computer.   Saturday night was the potluck and “beer bust/hootenanny” part of the Hamfest.  Because we were “celebrities” we did not have to pay the $l.50 cover in order to drink beer and box wine. They had no idea how much box wine I can drink! Here are some photos of the Glacier Waterton Hamfest, Just outside Glacier National Park, Montana.

http://picasaweb.google.com/flloyd.qrz/GlacierWatertonHamfeswt#

Sunday morning we took off for Whitefish, MT because Charlie Wanner emailed us and said he was arriving there on Sunday.  See how flexible I have become about (non) planning? While most of you were at the monthly wine tasting, we three were enjoying drinks and dinner in charming downtown Whitefish.  Although the weather was wonderfully cool in Montana, it was reported to me that it was cooler at Charlene's house. We missed you all. Tomorrow I will write about our day in Glacier National Park and post some more pictures.

Now a few notes about life on the road.   I must report that we have had two events involving plungers. The first time, Fred made an emergency night time run to Wal-Mart and bought the most expensive, plastic, deluxe model available.   It snapped  immediately upon use.  The next day, after careful comparative shopping and extensive deliberation, an old fashioned wooden model earned our business and did not fail when pressed into service. After much research and reflection, Fred has now developed and shared the proper techniques, that if followed, should obviate the need for said tool.

Celebrations: Delightfully cool weather with sporadic rain (no leaks)
Surprises: Montana has casinos... everywhere
Disappointments: Inadequate WiFi

 Lessons learned day 8 and 9:
A $4.00 plunger is not more effective than a $3.00 plunger.
Just because someone offers you lemoncello shots, doesn't mean you should drink them.
Just because Fred doesn't drink his lemoncello shots, doesn't mean you should drink them... too.
Fine box wine and lemoncello do not mix well.

From the road
-robin

Dispatch number 5 Fred broke his thighs and "the incident"

Today is Thursday, July 15th, day 7 of our adventure and our second full day of camping in Dillon.

Fred broke his thighs.  Maybe his calves too.  He found out that you can not squat down under a bus 200 times without painful results.  Remember, this is a guy who has to be reminded to push away from the computer and walk around twice a day.  At home, I swear, I have to tell him to stand up at 4 hour intervals. It's my job.  Tonight he begged me to let him go to bed at 9:15.  Mind you, it is still light here in Montana at 9:15.  I made him stay up until dark; 9:45, 8:45 Phoenix time.

Mosquitoes have become an issue and we haven't even gotten to Wisconsin yet.  Oh my....

Today was laundry day.  Our salesman told Fred he had run the washer and it worked fine which was a relief to me.  Can you imagine a malfunction of that piece of equipment?  We've all been there.
So, a load of whites go in, clean wet load of white clothes come out. Clothes go into the dryer.  Stop......could that haze covering the inside of the dryer be black grimy dirt????? Why yes it is.  Did it get on the white shirts and towels???? Why yes it did. You must picture me on a step stool peering into this dryer high above my head with a flashlight, horrified, looking every where for someone to yell at.  No one to blame...Just me. I so hate it when that happens.

Lesson learned day 7: Check to see if a dryer is clean BEFORE loading wet clothes into it.  It's a good rule of thumb for any strange dryer. It took me 45 minutes to dismantle and clean the lint filter and clean the drum of the dryer not to mention rewashing the “clean” clothes before I could dry them.  Good news, we now have a clean washer and dryer and clean clothes. I've also decided to purchase black towels and underwear just to make my life easier.

Watch for my new sporadic section entitled: Celebrations, Surprises, and Disappointments

Well, I suppose you all want to know about “the Incident”  Here goes......

On our first days out, we discovered that lots of doors and cupboards and refrigerators fly open unexpectedly during travel.  We are not yet familiar with all the bangs and clicks and clangs that occur on the road so at first my seat belt would go flying as I lunged out of my chair and surfed my way back to see what was the matter.  Slowly we became desensitized to the clatter and just ignored it. So, it's hot, we are leaving Vegas and drinking lots and lots of water.  We have to pee.  We stop the bus (since we are THE luckiest people on the road who happen to have their own toilet...gloat, gloat.  I arrive at the appropriate area just off the kitchen and there is a plate glass mirror reflecting me, knees squeezed tightly together with Fred behind me with floating teeth. The mirrored closet door has swung open and the support hinge has locked into place.  Behind it, lies the bathroom and bedroom, literally, half the coach. We are locked out....not good.  We try everything known to us to get that support hinge unlocked.  My ideas are dismissed as silly, his ideas do not work.  I give up, turn my back and Fred lunges at it and breaks the support hinge off that holds the door in place.  Not such a bad solution since we both really have to pee. This alone, does not constitute “the incident.”  Fred decides the hinge is a menace and decides not to replace it. Later, imagine me in a closet with a heavily mirrored door that keeps closing on me as I try to hang up the clothes and hold onto the door at the same time. So, I let go of the door so I can use both hands to get Fred's shirts in the closet unwrinkled. The bus is not on level ground.  The closet door swings open and continues (sans hinge) to plunge into the corian counter in the kitchen.  Did I mention these doors were made of plate glass mirror? So in 13 years every owner managed to keep these mirrors in perfect shape and in 2 days, I put a hefty star burst crack in a prominent door. I felt so, so bad that I cried.  Then I remembered something my friend Charlene said, “who wants mirrors in front of the toilet?” “They must be replaced!" After all, who wants to watch themselves, well, you can imagine.  So this “ incident”  resulting in a fast growing star burst in the glass is really the beginning of Charlene's plan to replace these doors.  I just got things rolling.  I can see that, now that a few days have passed. But let me tell you, it was “the incident” in my mind for many days. I am a total nut case when it comes to keeping my possessions in tip top shape.  Ask anyone that knows me well and the unflattering words, “anal retentive” may surface. Well not anymore.  The incident has taught me to lighten up.  Now it seems I'm in “lighten up” rehab too.  It's got to be easier than breaking a TV addiction.  Trust me.

Pictures tomorrow.....

From the road
-robin

Dispatch number 4 Fred forgot my birthday...again

Today is Wednesday, July 14th, day 6 of our adventure and our first full day of NO driving.

The big news today is that it is my birthday and Fred forgot.  No present, no card, no clue.
He reminds me of my son, Josh, who is the King of forgetting  my birthday.  Perhaps the King moniker should pass to Fred and Josh should become the Prince based on the fact that Fred lives with me and Josh lives in Vancouver.  Plus.......Fred listened to our home phone messages and relayed birthday greetings to me from a neighbor yesterday. A few of you remember my Dad who was very thrifty. The joke in my family for years was that he would take my mother to the store on her birthday and let her read as many cards as she wanted, he just wouldn't buy one.  Ah, I long for that level of affection...:)

We went to Safeway in Dillon where I conferred with the bakery lady as to which cake was the very best for a girl to buy for herself and settled on the Penguin Bistro Cake.  It is a Chocolate cake with  fudge between two layers and white butter creme frosting slathered over the outside and decorated with penguin feathers made of  chocolate and white chocolate curls.  Yum.  It weighed  2.75 pounds without candles. One serving accompanied by ice cream repaired my thighs. (you will recall they were stretched to the breaking point during transmission repair) My pancreas and gall bladder are now tackling the intense infusion of Crisco and sugar. Not to worry, that's why God gave us internal organs.

We are in Dillon, Montana which was named one of America's prettiest towns by Forbes magazine.
The campsite is idyllic, the town, very picturesque, and the weather is heavenly.  It was 46 degrees this morning with a high of about 77. Bright blue skies, marshmallow clouds, a variety of greens in the grasses that swish in the breeze and multi-colored mountains that rise up in the background, stippled with snow. It's a good thing the surroundings are so soothing as we still do not have the television I was promised. I am exhibiting signs of TV withdrawal.  Without “Doctor OZ” I have no idea what germs to avoid.  Captain Phil died on a special two hour “Deadliest Catch” and I had to read about it on Face Book. That's just not right.    My only solace is that Oprah is in reruns and with only two burners and 4 inches of counter space, Martha Stewart would be too frustrating, bordering on depression. Clearly, the TV rehab has not worked.  I'm getting cranky.

Lessons learned day 6: Turn the lights on in the shower before you get in.  Although you can look up and see yourself in the mirror from the top down (weird) and you can look sideways and note if all your backside is lathered properly, (gross) you cannot read the labels on the bottles.   At 57, I need light and glasses to do just about anything including identifying the conditioner.

Stay tuned for dispatch #5.  Several days ago, Fred and I experienced what we now refer to as “the incident.” I have been waiting for a few days to pass hoping the humor in “the incident” would emerge and I could tell you all about it. It is starting to get funny....

(By the way, these messages will come out in the order of events, but not necessarily on the day written. This is due to the ever changing reliability of the internet service)

from the road
-robin

Dispatch number 3 I broke my thighs

Today is Tuesday, July 13th, day 5 of our adventure and our first full day of driving.

We spent the first ½ of Monday at the repair shop where I met Tony the Trucker from Tennessee in the waiting room.  We swapped stories about life on the road (his 20 years, my 3 and ½ days) while Fred paced and grumbled.  I had a marvelous time with Tony the Trucker and laughed the whole time the transmission was being serviced. Fred was not amused and made me leave the drivers lounge and wait in the office.  July 12th, 2002 was our first date so we celebrated 8 years together at the Cracker Barrel.  I love the Cracker Barrel almost as much as I love Fred....they have chicken fried everything!

Lessons learned day 4:  When the coach moves, the shelves in the refrigerator move forward leaving a gap in the back.  A jar of applesauce, when pushed to the rear, will drop, bounce and break on the tile floor. This happened at the repair shop while they were working on the coach and I was making lunch.  I was in a full squat, cleaning up the glass and glop when the coach was rolled backwards and up onto wheel ramps; a motion that was totally unexpected on my part. I rode that wild wave like Gidget but I think I broke my thighs.

We spent the night at a rest stop which, unlike Arizona, was open and quite lovely. There were a lot of truckers parked there but Fred said it was too late for me to introduce myself to the neighbors.

Noon on Tuesday; Salt Lake City at last, but only to do a little grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Classiest Wal-Mart I've ever seen and that is a word seldom associated with that chain.

Lessons learned day 5: In Utah, a lady will actually get out of her car and move a heavy construction barricade so Fred won't have to mow it down while exiting Wal-Mart.

1 of 15 books read: “Sizzling Sixteen,”  A Stephanie Plum Novel.

Next stop: Montana.

from the road
-robin

Dispatch number 2 Learning to be flexible, finally

STILL day three of our grand adventure.....

Did I say Salt Lake City? Change that to Las Vegas. At 57, I am learning to be flexible, finally.

The talley goes something like this: six days behind original schedule, one son /not/ visited, five cities on “the list” /not/ seen, and we've stayed in two cities not on “the list” and I'm still smiling. Oh, and the really bad part is I just learned that I cannot access my email list for all of you. If you have received this, it is because I have dredged up your address from memory. Imagine that?

Vegas has factory Allison service available for our transmission and is closer than Salt Lake. So... we left cool, rainy Flagstaff for dry dusty HOT Las Vegas. The bad news is that the rear A/C quit again upon arrival due to high heat like it did in Phx. The good news is we have high speed internet and cable TV! No fancy restaurants, Vegas shows or high stakes gambling for us. Chili dogs on the tiny stove and email catch up for us. We like our little cabin on 8 wheels and have settled in quite nicely. So far, nothing on this grand adventure has been planned, nor has any of it been a huge disappointment. I'm learning to deal with what comes my way without panic and that is a good skill to acquire at this advanced age.

From the road

-robin

Dispatch number 1 "Rehab for TV addicts"

Day three of Robin and Fred's Grand Adventure


Sunday June 11th finds us in Flagstaff, AZ. It is cool and raining and altogether pleasant at Black Bart's campground. We stopped here Friday because of a transmission problem which turned out not to be as big of an issue as we thought. We will push on to Salt Lake City and get it checked out there where they are better equipped to work on Allison transmissions.

I think I will name this chapter of our adventure, “Rehab for TV addicts.” The antennas are not working for TV reception or for the internet connection. For those of you who know us well, you know we are having major withdrawal symptoms. Instead of our usual activities, Fred is furiously reading the monstrous manuals that came with the coach and fine tuning and adjusting the many systems that run this beast. I feel so fortunate that Fred is skilled at reading schematics and actually revels in it. I found that cooking in a tiny kitchen is actually easier than a big one and a small house is easier to keep clean than a large one. Our bed is very comfortable, the shower water was hot and plentiful and the toilet works like a champ. (All major necessities in my opinion) I did learn one valuable lesson the hard way. NEVER open the refrigerator while moving. You can imagine......

Saturday morning Ron, Shelley, Rosemary and Ruby Martin came to visit us from their vacation home here in Flag. The girls thought the coach was better than a fairy princess club house!

Dave Kingston came to our rescue by arranging for wifi service from the Hampton Inn that his company manages. With any luck at all, that is where I will be sending this message from today.

We have satellite radio so we can still receive some “fair and balanced” news from FOX so we don't feel totally out of the loop news wise. I can hear some of you scoffing right now...you know who you are. I'm smiling as I write this!

from the road
-robin