C&C Retirement Adventures Sunday, January 30, 2011

It's another gorgeous sunny day--just a bit windy--it's 72 degrees now at 5 p.m.

We spent Friday doing a little housekeeping--washed the coach and car, shopped at the local mall and then had lunch at an Olive Garden.  Our RV neighbors from Wisconsin invited us over for a very enjoyable happy hour.

Saturday was "clean the coach" day; our reward was an hour at the pool and spa--boy was that relaxing!  While we were enjoying cocktails with our Canadian neighbors, another RVer stopped by with two tickets to the evening's dance that they decided not to use because their bodies were too tired from playing "pickle ball."   Anyway, we went to the dance and had a great time.   Coincidentally, we were seated at a table with two couples from Minnesota!  What are the odds.

On Sunday, we met former co-workers Steve Hansen and Tony Carrow for lunch.  It was good to visit with them.



MONDAY--black clouds are looming--light rain started about 9:15, stopped by 11 a.m.; sky is dotted with fluffy clouds, but they are not bright white; may rain again this evening.  It's quite cool, too--only mid 50s today.

Day has been spent catching up on paperwork that I'd put off before we left.

Just wanted to let you know we continue to enjoy our adventure.  Now that our trials and ribulations seem to be waning, I'll probably post only once or twice a week.

Corky has created a map on Google Earth that shows our locations each day and he annotates each location.   You must have Google Earth loaded to open the file. This link may or may not work for you:  Muskrat%20Ramblers%202011-6.kmz

Later--C&C

C&C Retirement Adventures Thursday, January 27, 2011

Another beautiful morning here in Casa Grande--50 degrees at 8 a.m. with a bit of a wind.

I've posted some photos on our Picasa website (pics of the RV park, with Steve & Kimm and the kiddies and with George & Carmen in Sahuarita).  Even connected through the Droid phone's WIFI, I lose service now and then, so bear with us.

We have a lovely lunch at the main pool area today where they were holding a ladies' clothing sale.  Racks of casual items from golf shorts, bathing suits, and coverups to long dresses and pantsuits.  I didn't find anything that I just couldn't live without, but it was fun to browse.  We checked out all the activity rooms and then toured some of the model homes.  In addition to having spaces for motor homes and fifth wheels, the Park also sells/leases more permanent pre-fab homes.  It was fun to look around.

Another minor problem yesterday--our automatic step under the door became loose.  Upon further inspection, Corky discovered that three of four bolts had sheared off (don't know when that happened, but it had been sounding funny for quite a while).  Anyway, we found a "nuts and bolts" shop, bought replacements and he went to work repairing the step.  Now we are as good as new, or maybe even better!

I've been accused of trying to kill all the men in the coach as I enticed them to take a nice walk through the park last evening.  We like to check out all the license plates--lots of Canadians here.  We met several nice people along our way--always very willing to stop to chat.  After about an hour's time, the three boys were panting heavily and anxious to get back to the coach for a drink!  So it was back to "1249 Shimmering Sands Drive."

All for now.  C&C


http://picasaweb.google.com/MuskratLake

C&C Retirement Adventures Tuesday January 25, 2011

We all went to Hoosier’s for breakfast on Sunday morning; then Kimm did her gardening chores while Steve took the youngsters and the oldsters to check out the RV park in Casa Grande that Corky discovered via internet on Saturday morning.  Turned out to be a fine place for us to spend the next two weeks—they were running a promotion—pay for one week’s stay, get one week free!  Though it’s about 40 miles from Chandler, the site suits us because the lots are a bit larger, not so much congestion, and easily accessible to the highway.  Palm Creek is about 12 years old, and beautifully maintained—lots of green grass and palm trees, picturesque golf course, swimming pools, too many scheduled activities to mention, nearby shopping areas with everything from Walmart to Dillards. 

We moved in on Monday.  We had hardly opened the slides when a couple of bicyclists who were from Bismarck, ND originally stopped by to chat; then our RV neighbor from Wisconsin brought his poodle Rusty over for an introduction; the folks across the street needed help with electricity so Corky lent them our electrical extension cord; and then we needed an extension for our water connection which came from another neighbor.  Everyone is SOOOOO helpful.   

The pet areas here are so cute—all fenced in runs with hydrants and other strategically placed doggie equipment.  The boys are having a grand time.  We are trying to teach them NOT TO BARK at every outdoor movement, but there are so many doggies walking by that it’s nearly impossible.  They just want to make friends too!.  

A trip to Walmart filled the cupboards and this morning (Tuesday) I’m doing laundry.  The Park's advertised “WIFI available in laundry” is a bit of a stretch—I haven’t been able to connect, but I can write the blog offline and then upload it back in the coach with our Droid “WIFI hotspot” that we decided was a must while we are travelling.  I think I mentioned it before, but I have to say it again, the smart phone was a smart investment for us.  We used it to get repair assistance early in the trip, to locate RV campgrounds along the way, find directions, and now to keep us connected.  It has already paid for itself in peace of mind!

Tonight we’re driving back to Chandler to attend Haley’s orchestra recital—she plays the viola!  Steve may bring Jenna to us later in the week for a little visit. 

The mornings and evenings have been chilly—we’ve had to use the coach’s heater from about 8:30 p.m. until about 9:30 a.m. every day.  Afternoons are just wonderful—sunshine and in the low 70s.  We have to change from winter to summer clothing and back again in a matter of hours.  Crazy, but I’m lovin’ it!

Today is the first day of his retirement that Corky has gotten to take a nap!  He says he may have to go back to work just to be able to get his nap in!  It has been nonstop activities since Jan. 1.  So much to do!


Later.  C&C

C&C Retirement Adventures January 21-23, 2011

TA DA!!  WE ARE IN SUNNY CHANDLER, AZ!!!!


After a pleasant evening at the Buenna Terra RV campsite in Casa Grande, we headed toward Phoenix and arrived at Kimm's & Steve's house late morning.  We set out by car to check out some of the nearby Resorts; unfortunately, the area where many of these parks are located (kind of like "RV resort row") is under construction thus very congested; we had a bit of a time just locating the entrances.  So we returned to the coach to do some more research.

We opened up two slides, hooked up to Steve's & Kimm's water and electricity. Again, we are very comfortable!

On Saturday morning, I attended Jenna's swim lesson--too cute--babies to kindergarteners, grouped by skill levels, practiced floating on their backs and swimming underwater and learning other techniques.  Jenna has become a little mermaid!

After pedicures for Kimm, Haley, Jenna, and me, Corky & Steve shopped for some electronics--Steve is going to help set up a wireless communications network in the coach.

In the evenings, we've gorged ourselves on the scrumptious meals that Kimm whips up on her monster Weber grill!

It is now Sunday morning nearly 7 a.m. and still fairly dark--good time to catch up on this blog. Corky located a RV park online yesterday that may be our home for a while.  We are going to take the car to check it out this morning.  Then it's a Packer-Bears Party at Kimm's cousin's place.

It's supposed to be 72 degrees today!

Check in a couple of days for an update on our new digs!

C&C Retirement Adventures January 18-21, 2011

We headed toward Tucson about 10 a.m. on Tuesday—the sun was shining, both coach and car had been cleaned of the winter’s grime and everything was looking good.

We surprised Kimm’s parents, George & Carmen, by giving them less than one day’s notice that we had actually made it to town. They graciously invited us to park our coach on their property. After getting settled and winding down a bit, we went to a local eatery for scrumptious enchiladas and fajitas!

On Wednesday, George arranged for an early afternoon tour of the Asarco Mission Mine—a modern open-pit copper mining operation located just minutes from their home. According to the tour guide, two-thirds of the nation’s copper is produced in Arizona! The sheer enormity of this facility amazed me; from our observation point the huge equipment looked like Tonka trucks in a big sandbox! At the conclusion of the tour, the guide asked the audience a trivia question about the mine and George answered it correctly. His genius was rewarded with souvenir “pet rocks” for all the tour members! Thank you George!

The pups loved the area—except for the jumping cholla cactus that both encountered. Ouch! They both pretty much avoided the vegetation after having to have thorns removed twice!

We spent the evening relaxing and watching the sunset on George’s & Carmen’s patio; then George beat me at both Wii bowling and golf—he’s a pro! Carmen whipped up a delicious shrimp and fresh salsa meal while Corky visited with her. An absolutely lovely time!

We’ve put 3,000 miles on the coach, so it is time for the “break-in” oil to be changed. So, we buttoned up and left Sahuarita about 9:30 a.m. and headed for Tucson Freightliner for an 11:00 appointment. They were busy, but fit us in the schedule so we were back on the road by 2 p.m.

We decided to spend the evening in Casa Grande at the Buena Tierra Campground. It’s a western-themed desert site with access to a shopping center or to hiking trails in the Casa Grande Mountains. They offer travelers with horses a special area for their animals! We are quite comfortable.

Going to relax a bit here and head for Kimm’s & Steve’s house in Chandler about noontime.

Now we’re having fun!

C&C Retirement Adventures, Tuesday, Jan 18

We made it as far as Las Cruces, NM by 4 p.m. yesterday.

Rather than go to Albuquerque and drop south on the interstate highway, we took a shortcut from Amarillo that another RVer told us about. It was on state roads, mostly two-lane but with very little traffic that took us through Corizozo and Alamogordo, NM. The wind was pretty fierce for about 75 miles. Otherwise it was a nice scenic drive. We drove through the White Sands National Monument area. We didn't go through the museum, so I didn't learn much about the area except from the brochure--the Monument is a humongous sea of glistening white gypsum. It's one of the Natural Wonders of the World and spans almost 300 square miles. Lake Lucero (about 17 miles from the museum) is the source of the white sand. Their brochure said you could buy a snow disk and slide the dunes if you wanted to!

Alamogordo is also home to Holloman AFB and the Missile Range Museum where there are more than 50 rockets and missiles that were tested there on display. Again, according to the brochure, the White Sands Missile Range marks Ground Zero where the first A-bomb was detonated--called the Trinity Site--the site is only open to the public two days a year!

We arrived in Las Cruces about 4 p.m. local time. The temp was 72!!!! The Hacienda RV park is beautiful--it's not full right now so there is plenty of space between coaches, with privacy fences and areas for tables and chairs outside. They give out doggie welcome packets containing a poopie bag and cookie, plus instructions on canine etiquette in the park. Their dog run is a huge fenced area at one end of the park with pea-gravel surface and plenty of small trees and motion lights for night runs. Las Cruces looks like a nice place to stay for a few days. Maybe another time. We're having the coach's exterior washed this morning to get all the winter salt, grit and grime off. Then we'll be heading for Tucson.

Still learning the routines, but no major issues to contend with lately. Everything seems to operate better in warm weather.

And I haven't yet figured out how to post pics directly into this blog. They are all on the Picasa site I listed below --check there for the complete album. You'll just have to find the last photo you saw and go from there. If link doesn't work, just cut & paste.

Later, C&C

C&C's Retirement Adventures --New Week--Jan 17

Got out of OK City about10am Saturday;made it to Amarilla, TX. by afternoon. No problems,but this campsite has poor to no WIFI service. We decided to stay here for the weekend anyway! Did laundry,washed car,replenished groceries,went to the "Cadillac Ranch" and took a few pictures (the place is very kitchy (sp), then went back to coach for a steak dinner. I'll try to add photos at next good WIFI stop. It was sunny and in the high 50s both days. Heading for Las Crueces, NM today. Hey, we've had 2 trouble free days!!! Forgive the typos--writing this on little phone! Later, C&C

C&C Retirement Adventures, Day 5, January 14, 2011

Before I begin my tale of mishaps for today, here's a link to the photos I've taken to date.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MuskratLake/CCRetirementAdventures2011#5562242434368520194

Woke to foggy skies, but much warmer temperatures here at the KOA in south central Kansas.  Good place to fill our water tanks.   Corky went out to do that while I tidied up the coach.  I’m sure you are wondering, “Okay, now what happened?”  I really wish I could say “not a thing went wrong,” but I can’t.  While filling the water tanks, Corky noticed the fiberglass welds on the left rear bumper panel of the coach were broken, making the panel very vulnerable to road wind—geez that’s all we need to have a fender go flying down the highway!  Then we found that the water level indicator for the fresh water tank is showing inaccurate water level and the water pump is not operating properly (seems to have a lot of air in line).  We called a local Oklahoma City Winnebago dealer and arrived at their Service Center at about 1:30 and idled away the time in the lounge area while they attempted to fix those problems. 

On the bright side, the sun is shining and the temperature reached into the 50s.  Sweet!!! Maybe we’ll make another 50 miles before dark—maybe not!

We patiently waited for the service on our coach until about 5:30 p.m. when they reported they did not have adequate time to complete the welds, but that Corky's fix with parachute cord would keep the panel secure until we reach our destination and can leave it for service.  Regarding the water pump--it was always okay--we forgot to close a valve at one end of the tank, so it never really filled up therefore there was no water to pump.  We are learning a lot through experience.  They did fix the rug that kept rolling up under the slide, but that was not a priority for us.  Oh well.  

Left the RV Service Center and drove for a whopping 3 miles to the next exit off I-40W to the Council Road RV park; found our pull-through spot, opened slides, made supper, did dishes (pump works just fine now that the tank has been plugged); watched TV (got a pretty good signal through our antenna), finished tonight's blog.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring--we may stay here another night just to settle our nerves--it really HAS BEEN a trying 5 days.  Or we may feel antsy to keep moving and head for Amarillo!  

This campground has lots of campers tonight but it's still nice and quiet--can hear a distant train whistle every so often--rather soothing!  Good night!  Keep good thoughts that soon we will get two good days together before there are any more bumps in the road! 

C&C Retirement Adventures, Day 4, January 13, 2011

UPS delivered the new power steering pump about 10 a.m.  While the pump was being installed, we wandered into Valley Falls to have lunch.  We ate at one of the two eateries on Main Street--the Flamingo Bar.  We enjoyed owner/chef Jose's "special"—hot roast beef (with a strong hint of chili powder) sandwich, mashed potatoes,  gravy and corn—ooooh, these folks love their comfort food!

On the way back to the repair shop I found a quarter in the snow—GW side up—maybe our luck is changing!   Yes!  RV is almost ready to go—at 2 p.m. we are back on the road again with strong brakes, easy steering, and full stomachs.   FYI:  Freightliner is reimbursing us for the towing, remote service call and pump replacement as the coach is still under warranty.

We are spending our 4^th night in Wellington, KS at a KOA.  Believe it or not, there are several campers here—I guess they are all trying to get out of the cold.  We even opened the slide-outs and I made hamburgers, sautéed mushrooms, and garden salad for supper.  Life is good!

I'll try to upload photos tomorrow.  Stay warm.

C&C Retirement Adventures, Day 3, Wednesday, January12, 2011

Another bitter cold morning, but it’s toasty in the coach at the Casino Parking Lot.  Ready to go about 9 a.m. 

Start engine, fasten seat belts, let’s go---uh oh.  Can’t turn—no power steering  !@#$%!*!  

Called Freightliner Service (actually tried about 5 Kansas dealerships with no success; finally called the corp. office).  According to the HelpTech Duane, we needed a new power steering pump—Oh #@!%$#*!   And, of course, they try to get you to use a Freightliner Dealership.  But  because the weather’s been so nasty, most local Freightliner dealers are backed up and couldn’t get to us until next week—oh !@#$%!!!, actually double !@#$%!!!


So after about 2 hours on the phone with him and various other repair shops, he located a local shop about 30 miles from the casino that could come out and check out our problem.  Service tech arrived and first looked at the brakes (remember when we were in the industrial park the dashboard said our front brakes were low).  He found the air line to the left front brake was detached and the right air line was almost off--!@#$*!!!  He speculated they had not been sufficiently tightened in the factory.  He fixed that problem easily—now the power steering pump was another issue.  Part needed to be ordered; they could get it in next day and would work on installation right away, but we had to get RV to his shop 30 miles away.

Called BigRig Towing—they can tow us later today—great!

We need to detach car so we can follow rig.  !@#$%*!!! Car won’t start !@#$%*! 

Needed to be jump started twice before it remained running.   Tow truck arrived; we followed in car to Valley Falls, Kansas (SW of Kansas City, NE of Topeka).  The sight of our new home being dragged down the highway like an old clunker was not pretty!

We spent the night at the Valley Falls Truck and Trailer service lot—it was a lovely setting amid old fire trucks, semis, and dump trucks!  We had hopes of letting Gus and Woody run off-leash in the lot but the service manager told us about the area’s active coyote population—eeek!

Still toasty in the coach; no TV reception, so we watched a couple of movies.  It is VERY QUIET!

C&C Retirement Adventures, Day 2, Tuesday, January 11, 2011

C&C Retirement Adventures, Day 2, Tuesday, January 11, 2011

On the road again—at 9 a.m. (for those of you familiar with Corky’s penchant for starting a road trip at the crack of dawn, this time may surprise you—but as I remind him—he’s retired!! ) We motored on down the road planning to make a lunch stop in Omaha so we could meet up with neighbor Nancy and her sister Jane and husband Charlie.  Snowplows had not cleared secondary roads, so we made arrangements (after getting rather lost in an industrial park) to meet at a Walmart.  While meandering the industrial park’s streets, we used brakes a lot—I did not realize Omaha had such a rolling terrain.  Dashboard alerts reminded us that our front brakes needed air.  Made mental note to have that checked out at service time.

Met up with Nancy, Jane & Charlie; had lunch at “Jimmy Johns” and took off.  The end of driving day found us near Topeka, Kansas at the Prairie Land Casino (no gambling, just walked through casino, bought a couple of sandwiches, returned to RV, watched some TV and to bed!)   It’s very cold.

C&C Retirement Adventures, Day 1, Monday, January 10, 2011

Been experiencing some issues with WIFI connectivity—so my blog posts are not as current as I’d like them to be.  But nevertheless, I will try to keep you entertained with our experiences.

Light snow in Detroit Lakes; 8:30 a.m. appointment at the local RV service center to complete recall service on RV refrigerator—completed in about an hour.  On the road again—ooops, only 7 miles out of town Cathy remembered she left Corky’s meds in the refrigerator at home!  Turn around, call neighbors.  Judy & Curt retrieve meds and meet us at large parking lot only 1.5 miles from the house.  Many thank yous. 

At the Flying J in Souix Falls, SD

11 a.m. On the road again.  Still snowing—need to reduce speed.   First rest stop at the state line ND/SD; needed to clear road slush from review and side camera lenses.  Next stop Brookings, SD to refill LP gas—guess we used a bit while we were loading coach.  Still snowing—driving getting a little dicey.  We fuel up in Sioux Falls, SD at the Flying J truck stop at about 4:30 p.m. and decide to stay overnight.  We only made 280 miles, but hey, we retired, we can stop whenever we want!  Coach is toasty warm, TV reception was great; pups did very well traveling together in the same kennel—what a life!

just a few issues-wifi connectivity problems--keeping diary offline--will update when update when I get connected-later

Almost time!

Shoveling snow off the roof of the Road House!

There's lots of snow up here.

We're almost ready! far so good.  Corky was able to climb atop the Road House to clear the 8-10" of snow that had accumulated over the last few weeks.  He started the engine, turned on the heat and maneuvered the Road House closer to the house to make the loading just a bit easier.  We've just about finished--just a few more last minute items left to load tomorrow morning.  Gus and Woody don't know what to think about all the hubbub--they probably think they'll be going to the kennel 'cause we've pulled out suitcases!  They'll be pleased that they get to go too!

Backin' down the driveway!

Don't worry boys, we won't leave you!

We won't get very far before we have to stop tomorrow morning--we received a recall notice on the refrigerator and it will have to be repaired before we can head south.  Service person says it only takes about an hour to repair.  Oh well, a mere glitch in our plan.  Don't worry, be happy!!!!

Next post should be from Nebraska!

Muskrat Ramblers Getting Ready

Here it is Jan. 7--just three days before we climb aboard the Road House to begin our adventures.

Needless to say, I'm apprehensive.  Did we get everything done, have all the bills been paid or made accessible online, what have we missed???  Being away from your home for more than 2 months requires a little prep work.

It appears we'll be leaving snowy MInnesota at the right time--forecasters are warning of frigid temps coming in from Canada next week.  If all goes well, we should be in areas that are well above freezing within 3 days.  I think the most important words in that sentence is "if all goes well."

This is our first effort at blogging, so our Ramblers blog may not be pretty; but we'll try to keep it fairly current so you can join our fun from the comforts of your home!!!!

That's all for today folks!