CRAZY WAYS TO GET THERE!

After about a year on the road my brother asked me how many times I’ve been lost, my response was NONE…I can’t get lost because I really don’t know where I’m going!

Last year after leaving Arizona, my friend Tim and I got ourselves into two interesting situations while traveling through Texas

First situation, we parked our rigs on South Padre Island on the beach.  There was a full moon and heavy winds so we were expecting higher than normal tides but were assured by the rangers that we would be fine.

The second night there Tim knocked on my door around 330am.  He said you better come out here. I stepped out the door into water…that was going under my rig. Oh boy! 

We sat outside for a few minutes trying to decide if we should leave then or wait till sunrise. The tide was heading out so we decided to wait. The drive off the beach was an adventure as we were dodging the waves, logs, and other debris that had blown in over night. It wasn’t really funny at the time because we thought for sure one of us was going to get stuck in the soft sand and were going to need a tow off the beach but alas we made it off the beach. The rigs were caked with sand and saltwater so we got to the truck wash as soon as possible. We can laugh about it now...sort of.

A couple of weeks later I found a nice spot on iOverlander named 'Spot by the River'. The reviews were good and the pictures looked ok so I punched the coordinates into Google Maps and we headed out. As we turned off the highway it should have been a clue as to the condition of the road ahead (more like a hiking trail) that led us to the spot. 

The trail was very rough and the trees were overgrown and were scraping the sides of the rigs. We were bouncing around all over the place. At one point a vine got wrapped around my awning and it sounded like I was pulling down the entire tree. Tim tried to radio me from behind but I think he was laughing too hard to get the word STOP out of his mouth. Plus he was concerned about the vines grabbing his rig. After I broke free of the vines I radioed him asking if my awning and air conditioner were still there…his response was WHAT AIR CONDITIONER? Funny guy!!

      

We made it to the spot and had a nice relaxing overnight stay there. In the morning Tim took Keegan for a walk down the trail in the opposite direction from which we had come in and realized about 100 yards down the trail turned into a residential paved road. 

The third crazy situation happened when I was in Nova Scotia last year. I had reservations at a campground on the Bay of Fundy. I told the owner I would arrive around 2pm. I needed to waste some time so I decided to explore some light houses before heading to the campground. After the last lighthouse, I continued on the road since it looped around to the campground. 

The road got narrower and narrower and turned into a gravel trail and then it turned into a rock/boulder trail. I should have turned around but the campground was only a 1/4 mile ahead. Next thing I realized I was rock crawling up a steep hill in my ‘not built for off-roading RV’.  I got to a point where I couldn’t go forward and couldn’t turn around. I thought for sure I was going to need to abandon my rig. I was stuck. 

After surveying the situation I decided I was able to back up a couple of yards and spent the next 25 minutes executing a textbook 50 point turn. Inch by inch, I was able to get turned around, without rolling into the deep culverts on either side of the ‘trail’.

I arrived at the campground about an hour late and the owner asked if everything was ok. I told him where I had been and his response was obvious to me at that point…that’s not a road, it’s a dry river bed and no one goes up there in any type of vehicle! You’re crazy a** for trying that!!! 

Yup..that about sums it up.

(NOT ACTUAL TRAIL - BUT VERY SIMILAR)

Another fun day happened after I had gone to the Mercedes dealer in Palm Springs for routine service. When everything was completed and paid for, I hit the road back to Quartzsite AZ, 139 miles away. I made it 116 miles before losing all power from the engine. I was able to get off the highway into a parking lot and call Mercedes roadside assistance. They showed up about 3 hours later and loaded me up for a trip back to Palm Springs. It was a Friday evening and the service department was closed. I left the rig and took an Uber to a hotel.

Monday morning I took an Uber back to the dealership and had a talk with the service manager. They took the rig back to the service bay and after about an hour they assured me everything was good to go. The fuel filter had a leak and that caused the engine to lose power. Of course they said there was no charge for the service, but I charged them for 2 nights in the hotel and all my meals. 

I finally made it back to Quartzsite Monday afternoon!

I like a good adventure on the road but these were a bit over the top!

 

BLESSINGS ON THE ROAD

 

I’ve had many awesome experiences while on the road. Several of these are very memorable because of the people I met and the time we shared together.

~ The first experience was on Sunday October 22, 2022, less than 2 weeks after starting my journey. I was in Alabama and found a place called Dismals Canyon that I was going to hike. It was a bit off my route and almost passed it up but I’m so glad I didn’t drive by it.

While hiking the trails I came across a family and chatted with them for a few minutes. There was a side trail that led up to Pulpit Rock, and I mentioned to them I was going to head up there and they decided to join me. Pulpit Rock looked over a lot of the canyon with great views. The 5 of us sat and talked for a bit and as I was getting ready to leave they asked me if I would like to hang out a bit longer and share some bible readings and prayer time. Cool!

The wife shared one of her favorite bible verses (John 1:1-5) and it was the same verse that we had studied online at Cornerstone Chapel that morning, was that Odd or was it God!

We sat there for about an hour sharing our testimonies and praying together. We decided to hike together for the rest of the morning. What a great chance encounter. Unfortunately I didn’t get their names or contact information but I will surely remember them and our time together on the trails in Alabama.

~ The next experience happened while I was staying near Memphis. In the morning I decided to drive down to the Mississippi River to a park and have breakfast and journal a bit. When I got to the park there was a gentleman sitting on the only bench in the park listening to music. As I approached him, I could hear he was playing worship music. So I asked him if I could join him on the bench, he said no problem. We sat together and listened to his music for a bit. Finally he turned the music off and we started chatting. 

He shared his story with me. He had spent several years in the state penitentiary for strong arm robbery. While he was there he said he prayed for God to help change his life. When he got out he turned his life around and became a minister of a baptist church in Memphis and has been serving the Lord since.

After sharing my sorry with him we prayed together and he said let’s get a picture together.  I won’t soon forget the time I spent with Pastor Ricky Jackson.

~ I was staying at the Katy Community Fellowship Church in Katy, Texas on a Friday evening. In the morning there were about a dozen cars in the parking lot. I went to their website and discovered they were having a men's breakfast. So I walked over and asked if I could join them. They cheerfully welcomed me and set me up with a wonderful breakfast -  pancakes, bacon, coffee, orange juice and more! 

We all chatted for a while and one gentleman shared that he traveled the country going to motorcycle rallies. He said when he's at the rallies he prays with the riders that they have a safe ride and blesses their bikes. I asked him if he's ever blessed an RV and he responded not yet. So we all headed outside to the parking lot and he prayed for me and he blessed my RV.

~ I was staying at a Harvest Host location in Sherbrooke, QC Canada. After meeting the host and getting parked, I set my chair outside along the river and did some reading. The host returned with this beautiful basket of fresh vegetables from his garden. Typically you pay the host for allowing you to stay on their property but he turned it around and gave me this wonderful basket! It not only looked beautiful it tasted great as well! 

I've had so many wonderful experiences over the last 2+ years I could go on and on sharing them.

Good thing I keep a journal so I can look back on these experiences and give thanks for each one of them.

I am very grateful for all the wonderful people I've met on my travels across the US and Canada! 

I think I'll keep going!!

People are Awesome!

My Adventures Part 1 - Skydiving in Canada

Skydive Montreal South Shore is a Harvest Host location south of Montreal in Farnham, QC. I made a reservation for a night and planned on watching the skydivers while I was there. Before I arrived I decided, what the heck, I might as well jump.

I had a few days to think about it and even though I’m am a little afraid of heights, I wasn’t scared of jumping. I watched a YouTube video of Will Smith talking about his first jump. He shared that he was crippled with fear the week leading up to his jump. He said he couldn’t sleep or eat because of that fear. The day of the jump he realized how foolish he had been to be afraid of something that wasn’t going to happen for a week and he had nothing to relate it too so why all the fear. The day of the jump and just before jumping he had no fear. 

I didn’t let any fear enter my head and was excited about the jump. I showed up early to the jump site and was prepared mentally for the adventure ahead. I met my instructor and we joked around a bit while getting ready. 

Jumpsuit - check

Googles - check

Harness - check and double check

Prayer - check

We went through some jump procedures/landing procedures and headed to the plane. On the way up to 13,500 feet I was still surprisingly calm and relaxed. 

We were the first tandem to jump. As we sort of duckwalked to the door, the videographer stepped out the door and hung onto the plane from the outside waiting for us to jump.The instructor tapped me on the shoulder and I gave a thumbs up, and we basically rolled out the door.

WOW!

Next thing I knew we were in free fall, heads straight down towards the ground going about 120mph. During the free fall, that lasted about 60 seconds, we did several crazy spins while the videographer got her shots, and then the instructor tapped me on the shoulder again letting me know he was pulling the rip cord. Prayer answered, we were under a good clean chute.

The ride down lasted another 5-6 minutes and the feeling and views were amazing. I don’t remember much of that part of the jump because my adrenaline was pumping and I was in awe of my surroundings! (or lacked of surroundings)

We circled over the jump zone a few times and came in for our landing. We slid softly in on the grass on our bottoms.  SUCCESS!

What an amazing day. After a short debriefing, I went back to my rig, had some lunch and wanted to lay down for a bit. I was still super hyped so I went outside and talked to the ground manager for a while and learned a lot from her. Parachute Montreal has a great professional team and fun to be around. If you are up that way and want an amazing experience, check them out https://parachutemontreal.ca/

Overall an absolutely amazing day!

I made another reservation to stay and jump again after my 2 month stay in Maine but the weather didn’t cooperate and the jumps were scrubbed for the day…no problem, I have enough memories for a lifetime! (or until I decide to jump again)

WHERE DO I STAY?

I rarely stay at campgrounds while I travel around the country, so where do I find places to stay?

There are plenty of apps and websites that you can use to find places to stay as a full-time RVer.  My two favorites are iOverlander and Harvest Host.

iOverlander is a free app that is full of information for nomads.  Where to stay, where to get water, where to dump your tanks, laundromats, Wifi, cell coverage information,RV service facilities, etc.  The users actually enter the information and share it with others on the app.  Users review the places like you would on Yelp or Google and you take it from there. Most of the time the places to stay on there are free or very inexpensive.  It’s a great place to find information on the area you are traveling in or through. Free is good!

It’s been a great tool and is my ‘go to’ app for most of the information I need on the road.  I’ve only had one ‘issue’ when I used the app to find a place to stay.  I was in Central Texas last year and there was a spot listed on iOverlander that had very good reviews.  It was about 5 miles off the road in the desert. I got to the location and while it looked fine, I had a little voice telling me not to stay there.  I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to move down the road about 20 minutes to a similar spot and stayed the night there with no issues.  I’ve learned to listen to that little voice more than once.  

My other ‘go to’ app is Harvest Host.  This is a membership app.  I pay about $100 per year to be a member.  As a member I have access to over 5,000 locations around the country that allow me to stay overnight for free. These are usually businesses of one type or another that allow you to stay on their property and it’s suggested that you spend/donate $20-30 for the stay.  I’ve stayed at alpaca farms, golf courses, churches, wineries, museums, horse ranches, restaurants, drive-in movie theaters and many other neat places. Over the last two years I’ve stayed at over 150 HH locations around the country and they have been fantastic.  

I do stay at campgrounds once in a while, usually no more than 2-3 nights per month.  Campgrounds can get expensive, I’ve paid anywhere from $3 per night to $95+ per night. I stayed at a campground in California on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island, which was absolutely beautiful but you pay for the view for sure. I also stayed in Yellowstone for 2 nights and that was expensive as well, but I was right in the park. The benefit of campgrounds is that you usually get full hook-ups, electric, water, and sewer.  Many have a club house, laundry facilities, and other conveniences, but they can also very very crowded and you can be very close to your neighbors.

By far my favorite campground is Oceanfront Camping at Reach Knolls, reachknolls.com, in Brooklin Maine.  This past summer I stayed there for 6 weeks and it was fantastic.  The breeze off the water, the quiet nights, the views and the sunsets are fantastic but the best part are the amazing owners. Lori, Paul, and Lori’s mom, Carol, are wonderful hosts and have become dear friends. Amazing Mainers!!

In the west there is a lot of government land you can stay on for free, up to 14 nights.  This includes land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Government Trust Land.  I find these areas on iOverlander as well.  The BLM land in and around Quartzsite AZ is Long Term Visitor Access (LTVA) which means when you buy a permit you can stay for up to 7 months if you desire.

Other places I’ve stayed include Corp of Engineer (COE) campsites, which are very inexpensive and are located on lakes or reservoirs. I get a 50% discount using my NPS Senior Lifetime Pass which is a nice perk. National Forests, Wildlife Management Areas are also great places to stay for a night or more.

Many cities have parks which you are allowed to stay in for 2-3 nights usually without a cost.  I’ve stayed in State Parks as well, but they can be tough to get a reservation for during the camping season.

Most Cracker Barrel Restaurants allow overnight parking for RVers, and I love their meatloaf!  Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's are also open to allowing overnight parking. I always check with a manager just to be sure.

Another option is good old Walmart parking lots. This is usually my last resort but sometimes I don’t have any other options.  They can be a bit noisy but typically they are fairly safe.

Lastly, many casinos also allow you to stay overnight. You just need to check in with security or guest services. This was very beneficial when I stayed 2 nights at the Morongo Casino outside of Palm Springs and walked away with over $2,300 in my pocket!  

Other apps to get information about where to stay:

Hipcamp

rec.gov

USFS & BLM Campgrounds

park4night

Campendium

All-stays

RV Parky

I rarely plan my stops in advance, the luxury of having a smaller RV. I know the general direction I want to head in and look on one of the apps for places to stay. I’ll have a target spot but will always have an option B spot just in case.

When using Harvest Host you do need to make reservations, some accept same-day reservations, but most you need to plan a few days out. The more popular hosts tend to fill up fast, especially the ones near popular parks or other attractions. Most only have one parking spot available but some do have multiple spots to reserve.

Some states allow you to park overnight in highway rest stops but you need to make sure you check ahead of time to be sure, the last thing you want is to get a knock on the door in the middle of the night by a friendly state trooper or local sheriff. So far I haven’t gotten the ‘knock’. Texas is great for allowing overnight stays in rest stops.

It is getting more difficult to find ‘good/safe’ spots to stay for the night.  More and more people are RVing and some will overstay their welcome. Some Walmart parking lots look like a used RV dealership with all the rigs parking there. If staying in a parking lot, I will usually arrive late, park away from the store and leave early. I DON’T set up chairs or my fire pit or hang lights out, yes I’ve seen that and more. It’s just a place to sleep and move on your way in the morning.

Thankfully I haven’t had any serious issues finding places to stay.  I have had a few crazy situations getting to a spot I picked out or leaving from a spot. More about these fun times in another blog post!  

It’s always an adventure and I love it!