Classes of 2008 and 2009

[dlcarsonak]

Wandein

 

We stop in at Rest area for short over-night stays. D likes it better than truck stops. we park in back or end so the dogs can go out. Don't park next to a refregrator truck.

[weaverworks]

Here's a question for all of you ..... have you ever spent the night when traveling through at a rest area along the freeway? If we're just traveling through and want to keep going without the hassle of finding a park, we've usually looked for a truck stop or Wal-mart. I used to think it was because rest areas weren't as safe. We're thinking why not? Anyone have input or done this?

 

 

We've done it several times...some states don't permit it....OK in all TX reststops

[IYQ]

We are thinking of checking out "the slabs" on the way down. Sounds like a very interesting place. I know that you like it Lee. Friendly folks there?

I go to the Loners on Wheels compound at the Slabs. It a singles club and we have many things for our members. There is another compound there that is open to the public that has a small restaurant and provides trash disposal but charges $25 a season, A lot of Canadians park way in back by the canal but they have no service at all. The rest of the slabs is a mess with hippies and hitchikers, graffiti on everything and junk and burned out rigs and cars all over the place. The only service at the slabs is the sheriff keeps and iron hand on the drifters and mentally ill people that live on poverty row. ( the main street coming in.) There is a dump station in town at the chamber of commerce that cost $10 but down the road 12 miles is a rest Area with a very nice Dump station and taps for fresh water and it's free. The gas station has LP gas and will also allow you to fill water tanks. The grocery store will allow you to fill water tanks in back of their store. There are also a few BLM places in the area but not very many people use them. I hope this info helps.

 

You other Drifters:

It was pretty chilly again this morning (36 degrees F) But today was beautiful and nice and cool. I stayed around the Ranch all day and just enjoyed the weather and my friends. Bright and early tomorrow I have to go to the post office and pick up a package that the mail man didn't even put in his truck when he delivered the mail. He stuck a note in the box saying the package was too big and heavy and was in the post office and I could pick it up B-4 noon on Saturday. The only trouble, he didn't deliver the mail or that note until a quarter after 12. And the office didn't give it to me until this morning. And, the package isn't that big or heavy. It's about 6 magazine sized books and a small machine for stroping knives that only weighs about 5 pounds. No wonder the post office is going broke. Tomorrow when I get done with that I'm going to Las Cruces to buy a bike. I'd get one at Wal-Mart but every bike they have has straight handle bars and that makes you lean too far forward while riding. I also want a Grandma seat. You know, one of those that look like a tractor seat. Nice and wide.

[Sandie & Jim]

Bright and early tomorrow I have to go to the post office and pick up a package that the mail man didn't even put in his truck when he delivered the mail. He stuck a note in the box saying the package was too big and heavy and was in the post office and I could pick it up B-4 noon on Saturday. The only trouble, he didn't deliver the mail or that note until a quarter after 12. And the office didn't give it to me until this morning. And, the package isn't that big or heavy. It's about 6 magazine sized books and a small machine for stroping knives that only weighs about 5 pounds. No wonder the post office is going broke. Tomorrow when I get done with that I'm going to Las Cruces to buy a bike. I'd get one at Wal-Mart but every bike they have has straight handle bars and that makes you lean too far forward while riding. I also want a Grandma seat. You know, one of those that look like a tractor seat. Nice and wide.

 

Lee - tomorrow is Columbus Day so I don't think the Post Office is going to be open.

[rmcf308]

Well we left your place on Whibey Island at the end of August and we just got here. But there was a lot of country we had not seen before so we took our time. Sooooooo that means you will be here this weekend.

Jerry

Well I'm not real sure if it can leave the state or not.:-) But I do know that the map doesn't work on this Tablet. :-) Hmmmm Beaumont, TX......should only take 3 or 4 days to get that far.

 

Joe

[IYQ]

Here's a question for all of you ..... have you ever spent the night when traveling through at a rest area along the freeway? If we're just traveling through and want to keep going without the hassle of finding a park, we've usually looked for a truck stop or Wal-mart. I used to think it was because rest areas weren't as safe. We're thinking why not? Anyone have input or done this?

Jeri: Rest area parking is allowed in Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and Washington. but even in these states look for a sign that allows you only so many hours to park. The rest of the states say you can't park in the rest area except some rest areas in the states listed below. A word of caution. A friend of mine had his Toad nearly stolen. Half the tow bar was unhooked but the other side had a pin lock and evidently the crooks seen or heard something and left. He didn't notice anything wrong the next morning but when he started to pull out he bent the tow bar and made it unusable. Some of these states either patrol the rest areas at night or station a state patrol there all night to stop that kind of activity. I haven't use the rest areas lately but I used to use them all the time while going from one place to another. Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, (Massachusetts at welcome centers only) Look for a sign, some rest area it's allowed some it isn't.

[Striper]

Well we left your place on Whibey Island at the end of August and we just got here. But there was a lot of country we had not seen before so we took our time. Sooooooo that means you will be here this weekend.

Jerry

 

Well not exactly. This weekend I'll still be here at the old homestead. Don't figure I'll get on the road much before the end of the month. Might make Yuma by the 31st. Heck then your only about 2 days away. :-)

 

Joe

 

PS. I still have a bit of some of that 4 letter word starting with W to do before I can leave.

[Wanderin]

Jeri: Rest area parking is allowed in Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and Washington. but even in these states look for a sign that allows you only so many hours to park. The rest of the states say you can't park in the rest area except some rest areas in the states listed below. A word of caution. A friend of mine had his Toad nearly stolen. Half the tow bar was unhooked but the other side had a pin lock and evidently the crooks seen or heard something and left. He didn't notice anything wrong the next morning but when he started to pull out he bent the tow bar and made it unusable. Some of these states either patrol the rest areas at night or station a state patrol there all night to stop that kind of activity. I haven't use the rest areas lately but I used to use them all the time while going from one place to another. Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, (Massachusetts at welcome centers only) Look for a sign, some rest area it's allowed some it isn't.

Thanks Lee. My brother discovered about the same thing. He pulled out and up the road with his car on a tow dolly. Thank goodness it was a bit up the road to fill up as the car was almost totally unhooked from the dolly. He had heard a noise during the night and saw someone at the back of his rig. They ended up leaving before they finished the job. I guess that's why I've always been a little hesitant to stop in one and stay overnight.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Wanderin'

[IYQ]

Lee - tomorrow is Columbus Day so I don't think the Post Office is going to be open.

Thanks Sandie, I forgot about that.

[sailbad]

Thanks Lee. My brother discovered about the same thing. He pulled out and up the road with his car on a tow dolly. Thank goodness it was a bit up the road to fill up as the car was almost totally unhooked from the dolly. He had heard a noise during the night and saw someone at the back of his rig. They ended up leaving before they finished the job. I guess that's why I've always been a little hesitant to stop in one and stay overnight.

 

Jeri, take it from an old truck driver that has overnighted about every where you can think of. The rest areas along the highways were always my last choice. Too many strange folk out there particularly at night. I don't really even like to sleep at a Cracker Barrel or Wal-Mart. The safest place I've found is a nice truck stop. They normally have security if for nothing more than to keep the lot lizards or door knockers off the property. A little trick that will save you some iritation. Hang a Bra off the driver's side mirror. That tells the door knockers there is a lady in the rig. They won't bother you.

[sailbad]

Thanks Lee. My brother discovered about the same thing. He pulled out and up the road with his car on a tow dolly. Thank goodness it was a bit up the road to fill up as the car was almost totally unhooked from the dolly. He had heard a noise during the night and saw someone at the back of his rig. They ended up leaving before they finished the job. I guess that's why I've always been a little hesitant to stop in one and stay overnight.

 

Jeri, take it from an old truck driver that has overnighted about every where you can think of. The rest areas along the highways were always my last choice. Too many strange folk out there particularly at night. I don't really even like to sleep at a Cracker Barrel or Wal-Mart. The safest place I've found is a nice truck stop. They normally have security if for nothing more than to keep the lot lizards or door knockers off the property. A little trick that will save you some iritation. Hang a Bra off the entry door side mirror. That tells the door knockers there is a lady in the rig. They won't bother you.

[sandsys]

Well, we hit the road today after sitting all summer. It took a little gunning the engine to tear up the roots our wheels had put down. But, we are now heading south on our last trip as full timers. We move into our new apartment November 1st.

 

Linda Sand

[Wanderin]

Jeri, take it from an old truck driver that has overnighted about every where you can think of. The rest areas along the highways were always my last choice. Too many strange folk out there particularly at night. I don't really even like to sleep at a Cracker Barrel or Wal-Mart. The safest place I've found is a nice truck stop. They normally have security if for nothing more than to keep the lot lizards or door knockers off the property. A little trick that will save you some iritation. Hang a Bra off the entry door side mirror. That tells the door knockers there is a lady in the rig. They won't bother you.

How funny is that!!? I'll ask Duchess if we can borrow one of hers!! We'll be seeing you in "Q" in a couple of weeks. That's one of our stops along the way.

 

Thanks all for the input.

[etrippe1]

Here's a question for all of you ..... have you ever spent the night when traveling through at a rest area along the freeway? If we're just traveling through and want to keep going without the hassle of finding a park, we've usually looked for a truck stop or Wal-mart. I used to think it was because rest areas weren't as safe. We're thinking why not? Anyone have input or done this?

 

we parked overnight in a rest stop once, worst night of sleep ever, ended up parked between two trucks they ran there engines all night. very noisy and dirty, and w/ no slides out it made for a tight fit. also tried a Travel America truck stop once, parked next to another mh, leaving some space between us and the next truck on the other side. And with in minutes another truck squeezed in between us and the truck. It was so close that we could only open our door about 1/4. I started up the mh and asked Karla to find a park, drove 3 miles,, paid $20, plugged in, ran out the slides, set up the satelite, made a cocktail, talked / the neighbors and realized how much I enjoyed living in a mh and travelling. best $20 spent! will try to stay away from spending the night in a truck stop and rest area again.

[palamine]

Hi Rving Family,

 

After many sleepless nights, Doug and I have decided that we have to stay put for a while. Reasons are many committments, children, parents. We love you all and will keep in touch and before you know it, you'll be driving down the road shouting out - HEY ISN'T THAT THOSE CRAZY CANADIANS!

 

Be safe, go interesting places, meet wonderful people. We'll be watching.

 

Toni

[sandsys]

After many sleepless nights, Doug and I have decided that we have to stay put for a while.

See, staying put all summer is hazardous to mobility!

 

Linda

[IYQ]

Well I'm the proud owner of a new mode of transportation. I went to Las Cruces today and bought a bike. They put all the extras on I wanted and put tedlar liners in the tires and slimed them so the goat heads and thorns won't leave me pushing the bike down the road muttering to myself. There was one hitch. When I got home I took the helmet out of the box and tried it on to adjust it. My fat head won't go in the helmet and it was the largest size in that model. The adjustment worked fine but the hard shell was too small and it was putting dents in my noggin. I'm won't spend $60 in gas to exchange a 45 dollar helmet so it goes on the free table tomorrow. I'll go to Wal-Mart and see if they have one that fits. Beautatious day today.

[mskay]

Well I'm the proud owner of a new mode of transportation. I went to Las Cruces today and bought a bike. They put all the extras on I wanted and put tedlar liners in the tires and slimed them so the goat heads and thorns won't leave me pushing the bike down the road muttering to myself. There was one hitch. When I got home I took the helmet out of the box and tried it on to adjust it. My fat head won't go in the helmet and it was the largest size in that model. The adjustment worked fine but the hard shell was too small and it was putting dents in my noggin. I'm won't spend $60 in gas to exchange a 45 dollar helmet so it goes on the free table tomorrow. I'll go to Wal-Mart and see if they have one that fits. Beautatious day today.

So glad you're going to keep up the exercise! Make sure to try stuff on....especially these days with things sometimes not made real good. Someone should have helped you with that! Poor Customer service to boot!

[steved44]

Congrats on the new bike. We got Carol one too. We'll have to form a "bike gang" when we get together again.

 

We went to Seattle music experience yesterday and then had dinner at the top of the space needle to top off our stay here in the "big town". Sure is a pretty view from up there. We started off in the daylight, and finished dinner after dark, so we were able to see the transition from light to dark. We then went up to the observation deck for another hour or so before we called it a night. We were going to leave here today, but Carol has another museum she wants to see, so it will probably be tomorrow. That will give me time to get some new wiper blades. Seems it wants to rain all the time here now.

 

Linda, glad to see you got the wheels loose and on the road for a while. Have a nice trip down South.

 

About the "staying at rest stops etc. We do walmarts, some rest stops and a few truck stops. We stayed at a TA truck stop just West of Denver on I-70 last year and it was fine. They tend to be a little busy and noisy, but so far no trouble. Don't try Walmart in Seattle. They have the lot filled with little "tree islands" and don't want overnight campers there anyway. I didn't know if we were going to run over an old lady with a shopping cart, hit a tree or clip a car, before we got out of there, but we made it! That was a very busy place. Everybody have a great day today. Steve

[IYQ]

It's been a busy day today. First I went to town to get a few groceries then to the P.O. to pick up that package that arrived last Saturday. When I got home and was opening the package the friend that took me to Las Cruces to get the bike wanted me to help him figure out how to get wires strung between his solar controler and the batteries on the tonge of his triler. After we got that done I came back to play with my toys from the package and a young lady called and ask if she could come over and use my computer to get on the internet because the router in the WiFi here at the ranch got zapped by lightning in one of those thunder boomers we had. After she got done we gabbed for about 1 1/2 hour. And now its to late to play with my toys or ride my bike. Maybe tomorrow. I did get the machine I ordered put together though so I'll be able to play with it tomorrow between calls from my friends.

[ccsimpson]

10/11 to 10/18 plus maybe another week at Kirkland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. Just taking our time heading to AZ for the winter. Plan on dropping down I-25 to use some more of our NM state park pass. Just have to be sure we can fit in some of them. Right now the weather is just perfect with cool nights and warm days. There is lots to do here so we should stay busy!

Carol

[IYQ]

Carol: Stop at Caballo Lake state Park about 22 miles south of Truth or Consequences but go to the campground below the dam. The entrance for that is right across the road (Hwy 187) from the north bound ramp to I-25,Exit 59. The spaces are large and being below the dam on the river it is some what protected from the wind. Then if you should stay over your 21 day limit you can move down the road (south on 187) 3 miles to Purcha Dam State Park and stay 6 days then move right back to Caballo. There is also a store and restaurant at Arrey which is only 5 miles south of the park on 187. I like that park much better than Elephant Butte north of Truth or Consequences. That's a pretty park put the camping areas are in bad locations and catch one heck of a lot of wind or make you drive through a wash to get to them.

 

I've been busy all day but don't remember what all I was doing. For one thing I rode my bike down to Columbus Hwy and back and found I have muscles that haven't been used in a long time. It will take time to get them strong again. Then this afternoon I re-shaped a couple of carving knives. My hip pain has come back but not as bad as it was. I woke up pretty sore this morning and took some Tylenol and did my exercises which usually gets rid of the pain for the day. This morning is just lessened it a bit. The pain came back about 3 hours latter so I braved it another hour then took two of my prescription pain pills and it stopped the pain but it's back again this evening. I'll try to not lie on that side tonight but I usually wake up laying on that side anyway. I'll keep my fingers crossed and maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

Edited October 13, 2011 by IYQ

[Wanderin]

Today is moving day. Actually, we're just going to practice going south a tad. The sun is out but the propane is nearly empty. I think that's a good sign. We're moving about 32 miles south to the Vancouver Elks. Steve is moving today too. How do I know? I received a text from him at 1:30 this morning. Now I know why he takes so many zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's.

Edited October 13, 2011 by Wanderin'

[Freddy & Delcie]

Jim & Sandie:

 

We were about two weeks ahead of you. We stayed at the Kanab RV Corral when we went to Zion a couple of weeks ago. Hope ya'll are having fun. We are at Tucimcari NM Elks on the way to Texas.

 

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Freddy and Delcie

[steved44]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! HUH?? look out Jeri, see if there's any more spaces left in the Elks down there. We are pulling out in about 30 minutes. Steve