Projects And Plans

Puttering along the line of daily life has brought up some projects to deal with.

But first I want to say that the fact that we came home early did not result in utter happiness as the weather remained cold for weeks. Rain, frost and even snow spelled misery over our  home coming. So learning from that, we won't do this again any time soon. But we had a reason for arriving home in March, and it was the threat of having to pay tariffs for our motorhome which made us rushing home. Meanwhile, our motorhome has been inspected and registered and everything went quite smoothly.

To this day, no tariffs for used motor vehicles have been imposed, which we still consider as positive.

So re. the projects, there is our veggie garden where winter storms have destroyed the fencing around it. In fact, the whole place looked like the Russians had fought down the Ukrainians there or the other way around. 

New fence posts had to be set up and we bought a plastic deer fence to put up around. This work is still ongoing. 

Bea has put seeds in little flower pots so we will have the first veggies early this year. The green house needed a minor repair with plastic foil been tacked back up, and then the motor home got a make-over with a custom-built pantry beside of the fridge and a new carpet. 

Pantry beside of the fridge

A few window blinds need fixing, the entry-door stopper needs to get fixed and a few other minor things been looked over.

So between rain showers and cold days this has kept us busy.

And when there was no way one could work outside, I have been doing a lot of thinking about next winter. We don't really feel good about spending another winter (and our money) in the US, so alternatively I thought about Mexico. 

Friends have been visiting Mexico for years and they have always been telling us about the wonderful time they spent there. But they have been going to the Baja California, and the Baja is notorious for bad potholes and partially narrow roads, especially along MX Carretera #1, and with our motorhome that would be a no-go.

But Mexico is more than just the Baja. F.ex. there is a major 4-lane highway 15 running down from Nogales AZ to Guayamas, SONORA, where boondocking for the whole winter is possible. The State of Sonora, west of Carretera 15 is still part of the Free Area of Mexico for which one does not need a a TIP (temporary Vehicle Import) A valid 6-months FMM and vehicle insurance are the only requirements. The beaches in that area are phenomenal and for us, never been vacationing in Mexico before, this is going to be very exciting.

So for now, we will do all the necessary research to make this happen.

One of the local beaches close to Guaymas

 "Carretera 15" from Nogales, AZ to Guaymas

Beach walk at home on of the better days

The Taste Of Horror

I have been very quiet about politics for a long time, but today I am breaking it.            Background for it is, of course, the current developments in the US. As a German growing up right after the horrors of WWII, I am especially affected by the recent disappearances and treatment of people in the US and the unconstitutional removal of hundreds of supposed criminals to a huge foreign horror prison in El Salvador, all happening without a judge, without evidence, without a hearing.

This has brought back memories of what happened under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler and the persecution of jews and political dissidents, ending under unspeakable conditions in concentrations camps and ultimately the gas chambers. I will offer you to watch a little bit of a documentory about the goings-on in the Auschwitz Camp. My advice: Don't watch this before bedtime!

It Was Dark When The Police Came

You are an RVer and you want to be able to stay in places without having to pay a bundle. Between those place may be an occasional truck stop.

Now, for us, truck stops are not ideal as they usually are noisy places, but when nothing else is available, we also stay at a truck stop.

Our last night before getting home, we stayed at Dysart's Truck Stop in Bangor.

Looking for a place to park, we discovered another RV, a 5th-Wheel at the end of the parking lot. Seeking the neighbourhood of another camper would be a natural choice for most RVers. And it promises a quieter night than besides a truck with a roaring reefer going all night.

So we backed in beside the other RV. After I got out of the rig Bea was already talking to the guy next door. When I saw him I looked into a very rough face, an open sore on his forehead, and talking in a slurred voice. He told us about being kicked out of a campground and having been poisened a couple of times. There was a lot of tales from him. A lot of red lights went off right away and we were  both quickly retiring in our rig.

That neighbour also had engine trouble with his truck and was hanging over his motor until dark.

We had drawn the curtains and finished our supper, when suddenly we saw a lot of very bright lights appearing outside. Taking a look from the window we saw several police officers rummaging through the vehicles of our neighbour. They even crawled into the luggage compartments of the 5th-wheel. There was only one reason for doing that.....DRUGS!

This action lasted about a full hour and they first left when we had gone to bed.

So what does this teach us?

1. Don't ever trust an unknown neighbour

2. Don't park in places if you feel uneasy about it

3. If you do have to park in unknown places, always lock access to your compartment doors.

4. Don't get into an argument with strangers.

5. Make yourself familiar with call numbers for local law enforcement.

So this time nothing bad happened to us, but how easily could that have been? Imagining this guy would have resisted police and drawn a gun, the police would have had an armed stand-off. With us being parked next, it would have been very dangerous.

We actually knew this truck stop and have stayed there before never having any problem. But things can change.

So after a quiet night we started off around 7:30am and made it to the US border at 10:15.

We stopped at US Customs and we got the export paper- work done. Then across the International Bridge and doing the Import paperwork on the Canadian side. 

The FDR Memorial International Bridge

CANADA CUSTOMS BUILDING

This all went like a breeze and we drove on to the Roosevelt Park where we parked our rig, moved the van off the trailer and unhitched the trailer. Then we took the van and the trailer to our house.

Still looking a little wintry

I clicked on the power started the water pump, and soon heard the splashing of water from a broken water line in the next basement room. Water was shut off again and we called our neighbour who is a plumber. Imagine being THAT lucky to have a plumber next door neighbour! 30 minutes, and 60 bucks later it was all fixed again.

Another neighbour had invited us for lunch and we chatted along. The rest of the day was spent with emptying the motorhome and carrying stuff into the house where we created a momentary chaos. But eventually, it all worked out. So now we have a fire going in the stove, a hot cocoa in the cups and a hot shower is waiting.

New Personal Record

Leaving "Wampsville" at 7am we had planned to make to a service area at the I-95, just about an hour or so beyond New Hampshire. 

We made great progress from 7am to about 10am. Traffic wasn't bad and New York's I-90 is not bad. Sliding along we then entered Massachusetts. 

More traffic there and a couple of drivers who shouldn't even have a drivers license.

From the I-495 we entered the good old I-95 into New Hampshire. 

At the first toll station in Maine, we learned something new. While most "normal" vehicles are charged after the number of axles, motorhomes are not. They are charged as "Campers" and have a flat fee of $10. Together with the trailer we lost $14 there. But the road is excellent so we didn't mind. Btw. the following 2 stations don't follow that same regimen. Go figure!

We stopped at the NH - Liquor outlet to get a Norwegian specialty, then floated right into Maine. 

But when we got to the Liqour Outlet in New Hampshire it was only about 1pm and way too early to call it a day. So we decided to make it to Bangor, ME. We know about a truckstop with a dump station and 3.5hrs later we had reached that place. If you want to use it some time, it's called Dysarts Truck Stop and you'll find it close to the I-95 south of Bangor.

This nasty stuff is a left-over from winter!

So all that brought our driving distance to 515miles which I cannot remember we ever did, especially not with a big rig like this year. Btw.: I finally took a measure tape to find out the total length, which came to 66ft (20.12m)

The I-95 through Maine is in a spotless condition, despite the fact that frost and snow is present here about 5 months every year. So in case those road experts from the south want to learn about quality road construction, I'm sure they could come here and learn about it.

Two More Days To Go!

430 Miles closer to home! That's what we did today. And luckily on much better highways. We made it to Wampsville, NY. Yes, we are in "Upstate New York". 

And it is FREEZING COLD! Every time I stop at a truck stop for diesel I feel like being blown away by the storm.

It's frightening cold!

We are parked at a Walmart again and enjoy it.

Our Incredible Indiana Experience

Today we intended to drive a longer distance. So starting early, we drove from our Walmart camp at Vandalia to Mansfield Ohio which amounted to 417miles.

A big part of it led us through Indiana and you must bear with me here, I just have to let it out.

Illinois I-70 is a nice part of mostly smooth I-70. That stops the second one crosses the State line into Indiana when the drama starts. 

Potholes after potholes, broken pavement everywhere, huge holes 6-8inches deep - all this causing a constant banging and rattling. And the millions of pavement patches are done totally uneven, so we got jolted around in our seats and Dixie was getting close to a panic attack. Does this State EVER use any funds on road repair? How can a State let a major through highway get into such a bad condition? Are federal highway funds ending in corrupt pockets of Indiana politicians?

We even tried a parallel side road instead of the Interstate, but that road was no better either.

The only area with a smooth pavement was right around Indianapolis, but as soon as we went farther east the pain started again. I pledge that I will NEVER drive through that State again. It is just too exhausting. And I fear for the consequences of our vehicle.

As soon as we crossed into Ohio, the Indiana nightmare stopped. Now, there was a shorter stretch of the I-70 in similar conditions as in Indiana, but it didn't last long. The rest of the highway was fine until we reached the I-270 which runs around Columbus and connects to I-71 north.

After 10 hours on the road, partly with a strong crosswind on the I-270 and I-71, I was happy to pull into the Mansfield Walmart where we are parked in a very quiet spot for the night.

Our remaining home run is 1050miles, which we will need almost 3 more days for, provided we are not getting stopped by inclement weather.

And I might add. it is snowing at home - a lot. 

Poor pavement patches and (below)
broken asphalt

State Line Indianapolis - Ohio: Patchwork ending with Ohio Highway

Big city traffic north of Columbus

Passing Kansas City On A Sunday

 We hit the road at shortly after 8am and though the highway wasn't empty, it sure was a lot less traffic on this Sunday morning.

Following I-35 we went south of the city, then entering I-470 north for eventually re-joining the I-70.

The harsh beauty of a mid-western landscape

The I-70 has good stretches with smooth pavement but also very bad ones. What I will never understand are the terrible, nerve-racking, earthquake style bumps when crossing a bridge, especially when it there is nice pavement both before and after the bridge. Why isn't DOT also fixing the bridges? I have driven highways in European countries and NO-WHERE have I experienced such crappy road conditions like in the US. Every single time we are crossing a bridge I am jerked in my seat and everything in the cupboards is jumping around. I just feel so sorry for Dixie. And besides of all this discomfort, potholes and broken pavement is dangerous.

Mississippi crossing

So we made it through Missouri and into Illinois with its rich farm landscape. 

Though we had a mostly cloudy day, it wasn't raining. 

We have also been noticing blooming trees along the road, and it indicates spring has arrived. Unfortunately back home snow has returned and right now we are just hoping that it'll disappear again until we reach home in about 4-5 days.

A problem we encountered with the rig is that we have an inner rear tire which slowly releases air pressure. I believe it's a leaky valve. So far I keep using air from the air system in the coach. So glad I bought a 50ft, airhose before we left. But it shouldn't be too hard to fix this air- leak problem.

Walmart in Vandalia

The Walmart in Vandalia allows for truckers and RVs. We got the last spot, all others were occupied by truckers.

Another Day On The Road

And it brought us into the vicinity of Kansas City. We could have continued another 3 hrs easily, but I was dead tired and needed to get away from the wheel. And this is exactly the beauty of RVing down the highway. If we would have booked a hotel, say another 200 miles ahead, we would have had to continue driving. As an RVer you got everything with you. A cup of coffee, a bite to eat, a nap in the rear or even a shower.

So we just pulled into a rest area and called it a day.

We had grey weather today and didn't take any pictures so bear with me.

It's time to find the bed....

Oops, We Are In Kansas!

Kansas, here we come!

Due to the time change to CST our start was a bit later today. But we didn't worry, as 328miles was all we had to do to reach this day's destination, which was Meade City,KS.

We left the I-40 at Tucumcari, NM and went onto Hwy 54 north east. Following this route we cut off a triangle of Texas with the town Dalhart being the most prominent center in the area. 

Dalhart is a typical mid-western cattle town with feedlots not far away.

Texas Ranch and grazing land

Next we cut through Oklahoma's panhandle before we sailed into the graslands of Kansas.

Except for a few stretches of older Highway, the US-54 beats the I-40 in quality. Besides, it also cuts off many miles if you compare to continuing on the I-40, that is if you are heading to the North-East.

What kind of monster is going down the highway here?
Not a wing of a wind turbine and not a wing of an airplane!

So why would did we choose Meade,KS for an overnight stay?

Well, we discovered it last year. It is a city park with free camping, water supply and free dump station. You just can't beat it. And it is beautiful sporting huge old cottonwood trees. Squirrels are being fed here and a lot of young folks come here for enjoying this green spot and working out with their friends and family. 

Dixie loves this place as there is plenty of soft gras she can roll in. In fact, she was going crazy over it and of course, getting all dirty with loose gras straws matted in her fur. We had to brush it all out again before re-admitting here into the coach.

Dixie in heaven

There was a little bit of wind today, but nothing major to worry about. It always blows in Kansas.

Tomorrow we plan for a State Park or possibly a Walmart lot. Priority is on the State Park south of Kansas City.

Beautiful City Park in Meade, KS