LJ and DJ's Big Adventure... Retired and Loving it!: #22 Happy Rv-aversary to us

Wow. It's actually been a year already since we started this adventure. Time flies when you are having fun.. or maybe time flies because we are older lol. We've had the new trailer now for about 4 months and I'm glad we made the switch. Since we bought it I know traveling is much easier.

I didn't write about it before, but a few days after we got it back to the RV park, tho, we had..shall we say a little issue. Seems we had a water leak somewhere under the trailer. We noticed it after a few days. The underbelly wrap was sagging and I noticed some water under the trailer. Hey LJ.. why is there water under the trailer?...oh crap. Fortunately Bruce was nearby and the boys were able to remove the underbelly wrap and release the water build up. The insulation was sopping wet, so they pulled that down. LJ took everything out of the underbelly and removed the underbelly walls. He could see water standing, but not where it was coming from. After the process of elimination they determined a pipe fitting was loose and water seeped out whenever the tank drains were opened. There was no smell, so it was apparently the grey tank fitting.

KOA Las Vegas

Called the manufacturer and then the dealer and since we were leaving in a couple of days for Reno, they made room to get us in to fix it. I had called the manufacturer to make sure there was no delay in getting it fixed. They were very helpful. To make a VERRRRY long story short, we left Arizona, spent the night at the KOA in Las Vegas. Next morning we dropped the trailer off at the dealer. They ... with LJ's help because they aren't the brightest bulbs in the box... found the fitting and re-glued it. They had to keep it overnight to let it set and retest it, so off to the dog friendly Rio Las Vegas we went. Fortunately it was the middle of the week so no problem getting a room. It was a hassle, but only because we had to get a room and deal with the wait, but they fixed it. They replaced all the insulation and put it back together. While they had it, they fixed a couple other minor issues and we were on our way. I have to say, I like the way the company and the dealership handled it. I highly recommend Grand Design.

SO now we were off to Reno. We drove all the way even though we left Las Vegas at about 1pm. Made it to the Marina RV Park in Sparks. We were "home". We planned on staying at the Marina for about 58 days. This will make sense in a minute. Of course, once we got there we learned the RV park had a new set of rules and to say LJ was unhappy was an understatement. First of all, they didn't want the ATV parked by the trailer. Well, hello. If we don't remove it, we can't use the garage for a second room and can't use the second bathroom. So basically...screw you, we are taking it out. We parked it in front of the trailer with a cover on it and no one ever said a word.

Second, if you are there over 30 days they want a hard line sewer. What????? Oh, and they want $125 to do it. Again, What??????? Apparently in the last couple of months, someone complained and the county came out and ordered them to have that policy or face a fine. Well, come to find out, a city/county ordinance written in the 60's requires it. 😂 Well, fine. So LJ looked it up and the ordinance says 60 days (still stupid) and he argued it with the manager who decided since we were only going to be there 58 days so he wouldn't make us do it. Now, I really like this park, but after this we certainly won't stay there longer that a couple of weeks. Ridiculous.

I did our taxes, gambled a lot, and we went to see the kids and our moms is Sacramento. LJ was not happy, too, because it was cold and snowy and just plain yukky weather the first three weeks. He made me promise not to come back to Reno until May the next time lol.

The beginning of June we moved to the KOA RV Park at Boomtown. I had put together a Sheriff's Dept camping reunion, and planned it for there because of the RV park and closeness of the hotel. I had no idea whether or not people would come, but thought it was worth a try. That was from June 10-16 so we got the the park a few days early. Funny thing...we were staying there 45 days and not a peep about hard line sewer...same county but they don't care lol.

taken on BBQ day.. many more attended throughout the week!

The reunion was a success. Over 75 people over the week attended. It was a blast connecting with old friends and making new ones! It was so much fun we are doing it again next year! Reservations already made, lol. So LJ has to come back to Reno whether he likes it or not hahahahaha.

I enjoyed our time in Reno, but found myself missing Arizona and our friends there, too. I think a lot of it is we just aren't moving around a lot and we get bored. But, I have learned, that moving around is easier said than done. Talking to several full-timers, I found out you need to make most reservations almost a year in advance if traveling during the summer. Many of them just make a circuit...go to the same places every year. Well, shucks. We don't want to plan that far ahead! So I started looking, and sure enough, almost every park is fully booked unless you only want to be there one night. I needed to figure out where we were going to spend the last two weeks of July and the month of August. After that, we were already scheduled places. What a nightmare.

We had already planned to leave Reno and go to Salmon Idaho for an ATV rally LJ wanted to attend.
That reservation was made, but where to after? I called several places and finally was able to book us at the HWY 93 RV resort in Twin Falls for two weeks. That's where we are now. They have opened up the large pull through sites and it's quite nice. When we leave here, I was able to get us into Village of the Trees RV park about an hour away in Declo, Idaho. After that we move to McCall (north of Boise) and then back to Reno for three weeks before our annual Utah atv trip then Arizona for the winter. I told LJ that I have it figured out until May...after that, he can do it lol.

While we were in Reno, LJ sold his ATV. He found a RZR in Oregon for a great price. So we took a day trip to go get it. We left Scooter at Patty's and off we went, 900 mile round trip. It was a nice drive up to Ontario. Got to see all the dead Mormon crickets on the way... yuck. Picked it up and he spent the next week ordering stuff for it. Our friends, Patty and Alan, let us ship the stuff to their house and helped install all the parts. LJ had gone over to do it but it started raining. He went back the next day and they had already installed most of them lol. Needless to say, they are some great friends. Once he got it back, he fixed it up with a place for Scooter to ride safely. While he was doing that, I went gambling lol. No sense sitting around doing nothing and I didn't want to be in the way 😁.

We left Reno the 8th of July. We spent a week in Salmon with the Kropps riding atvs. Since he
bought the RZR, I could go. We rode all over the area. Pretty scenery and Scooter liked barking at the free range cattle. He seemed to enjoy it a lot. While in Salmon at the rally, we stayed at the fairgrounds. It was only 30 amp with no sewer or water hookups and dusty as hell, especially with all the other atv riders there. 30 amp means we could use one AC and not the microwave at the same time. It got so hot at times we had to use the generator which allowed us to use two of the ACs. Another reason I love the toy hauler. I learned to "dry camp", which was made even more difficult by the atv riding which required showers every evening..including Scooter. I managed, but, yea that's not happening again lol. Not for a week, anyway. I can do it for a couple of days but I'm pretty much a glamper now, I freely admit it.

I truly appreciated the toy hauler during that Salmon trip, not only for the generator, but all the dirty dusty clothes stayed in the garage keeping it out of the living area. I can only imagine the mess if we still had the Montana.

HWY 93 RV Park Twin Falls

But now, here we sit in Twin Falls. Haven't done a whole lot. I finished a book and LJ has been planning his ATV trails he wants to ride when we get to Utah in September. I'm figuring out what I need to make the garage into a craft room when we get to AZ. I mean, after all... a gal needs her space. We have met some nice folks here at the park. They live in Bullhead city AZ after running from California. This park is clean and very relaxing, even if it is warmer here than we hoped. Found a great roadside fruit and vegetable stand just down the road. Nothing beats farm foods. Looking forward to Declo and McCall. We've never been there so some place new. Heard there's a lot of atv riding around McCall and the town is very atv friendly. We shall see. The pictures of the park in Declo shows a lot of trees.. might be why it's called Village of the Trees lol. Might not even get tv there? oh no!.. if not, we will be playing cards and reading books. Declo has a population of 343...but Super Walmart is 9 miles away so I'm good hahahaha.

I have no regrets over choosing to do this with LJ. I do talk about buying a house. There is a part of me that misses the stability of having a home...but the rest of me likes not being tied down. Guess I have at least 18 months to decide lol. After all. A commitment is a commitment.

I'll let you know how Declo and McCall are. Will they go into the yes, let's go there again file? or the OMG never again file lol.

Pics of our atv adventure in Salmon, Idaho:

Free Range Cow.. Scooter barked and the cow walked away lol

Someone is really good about wearing his doggles on the dusty trail. His Save-Mart box is just perfect. He has a little bed at the bottom for comfort and has a tether so he can't get out or fall out.