RV Park Mini-Reviews for November 2017

Here are the parks where in stayed in November 2017.

Chehalis, WA - Thousand Trails:  Nice rural, forested park.  Space sites were good.

Creswell, OR - Meadowlark RV:  Right off I-5.  Traffic noise.  Employees with a great sense of humor.  Nothing special.

Grant's Pass, OR - Bridgeview RV:  Overnight spots are right on the river.  Other side of the river is the freeway, so there was noise.  Very nice and friendly owners/managers.  Easy on and off from freeway.  This was our view!

Redding, CA - JGW Park:  Stayed there before.  On the river.  Nice clean park.  Good laundry.  Easy on and off the freeway. With another great view!

Lodi, CA - Flag City RV:  Right off the freeway.  Nice clean park.  Manicured sites with cement pads.

Paicines, CA - San Benito Thousand Trails:  This park is out in the middle of nowhere -  about 15 miles from Hollister where there is major shopping, and then another 10 miles north is Gilroy.  What I loved about this park was the wildlife.  There are deer, fox, birds, and my favorite - the resident bobcat family!

Santa Barbara, CA - Rancho Oso Thousand Trails:  This Thousand Trails Park is also a working horse ranch, so one of the perks they offer is guided trail rides.  It is a rather nerve racking mile long drive into the park on a one lane road (once you turn off onto the park property from Paradise Road).  People either love or hate this park.  I was in the latter group, but that was mostly because cell, wifi and satellite service was iffy.  And the drive in terrified me.  That road is the reason there is an 11am check out and a 12pm check in time.

 Acton, CA - Soledad Canyon Thousand Trails:  Another rural park.  We were there during a time when it was warm and dry .... really dry and dusty.  Depending on where your site is within the park, you may or may not get cell, wifi or satellite.  Commuter trains and an occasional freight train run daily.  The park is showing its age, but the sales office and check in area have been updated.  The pool and clubhouse were fine.

Bullhead City, AZ - Mirage RV Park:  This is a nice residential park, with a few open spots for travelers.  The spaces are good sized, and paved.  Park residents are friendly.  We enjoyed our stay.  Lots of restaurant and shopping in Bullhead City.  We especially liked the Smith's Store for groceries.  Laughlin, NV with gambling and entertainment is on the other side of the Colorado River.  We took a side excursion to Oatman, AZ - about 40 miles.  This is an old ghost town where wild mules wander the streets.  It's a tourist thing, but worth the visit.

Two Years Later......

First, I'm kind of surprised that this blog is still here, and that I can access it!

So long story short....we sold the Hitchhiker II and bought a 2017 Arctic Fox 35-5Z and a new Ford F450 to pull it with.  Put the house on the market.  Sold or donated most of our belongings.  Rented a storage locker for a few items.  And hit the road on November 1, 2017.

While no longer really RV Virgins, we are slowly remembering things about living and traveling in an RV.  We are currently on a journey to find places we really like, especially to spend the winter, and then we will move on to places to spend the summer.  Our goal is to stay in areas where we can enjoy daytime temperatures in the 70 - 80 degree range, and evenings that still above freezing.

We spent about a month driveway camping, to get back into the swing of things, and to learn which electrical items you can't run at the same time when you are hooked up to 30 amp.

Then we hit the road - first stop, Thousand Trails in Chehalis, WA.  We did not much there but practice setting up and taking down, going over the "check list" and getting acclimated again to the art of living in an RV in a campground.

In the last 2 ½ months, we dashed over the Siskiyous to get down south before it snowed, and have spent time in California, Arizona and Nevada.  We are appreciating the mild weather.  We are missing our kids and grandkids and friends we left at home.

Up next on this blog:  A post of mini-reviews of the places we have stayed.

And A Year Or So Later...........

Bedroom done!  Living room to go!

With any luck, there will be no "surprises" when we lift up the living room carpet!

Flowing Lake County Park, Snohomish, WA

A nice county park with boating, fishing, swimming and, yes - CAMPING!  There are rental cabins, tent spots and RV spots with hook ups.  This is only 20 minutes from home for us, so we took a little drive out to see what was there.   My only regret was that I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the roped off swimming area/playground; they were mowing and I didn't want to get in the way.  Also, I missed getting a photo of site D3; it would accommodate a large rig, a boat and a car.  Site #15 was also pretty bit (see that photo below).  You can check on rates and other information by clicking here: Flowing Lake County Park, Snohomish, WA

         This is spot # 15.

The 100 Day Challenge: Day #14 Hot Air Ballooning in Snohomish, WA

I have been posting my 100 Day Challenge pictures on my other blog, Betsy's Blah Blah Blog, but I thought I'd share this morning's picture here as well.  If you are ever visiting Snohomish, WA, you will learn the area is famous of antique shopping, skydiving and hot air ballooning.  The hot air balloons often take off from a big grassy area near our home.  I was hoping to catch the launch today, but I was about a block away when I heard the whoosh.  I got a few decent pictures though.  The company that owns this balloon is The Balloon Depot .

The 100 Day Challenge: Day #12 - Thousand Trails Thunderbird

We've all explored campgrounds or seen photos of places that look like wonderful places to set up.  I have one of those places just 15 miles from home.  Mind you we have yet to camp there, but I have been out to explore Thousand Trails Thunderbird Preserve in Monroe, WA many times.

The camp ground is split into 3 areas.  The main area with the full hook ups, the bath house, pool, and family lounge is on the south side of Ben Howard Rd.  The other two areas are on the north side of the road, and offer views of the Snohomish River.  These sites offer water and electric only.  There are port-a-potties available, but regular bathrooms, showers, etc., are in the main campground area.

I'm a "view person".  I have wanted to bring our 5th wheel out here for a long time.  The spots are back-in only (in fact all the sites in the campground are back ins), and we have a nice view window out the back of the rig.  These spots along the river would offer great sunrise views (my favorite), bird watching, and so on.  Once our rig is repaired (or we buy a new one, which ever comes first), this will be one of our first stops.

I didn't take any pictures of the rest of the campground, sorry.  Just pictures of future views for my dream board.

RV Show at the Evergreen County Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA

We are probably a year away from buying a brand new rig, but we do spend a lot of time looking at floor plans and checking out different 5th wheels.  There are so many brands, and so many levels of quality.  What we have determined is that if we are going to full time it for 5-10 years (that's the current plan anyway), we are going to want what we want.  While cost is important, it will not be a deal breaker.

Right now we have a 2005 NuWa Hitchhiker II LS.  We love the floor plan and are looking for something similar but with a W&D connection that isn't crammed into the bathroom.

For whatever reason, the dealers did not bring the "new" fifth wheels to the show.  I guess the newest models won't be arriving until June.  Some of the sales people we talked to said they had new rigs at their permanent locations, and we should stop by and see them there.  For the ones we talked to that actually listened to what we were looking for, we will be stopping by at some point.  For the ones that didn't listen, and just wanted to push whatever they had on hand, well, we won't be your customers.  Your loss.

We've narrowed down our major front runners to Forest River, Arctic Fox and DRV.  The Forest River models at the show were not the top of the line, and the ones that were there were used rigs, more than a few years old with floor plans that were no longer available.  Arctic Fox said their new rigs would be coming in this June.  We will be following up with them then.  I'm one of those people that can read reviews and become educated about the quality of the finishings, but I really need to see it and get a feel for it before I can make a decision.  DRV did have one rig there that I liked.  If I ordered from the factory, there might be a few things I'd see if we could customize.  Like I said, if I'm going to live in something full time for 10 years, then I am going to want what I want.

Here are a few pictures I took of the DRV Mobile Suites rig.  I think this was a 2014 model (or maybe even a 2013).  The inside pictures did not turn out as well as I would have liked, but they will do.  At least it did have the rear window that we want.  We would take out the couch and put in swivel recliners, so we can enjoy the view.

Not the best show I have ever attended, but it was free for us with comped tickets from the sponsors website and the parking was free.  The other plus was I got in half of 10,000 steps for the day climbing in and out of the various rigs!

Our rig is still in the state of disrepair.  I praying for a June finish date.  In the meantime, if I can't be camping, I can certainly be dreaming about our next rig!