Leaving Colorado

My first winter in the Colorado Rockies turned out to be rather mild with minimal snow in the valley.  Great for a non-skier like me; not so great for my brother and family who make their living in the ski industry and love to ski.

One weekend, I headed down to Denver to check out the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to see if I could spot some bison in front of the Denver skyline.  Yep!  They were there...and one even posed nicely for me!

Scenic Byways of Iowa and Nebraska

With every cross-country crossing, I'm always eager to find new routes to explore.  In early July on my way towards Colorado, I decided to bypass the familiar I-80 route from Chicago and explore U.S. Highway 20 across northern Iowa, and the Scenic Byways of northern Nebraska.

It was a beautiful summer day in Chicago, so I took time out before getting on the road to give the Winnie its first wash.  She cleaned up so good, I made this my new blog header photo!

What a Night in the Spotlight!

A few weeks ago when I heard that the band N.E.D. was coming to the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities in July, I knew I would move heaven and earth to attend.  This is no ordinary rock band—the 6 musicians have important day jobs that (rightly) consume most of their time.  But a couple weekends a year, these 6 gynecologic oncology surgeons trade their white coats for “RockDoc” attire to perform live together while raising awareness and research funds for GYN cancers. 

Their documentary film, No Evidence of Disease, that I watched on PBS back in April, prompted me to pick up the phone the next day and book an appointment with a gynecologist.  Plain and simple, had I not seen the movie, I never would have imagined my minor symptoms to be life-threatening, and would likely still be walking around today with a ticking time-bomb in my womb!

So this quick trip to the Quad Cities was my chance to see the band and (hopefully) thank them personally.  Little did I know what would be in store for me!

Rock Creek Revisited

If it’s June, it must be time to head back out to Iowa to reunite with my old camping buddies at the Midwest T@B Rally at Rock Creek State Park near Grinnell, IA.  Since selling my T@B in 2011, I think I’ve brought a different RV every time I’ve attended!

Autumn Camping Weekend in Iowa

While the biggest news of my late September weekend trip to Iowa was coming home with a new RV, the rest of the weekend was quite enjoyable as well!  The original plan for the weekend was to attend the Midwest T@B rally at Sugar Bottom COE campground near Iowa City.  We last camped here with the same T@B friends back in 2010 when we still had our T@B trailer.  That July rally had been miserably hot and humid, so all subsequent Iowa rallies were planned for the more hospitable weather of early summer or fall.

I set up my View near my T@B friends, but not so close that I’d ruin the effect of their cute little campers all parked in a row--

My friend Kathy had mentioned at the Rock Creek rally a few months ago that she wanted to take up kayaking and was thinking about buying a Sea Eagle.  When I checked with her before the weekend and found out she still had yet to buy one (but still wanted one), I knew she’d be the perfect recipient to donate my original Sea Eagle SE330 to.  I’d not had the SE330 out of it’s bag in a couple of years, but it pumped up just fine and seemed to be in perfect shape.  Kathy was thrilled to get it, and David and I were excited to get another kayak partner for next summer’s planned paddling at the Rock Creek rally!

 

The winds were a bit too strong to do any kayaking this weekend, so we just admired Coralville Lake from the shoreline.  Millie woke me up early enough to take a few sunrise walks.  The first morning was partly cloudy with a wonderful colors over the lake--

While the next morning, the lake was shrouded in ground fog.  It still made for some interesting photos!

The gang gathered around the campfire both day and night--

Saturday afternoon brought a few soaking thunderstorms, so a few of us decided to head out to the local pizza pub for a nice warm dinner and conversation.

On Sunday, Millie and I packed up camp and headed up to Forest City, Iowa to Lichtsinn Motors RV, where we’d trade our ‘08 View for the new ‘07.  It was a beautiful sunny fall day as we zig-zagged along the farm roads past the countless acres of corn drying in the fields.  One last silhouette of the ‘08 View!
 

Forest City is home to Winnebago’s headquarters and main factory.  We had a wonderful rally here back in 2010 with the View-Navion Skinny Winnie group.  The courtesy parking at Winnebago’s visitor’s center was pretty full today --

 

so Millie and I decided instead to stay at the pretty little town campground, Pammel Park, along the banks of the Winnebago river.  We had the place all to ourselves!

Millie insisted I pull her swimming towel and water toy out of the closet so she could make a beeline to the riverbank to do some late afternoon swimming.  If her muddy paws are any indication, she had an absolutely fabulous time!

After dinner, we decided to cross the suspension bridge to the trails on the other side of the riverbank.  What a neat little park!

After a quiet and peaceful final night in the ‘08 View, we packed up and did a final drive a few blocks up the street to Lichtsinn.  So long, ‘08 View, you served us well!

Hello, I’m Lynne & I’m a Sprinter-holic

Yes, if you had your suspicions last May when I bought the Lynnebago Sprinter cargo/camper van, let there be absolutely no further doubt now-- I just bought my 3rd Sprinter!!!  My Mercedes dealer service manager loves me!!! But my friends and family are now looking for a Betty Ford-style rehab clinic to check me into to cure my compulsive Sprinter-holicism! 

Well, truth be told, I only had 3 Sprinters for one night.. when I was transferring all my stuff out of my 2008 H-model View and into the new Sprinter that I just traded it for—a 2007 J-model Winnebago View.

What?  You’re going backwards a year???  Don’t most RVers upgrade to a newer model?

Yes, they do.  But this “new” older View will now let me combine the “best of both” of my 2 previous Sprinters – better fuel efficiency, greater fueling options and easier maintenance, while still providing all the comforts of a skinny winnie View motorhome. 

The first-generation T1N Sprinters (like my 2005 Cargo Van) got outstanding gas mileage and did not require ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) or additional expensive emissions controls that the newer Sprinters now require.  These vehicles make outstanding choices for travel to Mexico, where ULSD is still not available in many portions of the mainland.

So, why do you need a T1N View if you already have a T1N van?

My summer progress with getting my and my mom’s houses ready for sale has been slower going than I had originally planned.  Meanwhile, I was also incredibly indecisive over what to do with the Sprinter van conversion project (so many choices!).  During the summer, I also followed the daily progress of To Simplify Glenn’s van conversion and gradually realized that my Lynnebago conversion was very likely to take a lot longer and become more expensive than I planned.  That could seriously jeopardize my plans to spend this winter in Mexico!

So, around August, I started research a “Plan B” – to take the View to Mexico and store the van in Chicago over the winter.  That plan would give me much more storage space for hauling 3 months worth of “only found in the US” foods for this vegan and her cancer-survivor dog!  We’d also have more interior comforts with an RV if we happened to encounter any cooler/wet winter weather.

However, taking a newer diesel engine (like the ‘08 View) to Mexico would be a bit of a gamble (due to the lack of ULSD).  While there’s not been much anecdotal evidence of newer US diesel engine owners having any problems with a few thousand miles of Mexican travel, it’s still something that US auto makers officially prohibit and, at worst, could cost many thousands to replace “fouled” emissions systems.

I was just about ready to take that gamble and bring the ‘08 anyway when I happened to peruse the Lichtsinn website a couple weeks ago in advance of going to Iowa for a weekend camping rally.  This super-sweet looking ‘07 View popped up and it just instantly seemed to offer the best of everything!   After a few phone calls with Lichtsinn, a great trade/swap deal was offered and accepted, and plans were suddenly altered to add an extra Forest City stop to my weekend Iowa travel plans!

Ever since seeing my friend Suzanne’s (TakeToTheHighway) J-model View a few months ago, I’ve been so envious of her light maple wood interior and classy-looking front storage cabinets with warm accent lighting. She continually raves about how comfy her permanent rear bed is, and that has also been a key criteria for my next RV (my sofa bed in the H has been a continual annoyance to make up every night and to sleep comfortably).

So, the minute I saw this new ‘07 View, I really, REALLY liked the interior colors and layout! But, who cares about me, this RV swap would ultimately come down to one final hurdle—Millie’s approval! 

She never liked the ‘08 View.  She tolerated it when it was parked, usually put up a fight and had to be coaxed up the entry steps, and was a stressed-out mess when we were driving (something about seeing her “home” swaying around like a continuous earthquake was highly stressful to her little dog brain!).

After spending most of the day in the corner of Lichtsinn’s lobby, the new RV was finally ready for delivery and tired old Millie was ready for a good long sleep!  She eagerly trotted up the steps of the new RV without balking, and sprawled herself onto the comfy rear bed within a matter of minutes….yep, she LOVING her new home!

She’s also discovered that the carpeted floor beneath the new dinette is a much cozier “nest” than the previous vinyl floor beneath the H-model dinette! 

The next day, as we drove home, she also much preferred the new raised floor between the two front cab seats—much easier for her to now look out the front window as we drive!  So, overall, Millie approves!

I also enjoyed the solid 18 MPG we got on the drive home (at 65-70 mph)!  This new View will definitely save me some dough at the gas pump!

So, now that you have a “Best of Both Worlds” View, what’s to become of the Lynnebago van?

For now, the van is still serving a very active and useful purpose to haul stuff between houses and around town.  But once the house downsizing and moves are complete, I’ll probably sell it and just keep the View and Tracker for a while.  I’ll need to feel out the new View this winter to see if I can forego a bigger rig awhile longer and just move my excess house stuff into storage next Spring when I officially move out of the house and start full-time RVing.  The long-distance trips I’d like to take initially would sure be more economical with the View than a big rig!

Ok, enough about all the reasons for this rig change-- you probably just want to take the tour!!!

Well here she is, the “Tinnie” Winnie (named for it’s T1N chassis!)

I’m loving the big new front storage cabinets with accent lighting!  Also love still having a big skylight that opens!   Not crazy about having the TV positioned over the door (too high up), so I’ll need to ponder alternatives for that…

Almost everything in the J is reversed from the H—the kitchen is now on the curb side and fridge is on the street side.

The closet is taller and out in the main area of the RV (rather than the wider one in the bathroom of the H model).  It seems much more accessible now.  The bath sink vanity is about the same except that it’s now separate from the toilet/shower area.  The J’s shower is a few inches shorter than the H, but still seems workable.

The front cab seats are covered in a soft ultra-teather and are much more comfortable than either my ‘08 leather seats or the van’s cloth seats.  These will be great for long road trips as well as lounging!

The dinette is about 6” shorter in this rig, so not ideal for guests to sleep on, but much easier to prop your feet up on the other bench (since the table is narrower)!  The seats are also a few inches wider making them more comfortable to sit on length-wise when watching TV or reading.  Since this model does not have a pantry, I’m using the dinette cabinets and storage beneath one of the seats for food items.

The bed is surprisingly comfortable and softer than it would appear.  Still, it is helpful to put a memory foam topper layer on top of the cushions.  The only drawback is lack of a little shelf to store your glasses or watch/alarm.  Any ideas?

Beneath the curved bed cushion is a giant concealed storage area!  This will be great to hold extra bedding (and should also work perfectly for taking extra bulk-food supplies to Mexico!).

The J still has the same pull-out ice chest drawer and generator/cubby compartments as my H did.  But, I’ve now “downgraded” from a diesel generator to an LP version (no big deal as the diesel genny was smelly anyway!).  As the J’s plumbing compartment is much smaller, I can no longer carry the sewer hose or water hose in that bay, so have had to find temporary new homes for them.  I’ll probably look into a sewer hose storage pipe thingy.

The rear external storage bay is about twice the size of my previous one!  Oodles of room!  The split bed also allows for the mattress to flip out of the way so that taller items can also be carried like a bike, golf clubs or skis.  I doubt I’ll ever do that, but it’s nice to know it’s there “just in case'!”

The electric bay is on it’s own and about waist-high on the J.  Much more convenient than having open the lower rear utility bay on the H model!

I also really like the extra flip-up ladder extension on the ‘07.  No more need for a step stool!

The awning is a box-style and only 10’ wide (rather than 12’6” on my previous View).  Can’t quite figure out why they didn’t provide a longer box-style awning to cover the rear window as well.  I do like the fact that the awning material stays protected inside the metal casing—the awning fabric still looks brand new!

Perhaps the biggest drawback to the new View will be it’s reduced cargo carrying capacity.  While it has larger physical storage spaces than the H-model, this ‘07 can only carry about 250 lbs less than the ‘08.  Time will tell if that becomes its Achilles heel, but so far, so good!

P.S. If you might be interested in my previous ‘08 View (after all the “glowing” things I’ve said about it above…ha!), here it is all cleaned up on Lichtsinn’s website!

One-way ticket on the midnight train

When I planned my trip out to Colorado to deliver the car to my brother, I had another goal in mind for this trip as well – to finally meet in-person one of my co-bloggers on the vegan blog and Facebook page we run together, Vegan Vagabonds.

While Evelyn and I had met up a few times last year, I had yet to meet Tessa in-person.  So, when Evelyn told me Tessa was planning a visit to Colorado near the same time I’d be there, I knew I just had to make a slight detour to surprise her (and a good excuse to finally see Evelyn’s home town of Manitou Springs as well!).

I recently did a blog post about that reunion on the Vegan Vagabonds site, so I won’t repeat that all again here, but the post did elude to some travel near-catastrophes and delays as I started my one-way trip back to Chicago.

When originally making my travel plans, my first thought was to book a flight on Southwest out of Denver, as they always seem to have the best prices, particularly on one-way tickets.   Looking at transportation options to get to DIA from Colorado Springs, there also seemed to be a few good shuttle bus companies to choose from with a number of daily luxury buses to choose from.

But, to get home at a reasonable hour, I would have had to leave Colorado Springs very early in the morning, and I hated to impose on my hosts to wake up so early to drive me to the bus.   So, that’s when I got the bright idea to take the train back to Chicago instead!

Rather than leave at the crack of dawn, I could leave late afternoon the day before and make it home about the same time as the jam-packed airline travel day.  Yes, I’d have to cut my visit a few hours shorter, but most of that time would have been sleeping anyway.  Besides, I’d never taken an overnight train before, so this would be a new “adventure” for me….and, indeed, it was!

I started to feel a tinge of regret the minute Evelyn dropped me off at the bus station in downtown Colorado Springs.  This was not the nice, small, gathering of yuppies waiting for their airport shuttle bus…this was Greyhound in all it’s seedy, miserable glory!  Would it live up to it’s reputation?

I scuttled my bags up the stairs past a homeless guy (check!), made my way up to the counter to the young clerk in training who seemed to have never seen an Amtrak-issued bus ticket before (check!) and had to ask the older, jaded clerk to help him (check!).   Finally, after the 2 clerks punched all the right keys to generate a new Greyhound ticket (to cover the Amtrak ticket) and got my bag checked in and tagged, the older clerk said “don’t forget to tell her about the delay”.  Say what????

“Oh yeah,” the trainee clerk said, “your bus is running about an hour and a half late.” (JACKPOT! We have a winner!!!)

It didn’t really hit me until I sat down and started calculating this new information.  Knowing that there was road construction between here and Denver, I knew the trip would likely take longer than normal, and “normal” was now supposedly getting me there just 5 minutes before my train was to leave!

Seeing that this was not a bus just dedicated to shuttling passengers to Amtrak, but a regular Greyhound bus route, I thought I’d better check if the train station would be the first stop once we left.  So, back up to the counter I went to play another round of “customer service roulette” with the nitwit and his mean mentor.  Of course, the nitwit clerk said “that’s a good question” and did not know the answer, and equally expected, the mean old mentor said, curtly, “anyone’s guess…it’s up to the driver to determine the stops.” 

Feeling increasingly like I’d be dropped off to a deserted train station in the middle of a deserted downtown Denver after dark, I next thought I’d better call Amtrak to see what they would do about this.

Hold music, “your call is important to us”, more hold music!!! 

Finally, a customer service rep answered  “Good question, let me ask my supervisor”.  “Well, no ma’am.  If the bus is late, and you miss your train, that will be up to Greyhound to determine if they will cover your overnight accommodations.”  But my tickets were purchased totally from Amtrak!! 

And thus, I now realized how stupid it was to ever book a travel itinerary with 2 different transportation providers, (even if only one of them was ticketing the whole trip)!  Ok, lesson learned…now it was time to get desperate and “phone a friend” (Evelyn & Tessa)!

So, as my previous post explained, my Vagabond friends immediately jumped to my rescue and did their very best to get me to Denver on-time to catch that train…only to also fall short due to the world’s worst traffic jam in Denver that night.  But fotunately, a stroke of luck shown down upon us….the train was running 3 hours late!

After a nice, leisurely dinner together in Denver, the gals dropped me off at the Denver Amtrak station about an hour before my train was to arrive.  Perfect!  I found a free plug to charge my phone and a comfy seat to sit and wait.

and wait and wait….over an hour had passed and still no train at the station…..

finally, around 11:00pm our train rolled in (now, just 4 hours behind schedule!).

All aboard!

When I booked my train ticket, I had thought about getting a sleeper car berth, but it was almost $300 more than coach, and I figured for just a 17-hour train trip and one night, I could make due.  So, I found my way to my assigned aisle seat in Coach next to a pleasant young chap from Wales who was touring the U.S.

By the time we got out of Denver, it was nearly Midnight, so I pulled my trusty travel pillow and a lightweight blanket out of my backpack, and reclined my seat for a night of “cat napping.”  Thank goodness I also had put a baseball hat into my pack too.  Those blue “night lights” were still pretty bright!

As dawn broke, it was finally becoming a calm and pleasant journey.  I walked back to the club car to watch the sunrise over the cornfields of Nebraska looking out the big panorama windows.

The train was continuing to fall further and further behind schedule.  It was now running 6 hours behind. 

Apparently, both of the 2 Amtrak locomotives had run into mechanical issues as the train went through the Rockies.  At one point, they were stalled on the tracks for almost 2 hours until a freight train locomotive (loaned out by Union Pacific) arrived to start “towing” the train cross-country.  It could certainly handle the load, but unfortunately, it’s top speed was about 10 mph slower than the Amtrak locomotives.  So, the conductors cautioned us that the trip would continue to fall behind, but they promised to shorten each stop to try and minimize the delay.

Stretching our legs in Lincoln, Nebraska and inspecting our “tow truck” locomotive--

After a pleasant morning and lunch, I was just starting to doze off for a nap when the female conductor came through and said sternly “This is not a question.  At the next stop, I need you to move back 3 rows, and I’ll need your seat mate to move up 5 rows.”   Huh?  I thought we had assigned seats?

Well, there would be a family of 12 boarding in Ottumwa, Iowa and they would need seats together.  Why the preferential treatment?  Because they were Amish and were all riding on the train for the very first time coming home from their grandfather’s funeral.

My new seat was across and right behind them.  Very nice and pleasant folks with one small exception.  They had been waiting on the platform in the hot afternoon sun for the delayed train to finally arrive.  Once they got seated around me, I learned one important new fact about the Amish…they don’t wear under-arm deodorant!

Club car to the rescue!!!

I enjoyed the late afternoon sunlight views as we crossed the Mississippi river from Burlington, Iowa over into Illinois--

The poor train, however, continued to be plagued by delays.  We suddenly stopped 20 minutes in the middle of nowhere because one of the air hoses between the cars had become disconnected

And later, another 20 minute delay when we learned a track ahead that we were on was broken, so the train had to go in reverse a few miles to pick up a parallel track that actually worked.

Finally, as the clock crept closer to midnight (well,10:30pm, actually), I was finally delivered to my destination…

A mere 8 hours behind schedule, but my little yellow Tracker (that I had dropped off at the station before I had left) was still patiently waiting to reliably transport me home!

Who’s to say if flying home from Denver might not have suffered a similar delay, but one thing’s for sure… it would never have been quite the cast of characters, nor as memorable as my “midnight” train!