Maiden Voyage of the Freedom Express

Donna and I just returned from the maiden voyage of our new travel trailer. It was a good trip, and everything went well.

For our initial trip, we wanted to go someplace fairly close with full hookups. I also wanted to go to a state park so that we could be in natural surroundings. There aren't that many state parks with full hookups in our area, so the choice was obvious: Lake Brownwood State Park. The park is just over 100 miles from our house; by West Texas standards, that's just around the corner. We visited the park about 3 years ago; I wrote 2 entries for the park at that time:

• Lake Brownwood State Park
• Biking Around Lake Brownwood State Park

After looking at weather forecasts, we decided on spending 2 nights, Friday and Saturday. 2 nights should be enough to get a feel for the trailer. We had pretty good weather for the 2 days, with highs in the mid 60s on Friday and the mid 70s on Saturday. The mornings were rather cool, especially with typical West Texas winds, but the afternoons warmed up nicely. Nights were chilly, dipping into the low 40s each night.

We put the trailer through its paces, and it passed on all marks. Initially, we got pretty good mileage, peaking at 12 mpg. However, we reached that level after driving for about 35 miles or so on a 4 lane highway where we could drive at 55 to 60 mph, which is my preferred speed when towing. Trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph in most cases, so I like to stay below that speed. And the 55 to 60 speed seems to be the sweet spot for mileage. Once we got to a 2 lane highway, I sped up out of consideration for other cars on the road. By driving 65 mph, my mileage gradually dropped to about 10.5 mpg by the time we reached the park. On the return trip, we faced the wind and got a measly 9.1 mpg.

After checking in, we found our assigned spot. Another site 2 spots over had a better arrangement, so we changed to that site. The trailer was easy to park. The site was not level from side to side, so after placing 2 boards under the tires on one side, we were sitting nice. We blocked the tires, unhitched from the truck, and proceeded setting up.

It had been 2 years since the last time we set up a trailer, but we seemed to remember everything. I especially like the scissor style stabilizing jacks on this trailer. They provide a much more stable trailer than the arm jacks our previous trailer had. I'll address this in another entry.

Everything worked well. We enjoyed hot showers each night of our trip, and the heater worked great. The fridge cooled perfectly, and the gas stove and microwave also worked without problems. We encountered absolutely no problems during our stay. On our last night, we tested the table-top grill that came with the trailer, and it also worked just fine.

Really, the only problems we experienced were a result of human error. There were several little things we forgot to bring along, but we've made our list and we'll be sure to have those on our next trip.

And that is the experience you want with a shakedown cruise. Now we can look forward to a longer trip in our new trailer.

Our new trailer. You can tell the site was not level front to back.

We enjoyed a nice view of the lake from our campsite.

We have a single, shallow slide. It accommodates a sofa and a wardrobe.

The back of the trailer, where the kitchen is located.

And to top off an already great day, a beautiful little friend came to visit.

We've Got Wheels Again

Last week, after quite a bit of searching, we finally decided on a trailer. We have been looking off and on for almost a year now. We've visited dealerships in Lubbock, Abilene, and other places like Rice, Texas, not to mention our local dealerships. We attended the RV show in Dallas last fall. After all that, we finally bought a trailer right here in San Angelo, Texas.

Our new trailer is a Coachmen, a subsidiary of Forest River. Precisely, it is a Freedom Express 246 RKS. If you click on the preceding link, you can see the floorplan, the specs, and some interior pictures.

It's an attractive trailer. It weighs almost 1,000 pounds less than our previous trailer, but is only about 2 feet shorter. We considered going smaller, but because of some future plans we have we may be living in this trailer for 3 or 4 months between houses, so we opted for a bit more room than we had at first thought we would go with. Although the bedroom does not have a door providing full privacy, the position of the bathroom yields a bit of privacy. So, I should be able to go to bed early while Countess Dracula stays up late. Then, when I rise early, I shouldn't bother her too much. And there is a privacy curtain that will help some.

We actually closed the deal last week, but we waited until today to pick up the trailer and do the walk-through. During the interim, I've been running around getting other things ready. First, I had a brake controller installed on the truck. I also had to order a hitch. I secured insurance on the trailer. And I had to find a place to store the trailer since we do not have room at our place. The storage issue actually works into our future plans and an upcoming move we plan to make. But I'll discuss that more in the months ahead.

We'll start stocking the trailer with equipment and goods, such as linens, clothes, pots, pans, dishes, food, etc. I need to get all the hoses and gear we need. So the next few days will be busy. Then we'll start planning a first trip. We just need to go someplace close for a couple of nights so that we can check everything thoroughly to make sure that (1) everything works and that (2) we know how to do everything. We're pretty experienced with travel trailers, but you never know, especially with a new trailer.

I'll be posting pictures soon, so check back.

I'll see you down the road.

We Survived -- Barely

The little monsters have returned to their home, and Donna and I are still breathing, but just barely. The little guys were pretty rough on us this time. They kind of act like tag-team wrestlers. One will come into the ring and work us over for a while; in the meantime, the other one will rest up. Just as we think we're getting control of the situation, they tag and fresh blood comes into the ring to work us over. It's a pretty constant battle. I'm thankful Xander is so easy going; of course, he's getting older all the time. He really is a big help with his little brothers. He's so agreeable and willing to help out.

Jensen is a happy baby. It doesn't take much to make him smile. Almost anytime a new face pops into view, he smiles. He really would like to crawl to follow his brothers around, but he can't quite get the hang of it. He can sit up from a lying position all by himself, though, and he does sort of wallow around a bit. We'll see him again in March, and I expect he'll be scooting around all over the place then.

Camden is the handful of the Trio of Doom. He's tireless, and he's into everything. He has no fear of anything. If he could, he'd climb up on the roof and jump off. You have to watch him constantly, and he's very, very quick. Take your eyes off for a moment, and he'll surprise you. This morning, I rose from my chair to take a book to my bedroom. It took all of 5 to 10 seconds. As I came back into the room, he had already climbed into my chair (which he knows he's not supposed to do) and snatched my glasses from the table beside the chair. He was crawling off the chair when I returned, just in time to save my glasses. Of course, then the little con artist acted like he was bringing them to me.

I snapped the pictures below that show well the difference between the two little ones. They are really night and day. Unfortunately, the pictures I took of Xander did not come out well; they were quite blurred.

This is how Jensen looks most of the time; he's just happy to be doing anything.

Sheriff Camden, looking quite serious as usual. He was really engrossed in something on the television at this time.

When the little ogre noticed I was snapping his picture, he gave me this look of disdain. Note the lower lip, which has been his trademark since birth. He's really a no nonsense type of guy. I'm kind of scared of him.

The Monsters are Coming, The Monsters are Coming!

I need you folks to pray for me. The Trio of Doom is on their way here as I write this.

Yes, Xander, Sheriff Camden, and Jensen are barreling down the highway en route to a weekend of terrorizing their old grandparents. We've tried to secure the house, but those little monsters will find something to destroy.

Gammaw and I have made a trip to the local package store and stocked up on our "medicine". I have to be pretty numb before I can handle this gang of cutthroats.

If I haven't posted anything by the middle of next week, then you will know we didn't survive.

I hope to see you down the road.

Deflategate

There are lots of issues to be concerned about today: terrorists who daily seem to become bolder and more confident; racial unrest, in part caused by repeated police shootings; Russian aggression in the Ukraine and surrounding areas; potential nuclear power in Iraan -- and the list goes on and on.

What does it say about our culture when a large part of the news for the last week has been concerned with how much air is in a football?

A Brief Escape from Winter

It's been an unpleasant winter so far. We've had colder temps than we normally get here, and they seem to last longer. We've had several days when the highs stayed below freezing, and that just isn't the norm for this part of the country. And we've had lots of overcast days, and several periods of light icing. Overall, it's just been unpleasant, and we just haven't wanted to get out. The nice thing about being retired is that you can stay home when the weather is bad. But that also causes cabin fever, and I've had a bad case of it lately.

Yesterday was a pretty day, so I went out to our local state park - San Angelo State Park - to do a short hike. I've reported our hikes out there numerous times before. To review any of these, just go to our web site Living the Good Life and you'll find many of our hikes listed there.

For this hike, I put together a short loop trail of about 5 miles. I've not done any serious hiking all winter, and even my regular 3 mile walks have been very irregular, so I didn't want to push things. I started the hike heading west on the Tasajilla Flats Trail for just a short distance before turning onto the Horny Toad Trail. At a road crossing the Horny Toad Trail became the Nature Trail, which I followed more or less in a northerly direction. At another road crossing, I took the Lanky Lackey Trail northwest to Burkett Trail Head, the half-way point of the hike where I would start looping back. From there, I followed the Winding Snake Trail almost due east until returning in a southerly direction to my truck on the Chaparral Trail.

Below is my route for the day. You can view the area by using Google Maps and setting the coordinates at 31°28'24.68" N 100°30'35.60" W. If you zoom in close enough, the trails and even some trail names appear.

My route, starting at bottom right and moving in a clockwise direction.

This is a fairly easy hike. It was 45 degrees when I started and 65 when I finished. The sun was bright and the wind light. The route involves numerous minor ups and downs of 50 or 60 feet, more or less. Basically, you have an empty lake bed, and the trail winds from ridge tops into the long dry lake bed and back up the next ridge. Along the ridges, views are good for long distances. There is little brush along the ridges. Down in the lake bed, though, cactus and mesquite are often thick. Trails up to and down from the ridges are rocky. They aren't a real problem, but at my current age I take them slowly and make sure I have good footing. I like to use a single hiking pole on these trails for extra support on the slopes. Trails along the bottoms are on packed dirt, so that is easy walking.

There are no really outstanding landmarks. Near the Burkett Trail Head at the halfway point of the hike, there is a small pond out of sight to your south. I suppose there is a seep or spring there, and water trickles down from there. On the return trip, you pass the runoff from the seep again, where reeds and cattails proliferate, and a small pond appears next to the trail. Not far past the pond is an abandoned day use area from the days when the park was maintained by the Corp of Engineers.

Otherwise, it's just a walk through some West Texas terrain with plenty of fresh air. I did not see a single person along the trail, so I had the place to myself.

Here are some pictures:

Typical West Texas scenery, with mesas in the background. If you look at center left at the low lying ridge, you may be able to make out some picnic tables. That is the area where the return trail is located. Center right is what remains of the old Red Dam.

This is typical of trails along the ridges. Little vegetation, good vistas, and a light, rocky surface.

In the bottoms, trails are packed earth, and this makes for pretty easy walking. Lots of mesquites in most of the bottoms.

Trails up and down slopes more or less look like this. Loose rocks can cause slips and twisted ankles if you aren't careful.

I was thankful when Burkett Trail Head came into view. The trail begins its loop back here, and I was already tired at this point. Note mesas in the background and Pulliam Ridge jutting out from the top left.

Lots of vegetation around the seep. Brush on left has been beaten down by animals that drink from the seep.

Seep forms a little pond along the return trail. If you zoom in close on the Google Map coordinates I supplied above, you can see this pond; a larger pond is visible to the south/southwest of this one on the map but not from the trail.

When I first sighted these old picnic tables, they almost looked like burial platforms from an Indian burial ground.

And what would a West Texas hike be without cactus?

Our Camping Lifestyle

The lifestyle we lead while traveling in a trailer more or less determines what we need in a trailer. Often, people neglect to consider their lifestyle when RV shopping.

Typically, our day begins with me rising first, usually an hour or more before Donna. I like a small breakfast, usually toast or cereal, along with a large mug of coffee. If I have my computer, I'll spend time working on my blog, downloading and processing pictures I've taken, or doing other things. If I have an internet connection, I'll check email, or research other places to go or stay on our trip.

If the weather is nice, I'll take my coffee and a book outside and read for a while. When Donna gets up, we might turn on the TV to catch some local news/weather so we know what to expect for the day in case we decide to hike or travel.

We then start our day. We might go for a hike, or we might venture nearby to a museum, farmers' market, or any other number of places. We don't eat much, so if I've had a good breakfast, then I'm good until mid-afternoon. Donna may have a bowl of oatmeal or even just some granola bars; she's good to go for hours. We usually take snacks along (nuts, trail mix, granola bars, etc.) and these help us until we return to the trailer. If we do go to town, we may eat out if we see a place that really appeals to us.

When we get back to the trailer, we like to sit outside. Usually mid-afternoon is when new guests begin arriving at the campground, and we always enjoy watching them stream in and set up. We like to check out their license plates to see where they are from. We wonder where they've been, what they've done, and what they've seen. We like to check out all the RVs and their different styles. You can learn a great deal this way. And some of the newcomers are entertaining to watch as they set up their rigs. Yeah, we are easily entertained. You can just imagine what a bug zapper and a six-pack would do for us.

If the weather is right, we may start a campfire. We usually eat our big meal of the day at this time, hopefully something grilled like steak or burgers. Sometimes we'll just broil some sausage on spits over the fire and snack off and on.

As the evening wears on and the fire burns down, we finally decide to retire to the trailer. Donna will go in and shower while I secure the campsite -- put out the fire, stow the lantern we've been using, put up our chairs, etc. I then take my shower and we may turn on the TV for a while. I usually go to bed first. I'll turn in, read a while, then drift off. Donna will stay up all hours of the night and greet her fellow zombies before turning in.

The next day, the cycle begins anew.

Of course, this does not happen every day. Some days we are traveling. Some days the weather does not allow us to sit out. Some days we have laundry to do, or maintenance/repairs to perform on the trailer. We also have to go grocery shopping occasionally.

So, when you consider this lifestyle, you can begin to see what we need in a trailer.

1. We need a good place to sleep.
2. We need a place to prepare our meals.
3. We need a place to sit and watch limited television and relax.
4. We need adequate storage.
5. We need a full bathroom with a good shower.

The weather here has been pretty miserable lately with a lot of cold temps and wintry mixes; on top of that, Donna has been a bit under the weather. But we hope that the weather will start improving near the end of this week so that we can get out and start doing a little shopping.

I'll keep you posted.