September 29, 2012

Chinook RV Resort, Klamath, CA

We were hitched up and were ready to leave Mountain Man RV Resort by the 11am check out.  We made the 60 mile trip south on Highway 199 and then on US 101.  The redwoods were amazing but the road was really rough and narrow in spots.  I have to admit I gasped a few times as we made sharp turns because the road was so narrow it looked like Monte was only a couple of inches from the trees along the road.   Shortly after we crossed the border into California we had to stop at a road block manned by the Department of Agriculture who wanted to know if we had any fruits or vegetables on board. 

 It only took a few minutes and we were on our way again.  As we entered US 101 we had limited visibility due to fog.  It created a very eerie atmosphere.   Although it was a short travel day we were happy to arrive at the Chinook RV Resort in Klamath, CA. 

 We got the only riverside spot left that would accommodate our size. 

 

After we set up I looked out our big side window and was reminded why we are on this journey.  The view is quite lovely.  Monte asked me to listen to the noise.  I asked him what noise?  He said, “Exactly!”    After living in a parking lot for the past few days and for a week prior to the RV Dreams Rally, where our wakeup call each morning was someone being paged over the PA system and the nightly ritual of being awoken by passing freight trains, it was a pleasant change to hear nothing.  Well not exactly nothing-we did hear the birds as they skimmed across the water as they came in for a landing and the occasional motor of a boat passing by.

After setting up we made the 17 mile trip into Crescent City to do some shopping at Wal-Mart and Home Depot.  I could only get some of the grocery items on my list as the Wal-Mart was under construction.  An addition is being added to turn it into a Super Wal-Mart.  It has no deli and no bakery at this point so we plugged in supermarket in the GPS and found a nearby Safeway and where able to get the remaining items on my list.   By the time we got back home at 6:00 it was cold enough to have to put on the heat. 

 

 The camp host said that it has been a very unseasonably cold summer.  We really don’t like the cold but the spot is so beautiful and we got such a reasonable rate that we have decided to stay for a week so we can really explore the area and get caught up on some chores. 

We tried getting caught up on some of our favorite TV shows on Huluplus but the “free” wifi is so spotty we kept getting knocked off so after a while we settled for watching an old movie on TV.  There is a very limited selection as the TV reception is not very good.    As I was drifting off to sleep, Monte reached for my hand, gave it a little squeeze and wished me goodnight.   I smiled and thought about how lucky we are to be living this life together.      

September 28, 2012

Mountain Man RV Park, Cave Junction, OR

It was nice being able to sleep in a little after having to get up early the past couple of weeks.  We had originally planned on leaving between 9 and 9:30 but didn’t end up pulling out until 11.  I didn’t say “goodbye” to our new friends but rather “see you down the road.”  We drove approximately 200 miles to Cave Junction, Oregon. 

Before we left I had looked on Passport America and saw there was a campground called Mountain Man RV Park and it sounded interesting.  And it was. 

The entrance to the RV Park was not clearly marked so Monte had to park and walk in to check it out.  He came across a man who turned out to be the owner and got further instructions on which site could accommodate our rig.  We set up pretty quickly

 and took a walk down to the Illinois River that ran along the campground.

  I made ribs and corn on the cob for dinner.  We were tired so we watched a little TV and called it an early night. 

September 27, 2012

RV Guaranty, Junction City, OR

Okay so I was a little bummed out yesterday and today didn’t start much better.  Ted, our tech, is very skilled at accessing and fixing slide issues.  He did a great job and after a few adjustments announced that we were all set to go.  BUT we still hadn’t heard from the warranty company so we couldn’t settle our bill yet.   John, our service rep, said he would continue to call the warranty company and leave messages.  I suggested to Monte that we take the rig over to AM Solar so they could give us an estimate rather than just sitting around waiting for the warranty company to call.  We told John we would be back in the afternoon.  We made the short trip over to AM Solar and met with David who went up on the roof of our rig to do measurements.  He also asked us questions about our usage so he could determine how many panels and batteries we would need.  David went into the office to tally up and then called us in to give us the estimate.  $10,000!  YIKES!  Solar is not going  to be in our near future!

We were pretty bummed.  We still hadn’t heard from the John or the warranty company so I asked Monte to try calling the warranty company again.  He did and finally spoke to Mr. Nameless who said he would give John a call so we can get the ball rolling on this claim.  When we returned to RV Guaranty, John still hadn’t heard from Mr. Nameless and had in fact not gone to lunch waiting for the call.  Monte called the warranty company again and asked for a manager.  When he explained what the problem was Ms. Nameless told Monte to have John fax a detailed explanation of repairs.  John said he would and Monte and I went off to have some lunch.  We ended up going to this place called the Junkyard Dog.  I had read about it on the internet and it sounded neat. 

 It isn’t someplace I would have stopped in if we were just passing by and didn’t know anything about it.  I really couldn’t describe the place better than seeing the pictures so I won’t try.

 

Monte had a 1/3 lb bratwurst smothered with fried onions and I had a ¼ lb New York dog with sauerkraut.  Both were delicious.   Other people eating there ordered Big Dogs which were I believe a ½ lb!

 

After lunch we returned to RV Guaranty and John had excellent news for us.  The warranty company had authorized all of the labor and had even waived our $100 deductible because we had already paid a deductible at the last RV repair place and the problem with the slide had not been fixed.  We had to pay for parts that only totaled $136.  To say we were thrilled would be an understatement.   SO I guess I was a little too hasty in my critique yesterday of warranty companies.

Since it was kind of late in the day and our next stop is 200 miles away we decided to spend another night “Camping” in the parking lot.  We found an empty place and quickly set up.  We needed a couple of things from Camping World so we took a quick ride there as it was less than a mile away.

Back home we had a dinner of salad and some corn I had bought yesterday at the farmer’s market.  Monte stayed home to work on a project while I went across the parking lot to visit with Gina and DJ.  Patty and Mark joined us after they got back from dinner out.  I was home by 8:30 and to sleep by 11.  It had been a long day.

September 26, 2012

RV Guaranty, Junction City, OR

We set the alarm for 6:30 because John, the Service rep, was scheduled to knock on our door early so Monte could be with him when he called Cornerstone RV Insurance, the extended warranty company.  John had spoken to someone yesterday who didn’t know anything about our situation and said that the work we were having done was not covered under the warranty.  BUT we had spoken to someone else, whom shall remain nameless unless he doesn’t stand by what he had told us last week.  Mr. nameless told us that as long as we paid for XYZ at the previous rv repair place then we wouldn’t face the problem of having work done at two different places under the same case #.  Throughout the day several messages were left for Mr. nameless who did not return any of the calls left for him.  The work here should be completed tomorrow so I hope Mr. Nameless calls back before it is time to pay the bill!  Ordinarily no work should be begun until an authorization is given by the warranty company but in this case I am glad we didn’t wait because we might have had to spend a couple of weeks here just waiting for a call.  Sometimes it is difficult to give an estimate unless some work is begun but isn’t it funny how fast these companies are to take your premium from you but how slow they are getting back to you when you have put in a claim???

Sorry for the tirade—just letting off steam.

I spent the morning in the lounge with Gina who then invited me to join her and DJ on a drive to Lone Pine Farms, a local farmers market.  Gina lives in a Pace Arrow motor coach which she drives as effortlessly as most people drive a car.  At first we thought we had been given the wrong directions but just as I was calling Monte to ask him to ask one of the local guys where exactly it was, we found it. 

As I was walking around looking at all the delicious looking fruits and vegetables I had to keep reminding myself that I had limited space for things because I could have easily walked out of there with a car load. 

 I bought corn on the cob, peaches, tomatoes, and sweet onions.  We had the corn for dinner and it was very sweet.  When we got back to RV Guaranty I took a ride with Monte to a couple of stores and then lay down for while because my back was bothering me.

We sat down to eat around 6pm and heard a familiar voice saying, “We’re back.”  It was Dianne and Steve who had departed the day earlier for some work they wanted done at a solar installer.  They had to return to RV Guaranty because the work they needed to have done hasn’t been completed prior to their appointment at the solar place. 

After dinner we joined we walked a short way to where Steve and Dianne were “camped” to join them for a campfire. 

 Gina, DJ, Mike and Nancy, the remaining members of our RV Dreams Rally group, also joined us.  It was another evening spent with new friends.  We left around 9pm because my back was bothering me especially after sitting in a folding chair.  Hopefully this will be the last night we are camped at RV Guaranty.  Even though it warmed up in the afternoon, it had been cold enough in the morning for a winter jacket.  I want to leave the area before it is that cold all the time.

September 25, 2012

RV Guaranty, Junction City, OR

We got up early and were out of the rig by 8am so the Tech could start working on it.  He suggested the first thing to be done was for part of the roof on our big slide to be lifted up and stretched tight.  Part of the slide roof was buckling because there is not enough clearance when the slide comes in and out.  In the meantime, our service rep John, informed us that he had been in touch with Keystone, the manufacturer of our rig and of course the first thing they said was the rig was out of warranty.  We did purchase an extended warranty and John called them.  We don’t know at this point what they are going to cover because they need a more detailed estimate. 

I spent the morning in the lounge taking advantage of the wifi to research where we are going next and Monte stayed near the rig to watch the roof stretching.  I was joined in the lounge by Dianne, one of our fellow RV Dreams rally goers who was also having work done on her rig.  She has a different Keystone Montana model.  At noon we took a walk with Dianne and Steve to a nearby Café for lunch.  We were joined by two RV Dreams solo RVers, DJ and Gina.   The Café was small but the food was good and the company was great.  We all gave our opinions on how we thought the rally had gone and the consensus was that it was a big success.

After lunch our tech, Ted, pointed out to Monte that the ceiling tape on the outer edge of the big slide was not installed property because it is not adhering to the frame work and it is only a matter of time before it causes damage to the seal unit.  He said to fix the problem the old tape has to be peeled off, the roof cleaned and then new tape be affixed.  The good news is that the tape is inexpensive.  The bad news is that Ted estimated the time required to do this work was 4 hours with a price tag of $119/hour.  Yikes.  That is in addition to the time he already put in on stretching the roof.  We were given a total estimate of $1,900.  Double yikes.  John said he would call the extended warranty company in the morning to inquire if they were going to cover any of the repairs.  We were pretty bummed out to say the least.  We will have to look over our finances and see if we are still going to go ahead with our plans to have solar panels installed. 

We said goodbye to Steve and Dianne who are going to the solar company.  They already have solar panels but are having one additional panel installed.  Monte and I decided to take a ride to Costco to see if it is worth getting a membership.  We have a membership to Sam’s Club but they do not have any stores in Oregon.  We got a preview pass from customer service at Costco and walked around.  It is very similar to Sam’s Club.  But at $55 per year membership fee we decided to skip getting the membership.  We stopped in Target to get cat litter and then had a quick bite to eat at Taco Bell.  We had planned on joining the remaining members of RV Dreams that were still having work done, but my back was bothering me so we just watched a little TV and called it a night. 

September 24, 2012

RV Guaranty, Junction City, OR

We prepared to leave, got hitched up with no problem and said our goodbyes to the people who were not headed for RV Guaranty.  (Several people from the Rally who needed either minor repairs or routine repairs made appointments at RV Guaranty because they had been so impressed with the facility when we had toured it last week.)  We arrived a little after 11:00am and were checked in by John whom we had met at the RV Guaranty Seminar last week.  When we mentioned we had two cats in the rig he made sure to put a sign on the door alerting any techs who were going to be working on our coach.  Since Monte needed to get a cooling system flush in the truck so we called the Dodge Dealer we had been to a couple of weeks ago for an oil change and they said come on in.  It took less than an hour and we were on our way to AM Solar to discuss our options. 

We want to be able to do a lot of boondocking, not only to be in a more natural setting than the average private rv park has to offer, but also want to save money.  So the initial outlay would be pretty steep but from the research we have done we have found that on average people can recoup their money in less than 4 years.

We were back at RV Guaranty before 5pm when the service department closes.  We found our rig outside one of the bays and were informed that that is where we would be spending the night.  We were provided with an electric cord so we had power.  We had plenty of water because we had filled up before we left River Bend RV Resort.  The tech assigned to us said that he hadn’t had a chance to conclude his evaluation so we have to wait until tomorrow to find out what can be done about our slide issue.

I heated us up some leftovers for dinner and then we grabbed our chairs and walked across the street to where Steve and Dianne had a “campfire” going.  It is actually something called campfire in a can and it is gas fueled and is self-contained and can be used anywhere.  We were joined by some of our fellow parking lot campers who we had met at the RV Dreams Rally and now consider friends.  Monte and I left at 9pm because we were tired.  Back home we watched a little TV and then went to bed by 11pm.

 

September 23, 2012

River Bend RV Resort, Harrisburg, OR

I really didn’t want to get out of bed this morning but the farewell breakfast was scheduled for 8:30 and I wanted the opportunity to say goodbye to the people who were leaving immediately after breakfast.

 

We have had great meals during the rally and breakfast, which included scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, was no exception. 

 Our rally hosts, Linda and Howard Payne of RV Dreams, gave a final speech and then we said goodbye to new friends we have made during the last week.

 

Later in the day I did some long overdue laundry and then was a couch potato for a few hours.  Just before 6:00 most of the remaining rally-goers gathered in the banquet hall for leftovers.  The group finished off the evening sitting around the fire talking about the past weeks’ events and discussing where we all were going when we left the resort.  It was a great end to a wonderful week.  Several of us have already discussed meeting up in Quartzsite in February and I am really looking forward to that.