Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
All "necessary" preparations have been made to hitch up and pull out tomorrow morning. Notice I put necessary in quotes. That's because I didn't finish my to-do list. I took a second and third look at the list and prioritized it into things that absolutely needed to get done, like greasing the hitch, stowing stuff away, etc. The second priority was things that would be nice to do but I could still travel even if I didn't do them. To be honest, that second part is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be at first.
I emptied my tanks and took on about 3/4 of tank of fresh water. I also threw away my sewer hose and fresh water hose. They have been sitting in the weather for 10 months. Yep, I've been stationary for 10 months!! Anyway, I threw away those old hoses, even though they were still usable, and bought new ones. I also installed a Valterra valve on both of my tank pipes. My black and galley valves were leaking a little bit every now and then. I was surprised a couple of times when I removed the cap to empty my tanks. I haven't traveled with these valves in place yet so I don't know for sure if they will stay or vibrate themselves loose. I'll know by tomorrow afternoon. If they work, it is a very cheap fix instead of replacing the existing valves.
My plan if to leave about 9 or 10 in the morning before it gets too hot and humid. My next campground will be Kiamichi Park on the banks of Hugo Lake near the city of Hugo, Oklahoma. It will be about 200 miles. It is a Corps of Engineers campground and I plan to purchase my Annual Senior Pass there and use it immediately. The pass costs $20.00 and I will save that much in the two days I'll be camped there. The Pass is good at all National Parks and Monuments as well as half price on COE campgrounds.
A thunderstorm is blowing through as I write this post. So far, just thunder but no rain. Another storm blew through yesterday while I was away from Liberty. I could tell the wind had been strong because pine needles were sticking to the side of Liberty. As soon as I got in and turned the A/C lower, the power went out. It was out for about 5 hours but luckily the storm brought cooler weather and with my two exhaust fans going, it wasn't too uncomfortable. But today, my TV isn't receiving any over the air TV channels. I tried a DVD and it worked, so the TV is working. I'm afraid the winds my have damaged my antenna but I won't know for a while since I'm not climbing up there to see before leaving tomorrow. While traveling, TV is not important to me and I've gone weeks and weeks without it being turned on. If it's broken, I may wait to have it looked at when I get back in the fall.
I know I'm forgetting something in the way of preparing to leave, but since I can't think of it, it must not be important. If I remember it, then it will move up in status and become important. I'll take my time hitching up tomorrow since it's been so long since I've done it. Hopefully I'll remember all the steps. If I get to Oklahoma and not have Liberty with me, then I'll know it's time to hang up the keys for good.
On one of my many breaks from preparing for the trip I put together my travel stats since I started fulltime RV'ing back on April 11, 2014. That has been 4 years and 2 months. Since then, I've towed Liberty 35,372 miles and passed through or camped in 45 states. The states missing are: Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Delaware. I've camped in 203 campground with 105 being state/federal/county. The miles traveled between campgrounds is an average of 175 miles. Sometimes, all of those places are a blur and other times they are clear as bell. I sure am glad I began this blog because it is just like my external memory.
I'll end this post with one of my favorite quotes from a movie. The movie isn't a favorite of mine, but this particular quote is a good one for RV travelers.
"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain."
Pictures in the next post, I promise. :)
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Five More Days before Shoving Off
Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
This post and the two prior to it shows some of the planning and preparations before hitting the road. It is a little boring but I remember reading similar blog posts before I retired and found them interesting and useful. I hope these prove so for some readers. Experienced RV'er may get bored. Sorry.
Well, it's down to five more days before being on the road again. I've slowly but surely have been plugging away with the preparations. After sitting still for over six months, it takes a while to get ready to roll. I've went through all of the cabinets and storage places to see what is what and where it's at. Some of the stuff that I haven't used in the 4 years on the road, found its way into the dumpster or to one of the local homeless shelters. Some of the good stuff was set next to the dumpster and quickly disappeared. I don't know how I got so many extra clothes and shoes, but almost 3 full garbage bags went to the homeless shelter. Most of the shoes and much of clothes were brand new and never been worn. I don't know what happened because when I originally moved into Liberty, I made it a point to only take what I absolutely needed. Oh well, it's good to go now and it makes Liberty lighter by a hundred pounds or more.
Freedom got her oil changed and tires rotated from the dealership where I bought her. They didn't recognize her since she has put on 100,000 miles since then. She definitely needs a bath but I don't do that very often. I purposely bought a dark shade of truck to hide the dirt easily. Liberty could use a good washing too. I plan to take care of both of them on my way out of town next Tuesday. There is a Blue Beacon Truck/RV Wash on the outskirts of Shreveport along I-20. I went by and saw their operation and talked to some of their employees and they assured me it would be safe for both Freedom and Liberty. They wash about 6 to 10 RV's every day. The local RV dealerships use them as well. They are super reasonable as to the price. I should get both washed and RainX applied for under $75.00. If it works out good, I'll be stopping by there on my way in and out of this area as well as looking for more along the road. I'll post a follow up on the quality of work and final price. I hope it is good.
In the last post, I posted a picture of a bird nest on my back ladder. I finally saw it sitting on the nest and it turned out to be a Mocking Bird. After she flew off, I checked out the nest and there were four eggs in it. I knew it would be a week or two for them to hatch and then another couple weeks to fly off. I hated doing it, but I couldn't pull out with chicks in the nest, so I took the nest, with the eggs in it, and threw it in the weeds away from Liberty. I heard a mocking bird for a couple days afterwards, but nothing recently. Also, the bluebirds that nested in the void under the kingpin have hatched and all flown away. This is the second year in a row for them to use that nesting sight. As a result of another RV'er having bird problems under their slide-out awnings, I checked mine and they are all clear. I've never had any major problems with those awning and have only pulled my slides in once during a storm for fear of the wind destroying them. They have kept debris such as small limbs, acorns, gum balls, leaves and stuff from getting on my slides. If the slide is retracted with that debris on them, the debris can damage the seals on the slides. The slide-toppers are one of the better options I chose for Liberty.
I also replaced the step covering on Liberty's steps. In the picture, the lower one is a store bought one that I bought a few years ago and the middle one is the new one I just replaced. The middle one is a cut-up piece of a cheap welcome mat I bought from Home Depot. It is held in place by two Velcro straps. The lower, store bought one, cost better than $10.00 while the home-made one cost less than $5.00. They help a lot witht keeping dirt and things out of the RV. The homemade one works especially well at getting ground stickers off my shoes. Some still find their way inside but I usually find them with my bare feet (ouch).
I also greased up the kingpin and replaced the lube plate. I haven't serviced the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of Freedom yet, but will get to it before leaving. I also checked the air in the Freedom tires by using the Pressure and Temperature Monitor. They are down about 5 pounds each, which is very good after sitting up as long as it's been. Apparently the batteries in the sensors are still doing good. They have been constantly working for 4 years and still going strong. They are another one of the good things I bought before hitting the road. I will also need to re-align my big patio awning so it closes all the way. I don't know if I'll pop a rivet to keep it in the proper position or not since I rarely use it on the road or during the winter months.
I've made a few changes to the route and campgrounds. I won't be staying at the Twin Bridges State Park and instead will be staying at the Whispering Woods RV Park which is an Indian casino just down the road from the state park. I'll also break one of my rules and only stay there one night instead of the usually 2 night minimum. I have reservations all the way through to Des Moines, Iowa. After that, I'm having some second thoughts about Minneapolis and may swing east towards Lake Michigan then north to Lake Superior. I'm not sure yet about the change in route. I guess you know you're a full time RV'er when you casually talk about "swinging east" and "turning at Lake Michigan", etc. I like it and it comes natural to me. I guess I was meant for this life. I'll also need to start planning for a place to camp for the Fourth of July. Most campgrounds are full on holidays. I'm hoping since the Fourth falls on a Wednesday this year, it won't be as bad finding an available campsite.
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
This post and the two prior to it shows some of the planning and preparations before hitting the road. It is a little boring but I remember reading similar blog posts before I retired and found them interesting and useful. I hope these prove so for some readers. Experienced RV'er may get bored. Sorry.
Well, it's down to five more days before being on the road again. I've slowly but surely have been plugging away with the preparations. After sitting still for over six months, it takes a while to get ready to roll. I've went through all of the cabinets and storage places to see what is what and where it's at. Some of the stuff that I haven't used in the 4 years on the road, found its way into the dumpster or to one of the local homeless shelters. Some of the good stuff was set next to the dumpster and quickly disappeared. I don't know how I got so many extra clothes and shoes, but almost 3 full garbage bags went to the homeless shelter. Most of the shoes and much of clothes were brand new and never been worn. I don't know what happened because when I originally moved into Liberty, I made it a point to only take what I absolutely needed. Oh well, it's good to go now and it makes Liberty lighter by a hundred pounds or more.
Freedom got her oil changed and tires rotated from the dealership where I bought her. They didn't recognize her since she has put on 100,000 miles since then. She definitely needs a bath but I don't do that very often. I purposely bought a dark shade of truck to hide the dirt easily. Liberty could use a good washing too. I plan to take care of both of them on my way out of town next Tuesday. There is a Blue Beacon Truck/RV Wash on the outskirts of Shreveport along I-20. I went by and saw their operation and talked to some of their employees and they assured me it would be safe for both Freedom and Liberty. They wash about 6 to 10 RV's every day. The local RV dealerships use them as well. They are super reasonable as to the price. I should get both washed and RainX applied for under $75.00. If it works out good, I'll be stopping by there on my way in and out of this area as well as looking for more along the road. I'll post a follow up on the quality of work and final price. I hope it is good.
In the last post, I posted a picture of a bird nest on my back ladder. I finally saw it sitting on the nest and it turned out to be a Mocking Bird. After she flew off, I checked out the nest and there were four eggs in it. I knew it would be a week or two for them to hatch and then another couple weeks to fly off. I hated doing it, but I couldn't pull out with chicks in the nest, so I took the nest, with the eggs in it, and threw it in the weeds away from Liberty. I heard a mocking bird for a couple days afterwards, but nothing recently. Also, the bluebirds that nested in the void under the kingpin have hatched and all flown away. This is the second year in a row for them to use that nesting sight. As a result of another RV'er having bird problems under their slide-out awnings, I checked mine and they are all clear. I've never had any major problems with those awning and have only pulled my slides in once during a storm for fear of the wind destroying them. They have kept debris such as small limbs, acorns, gum balls, leaves and stuff from getting on my slides. If the slide is retracted with that debris on them, the debris can damage the seals on the slides. The slide-toppers are one of the better options I chose for Liberty.
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| Ladder without the birds nest. It was sad to remove it with the eggs but it had to be done. Also the slide topper on the left is bird and debris free. Good job. |
I also greased up the kingpin and replaced the lube plate. I haven't serviced the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of Freedom yet, but will get to it before leaving. I also checked the air in the Freedom tires by using the Pressure and Temperature Monitor. They are down about 5 pounds each, which is very good after sitting up as long as it's been. Apparently the batteries in the sensors are still doing good. They have been constantly working for 4 years and still going strong. They are another one of the good things I bought before hitting the road. I will also need to re-align my big patio awning so it closes all the way. I don't know if I'll pop a rivet to keep it in the proper position or not since I rarely use it on the road or during the winter months.
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| An overall picture. The TV antenna on top picks up the local over the air stations. I get about 12 or so stations. |
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| To remind me the antenna is up, I tie a bright yellow plastic bag on the crank inside Liberty. It is always in the way, on purpose, so I'll remember it is up. |
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Preliminary Route and Campgrounds (maybe)
Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
I've decided on a preliminary route with campgrounds from here to Bayfield, Wisconsin.
Once I decided on the destination (Bayfield, WI), I had to choose a route to get there. There were a couple of options to choose between. One was to go to Memphis and then head north. I eliminated that one because I've been on large portions of that route before and was wanting to cut some new trails. I couldn't head due north or that would take me through the Ozark Mountains. They are nice to visit but I planned to pass through and Arkansas doesn't have a very good north-south route, yet. Interstate 49 will eventually solve that problem on the western side of the state but that is several years down the road. I was then left with swinging a little west into Oklahoma and then head north towards Minnesota before angling over to Wisconsin. I've been in Oklahoma a couple of times and said in the past I would not be back anytime soon due to the incessant wind that always blows through that state. But if I'm heading north, and don't want to go through Arkansas or swing wide to the east, I'll have to back up on what I said and head to Oklahoma.
The main program I use to develop a route is Good Sam's Route Planner. I'm sure there are others just as good or better, but I'm familiar with this one and familiarity trumps a lot of things. I don't use it exclusively because it doesn't include everything I need. Some of the other programs are Allstays, RVParkReviews, Passport America, Recreation.gov and of course Google Earth. Once I see a possible campground, I'll use Google Earth to zoom in and look at it from above. If it is totally wooded, I'll pass of that campground. I've been in some campgrounds with overhanging limbs which make it hard to maneuver and I don't like camping with tree limbs overhanging Liberty. I know a lot of people are looking for shady sites but I'll take an open sky site anytime since my AC works just fine (after I had the front one fixed about a month ago). Google Earth will also give me a good idea about the roads leading into the campground. Most of the time I can go down to a road view to actually see the road. You have to look at the date of the video to see how current it is. Sometimes it is several years old but mostly it is up to date. Remember that if you can see a painted edge line on the roadway, that generally means the lanes are at least 11 feet wide.
My first choice of campgrounds are always federal, state, local or casino campgrounds. These are usually reasonably priced and generally are laid out logically with easy access. Some of the older state parks are too small for Freedom and Liberty. After that group, I'll look at privately owned parks using Passport America first since they offer 50% off on their campgrounds. Some have a lot of date restrictions so you have to look at each campground. Also, Passport America doesn't verify the condition of the campgrounds they have in their program. Some are pure trashy while others are resorts. You have to be careful since the last thing you need is a surprise at the end of a travel day. Checking the condition of the campground is another job for Google Earth and RVParkReview. Next is Good Sam's campgrounds. They offer 10% off of their campgrounds and are most always in pretty decent condition. As a last resort, I'll use KOA. They are more expensive but almost always well maintained.
My first stop will be a Corps of Engineer's (COE) campground on Lake Hugo, near Hugo, OK. I'll buy my Senior Pass there. I have two options (life is all about having options). One is a $80.00 lifetime pass or a $20.00 annual pass. These passes gives me free entry into National Parks, National Monuments, etc. It also gives me 50% off of campground fees at federal campgrounds like COE Campgrounds. I have opted to go with the $20.00 pass since I have a hard time predicting the future and am unsure I'll need a pass four years from now. I hope I will, and if I do, I'll buy another annual one. I'll save at least $20.00 on my first stay at a COE campground.
The route and campgrounds I've chosen may change but generally they should be OK. I'll start making reservations in a few more days and that may make me do some changes. I know the campground in Iowa doesn't have any vacancies on Friday's or Saturday's for the entire summer. I'll have to make adjustments in my travel times accordingly. Also the final campground is a first come, first serve campground so it is a big unknown if I'll even have a campsite when I get there. I'll try to time that one for a weekday as well.
I'll also adjust my travel as to the weather. I'll be going through tornado country and will have to keep a sharp eye out on the forecasts. I really like the National Weather Service's, Weather Prediction Center program. It is very accurate in predicting the movement of weather fronts but is only for a 2 1/2 day window. There is also a link on that page to goes to a 7 day outlook that is a little less reliable but mostly OK. For short range prediction and current weather, I like Accuweather. There have been several times when I have driven down the road while keeping an eye on Accuweather radar to see where the storms were located. I've sped up or slowed down to avoid them.
My take off date is still set for the 12th of June, plus or minus a day or two. How is that for commitment. But like some fulltime RV'ers say, their "travel plans are made in jello."
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
I've decided on a preliminary route with campgrounds from here to Bayfield, Wisconsin.
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| Preliminary route and campgrounds |
The main program I use to develop a route is Good Sam's Route Planner. I'm sure there are others just as good or better, but I'm familiar with this one and familiarity trumps a lot of things. I don't use it exclusively because it doesn't include everything I need. Some of the other programs are Allstays, RVParkReviews, Passport America, Recreation.gov and of course Google Earth. Once I see a possible campground, I'll use Google Earth to zoom in and look at it from above. If it is totally wooded, I'll pass of that campground. I've been in some campgrounds with overhanging limbs which make it hard to maneuver and I don't like camping with tree limbs overhanging Liberty. I know a lot of people are looking for shady sites but I'll take an open sky site anytime since my AC works just fine (after I had the front one fixed about a month ago). Google Earth will also give me a good idea about the roads leading into the campground. Most of the time I can go down to a road view to actually see the road. You have to look at the date of the video to see how current it is. Sometimes it is several years old but mostly it is up to date. Remember that if you can see a painted edge line on the roadway, that generally means the lanes are at least 11 feet wide.
My first choice of campgrounds are always federal, state, local or casino campgrounds. These are usually reasonably priced and generally are laid out logically with easy access. Some of the older state parks are too small for Freedom and Liberty. After that group, I'll look at privately owned parks using Passport America first since they offer 50% off on their campgrounds. Some have a lot of date restrictions so you have to look at each campground. Also, Passport America doesn't verify the condition of the campgrounds they have in their program. Some are pure trashy while others are resorts. You have to be careful since the last thing you need is a surprise at the end of a travel day. Checking the condition of the campground is another job for Google Earth and RVParkReview. Next is Good Sam's campgrounds. They offer 10% off of their campgrounds and are most always in pretty decent condition. As a last resort, I'll use KOA. They are more expensive but almost always well maintained.
My first stop will be a Corps of Engineer's (COE) campground on Lake Hugo, near Hugo, OK. I'll buy my Senior Pass there. I have two options (life is all about having options). One is a $80.00 lifetime pass or a $20.00 annual pass. These passes gives me free entry into National Parks, National Monuments, etc. It also gives me 50% off of campground fees at federal campgrounds like COE Campgrounds. I have opted to go with the $20.00 pass since I have a hard time predicting the future and am unsure I'll need a pass four years from now. I hope I will, and if I do, I'll buy another annual one. I'll save at least $20.00 on my first stay at a COE campground.
The route and campgrounds I've chosen may change but generally they should be OK. I'll start making reservations in a few more days and that may make me do some changes. I know the campground in Iowa doesn't have any vacancies on Friday's or Saturday's for the entire summer. I'll have to make adjustments in my travel times accordingly. Also the final campground is a first come, first serve campground so it is a big unknown if I'll even have a campsite when I get there. I'll try to time that one for a weekday as well.
I'll also adjust my travel as to the weather. I'll be going through tornado country and will have to keep a sharp eye out on the forecasts. I really like the National Weather Service's, Weather Prediction Center program. It is very accurate in predicting the movement of weather fronts but is only for a 2 1/2 day window. There is also a link on that page to goes to a 7 day outlook that is a little less reliable but mostly OK. For short range prediction and current weather, I like Accuweather. There have been several times when I have driven down the road while keeping an eye on Accuweather radar to see where the storms were located. I've sped up or slowed down to avoid them.
My take off date is still set for the 12th of June, plus or minus a day or two. How is that for commitment. But like some fulltime RV'ers say, their "travel plans are made in jello."
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Back On The Road in a Couple of Weeks
Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
Well, let me see if I remember how to make a blog post since it's been a few months. It is difficult for me to make a post when I'm not traveling. That will hopefully be changing in a couple of weeks. Brandon has been improving continuously as a result of his heart by-pass surgery (end of November) and the start of his nightly home kidney dialysis (first of January). It has now become a waiting game for a pancreas/kidney transplant. About a month ago, Brandon went "active" on the national transplant list but immediately went "in-active". At first, that sounds silly but there was a reason for it. When he went active, that meant he was active in the national computer register for transplants and all of his transplant data was entered. That is also called, "getting on the list" and is a very big step in the process. The reason for his "in-active" status was a lung scan back in the spring showed a spot on one of his lungs. It wasn't noticed at first because it was small but was found during the transplant teams double checking of all tests. There were two choices, either do a biopsy or wait six months from the time of the first scan so another scan could be performed to see if the spot grew in size or shape. Everyone was in favor of the second option. We are only slightly concerned about the spot since it was previously found about thirteen years ago when Brandon had his heart stints installed. He was supposed to have gone back to have a follow-up scan done back then but somehow he inherited some "hard-headedness" (from his mother) and never followed-up. Apparently it hasn't grown since it is still considered very small. We considered trying to get the thirteen year old scan from the Houston hospital but figured it would be just as well to wait the short time and do a follow-up scan here. That scan should be done sometime in June. If the scan shows an OK situation, then he will go "active" again. I keep a check on the waiting list online for the transplant center that Brandon will use. They currently have 21 people on the pancreas/kidney (P/K) list with 15 of those being active. The center has only performed 3 P/K transplants this year after doing 17 transplants in 2017. But the good news is the dialysis is working great and Brandon's physical condition has improved since starting it. Also, after all of the required tests by the transplant team, Brandon is in excellent health and is a good candidate for a transplant. The transplant will solve his diabetes and kidney failure problems leaving him with only the residual effects of the two strokes. He still has his usual good attitude about everything and is emotionally, mentally and physically in pretty good condition considering everything he has been through.
So, after talking it over with Brandon, I've decided to hit the road for a while. If not, it would be as if I was hovering over him which wouldn't be good for either of us. It will also allow me to escape the hot and humid summer here in Louisiana. My preliminary leaving date is June 12th and this blog and the ones to follow prior to me leaving will be used to document how I go about planning for a trip. Now there are several different ways to go about planning such a trip and this is simply my way. Some full-timers just point their rigs in a direction and start driving until they get tired and then stop in a campground or a Walmart parking lot. That way is not for me. I guess it is the old engineer in me, but I like planning and it can be fun to do it. So it will be interesting to me to put my planning process in this blog and I hope other find it interesting also.
So, one of the first big decisions is where to go, where to go? The way I travel is to find a destination point that is far away, say 1,000 miles or so, then look at various ways of getting there. It is never a straight line. I try to limit my moves between campgrounds to about 200 miles or so. So if the destination point is 1,000 miles away, I need to find four campgrounds scattered out along the way. I'll try to find the campgrounds near places I want to see but what I have found most often is to find a good campground first, then look for things to see within about a 50 mile radius of the campground. I'll stay at a campground a minimum of 2 nights unless I'm deadheading somewhere which is very rare for me now-a-days.
So what will be the long range destination this time. Some in the past were Bangor, Maine when I first hit the road. Then it was Crater Lake in Oregon followed by Glacier National Park. It has been difficult for me to settle on a destination this time. Definitely not a southerly destination since it's too hot this time of year. To reach cooler weather I need to go either northeast towards the New England states or northwest towards the Pacific northwest or just head due north until the weather cools off. I thought about those places and eliminated the northeast since I didn't want to get into the heavily populated places. I don't mind them that much and can handle them OK, but I'm just not in the mood for it. I looked seriously at going to the northwest again, but it meant passing through some of the places I have already been. Remember, it is 800 miles just to get across Texas. I wanted to see the Big Bend Area of Texas, but by leaving so late in the year, it will be too hot for me and will have to wait for cooler weather. That left me heading due north. I then remembered an old destination that I never made it to. After leaving Glacier National Park in 2015, I was headed for the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior when I got the call about Brandon's first stroke and turned south while in South Dakota and dead-headed back to Louisiana. Well, I checked, and sure enough, it is much cooler on Lake Superior than it is in Louisiana. Yeah, I know, I really didn't need to check but I wanted to know some numbers. I have a nice website that gives me all the climate data for all the major cities and county seats in the U.S. so I checked for Bayfield, Wisconsin and found the average July temperatures are 77 degrees during the day and 56 degrees at night. That will be 15 degrees cooler than in Louisiana.
To summarize: Bayfield, Wisconsin will be my new long range destination point and I'll be pulling out around June 12th. That leaves me about 2 weeks to prepare.
A quick preliminary check-list:
1) Determine my route and campground stops. Make reservations since the word has been spreading among RV'ers that campground sites are going quickly and first come-first serve is risky.
2) Find things to do around the campgrounds I choose. This will determine how long I stay at each campground.
3) Take Freedom to the dealer for servicing and a quick once over.
4) Clean Liberty and get her ready for traveling. This will take longer than usual since everything inside of her is scattered everywhere. Once traveling, when I decide to move I can be rolling in about 45 minutes.
5) Order some new sewer hoses and water hoses since they have been laying around in the sun for 6 months.
6) Stock up on coffee, paper products (towels, plates, bowl, toilet paper, kleenix), plasticware, dawn, Lysol wipes, bug spray, etc. I know I can get these on the road and will replenish as needed but I want to stock up now.
This post is getting long and the check list will grow. I usually write it down on a white board I have hanging on a wall. Oh well, this is enough for now. The next post should be in a day or so and should include my proposed route.
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
Well, let me see if I remember how to make a blog post since it's been a few months. It is difficult for me to make a post when I'm not traveling. That will hopefully be changing in a couple of weeks. Brandon has been improving continuously as a result of his heart by-pass surgery (end of November) and the start of his nightly home kidney dialysis (first of January). It has now become a waiting game for a pancreas/kidney transplant. About a month ago, Brandon went "active" on the national transplant list but immediately went "in-active". At first, that sounds silly but there was a reason for it. When he went active, that meant he was active in the national computer register for transplants and all of his transplant data was entered. That is also called, "getting on the list" and is a very big step in the process. The reason for his "in-active" status was a lung scan back in the spring showed a spot on one of his lungs. It wasn't noticed at first because it was small but was found during the transplant teams double checking of all tests. There were two choices, either do a biopsy or wait six months from the time of the first scan so another scan could be performed to see if the spot grew in size or shape. Everyone was in favor of the second option. We are only slightly concerned about the spot since it was previously found about thirteen years ago when Brandon had his heart stints installed. He was supposed to have gone back to have a follow-up scan done back then but somehow he inherited some "hard-headedness" (from his mother) and never followed-up. Apparently it hasn't grown since it is still considered very small. We considered trying to get the thirteen year old scan from the Houston hospital but figured it would be just as well to wait the short time and do a follow-up scan here. That scan should be done sometime in June. If the scan shows an OK situation, then he will go "active" again. I keep a check on the waiting list online for the transplant center that Brandon will use. They currently have 21 people on the pancreas/kidney (P/K) list with 15 of those being active. The center has only performed 3 P/K transplants this year after doing 17 transplants in 2017. But the good news is the dialysis is working great and Brandon's physical condition has improved since starting it. Also, after all of the required tests by the transplant team, Brandon is in excellent health and is a good candidate for a transplant. The transplant will solve his diabetes and kidney failure problems leaving him with only the residual effects of the two strokes. He still has his usual good attitude about everything and is emotionally, mentally and physically in pretty good condition considering everything he has been through.
So, after talking it over with Brandon, I've decided to hit the road for a while. If not, it would be as if I was hovering over him which wouldn't be good for either of us. It will also allow me to escape the hot and humid summer here in Louisiana. My preliminary leaving date is June 12th and this blog and the ones to follow prior to me leaving will be used to document how I go about planning for a trip. Now there are several different ways to go about planning such a trip and this is simply my way. Some full-timers just point their rigs in a direction and start driving until they get tired and then stop in a campground or a Walmart parking lot. That way is not for me. I guess it is the old engineer in me, but I like planning and it can be fun to do it. So it will be interesting to me to put my planning process in this blog and I hope other find it interesting also.
So, one of the first big decisions is where to go, where to go? The way I travel is to find a destination point that is far away, say 1,000 miles or so, then look at various ways of getting there. It is never a straight line. I try to limit my moves between campgrounds to about 200 miles or so. So if the destination point is 1,000 miles away, I need to find four campgrounds scattered out along the way. I'll try to find the campgrounds near places I want to see but what I have found most often is to find a good campground first, then look for things to see within about a 50 mile radius of the campground. I'll stay at a campground a minimum of 2 nights unless I'm deadheading somewhere which is very rare for me now-a-days.
So what will be the long range destination this time. Some in the past were Bangor, Maine when I first hit the road. Then it was Crater Lake in Oregon followed by Glacier National Park. It has been difficult for me to settle on a destination this time. Definitely not a southerly destination since it's too hot this time of year. To reach cooler weather I need to go either northeast towards the New England states or northwest towards the Pacific northwest or just head due north until the weather cools off. I thought about those places and eliminated the northeast since I didn't want to get into the heavily populated places. I don't mind them that much and can handle them OK, but I'm just not in the mood for it. I looked seriously at going to the northwest again, but it meant passing through some of the places I have already been. Remember, it is 800 miles just to get across Texas. I wanted to see the Big Bend Area of Texas, but by leaving so late in the year, it will be too hot for me and will have to wait for cooler weather. That left me heading due north. I then remembered an old destination that I never made it to. After leaving Glacier National Park in 2015, I was headed for the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior when I got the call about Brandon's first stroke and turned south while in South Dakota and dead-headed back to Louisiana. Well, I checked, and sure enough, it is much cooler on Lake Superior than it is in Louisiana. Yeah, I know, I really didn't need to check but I wanted to know some numbers. I have a nice website that gives me all the climate data for all the major cities and county seats in the U.S. so I checked for Bayfield, Wisconsin and found the average July temperatures are 77 degrees during the day and 56 degrees at night. That will be 15 degrees cooler than in Louisiana.
To summarize: Bayfield, Wisconsin will be my new long range destination point and I'll be pulling out around June 12th. That leaves me about 2 weeks to prepare.
A quick preliminary check-list:
1) Determine my route and campground stops. Make reservations since the word has been spreading among RV'ers that campground sites are going quickly and first come-first serve is risky.
2) Find things to do around the campgrounds I choose. This will determine how long I stay at each campground.
3) Take Freedom to the dealer for servicing and a quick once over.
4) Clean Liberty and get her ready for traveling. This will take longer than usual since everything inside of her is scattered everywhere. Once traveling, when I decide to move I can be rolling in about 45 minutes.
5) Order some new sewer hoses and water hoses since they have been laying around in the sun for 6 months.
6) Stock up on coffee, paper products (towels, plates, bowl, toilet paper, kleenix), plasticware, dawn, Lysol wipes, bug spray, etc. I know I can get these on the road and will replenish as needed but I want to stock up now.
This post is getting long and the check list will grow. I usually write it down on a white board I have hanging on a wall. Oh well, this is enough for now. The next post should be in a day or so and should include my proposed route.
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| One sign an RV has been parked too long. A bird began building this nest on my ladder. I haven't seen the bird yet, so not sure what kind it is. |
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| Another sign. A bluebird built her nest in the void above my kingpin. I've seen this bluebird coming and going for a month or so. I think she may be finished. |
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| One good reason for being parked so long is to see Olivia play wee-ball. My daughter took his picture. I think it looks like some of those black and white pictures at the end of the movie, "A League of Their Own". |
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
Monday, January 29, 2018
January Update
Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
Here is the typical advisory to readers about this post: Although this blog is primarily about RV travels, it is also a means to document some important events in mine and my family's lives. It is my hope that my grandchildren and their children will be able to read it in the decades to come. This post is another update on the medical issues of my youngest son, Brandon. The posts in this blog, even those that are not travel related, are open to anyone to read and on which to make comments. The comments are encouraged. Just letting the readers know that this post is not about travel.
My last post was about 6 weeks ago and many things have happened during that time. Brandon was released from the hospital after his successful double by-pass open heart surgery. He began Cardiac Re-hab at the end of December and goes three times a week for one hour per visit. It will last for a total of 36 sessions and should wind up sometime in mid-March. Brandon has shown improvement during each session and other members of the re-hab group, as well as the staff, have commented on his improvement. The heart surgery made changes to his right arm and leg. These are the ones still affected by the previous strokes. The changes appear positive but we are still waiting to make sure.
Brandon also started Peritoneal Dialysis on January 2nd due to his kidneys failing. Most people are not familiar with this type of dialysis; I know I wasn't. This type of dialysis still cleans the blood but does not come in direct contact with the blood stream. Brandon is able to do the dialysis by himself at night while he sleeps. His mother is available to assist if necessary but he has been doing it solo for a couple of weeks now. This option is much better than having to go into a dialysis center.
We anticipate the cardiologist to release Brandon fullly around the middle of February. That will be the last step so he can become active on the Kidney/Pancreas Transplant list. There are so many things that can knock you off the list so we have our fingers crossed.
Brandon also got his freedom back when he was released by the doctor to drive his truck in mid-January. It had been two months since he was able to drive and he acted as if he was a 16 year old again and just got his drivers license.
Brandon's condition has improved so much that I feel comfortable making preliminary plans to hit the road sometime in the next couple of months.
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll see Cya down the road.
Here is the typical advisory to readers about this post: Although this blog is primarily about RV travels, it is also a means to document some important events in mine and my family's lives. It is my hope that my grandchildren and their children will be able to read it in the decades to come. This post is another update on the medical issues of my youngest son, Brandon. The posts in this blog, even those that are not travel related, are open to anyone to read and on which to make comments. The comments are encouraged. Just letting the readers know that this post is not about travel.
My last post was about 6 weeks ago and many things have happened during that time. Brandon was released from the hospital after his successful double by-pass open heart surgery. He began Cardiac Re-hab at the end of December and goes three times a week for one hour per visit. It will last for a total of 36 sessions and should wind up sometime in mid-March. Brandon has shown improvement during each session and other members of the re-hab group, as well as the staff, have commented on his improvement. The heart surgery made changes to his right arm and leg. These are the ones still affected by the previous strokes. The changes appear positive but we are still waiting to make sure.
Brandon also started Peritoneal Dialysis on January 2nd due to his kidneys failing. Most people are not familiar with this type of dialysis; I know I wasn't. This type of dialysis still cleans the blood but does not come in direct contact with the blood stream. Brandon is able to do the dialysis by himself at night while he sleeps. His mother is available to assist if necessary but he has been doing it solo for a couple of weeks now. This option is much better than having to go into a dialysis center.
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| This is the dialysis machine that Brandon hooks up to each night. It is used to place fluid in his peritoneal cavity so it can attract the impurities in his blood and then drains them out. It is more complicated than that but that is the best summary I know. |
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| My daughter and granddaughter took Brandon to the new Aquarium that recently opened in Shreveport. A good time was had by all. This was taken about one month after his surgery. Amazing. |
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| Brandon and I went to a car show. One of the cars was the Batmobile from the original Batman TV show. I remember, as a child, running home from cub scouts to be able to watch the show. This was about 6 weeks after surgery. |
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| I included this picture as a reference point and comparison to the two previous pictures. This was one day after the surgery and is taken in ICU. He sure has come a long way in a short time. |
Brandon's condition has improved so much that I feel comfortable making preliminary plans to hit the road sometime in the next couple of months.
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll see Cya down the road.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Heart By-pass Surgery
Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
Here is the typical advisory to readers about this post: Although this blog is primarily about RV travels, it is also a means to document some important events in mine and my family's lives. It is my hope that my grandchildren and their children will be able to read it in the decades to come. This post is another update on the medical issues of my youngest son, Brandon. The posts in this blog, even those that are not travel related, are open to anyone to read and on which to make comments. The comments are encouraged. Just letting the readers know that this post is not about travel.
The last post was dated about a month ago. At that time, we were waiting for a heart cath to be performed on Brandon. It was to be the last test before he would be placed on the "active" waiting list for a kidney/pancreas transplant. After he had passed previous tests, including a stress test, we thought the heart cath would be a mere technicality, although in the back of our minds we are never sure about anything.
Brandon had the heart cath on November 15th. Afterwards, the cardiologist showed us the video and gave us the bad news. Two of the three main arteries of the heart were 99% blocked. He would need at least a double by-pass and possibly a triple. Brandon was essentially living on one artery. If that one failed, death would be almost instantaneous. The good news was his heart was strong and had suffered no damage since there was never a "heart attack". This was one of the "unexplainable events" (miracles) that happened over the last month. We told the doctor that Brandon had walked into the hospital for the heart cath and he had been power washing the back patio a week prior. When asked if he had any chest pain or shortness of breath, Brandon said "no". The cardiologist appeared shocked that there had not been any symptoms or why he had not had a heart attack.
Since Brandon was taking Plavix, an anti-blood-clotting drug, he would have to wait 7 days for the plavix to leave his system before any major surgery. They immediately admitted him to the hospital and assigned him to bed rest while waiting for the 7 days to pass. The bed rest was required due to the doctor's concern about a possible heart attack from any physical activity.
The kidney doctor was worried about Brandon's elevated creatinine level which meant his kidneys had indeed taken a hit as a result of filtering out the dye used during the heart cath. To prepare for what he thought would be a kidney shutdown, the doctors installed an "emergency/temporary" hemo-dialysis port in Brandon's chest. Although the peritoneal dialysis catheter was installed a month prior to the heart cath, it was still not usable. The kidney doctor wanted to perform a hemo-dialysis prior to the surgery but the heart doctors were too concerned about the dialysis stressing the heart so much that it could cause a heart attack. The kidney doctor deferred to the heart doctors but continued to monitor the kidneys. Each day that went by, and each blood test taken while waiting for the surgery, showed either a small improvement or no change in his kidney function. Now the kidney doctor was surprised just as the heart doctor had been after the heart cath. Unexplainable. The dialysis port would remain and they thought for sure it would be needed after the surgery since the kidneys would again suffer from the heart and lungs being shut down during surgery.
The by-pass surgery was scheduled for November 21st. The surgeon told us that Brandon's case was so unusual that he had consulted with four other cardiac surgeons. The recommendation of two of the four was to NOT do the surgery. They did not say what else to do, just that the surgery was too risky. They were concerned about heart attacks and strokes while on the operating table. Fortunately, our surgeon was confident the surgery was possible. He hoped to be able to use two arteries in the chest as by-pass vessels. This would negate the need to remove veins from the leg for that purpose. It would depend on the condition of a possible third blockage. The doctor would make that call during surgery. This may seem minor, but in Brandon's case it was a major deal. If they had to cut his leg open to find usable veins, this would cause recovery problems since they would be cutting on his one good leg. In addition, the arteries near the heart would last 30 to 40 years, while veins from the leg would last half that time. Again, good things happened. The surgeon was able to use the arteries near the heart since there were only two blockages. He said the stents that were installed about 10 years ago were totally blocked and that they had never seen that before in all of the by-passes they had performed. He was still amazed that Brandon had not had a heart attack or showed any symptoms.
After surgery, Brandon had all arteries leaving the heart now flowing full. The kidneys rebounded even more with the new blood flow and the emergency/temporary hemo-dialysis port was removed after never being used or needed. Chances are he will need dialysis sometime in the future, but will be able to do the peritoneal dialysis instead of the hemo-dialysis.
Brandon was released from the hospital on November 29th and sent home. He was offered some in-patient physical therapy for the residual effects of the previous strokes but he declined. He had been through 2 sets of those in-patient PT programs in the past and didn't think it would be of benefit to him. He is now recovering at home with his 5 dogs while waiting to begin cardiac rehab.
Partial summary of "good things" that were part of a bad deal:
1) had he not have had the heart cath as a part of the kidney/pancreas transplant review, he surely would have had a massive heart attack. If he would have survived that attack, his heart would have been severely damaged.
2) although the doctors anticipated it, his kidneys did not shut down as a result of the heart cath or the by-pass surgery.
3) the heart surgeon was able to use the arteries in the chest for the by-pass instead of harvesting veins from his leg.
4) while he was only using 1 of 3 main arteries prior to the surgery, there was no damage to his heart.
Through it all,,,, Brandon attitude remained, "it's just another thing". Remarkable. He has been an inspiration to so many in the way that he dealt with this bad news as well as bad news he has received in the past.
The cardiac surgeon, who has performed hundreds of these by-passes, explained it best when he said, "he could not scientifically explain many of the things about Brandon's case."
Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.
Here is the typical advisory to readers about this post: Although this blog is primarily about RV travels, it is also a means to document some important events in mine and my family's lives. It is my hope that my grandchildren and their children will be able to read it in the decades to come. This post is another update on the medical issues of my youngest son, Brandon. The posts in this blog, even those that are not travel related, are open to anyone to read and on which to make comments. The comments are encouraged. Just letting the readers know that this post is not about travel.
The last post was dated about a month ago. At that time, we were waiting for a heart cath to be performed on Brandon. It was to be the last test before he would be placed on the "active" waiting list for a kidney/pancreas transplant. After he had passed previous tests, including a stress test, we thought the heart cath would be a mere technicality, although in the back of our minds we are never sure about anything.
Brandon had the heart cath on November 15th. Afterwards, the cardiologist showed us the video and gave us the bad news. Two of the three main arteries of the heart were 99% blocked. He would need at least a double by-pass and possibly a triple. Brandon was essentially living on one artery. If that one failed, death would be almost instantaneous. The good news was his heart was strong and had suffered no damage since there was never a "heart attack". This was one of the "unexplainable events" (miracles) that happened over the last month. We told the doctor that Brandon had walked into the hospital for the heart cath and he had been power washing the back patio a week prior. When asked if he had any chest pain or shortness of breath, Brandon said "no". The cardiologist appeared shocked that there had not been any symptoms or why he had not had a heart attack.
Since Brandon was taking Plavix, an anti-blood-clotting drug, he would have to wait 7 days for the plavix to leave his system before any major surgery. They immediately admitted him to the hospital and assigned him to bed rest while waiting for the 7 days to pass. The bed rest was required due to the doctor's concern about a possible heart attack from any physical activity.
The kidney doctor was worried about Brandon's elevated creatinine level which meant his kidneys had indeed taken a hit as a result of filtering out the dye used during the heart cath. To prepare for what he thought would be a kidney shutdown, the doctors installed an "emergency/temporary" hemo-dialysis port in Brandon's chest. Although the peritoneal dialysis catheter was installed a month prior to the heart cath, it was still not usable. The kidney doctor wanted to perform a hemo-dialysis prior to the surgery but the heart doctors were too concerned about the dialysis stressing the heart so much that it could cause a heart attack. The kidney doctor deferred to the heart doctors but continued to monitor the kidneys. Each day that went by, and each blood test taken while waiting for the surgery, showed either a small improvement or no change in his kidney function. Now the kidney doctor was surprised just as the heart doctor had been after the heart cath. Unexplainable. The dialysis port would remain and they thought for sure it would be needed after the surgery since the kidneys would again suffer from the heart and lungs being shut down during surgery.
The by-pass surgery was scheduled for November 21st. The surgeon told us that Brandon's case was so unusual that he had consulted with four other cardiac surgeons. The recommendation of two of the four was to NOT do the surgery. They did not say what else to do, just that the surgery was too risky. They were concerned about heart attacks and strokes while on the operating table. Fortunately, our surgeon was confident the surgery was possible. He hoped to be able to use two arteries in the chest as by-pass vessels. This would negate the need to remove veins from the leg for that purpose. It would depend on the condition of a possible third blockage. The doctor would make that call during surgery. This may seem minor, but in Brandon's case it was a major deal. If they had to cut his leg open to find usable veins, this would cause recovery problems since they would be cutting on his one good leg. In addition, the arteries near the heart would last 30 to 40 years, while veins from the leg would last half that time. Again, good things happened. The surgeon was able to use the arteries near the heart since there were only two blockages. He said the stents that were installed about 10 years ago were totally blocked and that they had never seen that before in all of the by-passes they had performed. He was still amazed that Brandon had not had a heart attack or showed any symptoms.
After surgery, Brandon had all arteries leaving the heart now flowing full. The kidneys rebounded even more with the new blood flow and the emergency/temporary hemo-dialysis port was removed after never being used or needed. Chances are he will need dialysis sometime in the future, but will be able to do the peritoneal dialysis instead of the hemo-dialysis.
Brandon was released from the hospital on November 29th and sent home. He was offered some in-patient physical therapy for the residual effects of the previous strokes but he declined. He had been through 2 sets of those in-patient PT programs in the past and didn't think it would be of benefit to him. He is now recovering at home with his 5 dogs while waiting to begin cardiac rehab.
Partial summary of "good things" that were part of a bad deal:
1) had he not have had the heart cath as a part of the kidney/pancreas transplant review, he surely would have had a massive heart attack. If he would have survived that attack, his heart would have been severely damaged.
2) although the doctors anticipated it, his kidneys did not shut down as a result of the heart cath or the by-pass surgery.
3) the heart surgeon was able to use the arteries in the chest for the by-pass instead of harvesting veins from his leg.
4) while he was only using 1 of 3 main arteries prior to the surgery, there was no damage to his heart.
Through it all,,,, Brandon attitude remained, "it's just another thing". Remarkable. He has been an inspiration to so many in the way that he dealt with this bad news as well as bad news he has received in the past.
The cardiac surgeon, who has performed hundreds of these by-passes, explained it best when he said, "he could not scientifically explain many of the things about Brandon's case."
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| Olivia giving Uncle Brandon a hug before surgery. |
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| Me talking to Brandon after the surgery. |
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| Brandon's first steps after the surgery. |
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| Brandon being wheeled out of the hospital one week after open heart surgery. |
Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.
Monday, November 6, 2017
Another Update on Brandon
Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
Things have began to move quickly for Brandon. From what I can see it is a good thing and not being prompted by bad health. To be placed on the waiting list for a Pancreas/Kidney transplant, each person goes through a rigorous battery of health tests. These tests are used to see if the patient is not only healthy enough for the transplant surgery but also healthy enough to be "rewarded" with a transplant organ. They do not want to waste a valuable organ on a patient that is not healthy enough to survive long enough for the organ to be a benefit. That sure sounds hard-core and callous but it is what it is. The transplant board makes life and death decisions all the time as to who is active on the list and who is inactive.
Brandon had his carotid arteries checked by ultrasound and they were clear as a bell. That was good. He also had a stress test, EKG and Echo which all showed good. The one test that remains before being placed on the waiting list is a heart cath. It is needed to check the stents that were installed about 10 years ago. The heart cath uses dyes that are squirted into the arteries while images are taken of the arteries around the heart. The kidneys are used to get rid of the dyes after the test. It is believed that the last job of Brandon's kidneys will be to rid his body of the dye. After that job, they may shut down completely or be reduced dramatically. This means he may go directly to dialysis after the heart cath. To prepare for this, he had a Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter installed last week. It is installed in his stomach to do the type of dialysis he chose. Hopefully, his kidneys will handle the dye without degrading too much and he can delay the dialysis longer.
The heart cath is scheduled for November 15th. The transplant coordinator says if the cath shows "good to go", Brandon will be placed on the active waiting list. At that point, we wait for a phone call. When it comes, we high tail it to the hospital and hope.
Ya'll take care of each other.
Be safe out there and maybe I'll Cya down the road.
Things have began to move quickly for Brandon. From what I can see it is a good thing and not being prompted by bad health. To be placed on the waiting list for a Pancreas/Kidney transplant, each person goes through a rigorous battery of health tests. These tests are used to see if the patient is not only healthy enough for the transplant surgery but also healthy enough to be "rewarded" with a transplant organ. They do not want to waste a valuable organ on a patient that is not healthy enough to survive long enough for the organ to be a benefit. That sure sounds hard-core and callous but it is what it is. The transplant board makes life and death decisions all the time as to who is active on the list and who is inactive.
Brandon had his carotid arteries checked by ultrasound and they were clear as a bell. That was good. He also had a stress test, EKG and Echo which all showed good. The one test that remains before being placed on the waiting list is a heart cath. It is needed to check the stents that were installed about 10 years ago. The heart cath uses dyes that are squirted into the arteries while images are taken of the arteries around the heart. The kidneys are used to get rid of the dyes after the test. It is believed that the last job of Brandon's kidneys will be to rid his body of the dye. After that job, they may shut down completely or be reduced dramatically. This means he may go directly to dialysis after the heart cath. To prepare for this, he had a Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter installed last week. It is installed in his stomach to do the type of dialysis he chose. Hopefully, his kidneys will handle the dye without degrading too much and he can delay the dialysis longer.
The heart cath is scheduled for November 15th. The transplant coordinator says if the cath shows "good to go", Brandon will be placed on the active waiting list. At that point, we wait for a phone call. When it comes, we high tail it to the hospital and hope.
Ya'll take care of each other.
Be safe out there and maybe I'll Cya down the road.
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