Category: Uncategorized

I knew route 66 was a big deal across the western US, but I had not originally tailored our travel plans to include any stops along route 66. I simply mapped the best route between origin and destination for each leg of our journey. I was pleasantly surprised that I-40 criss-crosses route 66 many times and even shares the road with it part of its distance.  We first came across route 66 in San Bernardino county, California and came back across the route in Arizona, then a few more times as we progressed east on our travels.

While in Arizona we decided to travel along route 66 and stopped in the small town of Williams, AZ along the Kaibab National Forest. This neat little town was full of the Route 66 vibe. There were shops and restaurants, as well as museums and classic cars. They even had a reenacted gunfight in the evening between westerners. Of course there was no shortage of Native American items and influence in the town as well. 

We strolled the sidewalks and perused through the shops before eating dinner at a great little Mexican restaurant. It was a nice change of pace to simply stroll instead of moving along at freeway speeds. Heather and all three of the kids got Route 66 shirts while we were there to commemorate our visit. I also picked up a Route 66 sticker for the back of the RV, which is getting a nice collection of stickers from across the United States.

Our kiddos have played and/or gone swimming along the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Gulf of Mexico. This trip to the beach would add the Pacific Ocean to the list. And what is better than a day at the beach? A day at the beach with your cousins! Pie and Bug had a wonderful time digging, playing, and exploring with their cousins, who live in California.
There was not too much playing in the water since it was quite cool and overcast, even a little bit of drizzle, but that did not stop them from enjoying the sand. Four of them spent much of their beach time digging a huge hole that all four of them could comfortably fit into. Later in the afternoon we went to explore some nearby tide pools. Everyone loved searching the pools for interesting creatures. There were a lot of crabs of all sizes and a really cool thing that looked like a giant slug but is called a hare. We also found anemones. We did not have too long to look since the tide was headed back in with quite a bit of force! After we got everyone back across a gap that was quickly filling with rushing water (and retrieved Pie’s lost flip flop) we decided to continue on down the beach. Everyone highly enjoyed walking and climbing and jumping along beach and rocks as we made our way down the beach. We saw interesting and colorful tiny little rocks and shells washed up onto the beach among the driftwood and seaweed and broken flip flops. We found small caves and several mystical staircases leading up the cliffs to palatial (to us) houses. I finally had the kids do an about face and head back to walk and jump and climb our way back to the rest of the family, where we picked up jackets and played in the sand for a bit more before heading home to dinner.

By: Kevin

After our trusty Kipor generator of unknown age decided to quit producing power, we were faced with the decision of with what to replace the generator. Since we have a deep freezer in the RV, and we spend the majority of our time in campgrounds, we decided that another generator was the best option dollar-for-dollar for us instead of a solar panel array.

The next questions that had to be answered were what brand and what size generator. With a 30 amp RV we could opt for a single 3,000 watt generator or two smaller 2,000 watt generators with a parallel kit. After researching both options we found that a single unit would be larger and heavier (150 lbs) but would have a larger fuel tank. If we opted for two smaller generators we could achieve 4,000 watts of power, be lighter (44 lbs each), and we could split them up to power the RV and Annex if we so desired, as long as we didn’t need over 16 amps in the RV with them separated. In the interest of redundancy, if one fails, we have a backup right there to keep the freezer frozen. This would have prevented us from needing to move from the campground to the RV lot in Big Bend. This, of course, came at the cost of smaller fuel tanks on each unit, but we were happy with this trade-off. The Yamahas also come with a 3-year warranty, which should keep Murphy at bay for a while. Heather is also happy that she can carry the new generators around without help instead of fighting with the previous 150 lb. monster.

Upon arrival of our new EF-2000iSv2 Yamaha generators we unboxed, oiled, and fueled the units, then tested them under load with the air conditioning running. The generators performed beautifully and provided more than enough power to cycle the air conditioner compressor. The engines are pretty quiet as well which will keep any neighbors happy should we need to use them in close proximity to other campers.

The generators work well as shipped, but I did make one improvement to the units by changing the standard hex nut on the ground post to a wing nut for tool-free addition and removal of the parallel power cable. I also labeled the units just to tell them apart for any future reference.

By: Heather

We went to the Fort Worth Stockyards yesterday. We had a fun and interesting day.  My mom and sister and 1 year old nephew are visiting and my poor nephew had been sick for the last 2 days but was feeling much better. By the time we arrived at the stockyards we had already spent the morning visiting the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and found that Pie had come down with a fever. Not to be deterred by such things we gave her some medicine and continued on.

It was fun to explore the shops. There were quite a few little side attractions that we chose to pass on because of the prices but also a few that we chose to stop at. One of these the kids got sit on a Texas Longhorn!

Possibly my favorite part of the day was the “cattle drive” where the Longhorns walk leisurely down the street between pastures.

At some point during the day Bug started dragging. He ended up riding on the front of Miss Kicky Feet’s stroller for a while. The two of them had quite a conversation going on for a while and Bug was pretending to protect us while shooting bad guys with his bow and arrows. By dinner time Bug was also running a fever and was given some medicine. He fell asleep to recharge while waiting on his dinner.

After dinner it was time for the much anticipated rodeo! We all enjoyed watching the bull riding and the barrel races, but were very ready to go home to bed by the time it was over. It was a long, enjoyable, and full day!

By: Kevin

Yesterday while in the Fort Worth, TX area we took a trip to the Bureau of Engraving & Printing. This is one of only two sites in the U.S. that prints paper money. The other site is in Washington DC. The Fort Worth facility prints all denominations of cash, while the Washington DC facility only prints $10 and $100 notes. On any average production day this facility prints around $728,700,000 which is around 17.1 million notes PER DAY!

The facility was well guarded, for obvious reasons, with multiple layers of security. We were not allowed to bring any recording equipment into the facility including cell phones. I even had to leave my Garmin smartwatch in the van because it is capable of sending and receiving wireless data (bluetooth). We went through metal detectors and x-ray screening of any bags as well as physical search of baggage, similar to airport screenings. We then boarded a tram that actually took us onto the compound. Without detailing all the security features that I saw, one would be very hard pressed to make it to the employee parking lot without authorization, let alone getting inside the building.

Once inside, we watched a 15 minute video detailing the printing process, strolled through two floors of exhibits, and took a self-guided tour of the production floor via a walkway. The tour included a “wand” that played an audio clip at each of the 9 stops along the tour. Visitors view the production floor from an elevated walkway with windows the entire length of the walkway. Having worked in the cash-processing industry in the past I could definitely appreciate the distinctive smell of new money that was present along the tour. We saw the production process from blank sheets of paper to final packaging and stacking on a pallet for shipment. It was quite an informative and interesting tour that was well worth the trip.

We had expected this visit to be more adult-oriented, but the kids really enjoyed it too. They were telling me about the things they had heard on their audio tour.

The on-site gift shop offers a number of money related items including uncut sheets of money in any denomination. While it would be neat to have an uncut sheet of bills fresh off the presses, possessing such an item does not currently align with our minimalist RV lifestyle.

If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the B.E.P. is well worth the time…and it is a free tour!

By: Kevin

Today we participated in EasterFest 2017 in San Angelo. This is an annual event hosted by the Life Church, a large local Christian church. The event offered Easter egg hunts, inflatable bounce houses, a mobile rock-climbing wall, and as many free hotdogs as you could eat. They also had about a dozen donated bicycles that were given away to participants via a free drawing. The kids enjoyed the egg hunts, bounce houses, and hot dogs. We got pictures of the kids with the Chick-fil-A cows and we were given 16 gift cards for free Chick-fil-A food! Guess what our go-to restaurant will be for a while 🙂 They ran out of time to climb the mobile rock wall, but I think it was still well worth the time spent at the event. The day was made a little more enjoyable since Heather’s mom, sister, and nephew were in attendance as well. They flew in from Ohio a few days ago and will be staying with us for the next week.

This evening we enjoyed the company of our campground community by taking part in a 3-camper dinner complete with birthday cake for one of the kids in the campground.

Tomorrow we plan to dye hard-boiled eggs before the family heads to church to focus on the real reason for Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Happy Easter everyone!

By: Kevin

First off….Yes, we are completely nuts!

We have been stockpiling outgrown children clothes and baby items for a few months now. All of this has been taking up room in the Annex, our box trailer. Since we are planning to head farther west this summer instead of going back through Ohio we were faced with the question of whether to pay to ship everything back or deliver it ourselves. If we made the trip ourselves we could also pick up the remaining beef that has been stored in a freezer at Heather’s mom’s house since our visit in May 2016 (when we took delivery of 2 cows from the butcher).

So we decided to make a road trip. I only have a limited number of days off between shifts at work, so it would be a speedy cross-country trip. After getting off work at 7am on Thursday we all jumped in the van and pulled out, leaving the truck and RV in Texas. According to Google Maps the trip should have taken us 19.5 hours without stopping, and with stops for fuel and bathrooms we arrived in Mansfield 21.5 hours later. Heather and I traded off driving while the other napped and we drove straight through. 

The kids were really wanting to see snow while we were in Ohio. We were not sure if they would get their wish or not. On arriving in Mansfield we found small piles of half-melted snow which they were semi-excited about. However, whike we were there the snow began to fall. By midday there was a decent blanket of snow and the kids rejoiced as they were able to sled ride down a hill on the farm. They also took the opportunity to eat snow and Bug had a snowball fight with Heather and his grandma.

We enjoyed hanging out with Heather’s family for a mere 30 hours before piling back into the van and headed south again. We made a quick stop in Columbus for lunch with some friends before continuing along our journey.

We arrived back at the RV around noon on Sunday, and after transferring the frozen beef to our freezer we flopped on our bed for a much needed nap.

All-in-all it was a good trip without any snags, but I would not choose to repeat the trip in the near future.

This spring we are, for the first time since starting to travel, returning to an assignment where I have already worked. It has proved to be both the same and different for me this time around. I was fully expecting to walk back in to the ER and find that nothing had changed, and for the most part I was correct in that theory. However, nothing ever stays the same, even if it has only been 9 months since my prior departure. The staff in the ER has changed slightly, and some of the processes are slightly different. I read on another RV family’s blog that while one may miss someplace they have worked or lived in the past, they do not truly miss the place, but the idea of what the place used to be for them. People move and businesses open or close in our absence. Circling back to San Angelo has, to a small degree, shown me the truth of that concept.

Our camping accommodations are different this year. Since we added the Annex to our mobile lifestyle in November, the KOA campground in town will no longer permit us to stay there without finding a storage lot to keep our small box trailer. Since, after discussion, we were not willing to make that accommodation we have landed at a new campground in town, Concho Pearl RV. It sadly does not have a playground or pool like the KOA, but life goes on and we are happy there. We have had the blessing of being parked next to another fulltime RV family with kids and the campground staff informed us that within the very near future another family with kids will be pulling in on the other side of us for a month or more. Like many things in life we may not fully understand the reason things happen the way they do, but God has a plan even if we don’t see it at the time. Maybe it was God’s will that we would find ourselves between two other RV families with kids at our current campground instead of being parked at the KOA, which was my plan for this assignment.

We have already explored the immediate area and town, which has made it easy to get around town as we already know where to get groceries and propane. We already know what restaurants are available in town, and what restaurants are not available. Even so, we were invited to an art gallery which we had never been to yet, and are planning to check out a new church in town.

This also affords us the ability to explore new areas of Texas. Last year we explored San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, & Carlsbad, NM. This year we have plans to visit a few new places  including some National and State parks. It is exciting to see what new adventures we will find even in an area we have already been to before now.