June 3 - Theodore Roosevelt North Unit to Lake Fort Peck WY

June 3 - Theodore Roosevelt North Unit to Lake Fort Peck WY

Today was a really weird travel day with some good sights along the way. As mentioned before we are still on East Coast body time in a Mountain real time zone. This AM we woke and realized it was really only 5:00AM, a bit early to start putting up TC legs and start a diesel truck. That politeness didn't last long as the person next to us started their generator. Off we went headed for Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North unit. We thought there was a connecting road between the two units but it is for foot and horse traffic only, not even bicycles. Back to I-94, up #85 and over to the North Unit we went.

Along the way we passed miles and miles of National Grasslands. We took a small road into them and enjoyed seeing nothing but grasses, birds and old pasture fencing. I don't think other than in the deep woods of Maine I've ever been somewhere there was no sign of humanity - other than the fencing.



This buffalo must have been the designated greeter for the park. He was almost under the entrance sign both when we got there and when we left. He was a huge bull, all alone, and looked pretty grumpy.



Once again the roads were deserted and we just about had the park to ourselves. We hiked Caprock-Coulee Nature Trail but saw no animals, just a lot of buffalo poop. Don't know how we would have handled coming face to face with a buffalo on a narrow footpath.



We did watch this fellow for a while and finally decided it was a very large coyote not a wolf. Ranger confirmed that later but said there have been scattered reports from the ranchers surrounding the park that they have seen wolves.



Fort Union Trading Post near Buford, ND was our next stop.The old fort recreation is in ND, the parking lot is in MT. Mildly interesting but don't make a special trip for it. Next came the road adventure for the day. We took Highway 327 when leaving the fort. It turned out to be 40 miles of gravel, very dusty with farm trucks passing and an average speed of about 25 mph for us, not for the farm trucks. Truck and TC held together well but both sure can use a bath. We did get to see some very remote ranches.

From Bainville, MT to Nashua, MT Route 2 passes through the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. In Maine the speed limit would have been a cautionary 50. In MT the speed limit was an exuberant 70 which certainly keeps you alert. Most we were comfortable with was 60 but they passed easily with no rude gestures. We have found the west to have very friendly, polite people, more than willing to give directions or advice on places to see.

Tonight we are in the Downstream Campground in Fort Peck, MT. It is a US Army Corps of Engineers Park and quite impressive in size and cleanliness. Power, showers, dump station for $8.00.

Tomorrow we will tour the dam facilities, go to the Dinosaur Museum (our reason to come here) and head west yet again. No cell service, no wifi along the way so haven't been able to check how clearing of "Going to the Sun Road" is progressing.

June 2 Bismarck ND to Theodore Roosevelt Park

June 2 - Bismarck ND to Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit

We're still on East Coast Time so are up and going a lot earlier than places are open. After filling up with $2.29 diesel, we followed the Missouri River along Route 1804, stopping at several places to see this historic waterway.

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center near Washburn, ND had unusually good
exhibits, history of their trip and paintings by a Swiss artist who followed their trail several years later. Fort Mandan, several miles down the river, is part of the exhibit and was a recreated fort where L&C over wintered. All I could think of was the tight quarters for all those men, animals, one woman and a baby - plus a huge Newfoundland who walked from St. Louis to the Pacific and back.





Route 200A is a scenic, straight, ribbon like road cutting through farms. Anywhere you go in NOrth Dakota it seems it is uphill against a wind. Even downhill is against the wind. And yes there are many wind farms to take advantage of this power. This time we saw the herd of deer crossing the road ahead of us and had slowed to a crawl. One late deer ran across just before we started up again. We seem to be large animal cursed this trip. The pheasant that flew by are so beautiful.

Knife River Indian Center had a recreation of a summer earth lodge. We have tons of room in our TCs compared to putting 40 people into a round dome with fire pit in the middle. On we went to Killdeer, down to Dickinson to resupply at Walmart. Good old Walmart has become our TC provision center. Most of them have RVs parked on the edges of the lots.



Back onto I-94 to Painted Canyon National Site which is right on I-94. This is the start of ND's Badlands, a softer, more colorful version of South Dakota's Badlands. At Madora, we entered the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Medora is a quaint little town which has a summer theater, a restaurant famous for cooking steaks on a pitchfork over open fire and way too many tourist shops though they have kept the glitz and neon out.

One of the advantages to getting older is the Golden Age Pass to National Parks. We paid $00 to get into TR Park and the camp fee tonight will be $5.00. Something back from the government?

We drove the 36 mile interior park loop seeing for the first time herds of wild horses. Farctic Ox had told us long ago that the wild horses moved differently than domesticated ones and he was right. We were fortunate enough to see a herd running and could just picture Indians waiting around the canyon to capture them. Buffalo are here also but not in as abundance as Yellowstone. Beautiful drive with a lot of pullouts and no traffic at all. We actually only saw three other vehicles in 36 miles.



Camped the night in Cottonwood Camp which is right beside the Little Missouri River. Flat, level, no hookups and just beautiful quiet. We are now two hours body time ahead of local time so saw dawn creep into the canyon.

Today we head to the north unit of TR Park and then over into Montana.

June 1 - Federal Dam to Bismarck, ND

June 1 - Federal Dam to Bismarck, ND

No rain this morning but high winds that were to dog us all day and do a real
job on the diesel mileage. We're body time an hour ahead of our location in the Central Time zone so still getting up early to enjoy our surroundings. Leech Lake had whitecaps but the fishermen were still heading out in their bass boats. No one wears a life preserver!

There are a lot of Indian reservations in this area of Minnesota so there were many casinos and gambling resorts. Startling to be driving in wilderness and come around a corner to see a 15 story hotel and jam packed parking lot. Maybe that's where all the cars have been? Go past the casino and once again we were the only vehicle in sight.

Met up with an online knitting friend in Fargo, ND. Maureen on left, Anne on right.



We kept Joe happy by taking him out for lunch. Odd how sometimes meeting an online friend is the same as just having talked to them the day before. Some people actually are what they seem like on line. Great visit, good lunch and, of course, I bought yarn. Fargo is still recovering from the flood damage this spring. We passed a storage yard with a mountain of filled sand bags. The bags are slowly being emptied and stored for next time.

Lots of buffalo in Fargo - statues that is



We decided to take I-94 to Bismarck rather than back country it on this journey leg. I-94 is arrow straight, rolling hills, and we kept waiting to see cows flying by in the air it was so windy. The speed limit was 75mph. We managed 62mph and still felt like we were standing on the pedal. We went from our usual 12 to 12.5 mpg to 8.8mpg for the day. Bet if we had been heading east we would have gotten 15mpg!

Tonight we are in a commercial campground to catch up on laundry, email, dump, fresh water, etc. Tomorrow we have under 180 miles planned heading north and then west to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We plan to stay there two days, take the TC off and travel some of the park roads to see buffalo and other wildlife. There are several historic forts in the area and a place to have a steak cooked on a pitchfork. Probably pretty touristy (the steak) but could be fun.

We are parked between two lilac hedges in full bloom. Sweet smell and the wind has finally died down enough they aren't beating on the TC.

Florence MI to Federal Dam MN - every westward

May 31 - Florence, MI to Federal Dam, MN

Another day of long, straight, good condition red roads through forests including the Ottawa National Forest where there were a lot of deer standing by the side of the road grazing. Fortunately none of them decided to step out in the road and become venison jerky or hood ornaments.

We remarked today on how genuinely friendly the people of the UP, Wisconsin and Minnesota are. Everywhere we stopped people would see our license plate and come say hello and welcome. We gave a lot of tours of the TC and handed out about all the TC brochures we had. We heard over and over how they own a 5th wheel or a travel trailer and how they are restricted from going where they want to go. Hope there are some TC dealers in the upper tier of the country as there seems to be a pent up demand for our size camper.

If you are on Route 2 passing through Ashland, WI we found a neat little RV park owned by the city. It is called Kreger Park. Turn on Willis Ave. North to Water Street by Lake Superior. Water, power, bathrooms, level, looked safe and right smack on the water. Self registration honor system for $20. We have seen many small towns that have a village park where you are allowed to stay overnight for a honor system payment of $5 to $10 with no facilities. Don't I wish the East had such a system?



We stopped at Amnicon Falls State Park south of Superior, WI and hiked through the woods (and mosquitos) to see a lot of waterfalls and interesting rock formations. Fun to watch the fly fishermen try to cast and not get caught up in the trees. Must take a lot of skill to catch anything in water moving that fast. While we were having lunch, a park ranger knocked and asked if he could see the camper. I didn't know TCs were that unusual!

Superior, WI is the site of the Richard Bong World War II Museum. This veteran was a decorated ace pilot who rebuilt a plane like he flew in the Pacific Theater. Lots of interesting exhibits. Joe stops at most of the war memorials if possible as he reads a lot of WWII history.



Back to Route 2 headed west - where else? Passing through the Chippewa National Forest we came upon an immature bald eagle feeding on a dead deer by the roadside. See those deer are good for something. No way did we approach to try to get a photo as this bird was going to protect his meal. It was a beautiful sight though to see such a huge young healthy looking bird.

Our camp for this evening is at Leech Lake COE Recreation Area in Federal Dam, Minnesota.



This is a must stay park if you are anywhere nearby. Huge camp sites, level, dry, good bathhouse with laundry. It is run by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is used as a base camp by an awful lot of avid fishermen. We paid $16.00 for a water/electric/sewer site - half off because of our Golden Age Passport. Every once in a while getting older pays off. We walked down to the boat ramp and dock and watched lots of fish being off loaded from bass boats to a screen house where they were cleaned. Gulls lined every branch around but nobody was dumb enough to throw out a scrap. Rain has finally moved off and it is a nice sunny 64F at 8:15PM.
Listening to the fishermen and women, they are happy to have open water but just as happy to go ice fishing.



Tomorrow we back road it to Fargo where I am meeting up with an online knitting friend. Then the decision will be made on back roads or use I-94 to get over to Theodore Roosevelt National Grasslands Park. We'll be doing enough way back roads so it might be time to use a fast one to get to the next point.

May 30 - Lighthouses and Lake Michigan

May 30 - Lighthouses and Lake Michigan

Today was a leisurely drive headed west on Route 2 through Michigan and into a tiny piece of Wisconsin. Lake Michigan is VAST with few people in small towns. All I can think of is how much snow and ice they must get in the winter. We are on Route 2 having left St.Ignace, stopping at a lot of state rest stops to walk. At first I thought the columns of something dark rising up out of the woods were smoke plumes. Discovered they weren't when one descended upon us and turned out to be about a bazillion bugs/gnats. It was actually hard to breath for a few seconds. Didn't bite, just wandered off. Later we saw what looked like a flying black ball right ahead of us. It was more bugs. You can imagine what the front nose of the TC looks like.

The sand beaches of Lake Michigan are powder like from being pounded against a somewhat rocky coast. It's not like our granite in Maine but the beach is not hard packed.



Very hard to walk in as you sink ankle deep but the view out over the water was worth it. Lots of little towns along Route 2 where many businesses are closed. We even saw what looked like a new Hilton Inn that was closed with tall weeds all around.

Got off Route 2 Cooks, MI right on Lake Michigan and took a tiny road out to Nahma. I don't think an A class RV could have gone down that road. We picked up hot pasty and ate by the water. Can it get any better than this? For those of you who don't know (and we didn't), a pasty is a meat pie with a meat, potato, carrot, rice and onion in all enclosed in a flaky crust. I asked for a small and the lady laughed. They only make one size and they weigh about a pound. We split one and didn't fight over the last bite, we were full. Recipes for the Michigan version here - [url=http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/real-michigan-food-the-]Michigan pasty[/url]

We next headed to Escanaba for the Sand Point Lighthouse and Museum. Very good local museum with history of how the huge logs were moved out of the woods to ships in the winter. Basically they made an ice road and skidded them out. Joe enjoyed talking to another retired Coast Guardsman while I climbed the lighthouse for the view. The wind off the lake is so cold you expect to see icebergs any minute. Wonder if it ever warms up?







Last time I got on a bicycle (Tall Pines) I took a most ungraceful fall. Joe thought I should get on this one. HA!



A bit further west in Iron Mountain was a mining museum we had planned to see. However, the view was so beautiful over the lake, we headed south from the lighthouse down through Ford River and Cedar River eventually cutting north again to rejoin Route 2 and enter WI. There is a tiny piece of WI that sticks up into MI and we'll get to claim it as a state we have camped in. We're at a small campground in Florence, WI - $12 for the night with water, electricity, laundry and WiFi! We are finding almost no one in the state parks yet. Schools still in and it is a bit nippy.

Mostly sunny day, very windy and the TC rocked quite a bit. We got to show off the Host to a group of ATVers who had stopped at the National Forest center in Florence, WI. They were on a week tent camping trip on the ATV trails and looked pretty longingly at the TC. Joe could not convince one of them that a dual slide TC was too heavy for his F150. It's always fun to show someone a TC who had never been in one before.

Tomorrow we head to Superior, WI. We found two state parks with high waterfalls and good walking trails near there. We'll camp at one of them. There is also a WWII museum that looks pretty interesting. Ever westward!

ME to VT to NY to MI on the way to Glacier

Wednesday, May 27 - first day on our trip "To the Sun". Cold, rainy but glad to be on the road. Truck and camper are doing great and the new tires make the ride a lot smoother and tighter.

Headed across Maine and passed through lots of tiny Maine towns. We felt like we were the only people on earth as there was no traffic. New Hampshire was even more deserted but greener if possible. The low mountains of NH just sort of roll along with lots of lakes. The White Mountains aren't white currently thank heaven.

VT was even greener and same roads - where are all the people? Not that we want crowded roads but it was just odd. We took all back roads of course but even the farms were deserted. Stopped at Cabot Cheese Creamery and enjoyed the tour, samples, and bought some small blocks for gifts.



We're currently in Massena, NY ready to go over the border into Canada. Cold, gray, rainy but hopefully we'll hit some sun soon. Plan on staying in several of the Canadian Provincial Parks on lakes as we cross over to Sault Sainte Marie. Be a few days before we check in as there isn't a lot of cell/air card service up here. Looking forward to seeing some of rural Canada again.

May 28, 2009 -Joe did a masterful job today dodging a very large cow moose who hopped over a guard rail in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, right in front of us. She must have gotten a running start up a hill from a bog and was low down so we didn't see her coming. Suddenly, there in front of us was a moose!!!! A vehicle on the other side of the road where she first appeared, managed to stop. Moose was literally between our two vehicles. I don't know how Joe missed her or
she decided to go back to the bog and turned at the last second. Pretty shaky moment to be eye to eye with a 1,000 pound or more creature whose back was as high as the hood of the F350. If Joe hadn't have swung right and the moose hadn't swung left, we'd have hit her broadside. It was one of those moments that's still bringing sweat to my forehead and an "attaboy" to Joe. This is a moose bog for those of you who live in cities.



We left NY early AM and came across to Ontario at Massena on the Seaway International Bridge. I was driving at the time and could not decide which customs entry lane to go in. None were marked RVs, only passenger vehicles and trucks. Being a truck, I swung into the truck lanes and was immediately told by a trucker that RVs go through as passenger cars. Well why not say so on an entry! Joe walked over to customs to see what to do and came back with TWO custom agents. Training day for a new guy - groan. They were polite and very thorough, going through all the compartments in the TC but curiously not even opening the F350. Mostly the same questions about where have you been, where are you going, do you have firearms, mace or pepper spray, are you married? Like Canada doesn't let unmarried couples through? The new fellow was following his paper script pretty closely and kept losing his place so asked the same questions over. Only took about 20 minutes and we sailed on. They almost forgot to give us a token to put in the gate barrier slot so we could get out of the truck yard. My mistake for going in as a truck. Nothing was found or confiscated because there wasn't anything there to take. They oddly didn't even ask questions about potatoes or beef this time.

Other than the border crossing and the moose, today has been another rain day and at times a mix of small hail and rain drops the size of marbles. Deluges in an instant and then nothing for miles and then torrential downpours again. The TC (fingers and toes crossed) has not leaked at all and is still working great. Joe's been calling this trip "Going to the Rain" not "Going to the Sun" road.

From the border we took Rte 2, the Heritage Trail down to the "1000 Island Parkway". Looks like this area has an abundance of natural stone for building as there were many beautiful stone houses, more like mansions. Off shore there are tiny islands whose land area is almost completely covered by house. No problem getting a water view there. Everywhere you looked there are Canada geese with goslings, thousands of them just grazing along.

Canada is immaculate, no road litter, no junk along the sides of the road. Most houses appear in excellent repair, with flower gardens, cross mown lawns, long neatly stacked rows of firewood. The roads are better maintained than most of the small roads in the US. It's obvious people take pride in their homes.

My only problem with the route we took today was it was 80km speed limit. For those of you (like me) who are metric challenged, that is about 50mph. It takes a long time to get anywhere especially since today was sort of a travel day and we were in woods. We went from Belleville on the shores of Lake Ontario on Route 60 up to Algonquin Park and then over to Parry Sound to a provincial park for the night. 320km (roughly 200 miles) at 80km (50mph) is not a four hour drive but more like six. Great woods views but looked just like New England - moose included.



In the morning we'll explore Killbear Provincial Park a bit more. We both need a long walk to loosen up. We'll then head to St. Saulte Marie and cross back into the US. Plan on staying at one of the many Michigan state parks right after you cross the border.

May 29 - Back in the USA

We've crossed through Ontario and are back into the USA. Customs was way backed up at the International Bridge at Sault Sainte Marie. Took about 45 minutes to get to the customs booth and about 1 minute go through. US only wanted to know about firewood and fruit. no entry into either the camper or the truck, just a wave and move along.



We're camped in Straits State Park in St.Ignace, Michigan, right on Lake Huron. The mosquitos are FIERCE and almost impossible to stay outside the camper. We've taken a good long walk along the shoreline but at times they were so thick they were getting in your eyes and nose. Shades of Maine!



The drive out of Ontario was much easier than yesterday. The stretch we came through Parry Sound up to Whitefish and then a nice lunch by the water in Blind River. This land has obviously been sculpted by glaciers. the land is covered by small ponds, rock ledges, innumerable beaver dams and lodges and scrub pine by the rocks. The sun came out for a few minutes but we had cold rain again most of the day. Route 69 and 17 were larger roads in excellent condition and still not crowded. We saw four Truck Camperss in a row all hauling boats. Looks like they were off for a weekend of fishing.

Tomorrow we will head for another Michigan state park further west and see if the mosquitos are as bad there. No moose today though we were on hyper alert watching all the small ponds we went by.

Going to the Sun and beyond

We can't stand exploring the rock bound coast of Maine and all of New England again this summer (big smile) so we are headed west. We enjoyed our trip out west last summer so much that we are heading that way to explore more. House sitter is available, the aged folks in our family are well and we are still upright and walking so time to go while we can.

Here is the planned, yet tentative, route from Maine to Glacier National Park. We'll probably drop down and go over the Beartooth Highway and then north to Glacier.





We will be trying to stay in state parks, rest areas, Corps of Engineers, free places, etc. We like history, geology, archeology and have a lot of museums and petroglyph and dinosaur sites mapped out along the way.

"Going to the Sun" road is the reason for the Glacier trip. We know we cannot drive it in the TC and probably will just take a jammer bus. I think the F-350 DRW will fit on the road but we want to enjoy the scenery, not have to watch every inch of the drops off the road. As of today, the snow removal crews are still digging through 20-30 feet snowbanks on the road so it isn't fully open yet. Yes we put our winter parkas in the camper.

After Glacier, if we are still talking (TCs are small!) and the legs are holding up, we'll head for the Oregon coast. I've always wanted to see Oregon and also visit several friends and relatives there. Here's the tentative route.





Email or post here is you know of sites that shouldn't be missed along the way. We hae an air card so will be able to reply and also keep the blog going. Fingers crossed for good weather and safe driving.

North East Truck Camper Spring Rally - Wales, MA

Our North East Truck Camper group met for the spring rally starting 05/13/09 to 05/17/09.

Bright, sunny, breezy day and the TCs are gathering at Oak Haven Campground in Wales, MA. This is the spring North East Truck Camper rally and we are so glad it's stopped snowing and we're together again. FamilyTimes (Rob & Jayne) who are the WagonMasters, Mikeee T, and TwoMaineiacs (Anne and Joe) happened to meet up at the Charlton, MA rest area on the MA Turnpike. We arrived first at the campground and picked out great spots to set up.



Next to arrive were Trapper Dick with his puppy Skeeter, Silversands (Derek and Nicole) and PhilS. Flyfisher Dave and his dog Splash have arrived. We are awaiting EagleCapLurkers.

We've stood around chatting, imbibed a few libations and are now getting ready to cook supper. Mike's friend Steve who manages our web site and chat room came out to visit and bring a few big tents for our group gatherings. Here's the web site address for those reading this who would like more information on our informal group. http://truckcamping.net

05/14/09

Here's the start of the process of putting up Mikeee and Rob's four party tents. We ganged them together two by two and then spread tarps over the top where the sides met so rain wouldn't ruin our parade. Laying out the poles - Dick (AidenJ) leads the parade





About an hour and a half to get four tents up, covered and ready to use. Let the social hours begin. It's raining but supposed to clear. We are generating a lot of warmth getting ready for hot dog night.



05/15/09
We've been blessed with two TCs new to the group. Both have been lurkers on RV.NET truck camper group and just showed up. Our gain! Hot dog roast is over, rain has started again but the propane heater in the tent is letting us yak away in warmth and comfort. More TCs will come in tomorrow. Rain? Wind? No matter - fun to see all the rigs roll in from all over the North East - especially our Canadian friends.

05/16/09
Day dawned bright and clear. Sunny and almost hot which we are taking full advantage of. Some of the TCers have biked into Brimfield to go to the antiques fair. Some are off on country road adventures but most of us are by the campsites relaxing and trading TC tales of places to see and where to go. The rigs are still rolling in. (33arrived by end of the weekend).

Poker and blongo games are ongoing, flags are flying for the Red SoX, USA and many states, plus the sun is so good after our long cold winter. It's 74F and quite comfortable. Afternoon poker anyone? No one will win enough for a new camper but they keep trying.



Mike Tassinari gives freely of his time and expertise to the truck camping community. This morning he gave a "Newbie Seminar" which was well attended by both newbies and seasoned TCers. Scheduled to last about 45 minutes we kept Mike going for about an hour and a half explaining the various systems on TCs, how they work and how to maintain and upgrade them. Thanks as always Mike.

One of our afternoon events was a beer and kielbasa/sausage tasting. We all brought specialty beers and food from our local areas. The Wagonmasters provided 3 oz cups and we all got to sample away. Local sausages, cheeses and specialty food magically disappeared also. No left overs!



This is one great group of truck camper friends.



We left Sunday AM, most back to work but us retirees back to cleaning the camper and getting ready for the next adventure. Looks like we may head out to Glacier National Park and more wonders of the west. Keep tuned.

Mom's passing and the Mid Atlantic TC Rally

Long time since I've caught up on the blog. It has been a sad time in our family but in addition to mourning, we celebrated the life of our mother. Mom passed away on Sunday, April 19th after a good life of 89 years. April 9th, we had traveled to Virginia for a visit with her and family and spent five days taking mom out of the assisted living center. The stand out was Easter dinner at brother's home where we shared a meal with family and got to sit out in the very warm southern sun. We took her to several of her favorite places for seafood lunches, a drive through some of the national civil war parks and, best for me, a ride across the ferry at Scotland Wharf to Jamestown, VA. Mom seemed to get stronger every day, more talkative and physically stronger. We left for the Mid-Atlantic Truck Camper Rally at Tall Pines Harbor in Sanford, VA telling her we would see her again in about ten days. After three years of declining health, she just passed in her sleep on the 19th after a last great day out with my sister. She was an amazingly strong woman who loved life, the sunshine, her native VA and her family. She is missed.



The extended family came in from Maine to Florida for the funeral. The gathering gave us the opportunity to talk about mom's life from childhood to her working life to her older years. Her two sisters who are 70 and 90 years old, cousins and friends all shared many stories of our VERY large family going back to great-grandmother times. The funeral service, burial and church reception were attended by many family members and friends. The old southern traditions are very comforting.

Rather then continue with our camping trip, we chose to return to Maine. We've been clearing up winter yard debris, getting the camper and truck cleaned up and ready for the next trip.

Tall Pines Harbor Campground was the site of the fourth Mid-Atlantic Truck Camper rally. What a wondrous sight to see 120+ truck campers in one place. We met many new friends, spent time with old friends and, fortunately, didn't see another TC we would rather have. The weather was great after 7 1/2 feet of snow and -20 temps this winter in Maine. Ron and Michelle did a good job organizing the rally with many
seminars and fun events. We'll be back another year.

Mike T brought his tents so our North East TC group had a place to have our annual dinner of prime roast beef and haddock.



Lots of North East truck campers lined up. Great time had by all - well I could have had a better time if I hadn't fallen off Jayne's bicycle but that was more embarrassing than painful. Maybe I really cannot do everything I did 40 years ago?





The F-350 is at the Ford dealer getting oil/filter changed, a 40,000 mile checkup and six new tires - Michelin LTX AT/2. The Host sits alone waiting to get loaded back on and on the road.

Squirrels ate our TC Air Conditioner cover

Ah the joys of owning anything! Isn't there always something to fix or repair or clean or whatever? The joy of hitting the road is worth the hassles so just repair and go. We'd been religiously checking the camper all winter, raking off snow, looking inside for any leaks, etc. We'd put Decon inside but never gave a thought to outside. We do use Reflectix and cover up all the vents and openings so figured we were good. NOT! We had noticed what we thought was a small tear in the ADCO cover but it had been very windy and the tear area was at a rub spot. When we put the cover on, we'd taped foam pipe insulation over the corners so thought it was odd that it tore. When we took the ADCO cover off the Truck Camper we found it wasn't a tear but a chewed hole. Oh Oh! With a bazillion red squirrels in the woods next to the house, thought one had chewed a way in and was just under the cover.

Today we went up on the roof of the TC to check and found that something, probably a red squirrel, had chewed through the plastic on the AC cover and made a huge nest inside around the fan blades.







Fortunately not any of the wiring harness was damaged or even nibbled. One end of one of the fan blades is gone - eaten right off. Up went the shop vacuum, out went the nest, pieces of ADCO, fan blade shreds and lots of leaves. I sprinkled Decon around the bottom of the AC, Gorilla taped the holes in the vent, and put the cover back on. Rest of the roof looked in very good shape though it could stand a good cleaning.

Now we've got to get advice on whether the fan will run okay with an unbalanced fan blade.



Early next week, we'll load the TC on the truck, bring it over the house and start cleaning and packing it up for the season. All I could think of was the photos RV.NET members have posted of mice nests in their truck wiring. Better the AC unit than the truck!

TC buried in the snow - again

Seems this winter, as soon as we dig out the Truck Camper we get another snow storm. This one was 18" of very heavy wet snow which followed a big rain storm. We only managed today to clear the driveway and walks to the house. The poor little John Deere handled the load but slowly and with a lot of backing and filling. The snow was deeper than the snow blower.



Here's the camper tucked in the side of the woods. We've got some mid 30F degree days coming along this week so we'll tackle the TC and clean it off once again.



It is pretty though - as long as you don't have to shovel it. Much more and I won't be able to throw it over the side banks of the walks.

TCing in the living room

So what do you do when you aren't on the road with the Truck Camper (TC)? You have TC friends in. Two couples came up from MA this weekend for the Super Bowl and to visit. The guys ran some electric outlets in the cellar, the women went to LL Bean's for winter boots. We had a great time yakking, cooking, eating and just enjoying the company.



And what do we do when we're tired? Why take a nap! This is Miss Della the Basset Hound taking a nap on top of Mike who is also sound asleep.



Looking forward to any weather over 20F degrees and getting on the road again with friends.

JerBear and Paula from Nova Scotia

Our truck camper might be hibernating for the winter but there are still some on the road. New Year's Eve day we were blessed with a visit from Jerry and Paula (JerBear) from Nova Scotia. They are on their way to spend the winter in Mexico basking in the sun and not having to bother with shoveling anything more than sand out of the TC.



They couldn't stay long as they were trying to beat a bit snowstorm to overnight at FamilyTimes down in MA. They made it! We did have a quick lunch and visit and will see them again at Tall Pines this spring.

Always good to have TC friends drop in.