Leaving Yellowstone is bitter-sweet.
It's almost time to roll and though it is sad to leave the park behind we are ready for a change of pace and a new adventure. With the pandemic and all the changes to the routine here in the park this year,, everything has been up in the air and on a week-to-week basis. Normally, as the end of the season approaches the workforce decreases and they need those who can stay to stick around to close up shop. This year the staff they have, though reduced, is pretty much staying put so fewer folks are needed for the end run. The every-day hero's job finishes on October 4th so that means we are leaving a week early. Even with life in the park being a little uncertain this season I am pleased with how well the summer has gone and how accomodating the staff employers have been. The lawn service has been good too.
So what's next? We are gearing up to roll toward Tennessee for the next job. The hero will be working for Amazon from mid-October to Christmas and that should be another adventure. For one thing, we'll be in a 'real' RV park for the whole time and since we mostly boondock it should be interesting. My goals stay the same, write, write, write, and I hope to get further ahead on new books.
Job one this week is to get the rig ready to roll. Earlier, the hero checked the oil, tires, and other functions of the rig and cranked up the engine to see that everything was in order. We are pleased to announce that after sitting still for three months the RV cranked over and purred -okay- growled- to life. Our next goal is to get everything packed away, organized, and ready to roll. Just like a house, there is always something that needs to be done with an RV and it can prove expensive if things go wrong. We already have an issue with our slide awning that is just wearing out. We patched it up when we visited the amazing Kirsten Osbourne but it won't last forever. We are in the process of finding a place that can get us a new awning and install it soon. It's a bit of a pain as you have a ton of measurements to deal with. We do like our mechanical and not automatic awnings. They have held up well and are original to this 2002 rig.
Sitting still for any period of time creates 'spread'. This just means that you tend to leave more things out than normal. We cook pretty much everyday so that means dishes, and extra groceries. It will be a week where we look carefully at things and see what we need to sto
w and what needs to be kept handy for quick use. On this trek we will be moving pretty steadily toward our next destination so I'll have to think ahead about food items. We have one cupboard that we can't access when the slide is in and when you are traveling everyday you don't always want to put the slide out. One thing I've seen as my own slacking off is the dishes. I used to wash, dry and put them up immediately. Now they may sit, draining in the sink for a while. I have a set of melamine dishes for the rig and they work well. I like this pretty design though too.
Along with packing up inside and checking things we'll have to disconect from our hook ups. We have several hoses that we use on the road and this time we are usin a regular drinking water hose while parked long term.
You want to make sure that you have the right hoses for your drinking water. For us we normally only fill our tank when we stop for water but being hooked up we use this kind of hose and have a flexible hose for short stops. This will also be the first time we unhook what RVers refer to as the 'stinky slinky' or the black water hose. There are so many ways to deal with knowing how to keep this process neat and clean. Firs
t, having the right attachements. Haveing a couple connections is a good plan with this job. Different RV parks will have different kinds of hook ups. You also have a clean out hose for this job and you can hook it up and spray out your black tank. It is best practice to have a hose that is very different from your water hose so you never worry about confusing them. Ours is orange and heavy duty with a back flow attachement for the water source.
It is funny gettting ready to roll again. There are lots of little jobs I thought I would get done around the rig before we left but they can wait until we get to our next location. I will still try to get the dusting done, but the closets can just wait. Who likes to clean out closets anyway?
I've been so busy writing and keeping up with my job that I've let a few things slip, but I guess I'll get caught up now that we are headed south again.
Don't forget to grab my latest books. Amanda launched in September and Alden's Always will be coming your way soon. It is this job that keeps us on the road and although we are reconsidering the way we roll and looking at possibly mixing things up again, we love seeing this amazing land and the wonders of God's creation.
Books make the world go round!
The Yellowstone Roll!
Coming Soon!
