My first "RV" experience was my parents' towed trailer: the Reluctant Draggin'—because it was draggin' along behind us. We covered a quarter of the country each summer, following a tight time schedule and fretting if we arrived somewhere early or (unthinkable!) wanted to stay longer than planned.
I bought my first RV in 1997, a tiny 24-foot class C (the kind that looks a bit like a pickup truck). I named it the Travelin' Tortoise, because I was carrying my house with me as I traveled. Later I upgraded to a 28-footer, and then (in 2004) to my current rig, a 30-foot Winnebago class A (snub-nosed, like a school bus). This one is the Meandering Moose. I grin as I tell people that, like a moose, I am large, awkward and, perhaps, unattractive, but I revel in running freely through God's glorious creation!
Generally my companions are few: my Lord, of course ... Dolphin, a saber-toothed tiger cleverly disguised as a tabby cat ... and Sallie, my beagle, who fancies herself a member of Homeland Security. Sometimes a friend or two will join me for a short jaunt, but I'm quite content on my own: 64-years-old, single, set in my ways, having a wonderful time!
No tight itineraries for me! If I want to stay longer, I stay. If I want to diverge from my planned route, diverge I do! I especially enjoy the glories of nature (national parks, back roads, scenic byways, fields of sunflowers) and snatches of weirdness (buildings shaped like something, trains and carousels, petting zoos).
This summer, the year of our Lord two-thousand eleven, I found myself discouraged by gas prices. After all, my Meandering Moose gets six miles per gallon in the high country, perhaps as high as eight or nine mpg at 40 mph in the Midwest. How in the world can I afford to feed such a behemoth with gas so expensive? Doug Eller, a retired neighbor, set me straight. "Elsi," he said one evening, as we swatted mosquitoes and admired the new bushes and trees in my yard, "how do you know you’ll even be physically able to travel next summer? Maybe gas prices will be so much higher that these seem low. Popular places to visit should be less crowded this season, with other folks scared away by the economy. And if it's just too expensive, well, settle down and stay awhile! That will make your gas expenses precisely zero!"
Good advice! I went to Estes Park, Colorado, mid-May, for the Colorado Christian Writers Conference—a wonderful experience, as always. I'm headed for Glacier National Park in Montana at the end of July, with my friend Diane Kanagy. I'm planning a big fall-color experience to the Midwest in October.
And in the interstices, I read a lot, write a lot, and enjoy the experiences the Lord gives me.
So, check out the rest of the website … read my blog (www.RVTourist.com/blog) … look for my Meandering Moose on the highways and byways … and if you want to buy one of my books, send me an email and I’ll ship it to you!
To stop the music, click on the moving bars just above this sentence.
Plot to Plate: Grow, Cook, Create! This exciting project offers fun, practical, healthy, seasonal food activities from garden to plate for all learning styles. I'm co-author and editor of the book. Find out more about it and get free downloads on this web page!
This exciting project offers fun, practical, healthy, seasonal food activities from garden to plate for all learning styles. I'm co-author and editor of the book. Find out more about it and get free downloads on this web page!
