Road crew tip takes us to Hoven

Henry Huft sends us to Hoven, SDI think one of the hardest things about this trip will be trying to remember everything about all of the interesting places and colorful characters we are meeting along the way. There’s simply not enough time nor photos to tell this whole story.

For instance, we had planned to stay at Cow Creek campground one evening along the banks of the Mighty MO on our way to Fargo, ND. When stopped by road construction, the flagger walked up to ask about our truck and we ended up chatting for a bit. That’s whatchya do in these parts donthchyaknow.

By the time he waved us on, good ol’ Henry Huft had told us that he will never where a hat – though it was 106 degrees out – because he was born without a hat, and he’ll stay that way. He also told us that we just had to go on to Hoven for a steak at Boone’s Bar and Grill, and that for vegetarians they had big shrimp and a salad bar.

Read more

Outrageous RV Name Survey

Mike’s comment on my recent post regarding campground etiquette for big rig RVers prompted me to finally compile the list of outrageous RV names that we’ve been jotting down since we embarked on this journey. Below is our top ten list of ironic RV names that we’ve come across. Please vote and let us know which names are the best. Or shall we say worst?

[ edit: survey widget no longer worky worky ]

If you said other, be sure to post a comment and let us know what you’ve seen. other names that didn’t quite make it onto our top ten list include:

  • Prowler
  • Hitchhiker
  • Wild Cat
  • Challenger
  • Conquest
  • Ultimate Advantage
  • Avenger
  • Bounty Hunter

Note: I say these names are ironic because I think its funny how recreational vehicles are supposed to enable people to get out and enjoy the peace and quite of nature and commune closer with our mother earth, yet the names imply otherwise.

Read more

Where did all the ads go?

Granted, many readers may be saying to themselves, “Thank God all those ads are gone!” But by the time others read this post, they may be thinking, “What on earth is this guy talking about?” If you’re the slightest bit interested in making little extra spending money by placing Google ads on your own website, or you wonder why we’ve stopped running ours, please read on. If not, rest assured the ads will be back. Hopefully soon.

Read more

The View is Always Different

For the record, the trees all over the hills around Deadwood, SD have always been dead. One can only assume that’s how the town got it name. But one thing I enjoy about this full-time RVing thing is how the view from our kitchen table is always different. and whenever I look up through the skylight in our shower – yeah, that’s cool too – …

Read more

Beef Country and The Mashed Potato Tower

Wyoming steak and mashed potato towerWorked most of the day yesterday, finally developing our long-awaited road trip soundtrack page – complete with lyrics to classic travel tunes we’ve deemed appropriate for our trip, local radio stations that have stuck on our dial, and interesting internet radio streams.

But I couldn’t leave Devil’s Tower without a report of this awesome place I’ve always wanted to visit. OK, technically, I did leave since I’m writing this from our new home for the week at Whistler Gulch Campground in Deadwood South Dakota. But I digress…

Traveling across Wyoming, we saw numerous signs stressing that we were in cattle country. As if all the herds weren’t enough to indicate such. As a vegetarian, René was especially amused by the billboards boldy telling us to “Eat Beef!” Personally, I took it as a sign to seek out and grill a great big Wyoming steak. And of course, I would just have to do my best Richard Dreyfus impression by sculpting a replica of the Bear’s Lodge from my mashed potatoes.

Read more

Our First Roadkill

Longest drive yet yesterday, from Laramie to Keyhole State Park just outside Devil’s Tower Wyoming. No wonder we made our first kill. Good thing René wasn’t looking when the little bird hit the grille, she would’ve cried for sure. And thank goodness it wasn’t anything bigger, like the open range cattle, free roaming horses, Pronghorn sheep or numerous Jackalopes we’ve seen littering the Wyoming byways. …

Read more

Hammock Tryouts: Strike One

Stayed up late last night updating our full-time RV road trip gallery with the latest photos and videos. But no pictures can do justice to the outdoor adventures we enjoyed while dry-camping for the previous four days at Seedhouse in the Routt National Forest. While heavy thunderstorm clouds kept us incognito in the woods, the weather was not so bad that it kept us from …

Read more

Field Report: MotoSat Trouble

Our first day boondocking at Seedhouse Campground in the Routt National Forest, we had excellent connectivity with Satellite 91 West using our DataStorm F2 dish. The next few days however, we spent too much time trying to troubleshoot connectivity issues. In a previous life, this would have been frustrating. But it’s hard to get upset when your home office is deep in the woods with so much to do…

Read more

Troubleshooting the Norcold N821 RV Refrigerator

We’ve been giving the fridge a serious workout the past few weeks as we have traveled through some record-breaking heat in Arizona and Utah. I’ve been meaning to post about how the fridge issues that began at Lake Francis RV Resort seem to be resolved. Then I noticed the ignition fault error this morning after our first night in the Rockies outside Steamboat Springs, CO.

Read more

Too Darned Hot. Too bad.

Arizona’s canyon lands, painted dessert and red rock buttes are beautiful sights to be seen and appreciated. That being said, I am happy to say I can check that area off my list of potential places to plant permanent roots. I’ll never say never, but the heat and local societal attitude that I encountered – yes, first impressions do count in my book – throughout …

Read more

Biscuit Review: The Coffee Pot – Sedona, AZ

I gotta give Raul an A for Effort for the biscuits and gravy he made us yesterday. After all, they were the first thing ever cooked in our new fifth wheel’s little oven, he used Rene’s homemade “Bisquick” mix, and the gravy was from Tony Chachere’s Southern Pantry White Gravy Mix – a decent standby for quick homemade biscuits and gravy. But I must say …

Read more

Bar Review: Sultana – Williams, AZ

Nowhere does a long neck Bud taste better than in a dark old bar in a hot dusty Arizona town. This bar has to be one of the oldest. And this town is definitely one of the dustiest. The Sultana Bar in Williams, AZ claims to have the longest operating liquor license in the state of Arizona. And they didn’t mind us bringing in Jerry …

Read more

We Got Our Kicks on Route 66

From Kingman to Williams Arizona we followed one of the last remaining stretches of Historic Route 66. Stopped in the tourist trap town of Seligman only to discover the authentic looking 50’s style diner was closed. What the!?!? Oh well, no root beer float. And we didn’t feel like Chinese food so we snacked in the trailer. Going on our way, we came across this …

Read more

Independent America TV Documentary

My sister sent me this link to the Yahoo News Interview with Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes about Independent America – the documentary they created during a two-lane trek across the U.S. to identify communities where mom & pop stores are taking on Big Box America. Just as we are in search of the ideal community to live and work, where mom and pop stores …

Read more

Terrible’s Terrible Biscuits

Feeling nostalgic after our trek across Death Valley, we just had to stop at Terrible’s Town which was the only thing in Pahrump 12 years ago. Now the town has sprawled out in a scary way and there is a big Nugget Casino next door. Hoping to find the clean and quaint Kenny Rogers Café inside, we were overwhelmed with all the additional casino fare …

Read more