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Tag: moving RV

07 May 2019

The mishaps of moving two RVs

snow hoodoos valley Table Top Mesa Bryce Canyon National Park UtahI know it’s crazy because I travel solo and it isn’t easy moving two RVs but one is my home and the other my glamping toy.  Thus the tale of mishaps moving to Bryce Canyon National Park for the summer.

truck 5th-wheel leaving Yarnell ArizonaAt first I tried to find someone local to move the 5th-wheel but eventually called the person who lives in Utah and had moved it before.  He and his wife have professional and personal experience with RVs so I trust them.  The original plan was they would pick up and tow the 5th-wheel on Wednesday from Yarnell to their property in Kanab, Utah.  They only made it as far as Flagstaff and after fueling at Sam’s Club, on the way out of the parking lot heard a bang and saw a rear tire smoking so pulled back in the lot.  A rear spring had broken, or exploded into several pieces.  The local mobile service couldn’t get the part until the next day so they spent a chilly night.  Repair happened Thursday and just after noon they were on their way.  I am terribly sorry this happened to them, or at all, but am glad it was them and not me.  I’d have been totally stressed out.  Plus so grateful that it didn’t happen on the highway.  Why did it happen is difficult to say.  I’ve been bouncing that RV on roads for seven years.  Maybe it was an unavoidable pothole on I40.  Yes even though it’s under construction and being repaved it has almost more holes than before.  Was truly a relief to me these competent people had the problem under control.

propane tanks truckcamper Peeples Valley ArizonaI rolled out of Yarnell as planned on Thursday morning with a stop in Peeples Valley to fill propane tanks on the truck camper.  These are the new horizontal 5-gallon tanks I had to buy a few months ago because the originals from 1998 could no longer be re-certified.  However, this new design is a nightmare.  They are impossible to fill while in the camper even with my 90° adapter, the guy tried.  Finally called where I bought them and was told they have to come out and be filled vertically.  That is truly a pain in the you know what and I’ll never be able to lift them out and in because of my bad shoulders and lack of upper body strength.  Bless this guy’s heart he stuck with it.  But they won’t even fill all the way full.  Took him over an hour to sell me four gallons of propane.  That’s total in two tanks.  Not going to work.  I am not happy with this arrangement and now far away from the B&B Auto where I bought those in Congress.

sign leaving Prescott National Forest SR89 North ArizonaAfter a brief shop stop in Prescott I hit the road north about the same time my 5th-wheel left Flagstaff.

truckcamper treees clouds Coconino National Forest ArizonaMy thought was to camp at Sunset Crater’s Bonito campground but it was still closed for the season.  So I went boondocking not far away along with a few others who had the same idea and camped just out of sight of each other.

trees sunrise clouds Coconino National Forest Arizona

trees Sunset Crater sunrise Sunset Crater National Monument ArizonaAwoke in time to catch a soft sunrise in camp then buzzed to a trailhead in the national monument to see the sun rise over Sunset Crater.

Wukoki ruin Wupatki National Monument Arizona

Echo Cliffs clouds SR89 North to Page ArizonaAfter breakfast in the parking lot, I drove the loop road to Wupatki National Monument.  Stopped at Wukoki ruin then onward to Page where I dropped off some outgrown uniform pants for a friend.

sign Welcome to Utah SR89 Utah

Escobars Kanab Utah

Next stop, Kanab and an early dinner with Bill at my favorite restaurant in town, Escobars.  Mexican food that can’t be beat.

Later, while admiring the pruned fruit trees in Bill’s back yard I notice three flowering lilac bushes, lavender, white, and deep purple.  I love these and grew up playing under large hedges of them in Illinois.  So I buried my nose and breathed deep.  Might have been a mistake as I woke in the middle of the night unable to breath through my runny stuffed up nose.  Even allergy pills didn’t help the next day.

Saturday I blew through at least one box of kleenex and took a two hour nap.  Before the nap I called my tow people and was told the 5th-wheel would need three new tires as this break had screwed them up badly.  That couldn’t be done until Monday morning and afterwards the 5th-wheel would be towed up to Bryce.

sign Forscher German Bakery Orderville Utah

trees red cliffs SR12 East Red Canyon Dixie National Forest UtahRed Canyon Dixie National Forest

I left Kanab still sniffling on Sunday about 10am.  Made one stop along the way at the Forscher German bakery in Orderville.  I was starting to feel a little better but looked forward to a nap once parked in Bryce.

truckcamper trees site #4 Bryce Canyon National Park Utah

RV window view trees horses corral Bryce Canyon National Park UtahMy new home RV site was plenty big enough for the truckcamper but looked small and a tight fit for the 36-foot 5th-wheel with three slide-outs.  Thank goodness someone else was backing it in.  The forest view includes a corral with horses, mules, and at least one donkey.  The signal was just OK and intermittent.  I took a nap and didn’t go out until work in the morning.

truck 5th-wheel site #4 Bryce Canyon National Park UtahTwo motorhomes parked to my right, one where my truck was

Around 10 Monday morning I received a text that the 5th-wheel was pulling into the park so I left work to lead it in.  Took almost two hours to get the beast into site #4, an up-size from from my originally assigned #2 which is impossibly small.  Once in, it fit fine.  There are six sites, only four filled so far and the rest will be also.  Most national park site campgrounds, public and staff, were built long enough ago when RVs weren’t the beastly size of today.  Sadly, there is no money to update.  On the upside the site is level and has 50amp service.

After work I moved Sierra inside the 5th-wheel closing her in the toilet room so she couldn’t get out with open doors needed to transfer stuff from the camper.  I hooked up the fresh water dreaming of a shower in my own house.  But before I even turned the water heater on I saw water dripping from the bottom front and sides.  I opened the basement doors looking for pipe leaks and didn’t see anything obvious so turned the water off and went inside to find wet floor by the door and base of the stairs.  A very unhappy Sierra let me know she wanted out of the closet-sized space and when I opened the door I saw water flowing onto the floor instead of into the toilet.

That night I watched a couple of YouTube videos about repairing and replacing RV toilets and decided it was time to change this one out so ordered a new one from Amazon.  That means no running water until the new toilet is installed.  Also ordered a cat tree for Sierra.

snow trees corral sunrise clouds Bryce Canyon National Park UtahAwoke to a light dusting of snow on Tuesday and complete ground cover Wednesday.  Welcome Spring at 8000 feet.

inside 5th-wheel Bryce Canyon National Park UtahToo tired after work to unpack the house, I lived with the mess for several days.  On the weekend I made the space livable and discovered I own way too much furniture.

It is a lot of work moving two RVs but will be so worth it when I explore the area on my weekends.  Which, BTW, after another week of training is over will be Monday & Tuesday one week, and add Wednesday the next week.  Sure hope these are enough RV mishaps for a long while.

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RV living Arizona, Bryce Canyon NP, moving, moving RV, Utah 34 Comments
22 April 2019

Moving to Bryce Canyon National Park

Navajo Loop trail thru arch & surrounded by hoodoos from Bryce Point Bryce Canyon National Park UtahNavajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP

I am mentally and emotionally ready for moving to Bryce Canyon.  Though the physical part requires moving way more stuff than I’d like.

Berta's house truckcamper sunset Yarnell ArizonaMaybe because I’ve basically been in one place for over a year and in a house much of that time, I’ve spread out.  Plus stuff in both the RVs has been interesting.  I think mobile makes for easier moving because all my stuff is in one place and I roll with it.  I can batten down the truck camper in 10 minutes max.  The 5th-wheel usually takes a day to pack because of being parked for six months or more.  It’s different this time as I move stuff from the house to either of the RVs.  I don’t like all the lifting and carrying but am excited to be back in my own home.

Berta’s daughter and SIL visiting from Oregon last week were also moving ‘stuff’ to keep, sell, donate, toss.  That job is not complete yet.

5th-wheel Yarnell ArizonaThis is the week for moving two RVs.  Didn’t sell the 5th-wheel or the slide-in camper.  I know it’s crazy for one person to have two RVs but one is my house and the other my glamping toy.  Anyone who has lived in RVs for a long time—30 years for me—has probably tried different combinations.  They work for a while, things happen, we change our minds.  We work our way up in size and often back down.  Is there a perfect combination?  Maybe temporarily.

tree Weaver Mountains moon set sunrise clouds Yarnell ArizonaSame can be said for anywhere we settle and live for a while.  After almost 15 years of at least part-time living here I feel this desire to be gone from Yarnell.  I do like this place and have many fond memories but the recent loss of friends has shifted my attachment.  For a nice overview of Yarnell check out this video.

truckcamper new tire B&B Auto Congress Arizona

Dodge Ram new windshield Shieldlite Prescott ArizonaGetting all the rigs ready to roll.  Two new batteries for the 5th-wheel.  Two new tires for the truck.  Replaced the windshield I’ve been driving around with a chip and then crack just below my line of sight for a couple years.  Heading to remote so taking care of this stuff before I get there.  It’s almost four hours to St. George where all things shopping can be done.  I am told there are also small grocery stores 10 minutes from the park in Bryce Canyon City, 20 minutes to Tropic, 40 minutes to Panguitch, and 2 1/2 hours to either Cedar City or Kanab.

5th-wheel Kanab UtahSame person who towed the 5th-wheel to Yarnell is towing it back to Utah and Bryce where I can pull in the 28th.   He’s coming down to Yarnell the 24th and may tow it back to Kanab the same day or stay the night in it and go the next day.

first light Sunset Crater National Monument ArizonaSunrise at Sunset Crater NM

Wukoki Pueblo Wupatki National Monument ArizonaWukoki Pueblo Wupatki NM

sunrise Lone Rock beach Lake Powell Glen Canyon National recreation Area UtahSunset from Lone Rock Beach along Lake Powell

The 25th I plan to roll as far as the Sunset Crater area.  Then maybe drive the loop through Wupatki National Monument on Friday and stay at Lone Rock Beach that night where I should catch up with Gayle.  Then Saturday Kanab at Bill’s.  And Sunday morning caravan the two RVs to Bryce.

Bryce map developed area googleI’ve never seen the employee RV area at Bryce but am told it is near the corral which isn’t too far a walk to the rim.  Not sure what kind of signal I’ll have and am hoping the big booster will get me out in the cyberworld.

Snow hoodoo Natural Bridge overlook Bryce Canyon National Park UtahI’ll have Sunday to set up and start work Monday with a half day to settle in.  After two weeks of training, reading, learning, and exploring I should be able to answer some of the questions visitors will have about Bryce Canyon.  Starting off with, it’s really not a canyon at all.

Looking down trail from Wall Street Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon National Park UtahWall Street

Sure hope you’ll come for a visit this summer.  I’ll have a guest room because of moving both RVs.

2-door wire pet cageAny of you RVers have portable catteries? I saw a crate hung outside a window for under $50.  Though not sure how it’s mounted.  The ideal one was overpriced at $1500 and would have gotten her on the ground but would have been too bulky to move around.  Also am looking at cat trees/poles for inside perching and clawing.  Sierra doesn’t claw the furniture and I want to keep it that way.

Sierra cat in doorway Yarnell ArizonaBye bye Yarnell.  Hello Bryce.

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23 October 2017

Fall follow up

5th-wheel Kanab UtahAfter the 5th-wheel was safely moved from the North Rim last week I got sick and have been hanging out in Kanab ever since so figured it was time for a fall follow up.

truck camper Bill's house Kanab UtahI visited with friends in Kanab for a couple days getting settled in to my smaller home and planned to be on my way towards Zion National Park within a few days.

truck camper Kanab UtahBut then I got sick.  A bout of diverticulitis probably from an organic strawberry seed.  Thank goodness I had the appropriate meds to deal with it.  But it does take days to even start to feel better and a lot of naps.  So I parked at the wonderful folks who towed my 5th-wheel and hunkered in.  Complete with electricity and a beautiful view.

The first day I went into a deep funk.  Totally stupid.  Calendars were selling like hotcakes at a breakfast festival. Probably the damn pain pill I took.

2018 calendarIn fact I am overwhelmed by the massive response to the calendar.  Thank you all.  I am shocked the first 25 calendars went so fast and I still have orders to fill.  So I ordered 25 more and hope I don’t get stuck with a bunch of them.  After all, I live in a RV with barely any wall space to hang a calendar.  So please spread the word.

After sitting too much, talking to my BFF, and thinking, I’ve changed my travel plans, once again.  I really need more down time and hate the idea of crowds at our national parks.  So if I feel up to it this morning I’m going to move east about 30 miles and hike a little on the Upper Buckskin trail.  Then who knows.

sunset Kanab UtahI’d like to visit Monument Valley and Canyon De Chelly.  But right now, it’s just one day at a time.

I will end up in Yarnell because that’s where the calendar order is going.

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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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