Activities » tgif: let's RV

2011 Crossroads RV Factory Rally

Aug 072011

This weekend I attended the Crossroads RV Factory Rally held in Shipshewana Indiana. The rally consists of 3 days of food, games, food, tours, food, Q&As, food, companionship and did I mention food? The weather was great the whole weekend with temps in the upper 80s and just a few showers on Saturday.

For those arriving on Thursday we had a a pass-the-dish meal where we not only ate well but got a chance to meet most of the attendees. Friday morning I headed into Shipshewana to walk around town and visit a few of the shops. Later that evening we had a campfire, told stories and drank a few cold ones. 35+ rigs pulled into Shipshewana North Campground by Friday evening. Pizza awaited us under the big tent were we got to meet the late comers. A campfire and good company wrapped up the evening.

Stateline RC Race Shakedown Trip

Activities, Maintenance & Repairs, RV Equipment No Responses »

Jul 182011

Was finally able to get a shakedown trip with the new truck, the repaired trailer and get to do a RC race at the same time. Not bad being able to kill 3 birds with one stone. The RC race race was at the Stateline RC Raceway in Fremont, Indiana. The track is about 75 miles away so it was a nice trip to see how the truck tows and test out the how well the frame modifications on the trailer work out.

Thursday morning I picked up the trailer from the Crossroads factory. I checked it out before I left and the frame modifications cut the pinbox movement more then half. The reassembly of the front cap and overhang skin looked better then new. We did have to raise the pinbox an inch so the trailer would be travel level when hooked up to the new truck. Once home, I packed up and headed out to the Stateline track.

The trip to the track was uneventful. The GMC D/A dually pulled the coach like a dream. Very little tugging and the Dumamax diesel didn't even break a sweat. I normally traveled at 61 MPH with the old Dodge/Hemi as it was the speed that allowed me to stay in overdrive on level roads. I was able to do 64 MPH with the Duramax and it never shifted out of 6th gear, even on the hills. The mileage towing was 11.5 MPG which is a good 30% improvement over the old Dodge Hemi. Needless to say I super happy with the Jimmy.

Camping At An RC Race Track

Activities No Responses »

Jun 122011

There are a lot of places you can camp and a lot of activities you can do while camping. One of my hobbies is Radio Control Car Racing. I don't get to do it as much as I would like but I do try to attend some of the races at one of the local race organization's summer race series. This series is 6 races held at 6 different tracks. The race is on a Saturday and practice is held on Friday. I normally will take a vacation day from work on Friday and head to the track on Thursday evening so I can make it a long weekend.

As you can see there are a number of us that bring our trailers to make a weekend of it. While most arrive on Friday and leave Saturday after the race is over, there are a couple of use that arrive early, stay over night on Saturday to leave on Sunday. I enjoy doing that as it gives me a lot of time to relax both before the race and after. No need to rush to pack up just to drive home by midnight.

Passport America Rally Ends

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Feb 252011

The rally ended Wednesday and I'm glad it's over. Even though it was my first RV rally and really didn't know what to expect I found I was not alone in feeling it was disorganized and poorly thought out.

While I paid for a water and electric site, there was no water close to where they set me up. I could have moved to a different site after I was all set up but I decided not to tear down and resetup again. The food provided was not all that great and the entertainment they arranged was outside while we ate indoors.

As you can tell I was disappointed and the others I talked to felt the same. I doubt I'll attend another PA rally.

Passport America Rally

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Feb 202011

Today I moved from the Caravan Oasis campground to the Yuma County Fairgrounds for the 4 day Passport America Rally. They have a number of dinners planed plus a few activities.

I would guess there are about 100 units here. I was suppose to get a water & electric site bit all that's here is electric. A few of us spliced together some water noses and was able to get some water from an outlet about 100 ft. away. We are having a Southwest Cookout welcome dinner in am hour so I have to get ready for that.

Will report back later on how it went.

Hiking The Merkle Trail

Activities, Destinations, RV Parks & Campgrounds No Responses »

Jan 022011

Started out a nice sunny day so decided to tackle the easy Merkle Trail that can be found within the Usery Mountain Regional Park outside Mesa, AZ. The Merkle Trail is a fairly flat 1.5 mile trail that goes around the small Merkle Mountain. It is a wide smooth dirt trail that is wheelchair accessible so is an easy hike. There is also a Vista Trail that leads to the top of the mountain that is a bit more difficult and is not wheelchair accessible.

The main parking lot is directly across from the trailhead that has restrooms and playground for those that would rather just sit and enjoy the sunshine. I just decided to enjoy the sun and warm weather while I took my time and snapped a few photos. Once I had made the 1.5 mile loop I started the climb up the Vista Trail to the top of Merkle Mountain. It is only a couple of hundred feet up and is a lot easier then the trail to Wind Cave. Once at the top there were great views of the park and Meza valley below.

You can find more photos in my Photo Gallery.

Wind Cave Trail

Activities, Destinations, RV Parks & Campgrounds No Responses »

Dec 312010

I got up this morning to a cloudy and cool day. After coffee and breakfast I decided to tackle the Wind Cave Trail that is in the Usery Mountain Regional Park just outside Mesa, AZ.. The trail is about 1.5 miles long and ends at the Wind Cave which is not much more then wind-carved hollow at the base of a high cliff. The trail starts out fairly easy with a wide sandy path. The further you get up the steeper it becomes was rocks and boulders you have to negotiate over and around.

Along the way there are a number of places to rest and look out over the park and downtown Phoenix. The guide says to allow 1.5 to 2 hours for the 3 mile round trip but it took me about 2.5 hours. I was in no hurry, stopped to take a number of pictures and just enjoyed the hike. This is the parks most popular trail and even with the cold temperatures I met dozens of other hikers along the trail.

Once you get to the Wind Caves you can go another .8 of a mile to the summit of the mountain but I had enough by that time and decided not to go the last mile.While resting at the caves before my decent I heard some chirping. At first I thought it was one of the many ground squirrels I seen on the way up. But then there was this flash go by my head. Low and behold, it was a hummingbird flying around the few pieces of vegetation that hung from the ceiling of the cave. I tried to get a picture of it but it was too quick and the lighting too dark to get a good picture.

You can view more pictures from my hike in my Photo Gallery or follow my hike on My Spot Adventures.

Geocaching

Activities, Geocaching 1 Response »

Nov 032010

One of the main questions I get asked when someone hears about the trip I have planned this winter is "what are you going to do?". While sitting out in the desert does sound boring, they have no idea of all the things to do in the Quartzsite area.

First of all is the huge RV swap meet, Rock/Gem show, Arts/Crafts show, Pow Wow, Classic Car show and who knows what else that goes on in January and February. The town's population of ~4000 people swells to, what some claim, over 1 million visitors during the winter. With 1000+ booths at the various swap meets, that should keep me busy for a while.

A Treasure Hunting We Will Go

Activities, Treasure Hunting No Responses »

Oct 062010

I've put away the trailer for a few days while I gather up some supplies for the next round of projects to complete. While sitting here thinking of things that need to be done and try and make a plan for what to do once I get to Quatrzsite, it struck me that I may need a little something to pass the time.

I know last year in Texas that there were times that I looked for something to do. I really didn't feel like hitting any flea markets, or going to a movie and I was biked out. Sitting around enjoying the warm weather is great but you can only sit on your ass just so much.

ATVing Big Bend National Park

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Feb 062010

I went on my ATV trip today. It really wasn't in Big Bend but just a few miles outside on the Terlingua Ranch. Terlingua Ranch comprises about 22,000 acres and was once owned by Carroll Shelby (yes, THE Carroll Shelby) and David Witt.

When I got to Far Flung Outdoor Center they outfitted with helmets and then gave us quick driving and safety instructions. I was a bit disappointed to hear we wouldn't be going over 20 mph. There were a total of 5 of us in our party, the other four guys all were together so I was a bit of an outsider.... at least for the first couple of minutes. The ATVs were Can-Am 400s. The one I was riding was brand new and only ad 22 miles on it. After riding it a bit and getting used to it, it could have been a bit more powerful. I suppose it is a good 4-wheeler for a rental unit but if I owned one it would have to have more juice. Continue reading »