Tag Archive for 'rv'
A beautiful morning.
Father, daughter and dog enjoying. We met briefly yesterday. Mom is along also but this morning Dad and daughter walked the collie, Carlie. I think they are all having a grand time.
It was such a beautiful morning and I am so enjoying the lake view AND a few things I forgot at the grocery so we stayed – there is a wonderful Safeway here.
Above is the view from the Safeway parking lot. When I first came through Polson, it was not long after I moved to the Flathead Valley from Los Angeles. There is a MacDonald’s here that has an even better view. It was astonishing, coming from L.A. where a view like this would command $Millions.
Looking from Polson, northwest towards where the RV park is located.
Polson is on the south end of Flathead Lake and the southern end of the Flathead Valley. Polson’s position on the lake often leads to warmer and milder weather than around and north of the lake. Although there are some condo and housing developments on the lake, there are also some wonderful older neighborhoods and a lot of public access as well as a public marina. The main highway stays close to the lake and the majority of the hotels and restaurants are of the diner and motel vintage. I don’t know how long it might stay this way, but I enjoy the mostly low key mix that this area has at the moment.
After our grocery run, I set up the office outside and write this afternoon, From Under the Awning ;) !
I’ve worked a bit, walked a bit and watched the clouds pile up against the mountains, but so far, it is blue sky over the lake and the valley. Karl has enjoyed the nice grass, shade from the just leafed out birch and breeze off the lake. It is 59F currently at 2:00 p.m. – VERY pleasant as far as the crew of Wild Thing is concerned!
Bob retired to his dashboard spot in the sun. Rving is exhausting…
Yes, nose prints and drool marks on the windshield. I am one rvr who spends as much time washing the inside of the windshield as I do washing bugs off the outside!
Karl, Bob and I are here…
Polson, MT – actually a mile north of Polson at what used to be the Polson KOA and is now Polson Motorcoach and RV Resort…LA – DI – DAH!!! It is still a KOA although not sure it will stay a KOA. This RV park, a mere 50 miles from my house is the place that I spent my first overnight in my motorhome, Wild Thing, on August 16, 2005. I returned a bit later when I had the Jeep to “practice” with a car in tow.
This trip – an impromptu trip – Polson was a backup destination for the first night out.
Yesterday – Thursday, I took the Jeep to a dealer service spot for an oil change which was accomplished quickly, but a leak in a seal in the differential required a return trip. As the seal repair was a 2-3 hour thing vs a quick LOF, I thought: “I’ll tow the Jeep with the motorhome, get propane, fuel, work in the motorhome while the Jeep is being serviced”, which progressed to “as long as I’m taking the motorhome out, I might as well GO somewhere”.
So…..
The current Walmart sits across from the Jeep place. The Jeep place does not have room for the motorhome and Jeep to maneuver. Wild Thing landed at Walmart, I unhooked the Jeep and delivered it across the street, whereupon WT and crew went off to acquire propane, fuel, groceries and some valves for the water heater – I do NOT travel without hot water!
Water heater valves acquired and hot water in the offing we returned to Walmart just as I received a call that the Jeep was ready to go.
By now it was after noon. WT, Karl, Bob and I had rolled at 8:45 which was about 30 minutes later than intended, but still…
St. Regis was the intended destination, but Polson was the backup.
Approach to Polson.
Karl on the dash and the view beyond.
Bob likes the recliner.
I like this spot. I like the view, the change of scenery, the change of routine, being “on the road”.
I think we’ll proceed to St. Regis tomorrow, but that will be decided tomorrow.
Wild Thing rolls.
I thought I would be posting this afternoon or evening from the parking lot camp ground of the rv dealer that has been working on my Winnebago. I am, however, posting from home. And the Winnebago is home – her name is Wild Thing…because she moves me…
When we left this story, just yesterday in the telling, although Saturday in actuality, Karl and I had made the trip to Missoula in the Jeep to pick up WT. Her steps had been replaced and body work done. But, the steps – they went in and out just fine. There is, though, a step off/on switch just inside the door. When in the off position, the steps stay out. When in the on position, the steps extend when the door is open and retract when the door is closed. There is another feature…no matter what position the switch is in, when the ignition is on, the steps retract – a safety/convenience/stupidity avoidance mechanism to prevent an operator from driving off with the steps extended. The problem on Saturday was that the on/off switch was operating in reverse – on kept the steps out and off extended/retracted with the door open/close.
Saturday…there was a tech available, but not the one who did the installation. But surely, this was a simple “wire cross”. Mais, non! And I should have known as I was present, holding the flashlight, when the damaged steps were removed. 4 bolts and a wiring harness – in reverse for install, i.e. no wiring need be done by the installer. Heads were scratched and it was decided that input from the manufacturer was needed so Karl and I came home as documented in the previous post.
And…I told the dealer to take their time considering the condition of my road and drive.
I received a call fairly early on Monday that things were fixed. A number of calls back and forth because I was dumbfounded that it was so “easy” and in the back and forth a feeling that I was getting the run around. And there is that loss of confidence that happens when you don’t feel like you are getting accurate information. Enter my insurance agent who seriously went to bat for me with the dealer and suddenly, they cannot do enough for me – things like a wash, wax, something from their rv shop…
I decide that it would be best to get to Missoula ASAP, make sure all is truly well and bring WT home, while the entire fiasco is fresh in all minds. So I shuffle meetings and committments in order to drive down this afternoon, stay the night, and back Wednesday afternoon before the weather changes to winter again as forecast. The dealer phones this morning – a Kalispell customer has a locked up motorhome, a tech is driving up to deal with that…he could drive my motorhome, towing a car, i.e. they want to know if I’m open to them delivering the motorhome to me in Kalispell. YES, I say! All goes well, I meet the tech not far from my house. He unhooks his tow, I hook up my Jeep and off we go. The step was operating correctly.
I turn on to my road in the nick of time…
It looked like snow, threatening clouds over the mountains, but all held off..
Karl rode shotgun. My road was clear, my driveway was icy. A decision had to be made whether to drop the Jeep and come in motorhome only with no tow. I was tired, I wanted it over, I left the Jeep on and drove like I meant it. 21000 pounds of motorhome pulling 3800 pounds of Jeep did not hesitate.
In, turned around, backed up, parked and plugged in. All are home.
Five years ago…if you had told me that I would someday own an RV and LOVE rving, I would have said you were nuts.
I own an RV and I LOVE rving!
I even love a 200 mile round trip just to take the beast to a dealer for repair. I don’t love needing the repair, but it was operator error ( Damaging steps ) so I can’t blame the rv. I also didn’t “LOVE” the Jeep hookup yesterday as it was 6 below zero while I was doing it. Don’t let that sunshine fool you – it was cold! And things that normally swivel and extend didn’t want to do that. A hammer and a few choice words convinced them otherwise. The good news was that I wasn’t all hot and sweaty after the hookup…
I packed a lunch, my camera, my laptop – loaded Karl…no steps…I’m glad I’ve kept up with my strength training – and off we went. Destination, Missoula – 100 miles south.
The stop light in Bigfork…too bad about that view, huh?
Although cold, it was clear and sunny and a gorgeous day for the drive which skirts Flathead Lake for 35 miles before going through Polson, Montana and then a beautiful valley with the Mission Mountains to the east and the Bitteroots to the West.
Between Bigfork and Polson, I stopped at a pullout along the lake to allow 2 following cars to pass and to do a safety check.
We continued on. I had planned on a lunch stop south of Ronan, but the pullout there was not plowed. I ended up going all the way to the dealer in Missoula and having lunch in their parking lot. I unhooked the Jeep, checked in with service, transferred computer and camera to the Jeep, took a walk with Karl and then we started back towards home.
The Missions were beautiful – loaded with snow. A thin cloud layer lay about a third of the way between their jutting peaks and the valley floor. I didn’t stop – there are times when I just like to look.
**Added 7:30 a.m. 1/27 – I just visited fellow Montana blogger Montucky – he headed to the city yesterday also, albeit from a different direction. His post in the link is a gorgeous capture of the Missions – worth the click!
I did stop at a scenic lookout just before Polson. It is not somewhere I’ve ever stopped before, although it has the first view of the lake and the entrance to the Flathead Valley.
Home is 39 miles north of Polson. We arrived there in time for a walk before sunset.