By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
“Hi Barry, is it you who writes the RV blog?” arrived today in my inbox. That was how Keith, with whom I worked in the ‘70s, contacted me [Believe it or not, there are other Barry Zanders in the world, including one who may have skipped out without paying at a restaurant I frequented with potential clients].
“It is I … with my wife Monique, we are the Never-Bored RVers.”
“Fantastic! Yes I’ve read your blogs, and they are very informative. We started RVing two years ago. We bought a Forest River Wildcat and have taken it out the past two summers and plan to do more this year. [My wife and I] usually go out West since my son lives in Lander, WY, and we both love the West. I [now work part time] for my association and can basically do the work anywhere I can get a WiFi hookup so we should be traveling more. On our bucket list is to visit all the primary National Parks and have been to almost 40 of them. So maybe we’ll meet on the trail somewhere.
“We’re headed out in July for a trip up through Wyoming and then down to Lake City, Colorado and Angel Fire, NM. Are you going to be out that way in July /August? Do you still have your “bumper-pull”? I saw the photos of your rig in deep sand in Mexico.”
Keith brought up two points that got me thinking. First, there are 58 U.S. Park Service National Parks. He mentioned his dissatisfaction with the rangers at one of them. I reminded him that when we worked together, it was in the forest products industry, and almost everyone we associated with or met in our travels put conservation of natural lands and reforestation as primary reasons to be involved with forestry. That’s especially true of Park Service and Forest Service personnel, but it’s been Monique’s and my experience that they can get cranky when dealing with hordes of people who don’t share their love for and stewardship of our woodlands.
The other topic Keith mentioned was difficulty backing up his travel trailer when parking. My take on that is that it takes practice, lots of practice, which you don’t get by always looking for drive-thrus. The other point: I’m pretty good at backing up the rig, but I never want to do it without Monique to guide me in. Having a helper out there to indicate the space to shoot for and when to stop is a major help.
Before jumping to a comment from my Green Angels post, I want to direct you to my website for two (so far) blogs about being with grey whales and with a myriad of other sea life and birdlife while in Baja California in Mexico. Click on http://ontopoftheworld.bz/more-whales-and-so-much-more-part-1/ to get to the first article and follow up with Part II.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
Because of the numerous Spam comments on this site, the comments section has been deactivated. Please email us at neverboredrvers@gmail.com and I will pass along your comments. Learn about Alaska, the Canadian Atlantic Provinces and much more plus a growing number of travel photos at http://ontopoftheworld.bz.
COMMENT FROM A READER:
FROM JULIE IN WASHINGTON STATE — I, too, had assistance from the Green Angels while traveling in Mexico. The “caravan” consisted of my motorhome and my aunt & uncle with their 5th wheel. And none of us spoke Spanish. My serpentine belt broke, and of course narrow road out of Sonoyta. The Angels showed up within 5 minutes, got the belt removed, my uncle had all my manuals; they took him back to the town, to two stores and found the belt that would work. I had a gasser at the time; one Angel took off the doghouse cover inside, and had to lie on his belly (and I could see holes in the soles of his shoes), while the other worked from the outside. They got it on and we were once again ready to drive within an hour. They did not charge me, but I have them each $50, and Hershey chocolate bars. They seemed more excited over the candy!!
They were so nice and polite. We have travelled as far south as Puerto Vallarta many times and always have had very pleasant and friendly encounters with locals. When driving thru small villages, the people wave and smile. I have really enjoyed the posts you do and followed your Alaskan adventures with envy.