On the Road Again...

This was the motor-home I had for a couple of years. It was built in 1978, and I cleaned it up 'real good'....

For a brief while I traveled in a motor-home. It seemed like a dream come true when I first saw it. My sister and I were going to share it, although they only used a a couple of times. All the years I camped, I would wander around and look at people in their motor-homes and think, "wouldn't that be super!". I polished and scrubbed and painted (most motor homes have the same basic color... it's the color of paint used on propane tanks.. a sort of non rust basic off white!.. go figure!). My first trip was joyful EXCEPT...

I liked it fine enough when I was actually sitting in the campground. The ability to get dressed STANDING UP, was a treat, and the shower was GREAT and the table where I could read and be warm and look out the window at the rain was INCREDIBLE.. and somehow it was all lacking. Here's what I learned about myself. I LIKED the little van. It was easy to drive, it was more than enough room for me in the back, it was cozy and needed no hook ups (other than electricity where I could find it). It was easy to drive. I had to say that twice, as it was the first thing I noticed. The Motor-home got about 8 miles to the gallon on a good day going downhill. I never counted on being able to travel more than .. oh... about a 100 miles before I started looking for gas. It was a bitch to drive in the wind. I drove through a forming tornado outside of Sturgis South Dakota. The wind was so intense that it actually LIFTED the motor-home off the pavement, and blew rain up UNDER the windshield and down the inside. The only thing that kept me on the road was the fact that I could see sunshine in what seemed to be about 300 yards in front of me. I later read that it touched down close to where I was driving. I didn't much like that, but I wouldn't have liked it in the van, either. I spent the night in Spearfish with a storm that raged from all directions. The poor tent campers went and slept in the bathrooms of the KOA. So it was a dichotomy- fun when camping and not fun to drive (except for being the BIGGEST THING ON THE ROAD which WAS fun (grin) ).

but... was it really fun when I was camping? Aye.. there's the rub. One of the reasons I love to travel is meeting people. Invariably, people ask me about my traveling alone; traveling in my little van; about not having any amenities; and we talk. I LOVE to talk. Ask anyone I know. What I learned with the motor home was that I didn't meet as many people. Either I was spending more time INSIDE, or I was less approachable when I had the motor home.... quell shame! I wasn't as bohemian, I'm thinking, and was just some old woman traveling alone. I don't know, but it was a marked difference in interaction. PLUS... picture this. Nice motor home. Spend the night. Get up. Take a nice cozy shower with lots of room to change and dry off (not usual in the campgrounds, except for Oregon State Parks)... Pack up.. then CRAWL under the motor home and unhook the sewer and water lines, pack them up, and go to the campground showers to get clean again (grin). Not nearly as much fun as it seems... With my little van, all I do is drag the electric line in through the window and take off...

Now.. if only I could stand up in it...

me!