Full Time RV Living–Routine Maintenance Means What to You?

Message:
living full time in my 36' fifth wheel now......thinking about staying
in it for retirement....just had some questions about routine
maintence?

 

I received the email above from a new RV’er. . .

thought they posed a great question. . .and wanted to get your thoughts.

 

Routine maintenance of course includes the daily cleaning you would do even in your house. . .

and then there’s the wash job the outside needs ever so often. . .

washing the bugs off the front is an almost every trip chore!

 

We wax ours about once a year. . .yuck!

 

Empty the black tank once a week, and do a back flush. . .

that keeps the yuckies, and the smellies down. . .

 

Window washing and cleaning is constant, as is dusting. . .

there’s no end to the dusting. . .where does it all come from?

 

I keep most routine maintenance chores listed on my Google Calendar,

so the reminders pop up as needed. . .

 

Not really a maintenance issue. . .but keep a Travel Journal. . .

I also do this on my Google Calendar. . .

sure makes it nice when you want to remember where you were and when! 

Wish I would have started this at the beginning of our travels. . .

I’m slowly going back and adding in all our trips. . .

 

I’m sure there are tons more tips. . .what do you think. . .any ideas to add?

 

Hubby checks the batteries, and adds distilled water on a regular basis. . .

every three months or so. . .same with the hot water heater. . .

you gotta clean it out, or it will fill up with gunk.

 

Add bug screens to your furnace and hot water heater vents. . .

they are cheap, and will prevent dirt daubers from building a nest (we know this from experience.)

 

I’m sure there are tons more things that I’m not thinking of at the moment. . .

what would you recommend. . .any ideas?

Full Time RV Living–Photos and more Photos–all to be organized

I’m uploading and organizing pics from the past . . .

20 disks down and 100 more to go. . .don’t think I’ll finish today!

 

anyone remember these little gems?

 

here’s my handy dandy external floppy disk drive. . .

 

I’d certainly entertain ideas on how to speed up the process. . .LOL!

Full Time RV Travel–Trinidad Colorado–Trinidad Lake State Park–Carpios Cove Hiking Trail

What a beautiful place Trinidad Lake State Park has turned out to be. . .

a little pricey at $33 per night by the time they add in all the fees. . .

but for full hook ups and a great location. . .we’ll take it.

Last night I did one of those fancy dancy hikes. . .where there’s a sidewalk all the way around. . .

with nifty little placards telling you what everything is. . .above is the beautiful view of

Fisher’s Peak overlooking Trinidad Lake. . .which as you can probably tell. . .

is suffering from the severe drought Colorado is experiencing. . .

Another interesting stop on my hike. . .

A Horno (pronounced oar-no) outdoor oven. . .made from clay and used by

Native Americans in past culture. . .

Also visible from my hike was the Spanish Peaks. . .located about 20 miles away.

I’m sure you’ll be seeing them again. . .as I just know the sun setting behind them

will be absolutely breathtaking. . .I’m heading over there shortly for the experience.

 

Today. . .about two o’clock. . .not sure what I was thinking?  I decided we should

go hike the Carpios Cove Trail. . .it’s only 1/2 a mile right. . .no problem. . .

and Dave was dumb enough to go along. . .LOL. . .

more beautiful views of Fisher’s Peak. . .

Originally, five mining towns were located in the valley where Trinidad Lake is now. . .

and mine tailings are still visible in the area. . .here is a not so beautiful view of one of those.

and another, much larger one. ..part of the process. . .

We’re having a great time. . .I’ve lost 12 pounds this summer

just by hiking and walking. . .so I need to keep that up. . .

Lots more to see and do here in Trinidad. . .so stay tuned!

Janice

Full Time RV Cooking–One Chicken–Three Meals–Plus Chicken Stock

Now that’s what I call a deal. . .

 

I bought one of those rotisserie chickens for dinner. . .it was a delicious meal, but there was a lot left over. . .so, I took the rest off the bone. . .saved the bones and skin in the freezer for making stock later. . .

 

then using Iron Chef Michael Symon’s recipe for pizza dough

3/4 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp yeast

1/4 cup water – maybe a little more

Olive Oil for pan

Proof the yeast in the water. . .I add a smidge of sugar to help the process

Add wet ingredients to dry – mix until incorporated – knead for a few minutes – then allow to rise – shape dough and add toppings – cook in 425* preheated oven about 20 minutes or so. . .

(I decreased measurements to make one crust)

To the top of this dough I added bechamel sauce (cream sauce or alfredo sauce will be fine). . .

did I mention I made the bechamel sauce using bacon fat?   Yum!. . .

Shredded Chicken

a sprinkle of dried thyme or whatever seasonings you might like

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

whatever sliced veggies you like or have available. . .this is tomatoes, bell pepper, green onion, and red pepper flakes.

 

Another delicious meal. . .but I still had quite a bit of chicken left. . .so I shredded it and made Chicken Salad for lunch tomorrow. . .

 

How cool is that. . .

 

How many ways can you use one $6 chicken?  Please share. . .

Full Time RV Travel–Rocky Mountain National Park with the Grandaughter

Catching up on the blog. . .

it’s hard to believe it’s only been a month since we did this gorgeous hike. . .

Not really being an outdoor, nature girl,

we were concerned about taking Bree

hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. . .

She seemed to love every minute of it. . .

hiking with her Pa. . .

hiking with me. . .

Enjoying the view. . .

Posing for pics. . .

crossing the river. . .

the REWARD. . .

more pics: Alberta Falls Album

It was a glorious hike. . .so worth it!

Full Time RV Travel–a visit from the Grand

We offered all the grands a trip to Colorado to visit. . .

but, due to work schedules, sports schedules, and camp schedules,

(it’s crazy how busy these kiddos are,)

only one, our oldest grandaughter, Breaunna,

was able to take us up on the offer. . .so we picked her up at the airport on Saturday. 

This was her first solo flight. . .and even with four delays she did beautifully. . .so proud!

Since getting out in a tourist area on the weekends is not usually a great idea. . .

we took it easy on Sunday. . .and started Breaunna’s sightseeing adventures on Monday. . .

First, a picnic lunch at a beautiful sculpture park in Loveland,

Benson Sculpture Park is an amazing place. . .

we only saw a small fraction of the sculptures. 

Art Castings of Colorado is located in Loveland,

so sculpting is a huge part of the local economy,

which is obvious everywhere in the city. 

Being an artist, I loved it all. . .and so did Bree!

 

She asked me to teach her to paint. . .ha ha. . .no small task mind you. . .

but we spent lots of time “painting” when she was little and I had a workshop.

I would hang a long roll of paper out on the fence. . .

pull an old t shirt on over her clothes. . .and she would go to town. 

She got really good at the Donna Dewberry style painting. . .

I’ll be getting all those tapes back out,

so she and I can practice while we are in Texas.

My favorite. . .

More beautiful pics of our grand and the sculptures at
Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland Colorado

.

Full Time RV Travel: Mt Evans Colorado–We Gotta See It!

Curtis and Brenda’s last day before we took them to the airport

also happened to be our favorite sightseeing day. . .

You didn’t think we could be in the State of Colorado

for the entire summer. . .

and not make it to see Mount Evans did’ya?

It was a great day. . .

There are 54 fourteeners in the State of Colorado. . .

Mt Evans is the closest one to Denver. . .

and beautiful Echo Lake. . .

which is considered an alpine lake. . .so pretty.

We were at about 10,000 feet elevation here at the lake. . .

and did not do the final 4,000 feet to the summit. . .

but one of the ladies we talked to at the gift shop, 

said the wind was blowing about 45 mph up there. . .fun!

I would have love to have gone up there. . .

but, alas, the airport beckons. . .

so off we went to Denver. . .

Curtis said that on the Capitol Steps was a placard 

indicating one mile above sea level

Well. . .I gotta see that!

the State Capitol Building is under construction 

with this ugly wrapping around the top. . .

so I bought me a postcard. . .

and Dave took this shot with this kind of cool effect. . .

not sure how he did that. . .but I wanted you to see it. . .

There’s his brother at the right of the steps. . .

We thoroughly enjoyed our week with the fam. . .

Now it truly is time to head to the airport. . .

drop off Curtis and Brenda. . .and pick up our oldest grandaughter. . .

It’s her first solo flight. . .so stay tuned. . .