First, it’s called a ‘coach’, which is why I call it a ‘rig’, ‘rv’, ‘motor home’……  Ensures the wonderful folks at the RV dealership know I’m a newbie.  We started serious RV learning on Tuesday, 6/16 at the dealership and shifted to ‘on the job’ training Friday, 6/19, early morning, leaving for the Nevada line to take on ownership.   The two days at the dealership entailed learning how the inside works, how the outside works, the details of how to drive it, including the 3 types of brakes.  (Hope there are only 3 types – cause right now that’s all I remember.) And we did driving training.  Steve did parking lots, back roads and highways;  I opted to practice in the parking lot, e.g., turns, backing up, avoiding overhead tree limbs….We managed to get ourselves and rig safely to a campground in Las Vegas on Friday.  Why Las Vegas with its 110+ degree weather?  It’s the closet location to where we did title exchange at CA/Nevada line and the campground provides the various hook-ups, is easy on/off the highway and good location for newbies and a shakedown cruise.   We will leave here Monday morning to head to Santa Barbara, CA campground, located in the hills and not too far from ocean.

So many firsts this past two days – first time hooking our car up to back of rig, first time driving it on our own, first meal in the RV, first night sleeping in the RV.   We still have much to do to get things settled and are learning much via trial and error method.  The dealership folks are available and we haven’t run into a situation yet where we’ve needed to turn to them.  No doubt we will turn to them in near future.

A few pictures of the inside of the RV;  too hot to take outside pictures!  Stay tuned for outside and other pictures….

Heading down the western side of the Rockies ( Route 70) is not for the feint hearted;  rock formations hanging over the highway, canyons so tight extra wide trucks are not allowed, turns and curves and the routine maintenance work bringing the road to one lane.  The day before we left, Route 70 was closed most of the day  due to a rock avalanche.   Incredible, magnificent views…..

And Utah…..not sure what to say….buttes, mesas, plateaus, canyons;  brilliant earth colors;  towns with such names as Yellow Kitten, No Name, Lone Tree; a hundred miles before an exit with services;  Parthenon-like rock formations, unwelcoming terrain, land where Vulcans might live, set for sci-fi movies, Thelma and Louise drop offs.  Cedar City, Utah is where we landed.

Saturday – our first day off!  We hiked, hiked and took a short scenic drive.  Our first hike was to Spectra Point, Cedar Break National Monument in the Dixie National Forest.  At 10,300 feet of altitude the hike breathtaking and scary.  With exposed cliffs, no railings and a more than 1,500 foot drop to the canyon floor, my fear of heights showed up.  The second drive/hike was to Brian Head Peak, at 11,400 feet.  With the dirt road blocked by snow, we hiked the last mile to the peak.  It was a slow climb, due the altitude and parts of the road covered with 6-8 inches of snow.  The dirt road and the open faced building at the peak were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1934.

We’re in Vail, CO today and have four days of travel under our belt, with eIght or so hours or approximately 500 miles each day on the road.  Ct to Youngstown, OH; to Molene, IL; to North Platte, NE, to Vail, and two changes in time zones, the east coast gets further away; the west coast closer.   So many remarkable sites:  the Mississippi River, the windmill farms in Iowa, the incredible storm in Nebraska, with temperatures dropping from high 90’s to low 70’s in a blink and furious winds and rains, the tumbleweed in Colorado and the glorious Rockies.   Such a treasure to see so many different terrains.   And many, many thoughts along the way:  so muchdevelopment/construction on the roads, old infrastructures….an analogy for us?   Some states have posted speeds of 75;  is that because everything is so far away or that they want travellers to pass through as quickly as possible?

We and the car are holding up.  The car gets smaller each time we re-pack it after a night’s stay;  Steve and I have developed rhythms of driving times, quiet times, music times……    Day 4, in the Rockies, and the journey continues.

It’s all about the planning and preparations right now… consuming much of our time.   Three buckets of planning:  1. buying, locking down details of the RV;  2. what we need to bring/buy to travel and live in the RV;  and 3. how to prepare our home.   We have lists and more lists.   Steve is packing boxes of items we’ll ship to the RV location.  I’m sure we are taking too much;  Steve is sure we don’t have enough.  And someplace we’ll find the right place in-between.   As a side-bar benefit, I’m cleaning out things, the refrigerator, the pantry, clothes.  Too many things, clothes/shoes, foods that are outdated or soon to be….  Lots being given away….