2020 – Starting off the new year with some trips?
With Christmas now behind us we didn’t waste any time getting back into some travels plans. This was the first Holiday in many years that we hadn’t gotten to see our kids. Now with their own adult lives in full-swing and with other extended family in the picture we all decided to instead get together post Christmas this year. Sean being in Fort Collins, CO and Caitlin & Bruce in Charlstown, MA and us still in the snowbird season in California we all decided why not connect in Colorado for a week’s visit with Sean for the first time. Also, this would be Bruce’s first visit to the Rocky Mountain State… So we booked tickets out of Palm Springs Airport and Cait/Bruce did the same out of Boston. Timing was well coordinated and we landed about 30 minutes apart at Denver International just in time to share a rental car. Since Sean has a one bedroom apartment Cait was able to reserve a vintage AirBnB home in Fort Collins within easy walking distance to Old Town…
We arrived to the AirBnb late (after midnight) though Sean greeted us first thing the next morning with breakfast supplies including eggs, bacon, coffee, tea, and yummy bagels…
Over the next few days we packed a lot in including; visiting several brew pubs (actually Fort Collins, CO has over 45 of them??), Took a drive to Rocky Mountain National Park for some hiking, Walked downtown Estes Park, Walked Old Town Fort Collins, Played indoor Miniature Golf (and had Street Tacos…), and strolled the streets with the XMAS lights still twinkling in freshly fallen snow. That walk was a real treat for Joanne and brought back all our great Connecticut (Winter) Holiday Memories …
New Belgium Brewery Fort Collins, CO…
New Belgium Brewery Fort Collins, CO…
Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins. CO…
Odell Brewery Company Fort Collins, CO…
Rock Cut Brewery Estes Park, CO…
Old Town – Fort Collins, CO – Snow & Lights!
Rocky Mountain National Park…
Rocky Mountain National Park… (Cait & Bruce)
Rocky Mountain National Park… (Sean)
The Elk of Rocky Mountain National Park…
Indoor Golf at “Old Town Putt” – Fort Collins, CO
Joanne showing her winning card at “Old Town Putt”…
Dad & Daughter comparing golf scores -Mike had to buy lunch…
We had a great time visiting with our kids and Cait’s new husband Bruce for the week. We all agreed that we will do this again in the future.
Our next trip was a bucket list item that every Full-Time Rver just has to commit to do at least once …. “Q” – The Quartzite Big Tent show and gathering. In January every year many snowbirds and RVers flock to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land in the Quartzite, AZ desert region. The area literally explodes with RV’s looking to camp cheap, easily, and with so many like minded people…
Welcome to Quartzite…
Between “RTR” (Rubber Tramp Rendevous) & Quartzite Big Tent show the desert is just strewn with boondockers everwhere… Driving across on I-10 when you crest the road and see Quartzite below you can’t help but have a Wow moment of all the RV boondockers this area attracts annually! Being Newbies to “Q” we decided rather than just finding a place on our own we would do our first Newmar Rally/convergence while there. Newmar does an informal gathering every year during “Q” and we had never done an event with them so thought we could check off 2 items on the same trip.
The Newmar convergence proved to be a great decision and allowed us to park near many other Newmar Rvers and be able to participate in the campfires, pot-lucks, and numerous seminars they had scheduled which proved to be very informative… Just our little rally in the middle of the desert had over 100 Newmar Class A coaches in attendance and that gives you the idea of the scale that “Q” is all about. (We were literally a small group…) – Other groups were Truck Campers, Ham radio enthusiasts, Other RV manufactures, Women Only RVers, and the list of groups went on & on…
The first day we had to go to the local BLM tent and register and they gave us a 14 day pass at NO COST… After that you have to move to another spot miles away and start again, or consider buying a yearly BLM pass that allows you stay at the same location for an extended time. When we arrived at the Boondocking spot we were instructed to disconnect the tow car and go very slow looking for an available place to park for the event. Structure or parking was very loose, though the slow speed is a must given the amount of dust that can be stirred up. Also, it’s all gravel so disconnecting definitely kept our little mini from getting any damage. Fortunately we quickly met our neighbors Gordon & Joanne from Ontario, Canada and they tow a very nice 4 passenger jeep that he invited me to drive to the BLM office in. Interesting how quickly we became fast friends just boondocking next to each other, though that is a typical RVer occurrence.
Our first night in “Q”…
The Newmar Rally consisted of several seminars each day ranging from topics about: being a Full-timer, insurance, Sky-Med, Warranty, recalls, Service/Parts, Safety & Fire prevention, and a myriad of products and services to hopefully make life easier on the road… Some were interesting, some weren’t, though we did buy several products that were presented including a Safety feature called “Fridge Defend”, a Proteng Fire Suppression Safety feature, and several items from a reseller vendor called An RVers Friend. A few of the specific products we bought and give very high marks to are 1) the best Waterless Wash -n-Wax I have ever used – “The Solution” -by Super Seal. & 2) Micro Blaze for our black & grey tanks. Update: I have already bought more of both of these products.
Our BLM campsite in “Q”….
Our new friends Paul & Karen who, yes, tow a trailer with his plane in it…
Our new friends Gordon & Joanne from Ontario…
On Sunday of the Rally Gordon & Joanne (our next door Rally neighbors) asked us if we would have interest in joining them on a trip to the famous Desert Bar outside of Parker, AZ. Luck would have it we had put this stop on our list and had hoped to visit with some other friends that ended up cancelling their “Q” adventure this year so we were definitely in! We love our little mini-convertible but a jeep would definitely be more appropriate in “Q” given all the desert back country trails available. The drive to the Desert Bar took over an hour and it was rough and difficult at points; though Gordon’s jeep had no issue. Driving through some very primitive terrain we rounded a corner and there it was, the oasis in the desert, the famous “Desert Bar”. It’s only open on weekends and was well worth the trip. It’s an eclectic joint to say the least but the cold beverages, great live Rock n Roll band, and good company of our new friends provided a very memorable day and just might be one of our favorite memories of Quartzite.
The Desert Bar parking lot…
The Desert Bar…
The Desert Bar…
Off-Roading is a big sport here in “Q”….
The big “Q” tent show is an experience every RVer has to go to at least once. Anything you could ever want for your RV can be had at Quartzite. Pricing is all over the map, though if you are prudent you can do well. In addition to many items we bought from seminar vendors we also bought LED’s from a very reputable vendor to replace some of the only non-led light receptacles on our rig (the baggage door lights), They all have Led now. I also replaced the patio light with a very bright Led too from the same vendor RVLEDLites/Greg Wilson. Another vendor I had wanted to get a few products from was J Wright Concepts (Hose Grip) I picked up several of the shorter grips and one longer, along with a few right angles, and the system/set-up is far superior now on my rig.
“Q’ metal works for sale?
We also took time to visit a few RV shows in the area and toured many rigs. We always like to look at other rigs just in case we might find something that might compel us to possibly make a change or get any additional ideas. We like our rig, now 3 years later, more than when we first custom ordered it from Newmar and after all our upgrades it would be very difficult for us to consider trading. As Joanne often says – “Be happy with what we have” – and we left that day, both agreeing, we are happy and didn’t see anything that remotely competed with our current Full-time RV Home!
It was cold at night in “Q” (30’s) so we had a lot of campfires…
After checking off Quartzite, our next adventure led us to our domicile state for awhile to visit family/friends, doctors, and take in a little of the Florida beach & sunshine….
Our home base is in Bradenton, Florida (thanks to Joanne’s sister Deb & brother in-law Tony). Deb and Tony had been so helpful with our transition to Full time RV life, from the beginning, so it was great to get back to be with them and Joanne’s parents who live in Leesburg, FL. Everyone in Joanne’s family are RVers/Campers. Our first few nights in the sunshine state were with Joanne’s parents and we had fun catching up, sharing stories and pictures, and recapping again the wedding from the Fall. PopPop always has a few projects to keep me busy and that is always good and I’m glad to help. Joanne loves spending time with her Mom and they also share a passion for puzzles so they got to have a glass wine while working on one of MomMom’s masterpieces,,,
Next stop would be Bradenton with Deb & Tony where we would get to spend some quality time with them for awhile followed by a larger family get-together with Joanne’s brother and wife from North Carolina visiting. Family meals, games, Happy hours, and the constant back-m-forth banter is always great, especially when Tony & I are going at it. We both enjoy the sport of giving each other the business non-stop…
A few of our trips out were just hiking, nature preserve walks, Bradenton Beach, Casey Key Fish house, Nokomis & Venice Jetty, Casey Key Beach drive, Turtles Restaurant of Sarasota, Caddy’s Restaurant of Bradenton, Bradenton River Walk, Robinson’s Preserve, Oscar Scherer State Park, and a new stop for us at the “Celery Fields”….
We packed a lot into this visit for sure and we always love visiting Florida…
Bradenton Beach, FL with Deb & Tony….
Bradenton Beach, FL ….
Casey Key Fish House…
Nokomis Jetty…
Nokomis Jetty…
Joanne & Deb in there Happy Place at the beach… Nokomis Jetty
Visiting friends at Oscar Scherer State Park…
Oscar Scherer State Park Thursday Pancake Breakfast…(We cooked the pancakes last year…)
Visiting The Celery Fields with the family…
Visiting The Celery Fields with the family…
As we reflect back on these first trips of 2020 we are again reminded how fortunate we are for this adventure… We love RVing and if Joanne’s parents hadn’t influenced her so much camping when she grew up, and then in turn passing it forward and influencing me, we would never have even considered this lifestyle.
RVing and camping is Joanne’s parents legacy to all of the family! We are both forever grateful for them passing on that passion and adventure to us. While they were never actual full-timers, they lived the RV lifestyle for nearly 50 years exploring all of North America…. We still have a lot of catching up to do on this “Revolutionary Journey….”
MomMom & PopPop were the reason we are RVers….
