Jello!

Have you ever heard the quote that says "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray"?
I found a variety of sites online that describe the meaning as such, that no matter how well we plan, something can still very likely go wrong. To have a plan B. I think our friend Lora has a much more appropriate meaning: "Now that you're a full-timer, all your plans are made of Jello.

Plans of Jello pretty much describe how our last week has gone. After leaving Mesa a week ago we've had one thing right after another come up that's made us change our plans. First there was a total screw up with our appointment for having new tires installed on our truck and fifth wheel. Long story short, we got them on the truck, but had to make a separate appointment for the trailer, which was to be Friday morning.

Our next scheduled appointment before leaving town was to have solar panels installed, which went very well, but took almost a full day longer than expected, making us arrive late for our second tire appointment. Duane called to see if we should still come in. The guy said yes, that he'd rather work late Friday night, rather then have us come Saturday. With much excitement to finally be on the road, we drove as quickly as we safely could in Friday late afternoon traffic.

Without going into too much detail, the condensed story is that once we got to the tire shop the installer discovered that the person at the first tire appointment had stripped out our lug nuts and they couldn't put the new tires on until they ordered new lug nuts. Which meant nothing would happen until Monday.

Fortunately we'd made arrangements to stay in visitor parking in our friend's park in Surprise. This was all well and good, giving us a place to park, however we were having a relaxing morning, then realized we had a violation taped to our rig, because our slides were out! Well dang! We finished what we were doing, then ran our slides back in and left, leaving our rig in visitor parking. We let Duane & Cecilia know we hadn't made it out of Arizona yet. They were happy to have us and we spent an awesome Easter weekend with them. Had we left town on time, we wouldn't have been able to do that. We wouldn't have shared in the neighborhood Easter egg hunt and hug our family again, after our original goodbyes had already been said the week before. Sunday night we spent back in our fifth wheel, and woke up to yet another violation for having our slides out! We pulled out of the park (before causing any more problems) and headed back to the tire shop for our third time!

Third time's a charm right? While keeping our fingers crossed that things would go well at the tire shop, we made the most of our delay by visiting Bob & Dee in Cave Creek . We had a great afternoon with them. Dee & I went fun shopping and left the guys home to hang out. Late afternoon we got the call that our tires were actually done. We quickly got back to the shop, hooked up and headed out of town. Though almost a week late leaving the Phoenix area, we were excited to be on the road and heading west.

We only drove a few hours that night and found a sweet boondocking site about a half mile off the interstate, just about 30 miles from the CA border, near Quartzsite, AZ.  Boondocking, for those of you that might not know, is dry camping, or camping in unimproved places without any hookups. We had the place to ourselves. The stars were brilliant that night as we walked out through the desert. It was nice to be on our way at last.

Joshua Tree National Park. Our original plan was to spend several nights camping, hiking and exploring Joshua Tree, one of our national treasures. After starting our drive so late we decided to revise our plan and just drive through. The drive from south to north through the park gave us just enough of a glimpse that we will return when we have more time. It's very unique and has its own beauty. Our shortened plan was that once we were on the north end, we'd find a place to stay, unhook and return to the park and hike awhile. However, the wind was blowing pretty hard by then and we decided to forgo stopping and continue up the highway. We said goodbye to Joshua Tree as we passed by the north entrance and kept driving.

Here are a few photos within the park. These strange trees are Joshua Trees. Really a part of the yucca family, their roots are more like those of grass. In this harsh environment they only grow about one inch per year.

The wind got stronger and stronger as we drove. Finally we pulled off into a truck stop we'd learned about through one of our boondocking resources. The wind was howling by then and Duane backed us in between two semi's, hoping they would provide a bit of shelter from the wind gusts, which we heard were now about 60mph. No such luck, but by then we weren't leaving. We spent the night being rocked, not so gently by the winds and listened to the big rigs coming and going throughout the night. From the looks of it, the wind must blow through most of the time. Garbage of all kinds littered everything around, as far as we could see. It was not one of our most pleasant stops, but it worked in a pinch.

Our plan all along had been that after our visit to Joshua Tree National Park, we'd head north up Hwy 395 as far as Reno, then go back into Northern California by way of I-80. When we woke up in the truck stop there was snow on the mountaintops all around us. A late season storm seemed to have come through and the more we looked into our route, it seemed it was highly likely we'd run into snow the farther north we were going. Once again we got out the maps and rerouted.

To avoid hitting snow, or at the least, extreme cold weather, we chose to head straight up California, by way of I-5. The wind picked up again right after we got up. Maggie took forever finding a place to poop, and Duane was not at all happy staying out in the bitter cold wind while she decided where to go. We got everything ready to leave and when I started to run our kitchen side slide in (our entire kitchen wall) it jammed. This is the same slide we had the gear replaced on right after we got the fifth wheel in October. Are you kidding me? Duane had to push from the outside while I held the button to get it in. Finally though, we were on our way. Well, just one more stop. Duane wanted to add air to the trailer tires so he pulled up to the air station at the truck stop. He stood out there in the blowing wind, trying and trying, but the pump wouldn't get the tires anymore inflated than they already were. No wonder the attendant offered the air for free, rather than making Duane pay. It was not a good start to the day.

Interstate 5 is not smooth. Years of wear and tear, improper maintenance, quick fixes rather than resurfacing has caused it to be very rough. The scenery was pretty, but the ride itself was anything but enjoyable. In the afternoon while bouncing along we heard a thump toward the back of the truck. Duane looked up and said "did you put a bag of trash back there?" Well yes, and I intended to throw it away as soon as I found a place that morning. In all the frustration I had forgotten and it had torn open. What we heard must have been a can hitting the bed of the pickup. We stopped and I got to climb around (under the 5th wheel hitch) and pick up all the garbage that was now strewn all over. I don't think anything actually flew out, but it was a mess.

We belong to a wonderful RV organization called Harvest Hosts. The couple that started Harvest Hosts brought the concept back from Europe and began their business of networking RVers with local wineries, breweries, farms, museums, etc. These local businesses offer RVers an overnight place to stay, in exchange for showing off what it is they do. It's a terrific way to learn about their businesses, take tours and meet awesome people. All they ask in return is that you buy something they sell. I'd much rather buy a bottle of wine than pay for a camping space with the same amount of money!

Once our route had changed I looked through our Harvest Host directory and found a couple of wineries along our way. We started thinking about staying at one of those for the night. Upon checking out the website, we realized one was a pretty large establishment and actually said RVers were welcome to stay, that they had plenty of room. They even had rooms for rent. We thought that would probably be our stopping point for the day and we wouldn't need much advanced notice there. In the afternoon I began calling but got no answer. I left a message, emailed their contact person, and called again. Nothing. OK, I know it's late notice now, but I decided to call the smaller winery. I got a very friendly lady on the phone and asked if they had room for us. She said she did, but they were going out with friends for the evening and wouldn't be around. We were welcome to come stay in their parking lot, but wouldn't really get a tour of their winery. Well, that was the point really, so we started thinking of another plan.

We knew the Escapees RV Club, which we are members, had a co-op park on Hwy 41, going toward Yosemite Nat'l Park. It wasn't too far out of our way so at 3:30 I called. I was told to come on in. The office was closing at 4pm, but someone would be around until 5:00 that could help get us settled in. We pulled in at 4:55.

We were welcomed into Park Sierra as if we were long lost friends, and this place is beautiful. Being a co-op means everyone in here owns their lot and only Escapees members are allowed to stay. Pride of ownership is evident everywhere. We told the guy helping us that we didn't really need hookups and he informed us that if we boondock, it's free. He took us in his golf cart and showed us the perfect spot. He says we could have the run of the park, use of all facilities; club house, showers, laundry, dog park, internet, everything for our zero dollars spent.

We settled in, took a long walk through a portion of the park, enjoyed a glass of wine on our private park bench, looking out over the gorgeous foothills of the Sierras. After a totally miserable day this was our reward. Had we stuck to our plan we would never have been in this area and would never have had this opportunity. We will not forget this place.

Here's some photos from around the park. The last one is Maggie happily exploring the dog park.

The best laid plans in our future will be made of Jello. Sometimes it will set up solid, while other times our plans may be a runny mess at best. This morning when we go through our routine of securing everything for the days drive, the slide won't retract on it's own. Duane will need to push it in from the outside. The difference is that we don't have expectations that it will retract and we'll take it in stride. I will never set a bag of trash in the back of the pickup bed again, intending to throw it away before we leave town. We have a fresh perspective on the day and a renewed faith in the universe and the powers that be. This is the lifestyle we have chosen and we're loving it. Our lives are enriched through the detours we make as we travel along. It's all part of our journey.

Besides, Duane always says "Be flexible but not limp". Get it?