Redecorating the RV

Before we even made the offer to buy this motorhome, I was imagining all the updates I would make to it. High on my list was getting rid of the heavy dark valances and paint the walls. The curtains were easy. I bought new panel curtains for the living area and altered them to fit the RV windows. I made Roman draw style black out shades for the bedroom. The painting was another story.

I researched the blogs of those who had painted their RV’s and learned as much as I could before undertaking this project. The vinyl wall board used in RV’s is a challenge. I took my tips from the blogs of those brave souls who went before me.  I taped paint swatches from Lowes all over the camper. After a couple of weeks, I settled on a primary color and a darker contrast to add some dimension.

I hate doing core exercises. I do like the result, so I do them anyway and reap the reward of a strong core and less lower back pain.  Painting is much like Pilate’s for me. I hate doing it, but love the outcome. Painting is tedious, and tedium is the devil to me. Painting in an RV is a level of tedium that is nearly incomprehensible until you do it. A 3” roller is as big as is needed and it’s not needed that much. Small brushes and all the cute trimming gadgets are your tool kit. I even got into my craft stuff and used a couple of small detail brushes. The area is small, so one can easily be tricked into thinking that the job will go quickly. How long can it take to paint walls in a space less than 350 square feet, anyway?  Nine hours, that’s how long. Forget doing one room at a time, all the rooms meld together. Start early and strap in! The space is small, every full-timer knows that. It is impossibly small when you start painting. At one point I realized my love of yoga was helping me stand in some of the comical positions required to get to certain areas.

If you decide to paint your RV let me say, “Go for it, sister!”  My first piece of advice is get a good primer. Don’t let anyone convince you paint/primer hybrid paints are enough. They absolutely are not. I tested the theory by skipping the primer step on the surface under my headboard where it wouldn’t show. The difference was striking and would not have given me a good result had I skipped that step throughout the RV. I was satisfied that I spent the extra time and effort to prime first. I read a good deal about it before starting this project. I chose a Bullseye primer made specifically to bind to surfaces like wall paper.  It was the best time and money I spent for the project. I used my go-to Valspar paint/primer after the primer dried. It performed as well as it has in the multiple houses I have painted over the years. The second piece of advice is wipe down the walls with a good microfiber towel wrung out of warm soapy water. It was amazing how much dirt clung to the texture of the wall board. We had just scrubbed the unit floor to ceiling 10 weeks prior when we bought it. Still open windows let in a lot of dust and pollen.

The weather was cloudy and about 80 today. All the windows were open, and the central fan ran all day to exchange the air, help the primer dry quickly and keep the paint smell at bay. Buster and Annie spent the day outside. They knew something was going on inside and they wanted nothing more than to come inside and rub on the wet walls, drag their tail through the paint pan and track paw prints in the colors of Seashell Gray or Heather around the camper. We did not accommodate their request and listened to them protest most of the day when we went outside to fill paint pans or clean brushes

At noon, the RV looked like a warzone. The driving compartment (the only area with no wall space to paint) was piled with everything from the mattress to the curtains and anything else that was in the way. There was about 9 miles of Frog tape outlining the place. Cups of hardware from taking down towel racks and shades sat around. The litter box was on the porch, Adult Alternative on DirecTV was blaring from the sound bar the cats were mad and we were both working away at the transformation. At 3:00 the painting part was done. At 4:30 we had the bed back in place, the curtains back up, pictures back on the wall and were ready to get cleaned up and go out for dinner. It is 8:55 now and I am sitting on my couch writing this, pleased with the result of the task we set out to accomplish at 7:00 this morning. The vision I had the first time I stood in this space at the RV dealership has been realized.

In a nutshell, here are the key ingredients to getting through this project if you decide to undertake it. Put good music on and play it loud! Keep your work space organized by putting things away when you finish. Don’t have anything out that you are not using at that moment. There simply isn’t the space to let clutter accumulate. If you aren’t typically organized, this is a good time to work on that skill.  Get a good primer. If you think you bumped into something it was probably yourself, get used to it. The spaces are small and fragmented, don’t leave an area till you are completely done with it. Get a good primer.  Take your nose out of the paint pan every now and again, to stand back and take in the progress and delight in the transformation. Did I mention? Get a good primer!

Here are some before and after pictures. If you paint your own RV, keep your sights on the end result but don’t call me to help. I may come and watch from a lawn chair and offer moral support.  I think I’ve had enough painting for awhile 😊

 

Until next time…

[gallery size="medium" columns="2" ids="408,409,405,404,403,402,401,400,407,406,396,397,399,398,411"]

Reunions

After some tearful goodbyes, we left Iowa for the winter on a crisp October morning. We take comfort in knowing we will return to Saylorville’s Volunteer Village in April to join the Natural Resources team and work another season. We also left with pangs of guilt for leaving behind kids, grandkids and friends to endure the Iowa winter and another Christmas without Grandma and Grandpa Jones’ Christmas Chaos Event.

As we made our way south this fall it began to occur to us, our travels are becoming a succession of reunions. In 13 short months we have met a number of people whom we make it a point to see when our paths cross. Throughout our summer time in Iowa, we reunited with everyone we volunteered with in Texas, when they passed through. It helps that Saylorville is a major camping area centrally located in the United States.

[caption id="attachment_389" align="alignleft" width="300"] Lindsborg group[/caption]

The first stop on our southern reunion tour was Lindsborg, Kansas for their Bi-annual Swedish Festival. The main draw is my Aunt Pat, who has traveled from Denver for over 25 years to attend with friends she brings from Colorado and others, like us, who meet her here to take in the event. This year, our second time, we joined her, my cousins from Leavenworth, her friends Rick and Diane (veteran Hyllningsfest attendees) and new friends of hers Nataliya and Johnnie Johnson, attending for the first time. We spent 48 hours completely immersed in Swedish food, music and culture and interesting people. We’ll take away more good memories of time spent with my aunt.  We stayed on an extra day and visited a Motorcycle history museum in the area and experienced the town when not in festival mode.

We left early Monday morning with me in the driver’s seat. My first time driving the new motor home out on the road with the car in tow. Compared to pulling the 5^th wheel it is much nicer. After 200 miles a construction zone, accident scene and some heavy traffic around Wichita we were both satisfied that I had a comfort level in the pilot seat and I turned the driving back over to Champ so I could dive into the morning crossword in the newspaper.

We set up camp at Chickasaw National Park mid-afternoon. After 3 days in the area we highly recommend it as a stop for anyone traveling through. There is rich history to be experienced at the Chickasaw Nation Cultural Center. We spent half a day there and learned a great deal about the tribal nations’ history, migration story and culture, including watching a traditional Friendship Song and Stomp Dance.  One could easily spend a couple of days visiting all of the historic buildings and sites related to the Chickasaw in the surrounding area.

[caption id="attachment_392" align="alignright" width="300"] Little Niagara- Chickasaw NRA[/caption]

Travertine Learning Center at the park was also a gem. We went into the Visitors Center to talk with the ranger and get the trail maps and when Champ was out of ear shot I got the low down on the local reptiles, knowing this is an active time of year for his least favorite creatures. I took point and kept a close eye on the edge of the trails and the over-hanging tree limbs. Despite the ranger saying they had daily reports of sightings, we had a snake free walk the two hours we were there.  The natural springs, and waterfalled creeks make for a beautiful walk in the woods.

If you are like me, your vision of Oklahoma is wide open planes, oil fields and ranches. This area is very un-Oklahoma like in terms of terrain. The campground is beautiful and well maintained. It is also 15 miles from town making for the best night sky I’ve seen in years. Something about a clear night sky when I can see the Milky Way makes me feel closer to the people I love when I’m away.

After a stop at Waco Lake for a few days, we reunited with the staff at Balcones NWR where we spent most of last winter work camping. We stayed for a week in trade for 3 days work. Jennifer tasked us with checking the 12 hunting blinds, make repairs as necessary, sweep them out and weed eat around them and the gate entrances to the various areas.

[caption id="attachment_391" align="alignleft" width="300"] Champ doing the high work[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_390" align="alignleft" width="300"] Weed eating at a Hunt Blind[/caption]

We saw three tracts of the refuge that we did not see last winter and enjoyed revisiting familiar areas. The work was physical but welcome after a couple of weeks of R&R. The weather was gorgeous all three days we worked outside.

[caption id="attachment_154" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dub Lyon[/caption]

We were happy to see that Dub, a long time, dedicated local volunteer and fixture, at the refuge is still getting around and staying active. The other reason we added Lago Vista to the route was to see Peggy and Lloyd, who we became friends with last winter. We had the opportunity to spend three evenings at their home and they made it out to the refuge to check out the new living quarters.  We also got a bonus and got to see another couple, Joy and Paul who we saw a Taco Tuesday each week. We spent 7 great days before saying goodbye, once again to this special group of people.

 

 

 

 

Three and a half weeks on the road has ended in Mathis, Texas at a beautiful RV resort where we will spend the next two months playing and being retired. As is the case in these parks, we have already met several couples who Volunteer in the summer in northern locations. 24 hours in, I have been recruited to lead a beginner yoga class once a week. My solitary morning yoga routine is very satisfying, but it will be rewarding to have the opportunity to share it with others as a social event.

We are looking forward to a reunion with our friends John and Cathy soon. By the time April rolls around and we find ourselves packing up for the trip back to Iowa we will undoubtedly leave with more new friends and more people to add to the list of reunions to look forward to as we add months, years and miles to this wonderful lifestyle.

I'll sign off with a quote I saw the other day that resonated with me:

"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable"   ~Mary Oliver

Until next time...

One Year Already

We are coming up on the 1^st year milestone of life as a full time RV dweller. I have been thinking about the content of this post for some time. My thoughts about our gypsy life intersect at the same common places.  Adaptability, community, people and of course CHANGE.

You must to be comfortable, I dare say even like, change in order to truly love this lifestyle. Our very first volunteer gig was fraught with change and compromise and turned out to be a wonderful experience. So much so that we are going to return this fall for a short stint on our way to Mathis. Travel plans coming home last spring evolved with the moving weather patterns, some of them severe. In case you have been living in a cave the past month you know that many snowbirds are changing their plans due to the angry oceans wrath on the southern coasts. We are lucky, our winter destinations will not change as a result, however, our job descriptions may contain some ‘other duties as assigned’; fine by us. The ever-present change of scenery and routine in the winter months is balanced by the certainty that we will return to Saylorville each year as established volunteers and get to live in the geographical nucleus of our family and friends.

One of the anxieties shared by both us and our kids is that something major will happen while we are away. That anxiety lives in the corner of the mind of every full-timer and their families. This past month, our tight-knit circle of friends, was rocked by the sudden death of Champ’s life-long friend Deb.

[caption id="attachment_374" align="alignright" width="300"] Deb Duncan[/caption]

It is a staggering loss for all of us and we are still reeling at the reality that our strong, fierce friend fell victim to what cardiologists call the widow maker. Deb and Chris met the same year Champ and I did and were married just a few weeks ahead of us. They were the kind of friends that we would visit in the winter for dinner and cards and stay the night. At Deb’s visitation, my daughter shared that her biggest fear of us being gone part of the year is that something like this will happen. I remember telling her that whether we were across town or across the country an event like this is going to be awful. We can’t live a static life simply because we fear the inevitable. In saying the words to her I think I finally sold myself on the idea that one must live their life and not worry about things we will never get to choose the timing of.

Our marriage has been tested in this first year. Good marriages come in different shades. Some people love to be together all the time and enjoy the same activities. Other’s like to have their own activities and meet in the middle at less frequent times. We fall in the first category and it is a good thing. I think this lifestyle would be difficult for couples who need their individual alone time and activities. Not only have we adapted to living in a very small space, we are also settling into being retired together. Some of the adaptation would have taken place when I stopped working full time anyway. After a year, I am happy to report that we are still very much in love with each other and the life.

I continue to marvel at the number of people we call friends after a mere 12 months. Last year, we headed south not knowing anyone. This year, we not only enjoyed the company of people we met over the winter coming to Saylorville, we are returning to another area of Texas and will visit new friends on the way to our new winter digs and will know people who are here in volunteer village with us this summer who will be migrating to points not far from our winter destination. We have met couples who have done this for over 15 years and listened to their tales and sage advice about how to get the most out of it.

It makes my head spin to recall how much has happened in the past year. Making the transition to becoming a full-time RV’er is life changing in every way. It is just as profound as getting married, becoming a parent or being widowed. Every relationship you have changes. Relationships with some fade while others germinate or come out of dormancy, often in surprising ways. We have experienced things we never even thought of doing. 12 months ago I would have never imagined holding a bird in my hand or seeing a mountain lion dart across the road in front of my refuge work truck. I certainly didn’t think we would trade the 5^th wheel for a motorhome and buy a 20 year old Mustang. We covered nearly 3,000 miles, called 5 different places home and met countless people.  We even snuck in a road trip to Atlanta. I know more about Saylorville than I ever thought I would and am hungry to learn more about this beautiful area next year when we shift our volunteer duties from the VC to Natural Resources. We have had a very busy summer meeting people in the Visitors Center and learning their stories and sharing our love of this area. I worked part-time for a good friend in his store and got to know his wife better. One unforeseen benefit of returning to the area (after a 15 year absence )where I raised my kids  is all of the people who have wandered into either the Visitors Center or Strawberry Patch that I had not seen in years. It was such fun to run into old co-workers, neighbors and even a former landlord. Woven into all of that have been lots of visits with the kids, grandkids spending the night, early birthday celebrations for the kids with winter birthdays that we will miss and a flurry of summer birthdays and unfortunately three funerals.  We will have our big family dinner in 3 weeks and the year will have come full circle.

For the first time in my life I feel completely content with my place in the world. As a couple, we feel like we are doing exactly what we were meant to do. Travel, contribute and experience different places. Buster and Annie have adapted very well.

[caption id="attachment_377" align="alignnone" width="300"] Deer? What deer?[/caption]

Neither one of us can even begin to conceive of a life in a house in a neighborhood any longer. The thought of coming off the road is unthinkable to both of us. After a year we know a few things for certain. It will be hard to tear ourselves away from the kids each fall when we leave. We will return in spring with wonderful knew experiences and people as part of the story of us. No matter where we are in the country life will happen and the wheels on the bus will go round and round.

Until next time…

Here are some memories from the past year

[gallery ids="376,375,372,371,370,369,368,367,360,328,320,313,305,204,182,175,229,332,381,382,383,384,354,323,322,316"]

 

"I'll never own a motor home" and other words I've eaten this year

After 15 years of being outspoken advocates of 5^th wheel ownership over all other types of RV, we started to recognize the benefits of owning a motor home for the full-time lifestyle. I have always hated the floor plans. They all remind me of sitting in a hallway or doctors waiting room. This was no easy sale for Champ to convince me of the benefits. Before we set out on this great adventure our former neighbor, George, predicted we would own a motor home sooner rather than later.  I said, ‘fat chance’ and chuckled.  The truth is, he should know. We spent many hours chatting in our adjoining back yards about his previous years as a full time RV person and our experiences up to then camping and traveling. He always said a motor home was the way to go if you were full timing it.

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignright" width="300"] 2006 Itasca[/caption]

Six months into full time lifestyle, we quietly began actively looking at different units in. May After visiting 7 dealerships and scrutinizing over 30 units we settled on a 10-year-old unit with very few miles. It was obviously a unit used exclusively to snowbird. After some hard-nosed negotiating with the dealer over who was going to pay to fix the things that needed repaired, we picked it up 6 weeks after we first looked at it. By the way I got everything I asked from them. After bringing it home, cleaning it within an inch of its life and making some of our own changes to it, our 38’ Itasca is now home.

Many who know us were surprised by our decision, given the fact that we had a beautiful 2-year-old 5^th wheel that we acquired as a result of 5 trades and many years of making double payments. It was a hard mental bridge to cross trading something new for something old but several things played to the motor home hand. The decision to change boiled down to three basic things.

• When you pull a 40’ 5^th wheel you need a 1-ton truck, preferably a dually and most decidedly a diesel. These trucks are not only outrageously expensive to replace but can also be quite expensive to maintain. When the power house that pulls your home down the road is also your primary vehicle the miles add up quickly. Not only is it a beast to parallel park downtown when we want to go to a nice restaurant or the Des Moines Farmers Market, but the gas mileage for everyday driving leaves something to be desired. The powerhouse that moves a motor home down the road gets very little use except the 2 or 3 times a year we move from points north to points south, dodging extreme weather.


• The chassis under a motor home is a lot beefier than a 5th wheel. Cargo weight is still limited but it is more generous. It twists and binds less going down the road than a 5^th wheel or travel trailer. In theory, the years of travel will be kinder to it.


• The on-board generator makes it more comfortable to boondock at the truck stop or rest area overnight if we are on a mission to make time and miles, which we do frequently. The 300 miles or 3:00 rule observed by many travelers is still lost on us.


• We travel with 2 cats as you know if you have read previous posts. The idea of being in the unit with them while moving down the road lends to peace of mind for us and hopefully Annie and Buster. They aren’t alone in a bouncing house wondering what’s going on and when it may stop. We will be there with them and know how they are throughout the trip. The temperature will always be comfortable for them as the entire coach will cool or heat as we travel.

August was a busy month of trading. This trade made our sixth, and the first time we have purchased a used unit.  The logistical difference this time was that we didn’t unload everything into the garage and leisurely load it back in over the course of several days. We talked to several who had traded while living full time and listened to the stories of how long it took to move everything in the parking lot of the dealership. We decided to approach it much like a house move. We boxed up a good deal of stuff in the days before we traded. The stuff from the compartments went under the picnic table and was covered by a tarp. The fact that we are in Volunteer Village rather than out in the public campground gave us some flexibility in terms of how our site looked and the security of leaving our stuff out.

[caption id="attachment_361" align="alignleft" width="300"] Moving mess[/caption]

I must admit it looked like Jed Clampet’s homestead for a couple of days.  Lucky for us the weather was dry that week. On moving day at the dealership, we simply moved boxes from one unit to the other, except for the hanging clothes that we carried from one closet to the other. That proved to be a good plan. Our transfer time was about 2 hours. We spent the next several days unpacking and taking our time deciding how to use our new space. Our salesman was surprised when we came inside and said our goodbyes. He said some even spend the night it takes them so long.

[caption id="attachment_362" align="alignright" width="300"] Grandma's hotrod[/caption]

The next task was to sell the truck and find a car to drive and tow. Champ has always driven a truck and I have always driven something practical. This was our chance to do something fun!  We started shopping for something cooler than my Dodge Journey or any of the other mom cars I have driven over the years.  We sold the truck for a good price and stumbled onto a 1998 Mustang with very low miles, one owner, cream puff of a car. It’s fast, pretty, fun to drive and very impractical. We love it!

As we prepare to depart on our trip south we are excited to be doing it in our newly acquired motor home with a sexy black Mustang in tow.  The last year has been eventful to say the least.  I am trying to sum it up for my next post as we near the 1st anniversary of being gypsies.

Until next time…

Sounds of Summer

It’s mid-August already. We’ve been home for eighteen weeks now. The nine weeks till we leave will go by in a flash.  The famous Iowa State Fair is underway, the first day of school is looming over Iowa kids and parents and the weather is beginning to moderate. It has always been my favorite part of summer. My daughter, soon to be daughter-in-law and one grandchild celebrate early August birthdays. The long term intense heat is over. There will surely be hot hazy days before summer is over but they will be short lived and overnight temperatures above 80 degrees are a thing of the past until next summer. August is a feel good time of year for me. One of my favorite things about this time of year is the way it sounds.

[caption id="attachment_355" align="alignright" width="300"] Atlanta Skyline[/caption]

We just returned from an ambitious road trip. We covered nearly 1900 miles in 5 days. All so I could see one of my favorite singer-songwriters perform live. John Mayer delivered in a big way. When the kids gave me the tickets for the concert in Atlanta back on Mother’s Day I had no idea what a stroke of luck it was to see him at that particular venue. The kids didn’t pick Atlanta by design, but rather it was the venue that still had tickets available that didn’t fall on a weekend we worked at the Visitors Center here at Saylorville.  Champ gave them the green light ahead of time to buy them for me.  I have listened to and enjoyed his music since he arrived on the mainstream music scene in the 90’s. He is an incredibly talented guitarist.  His song writing and lyricism is second to none in my opinion. Somewhere along the line I missed that he moved to Atlanta at the beginning of his music career and got his start playing in local clubs there. Where musicians are concerned I focus on their music and talent. I don’t pay much attention to the rest. That being said, he pulled out all the stops to play to the audience at his ‘musical birthplace’ as he called it when he came on stage. Watching a musician perform his or her music live is by far one of my favorite experiences; watching them at an outdoor venue is that much sweeter to me. The two most nourishing things to my spirit are being outside and music. It doesn’t get much better for me, than an outdoor concert. Well played kids!

I learned something about myself on that trip.  I don’t like big cities much anymore. They’re expensive, crowded and noisy.  I sat at my table on the patio of our digs in Volunteer Village after we arrived home. As I sat there eating my Casey’s Taco Pizza (one of my favorite comfort foods) I said to Champ it was good to be home where it was quiet. Just about then I realized it was anything but quiet there in my campsite. At that moment there was a symphony of locusts, frogs, evening birds calling and in the distance the band playing at the marina over the hill and the occasional motorcycle going through the gears across the marina bridge. It was every bit as noisy as the city. The difference was the sounds of summer in a campground in the woods appeal to my spirit. I started to think about other parallels. City streets are narrow and crowded and full of potholes. That annoys me as I drive through them. A path or road through a wildlife refuge of wooded area is also narrow. It has ruts instead of potholes and the crowding is often caused by overhanging trees or fallen limbs instead of parked cars and pedestrians. That doesn’t bother me at all. In the city, cars honk and sirens scream. In the wilderness, the coyotes howl and scream and locusts can be deafening at times. It’s kind of a city mouse - country mouse thing for me these days. I have evolved a lot from the kid who lived in the thick of the mid Atlantic coast for most of my 20’s and loved it to the semi-retired RV volunteer who makes her home in campgrounds and wildlife refuges.

One of the toughest things for me in winter, before I started escaping, was the lack of outdoor sounds. Winter is cold and quiet. Wind and the fracturing sound of ice breaking and tree limbs seizing are about it. Everything sounds hard in the winter in a cold climate.  Summer sounds are soft, flowing and melodic.

For the remainder of late summer I’ll relax in my lawn chair in front of the camper and listen for the cues that fall is coming. The sound of a flock of geese flying over as they migrate south. The sounds of leaf blowers and the smell of leaf smoke. I’ll dream of another warm winter in the south and our next Volunteer gig for Texas Parks and Wildlife. As I listen to the comforting sounds of the woods in summer I’ll sort through my mixed emotions about leaving for the winter and look forward to knowing we will return to this same place in the spring and spend another busy summer in our home state of Iowa.

Until next time...

Home Is Where Your Heart Is

I mentioned, in a previous post, the reality of our lifestyle finally started to sink in on our return to Iowa in April. As we worked our way back we had a deep awareness of the impact of our decision and our status as virtual vagabonds. Yes, Iowa is home in the sense that it is where we have lived our lives as a couple this past 16 years and we both grew up there. It is home in that all three of our kids reside there with their families. The only family we have that is not located in central Iowa are three aunts and a handful of cousins. We consider ourselves lucky in that way.

If you are contemplating this lifestyle and all your social fabric and family are near your current home be prepared for a huge change when you come home the first time.  19 years ago, my first husband died unexpectedly and I learned through that process that a major life change occurs on many planes.  Every relationship you have before the change must also evolve with your changed life. Most of us don’t see it happening. We get caught up in whatever the catalyst is and don’t see the process. We notice after the change has occurred and are often blindsided by it. That is the nature of this beast. I’m not saying it is a bad thing but it is certainly impactful. People go on with their lives, without you present on a regular basis, and before you know it you are a guest in the former space you once occupied in their lives.

When you live the full time RV lifestyle, the whole point is to move around and experience different places. The people who are close to you and supported your decision are faced with the reality that you will return from time to time but those returns will always be followed by an inevitable departure. It’s like the giant purple elephant in the corner of the room when you are ‘home’.

Our experience this summer has been a real eye-opener to the fact that we have chosen a very different path for our life than anyone else we know.  We work our hours here at Saylorville, attend and host family gatherings as we did in the past but we also have a stark reminder of what we missed over the winter. Like the winter birthdays. I figure the adults can deal with it but when your 5 year old grandson starts grieving your inevitable departure in July months before you are scheduled to leave and has trouble warming up to the idea that you won’t be at his birthday party in late November the heart strings pull painfully. We visit our former camping group when they gather in a local campground but we are guests at their site, much like our friends who don’t own RV’s were when they visited our weekend encampments and listened to our stories of the weekend and happenings since the last gathering of campers. We have become guest in our former lives.

During my banking years I had several conversations with snowbirds who had to stop going south for the winter for one reason or another. They said things like, “all our friends are in Arizona” or “our whole social life is there”. I never quite grasped it since I knew everyone they had known throughout their lives and their kids were here. I get it now. Everyone you meet on the road is in the same boat as you.  People become close very quickly. For two reasons, I think. One, you are like minded. Two, you are not in your ‘home’ space. You build ‘home’ around you, in a given place for a given time.

I haven’t been brave enough to have this conversation with anyone this summer, to see what it is like for them to know we are here for now but will take off again. The emotional experience is a little like the grief cycle. Denial, “Maybe they won’t really miss us.’  Anger “ We are outsiders now” Bargaining, ‘I’ll give the kids with winter birthday’s big presents this summer so I won’t feel so guilty for being gone this winter” ( I’ll still feel guilty as hell) Depression “ We are outsiders now.” and Acceptance, ‘This is what we chose and we still have these wonderful ties to come to in Iowa for even if the vibe has changed.”

The Full time RV lifestyle is full of rewards and challenges but so is any other lifestyle. Is it hard to accept some of the changes? Sometimes. Have I cried about it? Yep. Do we regret our choice? Not for a minute.  Someday, when this chapter ends we’ll have heads and hearts full of people and experiences we would not have otherwise had. We will still have our close relationships with our kids, siblings, friends and extended family. Like I said, we are very fortunate to have them all in the same geographical area. We see them 6 months straight each spring/summer.

My paternal grandfather was a snowbird throughout my childhood. I knew he would leave each winter. I loved when he came home in the spring and I’m sure bugged him constantly since he lived nearby. I hold in my heart two memorable trips to Texas in the winter to see him.  I always felt close to him despite his seasonal absence. I hold onto that when I think of our own young grand kids experiencing one set of grandparents who leave in the winter.

We depart in three months, almost to the day. We are very excited to see friends we made in Texas last winter, my Aunt Pat and cousins that we haven’t seen in a year or so on the way south and of course we are very excited to miss another brutal Iowa winter.  We’ll complete our first full year around the time we leave in October. The sociologist in me is looking forward to a little field research this winter among other snowbirds who go home to their families in the summer. I’m not sure how to approach our close family and friends about these feelings, maybe next year. Strangers hearts are much safer to explore.

Until next time.....

 

 

 

The Other Side of Saylorville

I’ve mentioned before that we are learning there is a great deal going on behind the scenes here at Saylorville, than we ever would have imagined the past 15 years of sitting around the campfire, boating on the lake or going for walks. It is so easy to be in your own ‘back yard’ and never really know all the things the area has to offer.  This past winter a very common conversation starter at the Visitor’s Center at Balcones NWR were local people coming in saying,  “ I’ve lived here all my life and never been out here.”  We hear the same thing here. and I'm guilty of it myself. Locals come in and discover all that has been here for them all along.  We get busy with our everyday lives and routines and forget all the intrinsic benefits of our hometowns. Everyday I get more excited and fall in love a little more with one of my favorite local campgrounds. Here are some of the reasons why.

I have learned that Saylorville Lake is an Internationally recognized Important Birding Area. That means that the ecological diversity and the aggressive habitat management taking place behind the scenes here create areas that attract not only one of the most diverse bird populations in the Midwest, but we are located on a major migration route and Saylorville acts as a giant rest stop area for birds to stop and feed on their journey each spring and fall.

As avid boaters, we have always been disappointed that the lake level north of the  bridge, where we could once navigate our boats up into the Des Moines river for a pleasant day of boating, has dwindled over the years and we can no longer access the area. I have learned the reason is that the area called the mudflats is now a managed area for migrating waterfowl and raptors,

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignright" width="300"] American Pelicans in morning fog[/caption]

including the American White Pelican that come by the thousands on their trek from the Gulf Coast to points north from Iowa and back. The Rangers lower the lake several inches around this time of year and areal seed Japanese Mullet that will grow to maturity by the late summer migration to provide food for the resting  birds. It’s an incredible site to see the Pelican numbers peak in late summer. We've experienced this boating. Now we know why they come here and how important this area is to their migration. Having been born with the heart of a conservationist, I can appreciate their efforts and am happy to share my boating activities in the summer with the birds.

[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignright" width="300"] Fish pond at Sandpiper after the release into the Lake[/caption]

The small ponds around the Sandpiper boat launch area are not storm run off as we have always assumed, they are fish stocking ponds. They released babies into the ponds early this spring around the time Champ and I  arrived, and just this past week opened the gate and released the, fry sized, wipers, striped bass and largemouth bass into Saylorville. It will take some time for the pond to refill on its own. But now we know why it mysteriously drains from time to time.

Throughout the 26,000 acres of Corps managed land that make up the Saylorville project there are a number of specific habitats being actively maintained, including Oak Savannah (what most of Iowa was before the westward expansion)  prairie grassland, woodlands and wetlands. All for the purpose of promoting safe habitat for native animal species. There are bobcats, coyotes, deer a wide variety of other woodland creatures and of course the birds. This is their safe haven in the middle of the voracious urban sprawl that is consuming once rural land in Des Moines and the surrounding communities.

I learned just last night from Will and Judy, 15 year Natural Resource volunteers, that the fields I see them plant throughout the area are not all native grasses as I had assumed but some are things like peas, turnips, kale, sweet grass planted for the express purpose of providing food for the wildlife.

The most remarkable thing to me is that this is all occurring in an area that is visited by over 1,000,000 people a year. We boast 4 campgrounds with over 500 campsites, dozens of day use facilities 2 beaches and even with the heavy public use the Corps and the DNR are having consistent success maintaining and improving populations of a number of wildlife species both flora and fauna. This link will take you to their website if you want to read more about the efforts here.  http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Saylorville-Lake/Natural-Resource-Management/

[caption id="attachment_332" align="alignnone" width="300"] Me talking to a visitor about the bike trail[/caption]

I’ll end with some pictures of what I have noticed as an active volunteer this summer. If you are in the area, by all means come out to the Visitors Center. We work every Monday and Friday 10-2.  I’d love to share this special place with you.

[gallery ids="330,329,328,327,326,325,324,322,320,318,317,316,315,314,309"]