People Helping People

~Saturday, February 26, 2022~

Day 622

One of the best things about RV’ing is the sense of community. I think there is a misconception that RV’ing full-time can be lonely and isolating. But from what we’re hearing and in our experience, most everyone is friendly and willing to lend a helping hand, exchange ideas or share a story. Maybe it’s the slowed down, leisurely pace of life that lends itself to be more present with others and what you’re doing. There’s something so powerful being in the presence of other people that promotes a sense of safety, belonging and security. Why do you think one of my first questions whenever we book a site is, “it won’t be just us, right?” Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy mixing in a few days being surrounded by sweet solitude.

Anyway, what prompted me to bring this all up in the first place was because I witnessed a fellow RV’er getting help from a neighbor trying to remedy his propane heater troubles. And at OUR camp, we were paid a visit by Ken, a fellow Lance owner (his model is the 1875), who happens to be staying just down the loop from us. While I was inside whipping up some pancakes, he pulled up on his electric bike inquiring about our rear hitch for the bikes. He’s thinking about adding it to his model and wondered how we liked it and where we purchased it (it was an add-on we had Lance install). Next, he wanted to find out how we liked our We-Boost (definitely a worthwhile purchase as we do notice a difference by about 1 to 2 bars in our service). Next thing you know, we find out we share the same issues with water backing into the fresh water tank when connected to city water (a valve issue apparently common in this particular fresh water tank). Jeff has been racking his brain for weeks trying to figure out where the valve is to either adjust or replace. Now that he knows the valve is on the inside of the pump, thanks to Ken, he’s well on his way to solving that issue. Before you knew it, we were exchanging travel stories, ideas about retirement, and where we’re from (he and his wife are part-time RVer’s from Spokane, WA, wintering in The South). We could have hung out with him for hours, but with his check-out time expired, he had to make a quick exit. We’ve never seen so many rigs moving just one or two spaces to be able to extend their time here. Luckily, we were able to snag 9 days at this site, having to move on day 10 to get a full 2 weeks at this park. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes. And we booked it 11 months ago. It just goes to show how in demand the desert is in the middle of Winter.

So excited to have booked my flight to California in June to spend some one-on-one time with my mother, just before the Alaska portion of our trip. Waiting to see eachother again only during the Holidays just wasn’t going to cut it. Before arranging my flight, Jeff and I had to firm up our lodging in Bozeman, MT first (where I’ll be flying out of) while Jeff, Sadie and the trailer continue on, boondocking in the Bozeman vicinity then driving north to the Columbia Falls region for about 10 days until they pick me up in Spokane, WA. The very next day, we will begin our adventure into Alaska. We had to do a little digging to find out an acceptable point of entry into Canada to continue on to Alaska, all because of strict entry conditions and public health requirements. There are only 5, so we chose Kingsgate, British Columbia.

Man, all this research, planning and phone calls are putting a damper on our excursions at the moment. But it’s all key if we want smooth sailing, I mean smooth footprinting ahead.