We're on the road again

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

I’m not sure traveling is the issue here. Sheltering at home is the issue which essentially means avoiding contact with others, or as it is termed, socially distancing. Where anyone chooses to socially distance, as long as it is not in “someone else’s face,” is just that, their choice. What if someone wishes to travel many miles (or kilometers) to their isolated cabin to avoid COVID-19? Although probably low odds of it, one could conceivably contract COVID-19 from a piece of mail or a home food delivery. Any motorized, enclosed vehicle or RV is essentially a home, maybe not sticks and bricks. Consider the homeless people who live in their cars or fulltime RVers. I would therefore be inclined to consider “absolute” statements to be somewhat of an overreach. Traveling in a vehicle or in an RV would seem to me to be far less dangerous and irresponsible (MY opinion) than the pastors who insist on holding indoor religious services with large congregations in these times, and the people who insist on attending these services. Some here may disagree.

Enjoy,

Perry

[steve dunham]

We live on small rural lake in NW Wisconsin. My wife and I and one other are the only full time residents on our road . This weekend I took our dog for a walk down our road and to my surprise there were vehicles parked with Minnesota, North Dakota , Iowa , Illinois and West Virginia license plates . I am sure everyone of the vehicle owners had a rational ,logical reason for being 100 to 1500 miles from home “ ESSENTIAL TRAVEL PERHAPS ? “

[fudge_brownie]

We just completed an interesting trip (to us at least). After spending two months in Florida in a condo with our trailer in a nearby storage yard, we needed to head home. Oldest son, an epidemiologist, exerted pressure to "get out of Dodge". Our trailer was not supposed to be stored but put to some use, as everyone knows "plans change".

Since we were sheltering in place at our condo we were able to shop, usually the early morning hours that Publix offered for seniors. We managed to stock up for the trip and a weeks worth of food for our return home.

It was probably the best time to make such a trip. Because of the non existent traffic our usual three day trip took a bit over a day and a half. And no stressful driving.

Having the trailer made staying isolated much easier. The only contact we made with "civilization" was numerous gas pumps. For these we used gloves followed by a thorough hand washing. Our overnight was Walmart. Based on this experience I do think that travel using your trailer can be a safe activity. Like everything during these times you need to plan and eliminate all contacts. Avoiding public facilities, such as bathrooms, C-stores, and using the trailer for all your needs should keep you safe.

We are now self quarantining for two weeks as it is the recommended method. Here the biggest issue seems to be getting food items delivered. That story has yet to play out.

Now the big question for you southern folks, how do I clean the roof of the trailer? Two months under a tree.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

Now the big question for you southern folks, how do I clean the roof of the trailer? Two months under a tree.

My worst problem with tree droppings on my trailer occurred during a week long stay in Custer, South Dakota, not exactly in the south. I used a plastic scraper and a lot of elbow grease. I vowed to never again camp under a dense stand of pine trees.

[padlin]

For sap rubbing alcohol works just fine, wet a rag with it, let it sit on the sap for 10 seconds more or less, rub it off. Had to do the same after a month under the pines in GA.

[gbaglo]

Thanks. I was wondering why I had a container of rubbing alcohol in the trailer.

[jennykatz]

We had the same kind of problem with cedar and pine tree droppings . I tried many things (Clorox diluted,simple green,wax cleaner ,) the product that worked was Goo gone spray it on with a damp rag and lots of elbow grease . That's the reason i want to build a car port for the E21 .

[Ruthe]

https://ruthmatilskyworld.wordpress.com/ I just posted to my blog. We are still in Joshua Tree. San Bernardino County is opening up parks and other recreational areas this weekend, with the caveat to keep up physical distancing and masks. The Farmers Market is open here on Saturdays, with markings on the ground to keep people apart. At the end of May -- when it starts getting seriously hot here -- we hope to make it to Vashon Island -- California private campgrounds appear to be mostly still open. If anyone has recent experience with campgrounds in California I'd like to hear from you.

[Rossue]

Looking at Campendium I see that going up the Eastern Slope of the Sierra one can disperse camp, however the counties have ordered all campgrounds closed. For example if you call Benton Hot Springs they tell you on a recording just that.

Then, when you get to OR, it appears that even dispersed camping is prohibited by Dept of Fish & Wildlife. Same goes for WA.

Big problem is that politicians don't want to take any risks and have any spike come back at them. Am becoming pessimistic about any change through May to these Draconian paint with a broad brush policies.

So good luck Ruth and hopefully you can send some positive updates.

[Ruthe]

https://ruthmatilskyworld.wordpress.com/ We are still in Joshua Tree -- We got through the first heat wave -- hopefully we'll be gone before the next one hits. We've seen some interesting things in the past few weeks -- a swarm of bees briefly settled in our daughter's backyard -- literally thousands of them formed a cone shape in the only tree -- they stayed an hour or so and then swarmed off. There is a closeup picture on my blog. I haven't posted a picture to this forum in a long time and think I've forgotten how.

[Ruthe]

https://ruthmatilskyworld.wordpress.com/

We have made it to Vashon, WA. Our trip north from Joshua Tree was a lot better than we thought it would be. A lot of campgrounds are closed, especially along the California coast, so we stopped first at Sequoia Campground near Kings Canyon NP. There was limited hiking in Sequoia National Forest. Then we went to Klamath River Park campground near Redwood State and National Parks. The campground was excellent -- clean, good showers. nice managers and nice views. There weren't too many campers here -- There were limited trails open, but we were able to get into the Redwood Forest -- the trees are amazing of course. Above is the link to my latest blog post.

[Ron in BC]

Glad that you're on the road again. Doesn't it give you a new appreciation of the freedom to roam that we had before these crazy times.

Interesting that you found campgrounds with showers that were open. On our recent trip, within BC, we didn't find any showers that were open.

Ron

[steve dunham]

I like threads like this , it reminds me of my childhood when I would read stories of mountain climbing , hunting in Africa , conquering the arctic , pioneer life , surviving in the wilderness , etc , etc .
Now in the age of Covid , I can live vicariously by reading about the travels of others and dream
Blaming others for the affects of a virus seems rather non productive so I look forward to next year and better things to come ! .

[MyronL]

So, 55 mph and wearing that mask. Really nice blog, observations, Ruthie.

[Ruthe]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Glad that you're on the road again. Doesn't it give you a new appreciation of the freedom to roam that we had before these crazy times.

Interesting that you found campgrounds with showers that were open. On our recent trip, within BC, we didn't find any showers that were open.

Ron

It felt really good to be on the road again. We had a nice visit with our daughter's family but there is that excitement of starting the drive to some place new and not knowing just what to expect. Our options were limited and yes, we did long for the days pre-covid. As for bathrooms, every county in California is different. When I called ahead to a place in Mendocino Ca all campgrounds were closed -- I felt sorry for the owner -- he'd just put a bunch of money into his campground and each day he was closed he was losing money, but he still had to pay his mortgage, etc. Then there was the place in Bakersfield that told us we'd have to message them whenever we wanted to use the bathrooms because they were keeping them locked and were cleaning them in between each use. We decided not to go there.

And the KOA in Petaluma charged a lot of money but kept their bathrooms locked all the time. We only stayed there one night.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Ruthe

It felt really good to be on the road again. We had a nice visit with our daughter's family but there is that excitement of starting the drive to some place new and not knowing just what to expect. Our options were limited and yes, we did long for the days pre-covid. As for bathrooms, every county in California is different. When I called ahead to a place in Mendocino Ca all campgrounds were closed -- I felt sorry for the owner -- he'd just put a bunch of money into his campground and each day he was closed he was losing money, but he still had to pay his mortgage, etc. Then there was the place in Bakersfield that told us we'd have to message them whenever we wanted to use the bathrooms because they were keeping them locked and were cleaning them in between each use. We decided not to go there.

And the KOA in Petaluma charged a lot of money but kept their bathrooms locked all the time. We only stayed there one night.

Hi: Ruthe... On entering "Caulifornia" do they still mark and measure how much fresh water you have onboard? In Covid times do they still care? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[jnfrombigt]

Over Mother's Day we headed up to Elijah Clark State Park on the Georgia side of the Savannah. Everything was open, the campground full and I did not see a mask. Let me add that Elijah Clark is a great place to camp. This past week we spent 3 nights at Rivers End on Tybee Island. Campground was full, beaches packed and no masks. The only masks I observed were worn by the waitresses at a restaurant. In April I had reservations at Mesa Verde NP, Dead Horse Point SP and Arches NP and you can imagine the disappointment when all that fell apart. Hope to hit Moab in the fall.

[Mike Lewis]

Ruth- Did you stay anywhere else in the Petaluma area? I'd like to spend more time there on a future trip.

[Ruthe]

Entering California was pretty quick -- I told them we had dried fruit and they waved us on our way -- no mention of water. As for Petaluma, there wasn't much to choose from, but that's probably because state parks weren't open. We weren't interested in hanging around since everything to do and see was closed. The KOA was pretty nice for a private park -- slightly more room between sites and lots of tall trees and a large pool that couldn't be used. It was pretty packed considering none of the recreational things were open as well as closed bathrooms. As for masks -- at the KOA you couldn't come near the office without one -- there was plexiglass between me and the receptionist -- but her mask kept slipping beneath her nose which makes it kind of useless. Most of the parks we didn't see many masks, but people seemed to be aware of keeping a distance from those outside their own party. For those of you who haven't read my blog -- just beware of obeying traffic laws -- we got pulled over because in California a car towing a trailer can't go more than 55 mph even if the speed limit is higher. The officer was nice -- just gave us a warning -- but he himself wasn't wearing a mask and he put his face pretty close to mine. That was a little unnerving -- However it's been a few weeks now and we're fine.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Ruthe

we got pulled over because in California a car towing a trailer can't go more than 55 mph even if the speed limit is higher.

Ah, the dreaded double nickel we endure it on our annual milk run for the whole length of CA.

If a person was actually to do 55 all the way they'd probably end up road kill.

It took awhile but from my observations it seems that the trucking industry has adopted 62 mph as their equivalent of 55 mph. I just set my cruise control for 62 and run with them for miles on end.

Ron