Author: Richard

Natchez Trace option

As we near our departure date for the Southwest, I’m continuing to look at travel routes and potential overnight spots, focusing on Walmarts and Flying J’s along Route 81 toward Knoxville. One of the great guides that helping me look at options further south is Marianne Edward’s “RV Boondocking in Southern Texas.” She has advice about getting south out of the Nashville area and suggests taking the 444 mile Natchez Trace Parkway from Nashville to Natchez. I have the feeling that we will be sick of interstates and trailer trucks by the time we get to Nashville. We can thaw out, take it easier, and see a historic part of our country.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about the Trace:

The Natchez Trace, a 440-mile-long path extending from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linked the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippirivers. It was a traditional Native American trail and was later also used by early European explorers as both a trade and transit route in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Today, the trail has been commemorated by the 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway, which follows the approximate path of the trace.[1] The trail itself has a long and rich history, filled with brave explorers, dastardly outlaws and daring settlers. Parts of the original trail are still accessible.

Edward’s has some good ideas on stopping points at free campgrounds — we’ll likely stop near the north end at Meriwether Lewis near the north end at mile marker 385.9 and perhaps then at Rocky Springs near the south end. We may take an extra day and do a little exploring before heading over to the Texas coast.

I’d love to have you comment below sharing any advice or recommendations you might have about driving the Natchez Trace Parkway.


Snowstream

I bought and installed new support rod for propane tanks and after a lot of drilling, was able to paint the parts yesterday — and install and test everything today before the snow hit. Things are buttoned up, the ‘stream is winterized and parked until mid-January, and we’re starting to plan the route and stops for our trip to Texas. With a wood fire going and snow falling, it’s nice to think of warm desert camping.

Back Home


Yesterday, we said our goodbyes and hitched up the Airstream, taking our time to make sure things were done correctly. I found that the threaded bar holding the two propane tanks in place was snapped — another good thing to fix before heading SW. I was able to tie it down for the trip home and will now deal with rusted nuts and cold metal.

The traffic on a Tuesday after Thanksgiving was light and the roads were dry — although we were worrying some about the Vermont forecast of snow showers. The route out of Merrimac is quite winding and relatively narrow, and after a five-mile detour around an accident, we were heading Northwest toward I-93. No other travel trailers heading north on December 1st although we saw a few rigs headed in the opposite direction.

Pulling the Airstream, we have to plan our coffee stops a little more — remembering places where there is adequate parking and turn-around room. We made our normal pit stops and after an uneventful trip (always nice), we were headed through Montpelier, wondering about the state of our driveway. It has a tough turn entrance, is steep, and is usually icy from frozen ground water. Well, we found it relatively dry and had no trouble getting up it, backing the Airstream into its resting space (where it will sit until we dig it out in mid-January), and unpacking.

It was a nice trip — a turkey trot, a wonderful Thanksgiving, lots of family time, and a great birthday celebration for a dear friend. We debugged a few more Airstream problems and had good traveling up and back. A nice last shakedown before snow hits.

The Ongoing Saga

I somehow got both the furnace and the refrigerator running — and just in time for heat as the weather turned even colder. I’m still not sure what the problem was — I removed the exhaust system and banged on some things, wiggled some electrical leads, and probably for other reasons, the heating system kicked in and stayed lit — operating normally.

So it’s been comfortable in the Airstream. Last night, as I returned from the house, I found that the lights were dim and the blower was laboring. Dying battery! I guess it’s not surprising given the draw of the blower motor. (I’m planning to have at least one more battery for boondocking — so this confirms that plan.)

It was late so I nosed the truck in toward the trailer, hitched up some jumper cables, and got juice flowing so that the heating system and lights worked.

You can guess the rest of the story: this morning, the truck battery was too low to turn the engine over! Fortunately, a quick jump start from my daughter’s Jetta got the Ford going, and we’ve got the trailer battery on a charger. We’ll be all set and have new impetus to set up a better system for future boondocking.

Coldstream

We hitched up and headed out mid-morning on Wednesday for Thanksgiving in Massachusetts. We’re bringing the Airstream as part of the continued shakedown cruise before our Southwest trip.

I tend to forget how steep the hills are on the interstates in Vermont until I start hauling the trailer out of Montpelier and start the long climb to Berlin. The Ford truck chugs away but our speed drops and I can almost see the gas tank gauge drop. There are several climbs that have to be at the maximum grade allowed — and it is very tempting to then let it fly down the hills but troopers (and trailer tires) don’t work off average speed.

The trip down was foggy and had more traffic than normal, but the early start avoided the heavy load on Wednesday night. We had one close call in the right lane in New Hampshire with a stream of merging traffic which refused to yield — and a truck on my tail — and the left lane filled. It was just one of those ten seconds of either an accident or a close call. Horn and brake and accelleration and a few curse words got it done.

Arriving in Merrimack, we geed and hawed backing the trailer into the driveway and to a cleared out area we had previously prepared. It was nearing dark at 4:00 as we set up — the plan being for the dog and I to stay in the camper and Mary to sleep in the house.

To make a long story short, I soon found out that the Atwood 8500 furnace is not working. We have used it several times before without problems but this time, the blower starts, it ignites as it should and heat flows for about 7 seconds, then the heat stops. It does that three times and then just refuses to try to light.

So, it’s been a camping experience for the last three days. I’ve managed to take the edge off heat-wise by running a stove burner but at night, it’s strictly sleeping bags and the dog for warmth. Thanksgiving weekend is not the best time to get answers and the cold rain has made working on things unpleasant. It could be a gas valve issue, a sensor, a mud wasp nest — who knows? I’m glad to encounter it now rather than mid-trip on a cold night out west.

On the plus side, we have a nice woodsy setup here at Jennifer’s and it will be a good way to visit and keep the impact low. We ran a 5K yesterday, a family tradition, and our grandson ran a kid’s fun run. Thanksgiving was wonderful and we have much to be thankful for. A cold Airstream is really not that big a deal in the scheme of things.

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Look out for Muffler Men


I got an email from Gabriel Aldaz, a friend in Copenhagen with whom I’d once been discussing a bike touring book. Life (a new child) changed some of his touring plans but he told me:

“I have not worked on my bicycle stories, but I have been wrapping up a different project. You will think that I am crazy, but I have written an entire book on a specific kind of 20-foot-tall fiberglass statue, known as the Muffler Man. These guys are all over the US – there is even a tracking chart on Roadside America…my book tells about how I first encountered this statue in 1984 and the ensuing 20-year (with many long breaks in between) scavenger hunt to discover its origins.”

I love it when I brush up against something that I know nothing about and find out that there is a bunch of people who do — and like barbed wire collectors, orienteerers, or members of Vermont’s 251 club, are pretty passionate about their activity. So I’ve already boned up on how “to avoid the social embarrassment of incorrectly categorizing a muffler man sighting by studying his simple features and variations” and reviewed the U.S. map with Muffler Man sightings.What’s this got to do with Airstreaming? Well, I’ve never seen one of these dudes and since we’re heading through many states with Muffler Men, we might just track down some of these along the way. It’s a neat part of roadside Americana. For equal opportunity viewing, we’ll also keep an eye open for UniRoyal Gals. Stay tuned for our results.

top photo from bradbridgewater lower photo from Mykl Roventine

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Restoring a ’61 Airstream


Over the years in aviation, I’ve known quite a few airplane builders and restorers. Their attention to detail and perseverance amaze me — they work years and years on their planes. Some then fly them a lot, others seem to prefer to work on them or start a new project. I’ve always been more interested in flying than building.

I think it might be the same with vintage Airstreams. Some folks love to tinker with them and their shiny babies hardly ever leave the driveway. Others head on out. My brother is the latter type.

He and his wife have owned a small Airstream for a decade and have logged thousands of miles each winter, spending months in south or southwest U.S. But over a year ago, he bought a tired old ‘61 Airstream, a 24-footer, and has bitten off an awfully-difficult renovation project. Having seen it gutted this summer and thinking, “No way are you traveling with this in December, ” I went up to see the project yesterday. Well, I think they’ll make it.

Having small little fixes to do on our own Airstream, I get tired just thinking of the work he’s doing. Right now, he’s finishing the plumbing — after having a grey water tank added and completely redoing the belly pan. Later this week, he’ll start the electrical. The walls are all insulated and back in place, painted professionally in a warm yellow. The gaucho is out for recovering, the cupboards are all refinished, the floor is done.


We plan to meet up with them in Big Bend National Park in late January. I’ll look for the shiny vintage Airstream with the Vermont plates. I hope my admiration for Barry and Mica’s skills and energy are apparent: it’s wonderful to see a tired old camper restored to 2010 standards — but keeping its 1960’s look. It’s tempting to consider a project …. no, I think I’ll just hook up and go.

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Planning our SW trip – medical preparation

As we prepare for our trip and start planning routes and stops, we are also starting to gather ideas on personal preparation for the two months we’ll be traveling. Here are some of the steps we’re taking regarding medical issues:
1. We have advance directives (health care proxy, power of attorney and a living will) prepared and appropriate people have copies. We will take a set with us.
2. Our medical insurance is national in scope and should be fine throughout the U.S. We do not plan to enter Mexico this trip.
3. We use mail order prescriptions which normally are good for 90 days worth of meds. We’ll likely have to set up a mail drop midway. We can order online from the road.
4. We have contact lists for doctors on our iPhones but will print them out with names, addresses, phone/fax numbers and e-mail addresses.
5. Likewise, in the Airstream we plan to carry emergency information including health history, emergency contacts, current medication list and allergies.
6. Mary has a current Medic Alert bracelet.
7. We’ll carry several first aid kits in the truck and Airstream.

Got some other ideas for us? Comment below.

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Lessons Learned

Ever since we bought the Airstream this Fall, I’ve been concerned about tire failures — mainly because of the stories I’ve read on blogs and the damage to the wheel well on our A/S from an incident several years ago. The tires were about six years old and in spite of their good tread, there were a few small cracks in the sidewalls. I replaced all four, learning how to hoist the trailer (using 2 x 6 planks) and getting ready for trouble on the road. Little did I know that my tow vehicle tires would cause me grief first.

The truck is a 2007 and there are only 16,000 miles on it and the tires so I’ve been pretty confident of having good rubber for the winter and for our upcoming trip. Well, not so fast. Last week, I was driving down to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for a routine appointment with my cardiologist. It is about a 1 + 20 trip and about 45 minutes into the trip down I-89, the tire warning light came on in the truck. I noticed it right away — but because my previous Honda had many false warnings of the tire light, kept going. I passed the Bethel rest stop which is closed for budget reasons (thanks Gov. Douglas) and one exit where I knew there was no service stations. I was hoping to make it to a rest area in New Hampshire and the truck felt fine.

Just as I crossed the Connecticut River and approached busy Exit 20 for West Lebanon, a tire blew. I was in the left lane and managed to veer through the stream of traffic to the right breakdown lane and hobbled to a stop just before the exit. The traffic streaming by shook the truck and I had to wait to even open the door and get out to check the damage. I was so close to the guard rail that I couldn’t fully open the right door.

The right rear tire had shredded after blowing. I looked underneath at the spare tire hanging there, as the traffic zipped by — and realized I had no idea how to extract the tire or even find the jack. (I had the truck about five months but figured I was good for a while tire-wise.)

Fortunately, I had good cell coverage and called the doc and cancelled and then called AAA. They said about 30 minutes and that’s about what it took. I remembered that I had some road flares so after fiddling with the instructions, got them going up the breakdown lane as a warning.

My dog, who was in the jump seat, needed a walk and I needed to get us away from the truck and traffic so I extricated her, got her underneath the guardrail, and we walked back and forth on the steep embankment until the wrecker arrived. Tieing her to convenient post, I watched the young man use the long rod to lower the spare tire down and then change the tire. The spare, fortunately, was a full-size tire and brand-new. In ten minutes we were all set, and after thanks and a tip, he found a break in traffic and ran interference with his well-lit truck while I got going and off at the exit.

Of course, the spare tire has no sensor so the tire light was on the whole way home. It was a good lesson to me to believe the warning light and stop and inspect things right away. It also showed me how to use the spare tire system so if I need to in some remote area out west, I can do it. And the final lesson is to keep renewing our AAA membership – you never know.

Getting Out of Dodge


We’ve had our first snowfall, which melted right away, and the Airstream is perched on the side of our front yard headed toward warmer climes. Even though it will be several months, and several feet of snow to move beforehand, our trip to the Southwest is in our minds. We’ve got travel guides, vacation material from Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico tourist offices, and the trailer is winterized and waiting.

One of the big concerns is timing our departure and getting south of the snow/slush zone with dry roads and no blizzards to fight. I know too well how tricky winter driving can be — and as a pilot, also know how unreliable long range weather forecasts are. However, my brother has done it for years — picking a window of decent weather, and driving long distances until he gets out of snow country.

Getting out of Vermont is not easy hauling a trailer. Getting down our driveway isn’t either — summer or winter. However, if we avoid the passes in the Green Mountains, we can hit Route 7 and take our normal cut-over to the Glens Falls and then take the Northway (I-87) south to Albany.

My thinking at this point is to take I-88 over to Binghampton and head south on I-81, which can be terrible in winter heading down toward Wilkes-Barre. We’ll have to stop somewhere north of Harrisburg I suspect, and then head south toward Knoxville. Haven’t thought too much about beyond there — since I may have an airplane to look at in the Knoxville area. (I’m in the market for an old Luscombe)

I’ve done some online research on Flying J and Walmart locations along the way and need to gameplan as to how and when to activate the winterized systems. As I sit in front of our woodstove, it’s fun to think about heading into warm dry desert territory in early 2010. We just have to make sure we get out of Vermont unscathed — easier said than done in January.

photo from skidrd

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