Ferry Ride

Well better late than never...where did the time go? It's been almost two and half months since we took our two week adventure to the Northern States of Washington and Oregon with no additional post. Now come on, I can do better than that.

So here was my highlight of the trip...the Tioga Ranger got to go on a Ferry ride across the Puget Sound. On the last day of our stay at Port Angeles, we headed to Bainbridge Island to catch a Ferry across the Puget Sound to disembark in the city of Seattle.

Prior to arriving at the Ferry terminal, I called a few days earlier to be sure that a motorhome can travel in the ferry. It was a yes, they said, we can handle your rig with no problem. That was great to hear! So I looked at our travel maps for the best route to Bainbridge and then confirmed it with my GPS unit.

On August 2, it was time to point the rig toward Bainbridge Island and catch the ferry! By 1:00 pm we made it to the terminal area where we would wait for the 1:30 pm ferry.

Look Mom no road!

I know if you live in this neck of the woods it's probably no big deal using ferries, but I'm from Southern California and this is a new experience for me traveling in a large vehicle. So with no prior knowledge, I was glad that it all worked out and it save us 2 hours of additional travel time in the long run.

Tioga Ranger crossing the Puget Sound

The cost to travel across the Sound was only $57. and only took 30 minutes to get to Seattle from Bainbridge.

Two more States

It's offical - added two more States to our visited State Map, Oregon and Washington. More to come...

Well better late and never. Here is a trip we took with the Tioga Ranger in the early part of June. Jean and I attended the Big Bear Valley Pirate Faire in the community of Fawnskin, California. It was a two day fair where I perfomred 3 shows both days. We had a lot of fun and linked up with some of our faire friends.

The organizers lets us set up camp next to the venue under tall pine trees. It's a nice place that we park the Tioga to set up our camp. It's classic boondocking for a few of days.



Our cmapsite

 Our plan was to arrive early on Friday and leave Monday morning so we can take adavantage of camping in the mountains. Our camp is close enough to the community of Fawnskin so if we need some supplies there is a small store and resturants nearby.

I have been performing for the Big Bear Valley Reanissance Society bbvrsinc.org for a few years for their Pirate and Renaissance Faires. I will be perfoming again the last weekend of the Renaissance Faire 2012. Come on out and support the non-profit organization.

Here are a few pic from the Pirate Faire...




El Feo the Buccaneer performing fun magic




Our crew preparing for Pirate battle...



Yes, we even had Belly Dancer at the Faire...

Borrego Springs, CA

It was Friday night near the Borrego-Palm Canyon Campground at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park when the Storm hit us. The wind and rain lasted till Saturday morning, but our motorhome provided us with a comfortable shelter that evening.
Saturday morning I got up and stepped out of the motorhome to begin work for our departure home, when I was pleasantly surprised to see a dust of snow on top of San Yasidro Peak.

That scene reminded me of the years I had spent living in Borrego Springs. It was good to have one more visit before the summer heat made it appearance. I had spent 8 1/2 years assigned to Anaza-Borrego Desert State park as a patrol ranger. The desert landscape, the quiet surroundings of the desert had become an influenace in my spiritual mind set. The desert will always be a special place for me.

I was visiting in Borrego Springs because I was instructing a Wildland Firefighter course for park staff. It was a chance for me to visit friends while I was there. Our Class C rig was our home during the stay.

On a side note - Jean wanted me to also mention a camping item we use alot when we travel. It is the Coleman Stove Top Coffee maker. We have had this coffee maker for a long time and it really makes a great 10 cup pot of coffee.

We first saw this coffee maker at a Trail Days event campout. Our friend Rich Pinder was using one and of course it caught our interest. So first chance we had I found one and bought it.

Well when your camping, electricity is a rare commodity, but the coffee maker sits on top of your stove top and brews coffee for you.

You can find the Coleman Stove Top Coffee Maker at Traget, Basspro, Cabel's, Walmart or many other campin sporting good stores. It's easy to use and only require heat from your stove to work.

Coffeemaker: Camping Coffeemaker (Model No. 5008C700) Quick Specs• Drip-brews coffee, just like your coffeemaker at home
• Use it to make hot cocoa, hot cider or instant soup too
• Removable swing-out filter basket
• Solid steel base
• Easy pour decanter
• Brewing pause-n-serve feature
• Works with 2- and 3-burner camp stoves

Anaheim RV Village

This Easter weekend Jean and spent it at Anaheim RV Village, a hop, skip and jump from Disneyland, California! The RV park is about 1/2 mile from the main entrance to the park and Disney Town, which is perfect for walking.

The folks at the RV park are friendly and helpful. The facilities are well kept and the restrooms and showers are clean.

 "We are not content with merely offering another camping venue; our commitment is to become the quality RV Park & Campground leader in the Anaheim area. We truly do offer the best of all worlds – location, facilities, service, and value. Until now, consumers have had few options when visiting the Anaheim area attractions – but that's all changing!"

However, one of the bonus staying at the RV park is being able to see the Disneyland fireworks! Right at our site we were able to catch the firework show.

The fireworks show was very impressive that evening.

You can learn more about Anaheim RV Village by viewing their website at:  AnaheimRVvillage.com

RV Blog

I follow the RV.Net site when I want to research information on RVing or I just want find out whats going on in the RV world. I currently subscribe to several threads about Dutch Oven cooking, modifications, post your campsite photos and so on. There are tons of subjects people are chatting about. Just open the RV forum link and explore, I recommend this site.

http://www.rv.net/

The RV.Net Forum is the most comprehensive source of RV News & Information about your RV, Camper, Motorhome, Trailer and Fifth Wheel as well as RV related information on Camping in State Parks, National Parks and Campgrounds across North America

My username is: Tioga Frank

Included in this site you will find the following link, Enjoy.
 http://blog.rv.net/

RViBrake

Back in January (2012) at the Quartzite's RV Show we had purchased an auxiliary braking system for the Jeep Rubicon. At the show we looked at several other dealers and we went with the RVi Brake system.

The individual who was selling and demonstrating the system was the owner and son of the person who had developed the Brake Buddy system. He said that his father broke away from Brake Buddies and design the RVi Braking system.

Both Jean and I were impress with the operation and compact design of the system. So we bought one.

Today (April 4, 2012) I installed the Breakaway system in preparation for a week long trip coming up.

I followed the instructions and hooked up the RVi Brake system for a test. Well it did what it was supposed to do and soon we will be taking it on the road.

Actually the whole installation process was a snap. The hardest part was locating a place to run the wiring from the Brakeaway control box through the Jeep's firewall. To my surprise there was a spot made for such a need.

After we come back from our trip, I'll report on how the RVi Brake works.

Here is some basic information to find out about RVi Brake.

rvibrake.com

Here are some facts about RVi Brake:

• One touch Auto Positioning
• No pushing against soft seats
• Two-thirds smaller
• Proportional braking
• Works both with Vacuum and Active brakes
• It only weights 10 lbs