Camping Season Ending!

The camping season is coming to an end! This coming weekend is Labor Day Weekend. I'm in the process of packing and getting ready to travel back to Texas and Alabama. I'm plotting a route that will take me through ID, UT, WY, CO, NM & TX in the next few weeks. And I'm already shooting video to start using for showing the "backroads of the U.S." so keep an eye open for upcoming video podcasts on my blog and the FaceBook page "America, you need to see it!"

Fire Still Growing! And Smokey Days Again!

For those of you that don't have a need to follow my FB Sunny Gulch page updates, I thought I give you the link and let you have an idea of the size of the fire here.   I tried a link here...didn't want to work...so if you're interested in seeing my updates on the FB Sunny Gulch page I created, just search on FB for "Sunny Gulch Campground". I've been updating my campers for several weeks about the fire, even have some decent pics on there of the smoke and this camp! 

Still Smokey..but Good Days Also!

It has been a long couple of weeks. The big fire ( the Pioneer Fire in the Boise Nat'l Forest) is still burning...and burning quite well!  It is up to 71,000+ acres. Needless to say, we have had our share of smoke and ash here. And we are still 30-40 miles away from the main body of the fire.

Over the past week, I have had several campers cut their stays here short due to the amount of smoke in the air and it making them uncomfortable, and even have breathing issues, due to the amount of it that comes in every evening.

AND...I'm down to about 4 weeks and I will be done for the season, probably. I have not even been half full at least 4 out of seven nights for the past two weeks. That really is telling that the season is basically over.  Schools are starting all over Idaho during the next two weeks, so folks are not coming out, time to get ready for the new school year!

And I've about reached my limit for social interaction for the year!  LOL!  I'm ready for some time of personal introvert activity deep in the woods!!!  Heheheheh!  And I'm in the perfect part of the county to do just that!!! Before the winter snows settle in for the winter! I'm not in the frame of mind to endure -45 degrees any longer!!

That about brings me up to current with what is happening here in Idaho!  I'll try to do an update later this week again!  :-)   C'ya!!

A Smokey Weekend at Sunny Gulch!

(Note....This update was supposed to supersede the earlier update made today! Gotta love technology!!!)

Hi gang....it started as a really nice weekend yesterday....and then.....the smoke started rolling in from the fires in Boise Nat'l & Idaho City. The Sawtooths have "disappeared" several times in the past 24 hours!  In fact, they are gone now as I type! The wind changed again and the mountains disappeared in about 5 hours!  And there is also ash falling again. So it is becoming rather not so fun being outside. Which I hate for my campers!  But that is what happens when you are in the "wild forest"!!

It has also be in the high 80's to 90 for the past week! Which up here is HOT!!! But there is supposed to be a "cold" front moving thru the next couple of days, so I'm hoping that it will cool off quite a bit!!  I come north to get away from the high heat of the southern areas!

Besides that, I am still throwing away stuff and selling stuff. As I think I mentioned before, Bertha has stage four wiring harness cancer and she will very possibly not be leaving Idaho this year!  I'm starting to save up to replace her in the spring. Will be spending time in TX, AL, MI & WI this winter. Might work a bit.  But mainly getting ready to start my "wanderings" this next year! Want to get on the road and start working on my "video blogs" about the little places in the USA that today's fast pace of life passes by each day.

Even as busy as it has been here in Sunny, I still have quite a bit of time to slowly go thru stuff and decide what is NOT needed for my lifestyle, and I am really thinning out my posessions here in Bertha. I'll be headed south with a short U-Haul trailer (if Bertha stays up here), and being up here so far from any major stores or population centers & being where getting something delivered is not always so easy.  So, even after all these years of my saying that material things were not very important to me....I'm getting the chance to actually follow thru on that way of thinking and living!

So stay tuned for the continuing saga of "The Truckingfrog's Navigation thru Retirement"!!

Pioneer Fire slowing camping

The Pioneer Fire, which has grown to 48,000+ acres, is slowing down the camping here in the SNRA. Yesterday the smoke was not as bad as it was on Sunday and Monday. But it still rolled in during the afternoon. I have not been full for 3 nights now, and it is not looking real good for the weekend. And I don't blame the campers. You can smell the smoke, and the ash is rough on folks that have any breathing issues. Probably not too good for any of us when you think about it!  LOL!  The Forest Service daily post about the fire is calling for total containment date of 15 September. So that is close to the time of the season that we either close down or are close to closing down for the season. So most likely it will put a dent in the number of campers that I have for the rest of the season. :(

But I'm still clearing out stuff and thinning out what I carry around with me. But downsizing is really easy once you get over the initial shock of throwing out stuff! And when you get honest with yourself about what you actually need and use on a daily or weekly basis, the number and quality of things that you have in your "collection" of needed living items, and what is actually necessary for daily life....it is truly amazing how little we actually have to have to survive!!

It is about time for my morning rounds here in Sunny Gulch...the first of several "rounds" I do each day. I have had mostily quiet and  easy campers this summer, which has overall made it a pleasant summer. Just have those few that really have no need to be out here in the woods!

I'll add a couple of pics to this update when I go into town and have better connection! Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll have more to add later!

Busy Days!

Hey folks....if you're planning on coming up to the SNRA for the weekend,  Sunny & Red Fish are staying pretty well full. I might have a couple of sites open in the morning, but I'm full by afternoon, if it takes that long! 

We're having some smoke in the air from the Idaho City & Boise fires, & we're under a "High Fire Chance" warning, it's been windy & very dry.

So if you're coming out for the weekend, be prepared to have to hunt for a site!

A strange start to the season!

It has been a really different season so far this year...in fact...Sunny is probably behind last year's numbers by close to 50%! Part of the problem is the weather...today has seen some sun, but it has mainly rained with two times of sleet/ice falling on us!  The low tonight is supposed to be in the low 30's and that will be the low for the next several nights.  And we have some fresh snow on the peaks and it rained most of the day a couple of days ago. 

It is also a fact that gas is $1.20+ a gallon cheaper at this time than it was last year, and when I ask my "one nighters" where they are headed, they are usually headed a fairly long distance away....taking trips that they have put off for several years due to the price of fuel.

But the 4th of July weekend was a good week and weekend, my headcount for the week totaled about 1,007 folks...so it was a full and busy week/weekend.  But it has since fairly well died down. So overall I am enjoying the slower pace and just almost acting like a camper!  :-)

The other evening I was sitting in the golf cart, just relaxing, and got the feeling that I was being watched! So as I looked around the site, I realized that there were a pair of eyes peeking at me thru the young trees on the front side of my site....and guess what I saw.......

 

this little guy was standing there looking at me! Nice looking 6 pointer (if you're in Idaho, he was a 3-by-3).  He then did about 4 turns in place and bedded down for a nap!

 

 A couple of my campers have seen 3 elk come thru the campground late in the evening...those I have not seen yet....but I keep watching out for them!

This coming Wednesday I am headed for Challis, ID to have the valve cover gasket replaced on Sidekick. Hopefully there is a shop in Challis where I can get a "spa day" for Abbie (she really needs one!!), and I am going to go look at some old travel trailers. I'm considering moving "down" to a small trailer that Sidekick would be able to haul. It will help my SS budget go a lot further! And it would let me get into a lot of places that you just have a hard time getting a class C into it.

So things just keep sliding along here in Idaho..I am enjoying the cool weather...I apologize to all of you in TX, AL...even MI....but I can also truthfully say....I am not missing the heat!!!!!

Take care and I will try my best to update a little more often!!

C'ya!  :-)

"Cool nites"...Nice Days!

It has been really nice weather here for the past week....you guys are-missing- out on some really good camping weather!

If you're coming-out for the Fourth....come early as possible in the week..I'm hoping to be full!!!

C'ya then!

Forecast Changes Every 12 Hours!!

I'm sitting in Stanley at the Mountain Village Saloon having coffee with Kevin, online catching up and updating and getting ready for the "Father's Day Crush"...which is not going to happen if it keeps going on like it has been!  Right now I only have about 7 campers in Sunny right now. It has been a really slow start to the camping season here! But the weather has not helped a whole lot!

Right now it is 40 here, and so far today it has rained, sleeted and snow showered!  Low tonight is supposed to be 29! It is forecast to warm up Monday and Tuesday.  But it is looking like for the weekend it is not going to be nice up here. So that might keep the number of folks that come up here to a minimum. At least, that is basically what I'm hoping!  LOL!

Besides that, everything is rolling along just fine here. I'm happy to be back in "Idahome" for the summer! I'm loving it, as usual! 

And a footnote....Snickers is getting a little more settled each day! Almost acting like a cat!!!

Getting Warm in the Mountains!

It has actually been in the 90's here in the Sawtooths for the past couple of days!  And we had a bit of rain also. But today is cooling down, Hi in the 70's, and supposed to stay cool thru the weekend.

I have still not really had hardly any campers. This season is just getting off to- a very slow start. But my reservations are full this weekend, and 90% full from there out until August 15th (more or less)!

Due to the temps, the snow melt and rain have really caused the lakes and the river to have risen a lot!  And the water is a little muddy looking, even my well water is cloudy!

Compared to last year, the snow pack was awesome from this past winter!

The pic above is from last year.....(the date on the pic is a month off, so that is "my mtns" about 1 yr ago).

This was this morning! There is still a ton of snowpack up there!

'But with the warm days we have been having, the Salmon River here is roaring, and up about a foot and a half. The lakes are even higher right now!

But I'm in my mtns....so all is well with life!!

A Slow SZtart at Sunny Gulch

Been a couple of weeks since I had a chance to update here. Opened the gates at Sunny Gulch on 20 May.  Up thru Memorial Day Weekend, I've only had about 33 campers!  But have about 11 in here now ( June 4).  It has just been a strange start to a camping season! The Redfish Lake campgrounds are all full, so I'm not complaining about the peace over here!

The weather has been just glorious! A little chilly at nite, but very nice during the days.  Today actually hit 82 degrees. But at nite we're dropping down into the low 40's & upper 30's. Perfect camping weather!

Went into town for lunch today. Kevin came in from Mormon Bend & met me at Papa Brunee's. Had a Stanley Cheesesteak Pizza! Oh how I love them! Got a small...and it will feed me for two more meals.  And Idahome is really good for me also! Been here for 21 days &- have dropped 7 lbs already! Which has also dropped my BP by about 30 points! So maybe I've found my "fountain of youth"!!!  LOL!

I'm beginning to start shooting video & stills of Sunny & the area.  And Ill be starting to work on a cople of video podcasts in a week or so.  Once I figure oujt where to post them & get them on here also.

Guess that about covers things for now.  Abbie & Snickers are doing well here in the mountains. I'm working with Snickers now to get her used to walking on a lead. It is rather slow going! LOL!  But we'll get there!

Sunny Gulch is up and running!

Well,we are here, in Idaho and Sunny Gulch Campground is open for camping! But the weather is acting just like Stanley in spring! Cold today, calling for freezing mix, snow tonight down to the 7000 ft level.  Tomorrow night more chances of snow, and the snow line is expected to drop down to the 6000 ft level. Lows the next couple of nights in the low 20's.

But this is where I belong! BP has dropped about 30 points already. Pulse is down about 20-25 ticks. And I'm loosing weight daily! And smoking is down almost over 50% from what I can tell!  So this is the good life!

I'll get some pics uploaded with my next update! C'ya!

IDAHOME!!! We Made It!!!

We got to Sunny Gulch about 1pm today...and boy does it feel right!! It felt soooo good driving thru the gorge getting here this morning/afternoon! I must admit that it felt like coming home! Back to the wilderness, the woods, the wild lands! It feels like being freed from a cage!

It was a beautiful day. Sunny, passing clouds....and rain coming! It looks like we shall have rain tomorrow, possibly thunderstorms, etc. The west side of the state is getting hammered as I type. They have severe storm and flash flood warnings going on now.

Stopped at Mormon Bend CG and visited with Kevin for a while on the way in. He's doing good, been here for about 10 days already. After I get parked in my site, I drove over to Redfish Lake and checked out the campgrounds there, said hi to several of the host couples that have gotten here, got my paperwork and supplies from Carol, saw Tom for a few minutes, then came home and started getting setup.

Of course my second imperative was to get the first fire of the season going! Then Kevin dropped in here and brought supper. He helped me get the EZ-Up raised. Keith and Carol brought me a load of water (I was almost dry), then John dropped by and we sat around the fire and just got caught up on news.

So it has been a great evening! Time now for a little Ancient Aliens and then a good nights sleep!!!  C'ya! 

241 To GO!!

Working on getting to Sunny! And we're making progress...slow as it might be!  LOL!  Bertha is having a rough time getting there. She still has the very deep charging issue, so needless to say, that has slowed down progress quite a bit. As it stands, we drive for 30-40 minutes, then we take a "charging break" of 1-2 hours to get the battery up to full (or very close to full), then we roll hell bent for leather for another 30-40 minutes, then repeat as needed!!!!  LOL! I'm thinking that this just might end up being Bertha's retirement run!! She just might have to stay in Idaho this coming fall! 

I was at the Flying J on I-15 just south of Pocatello last night. Was a good nights sleep. I've "moved" Abbie to my chair for the nights...in her bed...which gives me a lot more room. She is not real happy with the change, but she is dealing pretty well with it!  LOL!

Right now I'm adding a couple of hours more charge on the battery before heading out for the day. Have 241 miles to go to Sunny. Yesterday I covered 140+ miles in one day, so if I can get far today, I'll be close to the Hwy 75 cutoff when I park tonight, which means most of the day tomorrow I'll be in the gorge on 75 headed for the camp. Once I make the left turn onto 75, should be about 58 miles from Sunny's gate!!! Can't wait!!!

The Storms just keep on coming!

Just a quick note.....

Have had several ask if we were in the middle of all the storms that have been coming thru North/NorthCentral Texas....and the answer is....

Kinda!!

We have gotten hit with a LOT of rain, lot of rain! And some pretty high winds...but have not sustained any damage from it. For some reason, where we are here seems to be in a "safe spot". When the storms come in, even when they seem to be directly headed for us...they seem to just  bend either south or north and just give us a glancing blow!!

Love it!

This coming Sunday is my "official" day of retirement....in case I had not mentioned it!!!!  Heheheheheh!  At 6pm!!

Will still be headed north to Sunny Gulch for the summer!

So stick around and keep checking in for the further adventures of Frog, Abbiegail and Snickers!!!

12 Days to "Outta Here"!! LOL!

I have waited to long to update this! So here is a short upate....

12 DAYS TO "HEADED TO SUNNY GULCH!!!"  LOL!

I have 4 more shifts to pull for the security work, then take about 5 days to pack up and store-up things....and then headed for Idaho! I have to swing open up the gates for Sunny on May 20....and want to be able to take my time getting up there. So leaving on the 7th of May, take 8-9 days to get up there...that will give me 4-5 days to get the campgrounds ready (or at least on the way to being ready) for my campers.

Then I'm in my little piece of heaven for 4.5 months! Can't wait!

And as of May 1, 6pm...I am considering myself competely retired!  Just going to spend my time getting around to see the kids and grandkids, trying to do my video shoots of places for "America, have you seen it" project....and just trying to relax for the first time in....oh, I guess 49 years!!!

I've got a FaceBook page up for "Sunny Gulch Campground", one for "America, have you seen it?", a "GoFundMe.com" project for the "America, have you seen it" set up (and hopefully folks will want to be a part of that project)....and otherwise....I will be on the road for 7 months out of 12 each year from here on out!!

28 Days....And Counting!

Well, folks, we are down to about 29 days until I head back up to Idaho! And I can hardly wait!  I've had just about all I can stand of "the big city life"! Being away from the mountains and the outdoors for close to 7 months makes you really appreciate the grace of the outdoors! 

This is a picture of the old courthouse in downtown Fort Worth. Taken as I was headed home after a night on site doing my security job. It is a gorgeous old building. Just wanted to show it off and also....to let you know that I still have the "Go Fund Me" project going for my hope to start traveling the back roads of the U.S. & finding places that have "fallen by the wayside" as our daily pace of living has gained speed! I've worked this winter on getting used to living on a "fixed income"....and that can be a challenge!  But I'm getting a grip on it!

As I've said...I go to Idaho each summer now, and plan on it for the next several years. But during the "off season", I am planning on making my travels to areas that have been passed up with all the new highways. For example, on this last run to Alabama, I found "Grant's Canal". It is literally on the side of I-20 as you approach the MS River bridge right before crossing over from LA into Vicksburg, MS. It is an actual part of the Battle Field Park group in the Vicksburg area. Over all the years that I have driven that road, I had never noticed it before!  Looked it up online & learned about something that I had never read about before in any of the Civil War books that I have read!

So, as I do my Travels, I plan on doing as many updates as needed to keep this blog up to date with all I find. And I'm also going to, hopefully, start a YouTube channel and also make "Video podcasts" of these places that I find. And for those that join in for the experience of helping me to reach these places, I'll be making DVDs of all that I do every few months and sending a copy of the DVD to them each.  Plus on the DVD I'm planning of including "Video directions" to these places and things to see and places to stay around each spot that I find.

Something that I just thought about...these projects will also be turning into a blow-by-blow account of "Full-time RVing"....which is what I have been doing for the past 2 years already!
It is a grand lifestyle of you are cut out for it! But I'll get into that more later.  And I'm beginning to put together a "cookbook" of one pot meals.  Not fancy, but so far,  they have tasted pretty good!

I've also learned and have become a fairly good miser of water.  You can live & live well AND stay clean using a whole lot less water than you would think. And water is going to become more and more critical as time goes by and we keep adding to our population. We're almost too late to start conserving water.... but hopefully it's not to late!

I've been sitting here thinking about the past 2 years.... and it has dawned on me that what I'm currently doing and the direction I'm headed, I've spent the last 35 years headed for where I'm almost at!!  :-) There have been a lot of ups & downs, but I've basically weathered it and .... here I am....living on 6 Wheels with a chihuahua and the chihuahua's cat!! What more could I ask!!??!!??!!  For folks that can't get there from where they are but want to see what is out there on the backroads and byways that we have bypassed with our "Modern" society to join with me on the adventure!

If you would like to help fund this project, just go to ....
                     www.gofundme.com/thetruckingfrog

Or drop me an email & I can let you know more about what I have in mind (with what mind I have left!!! )

And if you have places that you have always wanted to find out about, and haven't been able to, or just can't get there....let me know! I'm open for ideas on places that would be prime to visit and document!

Guess that about covers it for now....More to come soon!

And don't forget....you can always come visit me at Sunny Gulch Campground, In the Sawtooth National Wilderness/Recreation Area, Near Stanley, ID!!!

C'ya!!

7 Weeks To Go!

Seven weeks to go and it will be time to head back up to Sunny Gulch! And I can't wait! Need to get back into the mountains!

The washing machine/spin dryer that I have wanted to get for the past 18 months....I have finally gotten! When I first looked at them they were running $329 +++....way out of my price range. A couple of weeks ago I started looking at machines again, and I came upon a online store that had them for $97.97! And free delivery! 100% positive feedback and very good reviews on the machine. So I ordered on and it came a couple of days ago.

And I'm impressed! The user manual leaves a bit (well, it leaves a lot!) to be desired...but it gives enough info to get started....and boy does it work well! It will take several more loads to get the hang of just how much of each type of clothing it can handle per load....but just did almost a week's worth of clothes. And after they go thru the spin dryer, they are probably about 80-85% dry...so hang drying will not take a massive amount of time!

Next week I'll be ordering the shocks, coil springs for the frontend of Bertha. And getting a pair of leaf spring "enhancers" (they add about 1/2 ton of capacity) for the rear leaf springs. Also trying to work out how to redo the charging system on the engine part of Bertha. I have to get her charging before I head out of here....or I'll have to do the solar panel thing to get back up to Sunny. Not exactly the way that I like to make trips...but it will get me up there and then I'll have the summer to work on it some more! But would rather get it working while I'm down here.

8 Weeks to Go!

Things here in Texas are just rolling along. Have finally gotten a young man to work with me doing the security work and that is going to allow me to have time off to work on Bertha and get ready for the run to Idaho. It took about 4-5 weeks for find someone...people just don't want to work anymore! I guess I should have not been surprised.....but I was! And still are surprised that people just really think that sitting on your butt and watching an area, being able to read, watch movies, listen to the radio....in all actuality just sit is really worth more than $10/hour!  Dang!

Anyway, weather here has been just fabulous! Spring seems to basically arrived in North Texas! Have some rain coming in a few days, and the wind has been pretty strong the past week of so...but it has been really nice most of the time!

Got new tires for Sidekick yesterday...amazing the difference in the ride!  And boy did it help the handling!  LOL!

Time to get back to cleaning and getting ready to paint the inside of Bertha over the next couple of days. :-)

Almost feels like Spring!

Well.....still in Texas, still doing security work, and enjoying the weather!  It has been in the upper 60's and the 70's for the past couple of weeks overall!  There might be a little rain tonight...but we're dry here, so it is needed.

John & Rosanna, my friends from Idaho (well, they moved to Colorado) were up by Sunny Gulch this past week, and sent me a few pics of Sunny.  It's cold up there....and a bunch of white lumpy stuff all over....but I'm still a little "homesick" for my Sunny Gulch"!   Just a couple of more months and I'll be headed back up for the summer!  Can't wait!

And before I forget....Happy Valentine's Day!!