Hitch Gets the Grease

Took the truck in to have the 5th wheel hitch serviced. The verdict at Hitches Galore of Scottsbluff, NE was it needed a lube job. Rust and no lubrication was causing the hitch to bind to the extent that it would not release the kingpin. They kindly showed me how to take apart and lubricate the hitch with NAPA Power Lube spray and Lithium Grease on the cradle parts. A mechanic I'm not but I think this I can do. Love working with the RV. Sure is a lot more fun than keeping books for a living if you ask me. In addition they recommended using a 5th wheel lube plate on the kingpin. Even I can install it. Good feeling to be ready to roll once again. It is a frustrating feeling not to be able to unhitch the trailer from the truck.

Will be ready to head out for Bear Mountain and 66 Mountain territory south of Torrington, WY by Friday. Tomorrow is to be blustery so will finish organizing the RV while staying cozy inside. 66 Mountain was named for the legend that a troup of 66 Cavalrymen was masacred on its summit during the Indian Wars. Bear Mountain was so named because there used to be bears in the vicinity. Of course we've had at least one bear north of Torrington in the last few years. My neighbors' horses were chased by a cougar that lives in the area.

Wind is blowing colder tonight but the moon is making the mostly clear night sky silvery here north of Torrington. Need a hooded sweatshirt jacket outside tonight.

Tonight's painting is of Grand Teton from the banks of Pilgrim Creek.

Houseless for 1 1/2 weeks.

I gave up this interior sticks and bricks living space for the space of my 29 ft. Prairie Schooner 5th Wheel just a little over a week and a half ago (Ok, I was going to wait and add a picture here of the 5th wheel's living room as soon as I got everything put away, but what the heck you might as well see the reality that until I get everything stowed and organized it is messy) and so far have no regrets. Enjoy the compactness and mobility of my new home and the promise of new freedom to paint at will. Hope you enjoy seeing some of my paintings in these posts. It has been a real challenge to get everything organized in the RV so that I can retrieve everything when I need it. Have successfully stowed an entire artist studio on board along with everything else I, as well as my feather and fluff kids, need. Incredibly comfortable in the RV in spite of the present mess of disorganization.

You might have noticed some of my shades are torn. One tip for dog owners. Don't try to hitch or unhitch your 5th wheel with a hyper young male labrador retriever loose inside. Jake panicked when I was hitching and tried to get out by chewing holes in some of the shades and shredding some screens. Have replaced the screens and repaired one of the shades myself. Still have 4 shades to go. All in good time. Fun comes in all sorts of sizes.

Crazy you say? Maybe. All I know is after watching both my beloved parents die, by comparison lots of things are pure enjoyment now including some of the challenges and adversities that come with stepping from a conventional lifestyle to a fulltime RV lifestyle.

Tomorrow am taking the truck in to have her hitch looked at. The 20,000 lb. Reese hitch has a reluctance to release the kingpin on my 5th wheel without a lot of finegling of the truck into just the perfect position. Took me an hour to unhitch it last time. Maybe it just needs some grease.

Can't sign off without describing the beautiful balmy, moonlit eastern Wyoming evening we are enjoying. Great for moon gazing as the coyotes howl and a coal train whistle sounds in the distance. Saw a young bullsnake cross the road in front of us this afternoon as I walked the doggies past the old homestead. Tomorrow evening there's a possibility of some snow. Today it was in the 80's. Tomorrow will be cooler. Have had a couple of frosts and sunflowers have all withered.

No Regrets! Stuff is ALL GONE!

Auction is over. All the stuff is gone now for over a week. It is a feeling of relief to be free of the burden of having all that stuff. Got some cash for it and that is terrific. Hope somebody else gets some good out of it. Just have a small pile of stuff to sort out and see if I really need it in the 5th wheel. With the going of the stuff a lot of the melancholy feelings attached to letting it go are gone as well. That is a good thing. The house is also gone as we (buyer and seller) decided we could close early. It is starting to sink in that I am finally free. No more yard work, no more real estate taxes, no more huge utility bills, no more home maintenance bills, no more mortgage payments, no more.... Am parked at my dear neighbors' home for the time being while I sort out the small remainders and prepare to head off into the sunset. The dogs kind of go crazy every time we walk past the old homestead and see strange cars and dog in "their" house. But it doesn't seem strange at all to me to see others in the house that was once mine. It is a good thing and I hope they are happy and blessed in that lovely house. The most frequent question I get is where will you go? My answer is always wherever I want to go. That seems to be a strange concept for people to grasp. I guess it was hard for me to grasp, too. It is a thrill to think the dream of being footloose and fancy free is become reality thanks to the Good Lord. He gets the credit for working everything out. I truly could not have done it on my own. The weather is chilly, grey and blustery today. It is so nice to be able to walk the dogs during the daylight hours. Why am I doing this comes to mind. I'm tired of working at a 9-5 job. I just want to paint and see if I can exercise my creative muscles. Maybe the creative juices will begin to flow as my life is less burdened by maintaining all that stuff and begin enjoying life instead. As the RV becomes more and more organized I feel a real sense of satisfaction. What a compact little house it is. I am definitely at home in it. By the way. The Casio piano keyboard is stowed in the rear of the 5th wheel. How much room can a keyboard take up after all?

Tonight's painting is of the Tetons from Jenny Lake.

We're Really Gonna Be Fulltime RVers?

Mowed the yard for the last time today. The mower along with all my other household items will be sold Sunday at the auction. House sale is due to close September 25th and my only home sweet home will be my 2007 29ft. Prairie Schooner 5th wheel, pulled by what I think is a wonderful 2005 F350 diesel dually crew cab. I just love the power it has. Once hauled a 27ft. 5th wheel over Powder River Pass, Wyoming with only a half ton pickup. Not enough power and it was a hair raising experience going up and coming down. The power of the diesel F-350 makes hauling a 5th wheel a breeze.



Hard to believe I will be officially homeless for the first time in my life. Dogs, cats, and bird have had time over the past three years to learn a little bit about what fulltime RVing is like as we waited for the house to sell. The dogs may not all be great rvers yet but as time goes on they keep improving. The cats and bird are very good RVers. We have been living in the RV for approximately half the year each year since 2007. But this is the year when the house has finally sold. Kind of a scary prospect even though I have been dreaming about doing this for the past several years, but dreaming about it and actually doing it are two very different things. Has been bittersweet going through all of my earthly goods and attendant memories in preparation for Sunday's personal property auction. Just amazing how much money, and energy spent earning the money in the first place, was invested in all that stuff and now it will be going to someone else's ownership for little or nothing. What has been comical in all of this is trying to tame my packrat nature. Several things, like my Casio piano keyboard, have been in the 5th wheel and back in the auction pile more than once. I have tried, but it's true, you can't take it all with you! Tough decisions but space and weight limitations provide their own resolve.



Haul a 5th wheel, instead of drive a motorhome as a middle aged single gal? Loved my first motorhome, but decided a 5th wheel would seem more like a little house. Since my goal was not to move around so much as to stay for longer periods, with an eye towards a less harried lifestyle conducive to painting and perhaps some writing, the fifth wheel seemed the way to go. Believe me I have questioned my decision more than once as non-mechanical me struggled to learn the systems and how to maneuver the trailer. Still am not that great at backing up but am a firm believer that practice will make perfect. After three years of driving the 5th wheel I think I have come a long way, but there are times when I still long for the ease of the motorhome. But one of my main considerations was what to do with my animals for such simple but regular maintenance as oil changes. In a motorhome the "kids" would have to go to the garage with their house. However with a 5th wheel they can stay at home while Mom takes the truck in for service. If I have to take the 5th wheel in for service I guess the kids will have to go with the "house" in that event, either that or I will buy a tent and put them in their crates inside it. Will cross that bridge later.



Tomorrow the furniture will be moved out of the house and into the garage as the final step before Sunday's sale. Guess I'd better make my final decisions about what is going out of the RV and back on the auction block tonight! One novel thing I am looking forward to is not having any debt. What a relief! That alone will probably make fulltiming a worthwhile if not profitable experience.