RV Blog--Life in a Box. This just ain't 'camping' any more....

Sunday, July 25, 2004:

Ahhhh, summer in South Dakota.  106 one day, and 70 the next.  :) And we have to head back to Illinois in a couple of days.  UGH! 

So, by now you've seen the big camper-moving operation.  We've been living in this little box since Thursday, with 2 dogs, and haven't killed each other yet.... !  I have to admit that as slide-in truck campers go, this one is a dandy!  It's an S & S, made in Kalispell, MT and it's not happy sitting on anything smaller than a one ton dually...so it's quite roomy!  Except for the bathroom, of course.  That little cubicle looks a whole lot bigger from the outside looking in than it is when you go in and shut the door!  Basic functions in a 2' square, confined space are challenging--and as for trying to SHOWER????  But, that seems to be it's only drawback.  Normally, folks park these things in campgrounds where there's a nice, big bath house--it's just that this place is not a campground so we're stuck using what facilities we have on board!  This is really and truly "life in a box"!

  Tomorrow we're off to the Prairie to close the deal on our little lot, unload a trailer full of furniture into our neighbors' mobile home and scope out our new property.  Yeeee haw!

Dinah // Sunday, July 25, 2004
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Saturday, July 24, 2004:

http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid4820499 

Here are a few shots I've taken since we reached the land of cooler temps and low humidity.... :)  I left it up in the air, but it's really sitting atop the big truck.  More film at 11!

Dinah // Saturday, July 24, 2004
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Thursday, July 22, 2004:

Back online at a BLAZING 19.2 bps--with my cell phone.  My first stop in the Black Hills was to see the cell phone guru!  I'm sure you all recall the 'olden days' when we waited for every internet page to load, and had time to go to the kitchen for a snack???  Beats no email and internet, tho.... 

My baby brother lost his fight with cancer yesterday.  Only 48 years old--and had spent the last 30 years trying to destroy himself.  I have to believe that he has finally found the peace he searched for and is free of the demons that pursued him.

Dinah // Thursday, July 22, 2004
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Monday, July 12, 2004:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Here we are, in Louisville, in the rain. Seems like it eiter snows or rains when we're here--and since it's July, it must be rain!

Tomorrow we hook on and head back North to load the pickup with genuine camping gear, so we can head out for the Hills on Thursday. Promises to be a busy week! Keith's scheduled to see the dentist in Rapid next Monday!

Life, as usual, is a bit hectic, here in the Schnauzer Cloud headquarters! LOL! (Our friends are part of the Schnauzer Rescue and always seem to have 8-10 dogs circling their feet. Add our two and it's an awesome pack! Which brings to mind the fact that the Mom of our dear, departed Scruffy is up for adoption--and she's coming to live with us--as soon as we get to Florida again! Sure hope she fits into the "Ladies' Circle" in our 'box'. :)

Don't know when I'll be able to update here--gotta get to Rapid and find my cell phone guru and get back to being able to go online with the cell.... Otherwise, it'll be the first of August before I'm back among you! Ya'll have a safe July....

Dinah // Monday, July 12, 2004
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Tuesday, July 06, 2004:

Plan A was to take our traveling circus on the road to Louisville, spend my 55th birthday quietly with our friends and then head on into the sunset and spend a few weeks in the Black Hills, takin’ care of business. Plan B was to come back from L’ville, put Keith on a plane and send him out to deal with a few things while I stayed put in IL with the dogs. NOW there’s a Plan C! In this scenario, we come back from L’ville, load camping gear and the dogs into the bigass truck and head West. Once there, we’ll set our bigass slide-in camper onto the bigass truck (it’s currently resting on the smaller truck, in storage out there), take care of business, and then bring the smaller truck back to IL…leaving the bigass camper and truck out there where they belong. Confused yet? LOL!

So, that’s where we stand at the moment. We were going to start out yesterday, but after seeing the weather forecast for Louisville, where was heading for a heat index of 105, we opted to wait until Wednesday to leave—weather is supposed to be a lot more comfortable the rest of the week.

Progress is being made on the new RV hauler—there are new pics in the Big Bird album, ya’ll! Its chassis is now 12’ shorter! And we have a red fiberglass sleeper to install behind the cab for the dogs—Keith is calling it the ‘doghouse’…. There’s room under the frame to build a generator box, so the generator he bought 2 years ago can finally get some use! Our son is currently campaigning for a stereo system to install in the cab, but I’ve had to squash that plan! He doesn’t just mount a new receiver in the dash—he wants lots of speakers and and amp and all that jazz! NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

And now you’ve heard “the rest of the story”….

Dinah // Tuesday, July 06, 2004
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Friday, July 02, 2004:

Folks who don't share a home with animals might not understand, but things here have still not returned to what passes for 'normal'. Molly B is still moping for little Scruffy. Scoff if you must, but she won't play with Kizzee--spends her 'indoor' time just lying around, ignoring her toys and her 'sister'. However, she's not off her feed, and she still hunts when she goes outdoors. It's just strangely quiet here...

Meanwhile, we're packing for the road--when I can get hubby away from his latest "project"--the beginnings of which can be seen by clicking the Big Bird album here. He's decided he needs MORE POWER to pull our house, so he bought a used Ryder truck, complete with 24' box bed (you can't have too many storage sheds, ya know!) and the games began. First on the agenda is figuring out a cheap way to put a cab extension on, for the dogs... Big Bird came with a semi tractor sleeper which towers above the truck cab--and is OVERKILL! Stay tuned for updates. I'll post pictures when there's changes....and I can get to a landline.

Weather here has turned evil again. It's July in Illinois. UGH. And Redneck Hill has turned into the mosquito nursery for the the County!

Monday, the 5th is "Get Outa Dodge" Day. First to Louisville, then West--to acquire our little piece of Kadoka, empty the rental storage unit, collect our spare pickup and slide-in camper and see old friends. Then back here to slave thru the hot, August weather to sort and make ready for the auction in September.

I am sooooo ready for an auction. I just want 30 years of accumulated belongings to go belong to someone else so that I NEVER have to deal with boxes and mice and damp and such again! It was fun collecting all that useless 'stuff', and now is time to move on! Simplify! :)

Once we get to Rapid, I should be able to get my cell phone guru to re-set things so I can get online with the cell--at a blazing 14.4bps, of course. But online, none-the-less! Until then...ya'll stay cool and enjoy your summer!

Dinah // Friday, July 02, 2004
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