Finne's Follies: Be Prepared...Or Else

The full-time RV lifestyle, we are discovering the hard way, requires a certain amount of planning and preparation. It's particularly important to make sure you know--in advance--what amenities your camp sites will have so you can prepare accordingly.

It's also important to develop a routine for setting up and "tearing down" -- and then be consistent. Every time. But then, that's the definition of consistent, isn't it?

We blew it this week on both those things.

When our time was up at Dakota Meadows, a very nice park with all the hookups, we dumped our tanks, buttoned everything up, and headed up to our nephew's for the weekend. By the second day we had no water.

How did that happen?! When we were at Dakota Meadows, we were hooked directly to the city water and didn't believe we were pulling anything from the fresh water tank, so it should be full. We thought. But it wasn't full, and we didn't follow protocol and fill it before we left.

Lesson learned. ALWAYS fill up the fresh water tank before leaving a site that has fresh water.

The view outside our window at Joel & Beth's

Fortunately for us, our hosts have a well on their property and were gracious enough to allow us to fill our tank from their garden hose. A public "Thank You!" to Joel and Beth for their generous hospitality. (Romans 12:13)

Over the weekend, we were able to get three major things checked off our "to do" list, with the help of Joel and Jesse. Joel's creativity and welding skills were tapped to create a specialized hitch so that we could mount Mark's bike rack without impeding the car or the motor home. And the boys helped Mark mount the new satellite dish on the roof. And, finally, Mark removed all the grease from the main slide rails.
Check.
Check.
Check.
As a bonus, Beth offered her laundry facilities to me and I was able to get three big loads of wash done. This was a significant help because it amounts to about ten loads in my tiny home washing machine.

Mark and the custom hitch

It was definitely a Labor Day weekend. And by Monday morning we were ready to head out.

Our trip to Madeline Island was lovely. We left Isanti at about 10 a.m. Monday morning, made a couple stops along the way, and arrived at the Bayfield Ferry landing in time to take the 3:30 ferry to the island. Our rig got plenty of attention. Apparently they don't get too many big motor homes that make the trip across. I suppose most people don't consider a motor home "camping." By the way, anyone planning to make a motor home crossing should be prepared to pay extra. The round trip charge for two people in a 35-40 foot motor home pulling a trailer was $198 - almost as much as our site fees for the whole week at the campground!

The ferry to Madeline Island

The ferry people were great, though. They guided us onto the boat, blocked the wheels, and guided us off again at the end of the trip. Sitting at our dining booth looking out the window felt remarkably like being on a cruise ship...only smaller.

Because we expected to dump our waste water tanks when we hooked up at our site at Big Bay Town Park on Madeline Island, we didn't look for a place to dump them after our long weekend of drydocking. To our surprise, when we arrived at the campground we discovered that the only amenity it has is electric. No fresh water. No sewer. Now what?! More to the point, how did it happen that we booked this site and didn't know this information in advance?! Major "newbie" mistake.

We'll be here a full week and will have to find a dump site...on the island. But not today.

The park is beautiful, rustic, and quiet. We arrived in the pouring rain, but Mark managed to get us parked and plugged in without getting too badly soaked (thanks to a rain poncho we had the good sense to keep). Today we have fresh water, and the waste water tanks aren't full...yet. We will rest, enjoy the evening, and worry about the tanks tomorrow. As the Good Book says, "...Do not be anxious about tomorrow...Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34)

Now, all I need is internet service, and I'll get this post posted.

More pictures...