Dennis and Melissa

Starting clean up and repair. 1) Grey hose is shot. Multiple holes. It all happened one night in Grand Canyon Campground. Like some critters tried to chew through it (or my very rude neighbor took a knife to it?). Very odd. 2) Front door stopper came off. I still have the screw and the little rubber donut, and the metal plate is still there. But neither fiberglass nor metal will hold a screw any more. I'm thinking of filling the pre-drilled hole with epoxy or glue or something??? Then just trying the screw again. Any thoughts? 3) Bathroom fan makes a very loud noise when running. I think we damaged a blade when trying to close it while it was still running. ☹️ I'll have to climb up there and see what's up. 4) 2 months in the UT, AZ, NM and Ollie stayed pretty clean. 16 hours of driving in AL, MS, LA, FL and the front is plastered with bugs. 🤪

Home safe. 1,600 miles in 36 hours (including food and sleep) on the last leg. Damn, the US is big. But the drive was about as easy as I can imagine (basically I20 and I75). Ollie behaved wonderfully the whole way. Now it's time for a well-earned bath (Me first, then Ollie).

We spotted yet another Ollie at “Forest Gump” point outside of Monument Valley today. (A good scene from the movie, but the site of HORRIBLE pedestrian behavior 🤪🤯😳)

We spotted another Ollie in Atches NP today. Unfortunately we were going in opposite directions on the park road

We just met ANOTHER Oliver at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park!!! Well met D&D from VA.

I watched Foundation on TV when I was housebound. Liked it. I also like the movie I Robot. So I decided to read all the fiction Asimov wrote 😀 I highly recommend reading it “in order” https://more.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/1584219139/1735833849 PS Mundum Visum has free audiobooks on you tube (not bad) Spoiler alert: The books are only thematically similar to the films.

We just met another Ollie sharing the Zion RV campground with us today. Well met Michelle and Jamie!

https://blinq.me/cm18wvz87005uzk4sxejr448g Jaron Tylock Very knowledgeable, fun, all-round great guide

We were there a couple of weeks ago. Very nice. We especially enjoyed the view from the lodge

Yesterday we camped at Dark Sky outside of Kanab. Quite the upscale treat. For example the showers are full master baths with outdoor AND indoor showers, and heated tiled floors 😆 We also hiked The Wave with a guide from Dreamland Adventures. Overwhelmingly beautiful in every possible way. Then we went out for dinner to celebrate. And my wife noticed that the bolt that holds the Anderson chains to the hitch was missing 😳. Apparently the idiot who uncoupled the trailer (me) left it on the bumper. After an hour of panic, our guide from the hike gave us a replacement. How lucky are we? And finally, as we drove away from the campground this morning, we found the bolt on the street about a mile away 🤯 PS We saw our FOURTH Ollie in the wild today driving East between Zion and Kanab PPS Happy Easter to all 🐇

Woke up to several inches of snow on our last morning in GC. Then I learned that it is unwise to use my bare hands to wrestle the Anderson chains when they have been buried in snow. 🤣 Later, we spotted our third Ollie on this trip. Whoever was headed south on 89 near Camden, Howdie! 76667912346__E5263CEE-8B76-4C5E-9E91-6C46970D4CE0.heic

Our second Ollie sighting! Shout out to Catherine and Chad. Happy to share time at Grand Canyon Trailer Village It isn’t particularly beautiful but it is very near a cool hole in the ground. 😉

Dead Horse Ranch SP has been very nice. Great access to all sorts of hikes . Quiet, family friendly and clean. In addition, quite a few fiberglass trailers in the park. Including our first meeting with another Ollie in the wild. Shout out to Mark, Lorraine and River! Well met and happy trails. Special mention to Red Rock SP. Small, quiet but oh so wonderful. Next stop Grand Canyon!

Plans changed a bit, but… We finally made it to Dead Horse Ranch SP in Sedona! Here are some interesting tidbits from the last two weeks of traveling: 1) Ollie’s first annual service at the mothership was great (but not cheap🤪) 2) Merriweather B&B was great as always (and actually cheap with the 10% Oliver discount 😀) 3) Mt Magazine SP is wonderful and the lodge is stunning 4) Quartz Mtn SP is great (especially hiking around Mt Baldy) 5) Palo Duro SP is a wonder. We will be back. Maybe for a full week next time. 6) Petrified Forest NP is a wonder. Even if you somehow removed all the petrified wood, it would still be one of the best NPs I’ve seen. One day was not enough. 7) Question: on cold, windy, rainy nights, with the heater running, how do you let fresh air in? Everything we tried seemed to get something wet that shouldn’t be. 8 ) THE STREET SIDE JACK STOPPED WORKING WHEN WE ARRIVED IN SEDONA! Thanks to the wonderful Oliver documentation I was able to fix it. Just a loose connection. But working in that space (especially trying to check the inline fuses, the likes of which I had never seen before) was a job for a circus contortionist 🤪

We were there last year. Really enjoyed it. Alas, we have a conflict this year. Everything in the replies above is what I suspected. Just wondered if I was behind the times. Apparently not 😀 Thanks to all y'all.

We celebrate our 1 year anniversary next month! As planned from the very beginning, we will be making the trip from Tampa to Hohenwald for a checkup. (We are also taking the factory tour FINALLY 🙂 ) It's no small effort to get up there, but we've folded this event into our spring itinerary, so... not too bad. Then, this morning, I just noticed this on Oliver's "Find a dealer" page: Apparently Oliver partnered with LazyDays, which is about 15 miles from my house. Anyone have any experience/advice to share regarding using these new partners for annual maintenance???

At last, all of our campground reservations are made! If you know any of these destinations well, I'd very much appreciate ideas for day hikes or other nearby activities/scenic wonders. 😁 3/22 Leave FL for annual Ollie service in Hohenwald - 4 nights 3/26 Mt Magazine SP - 3 nights 3/29 Quartz Mountain SP - 2 nights 3/31 Palo Duro Canyon SP - 4 nights 4/4 wing it 4/5 Dead Horse Ranch SP (Sedona...) - 9 nights 4/14 Grand Canyon South Rim - 4 nights 4/18 Dark Sky RV Camp (Konob, THE WAVE...) - 2 nights 4/20 Zion NP (Springdale)- 8 nights 4/27 Kodachrome SP (Bryce Canyon...) - 7 nights 5/5 Escalante Petrified Forest SP - 7 nights 5/12 Torrey Wonderland RV (Capitol Reef NP...) - 4 nights 5/16 Dead Horse Point SP (Arches NP, Canyonland NP...) - 7 nights 5/23 Gouldings RV (Monument Valley...) - 3 nights 5/26 Mesa Verde NP - 3 nights 5/29 Brantley Lake SP (Carlsbad Caverns NP...) - 4 nights 6/2 long "sprint" home

We won the ticket lottery for THE WAVE! So now I need suggestions for where to camp near Kanab in mid April (that's where we will be meeting the guide company we hired). Anybody care to share?

We almost put that into the loop. But had to cut something.☹️ But I still have it on my list. I'm considering stopping there for a few days when we take our big trip to UT in the spring. TY

That looks soooo peaceful. I may add it to my "return" trip (from St. Louis to Hohenwald). TYVM!

That would be great! The websites for the Arkansas state parks are marvelous. They give me lots of confidence picking out sites. That plus AllTrails is about all I need to make plans 🙂

We finally have all of our reservations! Sooooo many wonderful state parks. Thanks to everyone for their advice. Continued feedback from those who know the area is still very welcome. Starting mid Jan..... 2 days at Fort Pickens in Pensacola 1 week @ Lake Ouchita State Park 1 week @ Petit Jean State Park 1 week @ Mt Magazine State Park 1 week @ Devil's Den State Park 1 week @ Buffalo Outdoor Center (not a state park 😜) 1 week @ Babler State Park 2 days @ Hohenwald for first annual checkup wander back to Tampa by mid March....

Has anyone ever driven on the "million dollar highway"?

After recharging, everything seems to be back to normal. No worries. 😎 I think I have learned: "the batteries need to be fully charged twice a month to allow the monitor to sync".

I just watched Victron's video for the BMV-712. It says the batteries need to be fully charged twice a month to allow the monitor to sync. So, I guess I just charge the things and hope it clears up 🤪