I guess I've been busy...

Wow, it's been almost three years since I retired and started full-time RV living. Geocaching has taken third place to helping my sister and brother-in-law with their "traveling flea market" and home schooling my niece Stephanie.

Right now, we are in Quartzsite AZ selling to all the snowbirds who visit each winter. The major shows are just ending and the drop in gas prices from last summer seem to have not reduced the crowds. The flea markets here are the perfect opportunity to find a bargain.

I keep busy in the stand six days a week straightening displays, stocking merchandise, and helping customers. 

On my day off, my partner, Tony, and I try to go geocaching. Today we hiked to a cache, 1095 Overlook, that he and I placed last year that is just north of our winter home. We went to retrieve a yellow duckie for Kelley's collection. Here's a view towards the cache site from our motorhome:

It's just a short hike up the trail (at the center of the photo) and around the hill to the cache.

Later today, Tony and I traveled east of Quartzsite to find a new cache, The Rock House, that we were first to find (FTF!) The cache is located near an old cabin made of stone with seven different stones inlaid on the face.

It is located in a hidden canyon that was away from the wind and very peaceful.

The weather was a mild 72 degrees as we logged the cache. The container was not covered at all and Tony and I were fearful future muggles would discover the cache and destroy so we hid it much better than we found it.

Easy Day in Coos Bay

I worked today in the flea market stand with my brother-in-law Mike while my sister and two nieces went to Lincoln City for my great-nephew Alex's birthday party.

It was slow so Mike and I closed just before 5 pm. After dinner, I decided to walk to a nearby geocache, Bay Viewpoint (GCMK91). After my DNF on another nearby micro cache, it was satisfying to find this one quickly. I was afraid it might have been muggled as someone had cleared the brush around this area very recently.

The Beginning

On March 8 I retired. I purchased a 36 foot motorhome in January in Quartzsite AZ. This is my first experience living in a motorhome. I grew up in a family that camped regularly, first in tents then in trailers. I had been planning this chance to travel for the last three years. The unexpected death of my husband in 2005 did not deter my plans. I did decide to spend most of my travel time with my sister and brother-in-law who have been full-time RVers for years.

Since I bought my motorhome in January, I was able to spend a few weekends "testing things out" in Quartzsite with my sister and brother-in-law close by to help me out.

I was totally freaked out about the prospects of driving this large a rig -- at least turning it. I wanted to be able to tow my PT cruiser as well. Because I am an Oregon resident, I was able to avoid paying any sales tax when I purchased my motorhome in AZ. Unfortunately this meant the motorhome needed to be delivered out-of-state. The dealer, who was new to selling in AZ, first "delivered" the motorhome in Ca so I had an opportunity to drive about 20 miles on my first "trip."

Later the dealer called me to tell me the CA delivery was not acceptable to the state of AZ so we held another delivery in NV. This gave me a chance to drive my second "trip" of 120 miles. Both times I was accompanied by a professional RV driver who gave me driving tips.

Although OR does not require any special license for a motorhome driver, after three months and three thousand miles of RV driving. I certainly support a special RV drivers license.