Hello All,
We (mostly I) have been lurking here for months. I've recommended the site to many friends, as the information freely provided here is outstanding. I feel as if I know many of you. We've learned so much from Howard's & Linda's generous sharing as well as so many others here.
My fiancé and I are retired and living in the Verde Vally (Central AZ near Sedona). My SO introduced me to this life
3 years ago and I am hooked. We've seriously considered going full time but we love our S&B home and neighbors.
We're on our second TT as we flipped our first one in a bad accident coming down 17 from Flagstaff a couple of years ago. Big duffle bag in the middle of the road as we came over crest of hill. Swerved to avoid it, then tried to right it but TT was swinging back & forth like crazy. We ended up facing uphill traffic with trailer on it's side still connected to hitch and back end of the truck up over edge of guardrail. TT totaled but we were fine. (fur kids ride with harnesses & seat belts). Oh yeah, we also had had insurance on hold while camper was in storage and forgot to renew it before we took it out so it was a total loss. But it was just "stuff".
We were later informed that squeezing the brake assist might well have helped straighten the trailer. I write that so others might learn from our mistakes.
We were really shaken and for a long time I had difficulty with the switchbacks common in our area but have learned to feel comfortable again. Bought a new TT h& have taken many great trips.
SO retired Navy (among others) and I'm retired from golf biz. He volunteers with county search & rescue and is certified wilderness EMT. We both love technology and I'm trying to figure out how we can go to my dream 5er (and his dream new truck) & still keep the S& B.
Sorry for being so windy and thank you wonderful posters on this forum.
GENECOP said
04:27 PM Jan 11, 2012
Welcome to the forum, good to have you both.....
Jim01 said
04:58 PM Jan 11, 2012
Welcome Sherry,
I'm sure you already know that there's a great bunch of folks here that will help you answer many of your questions.
It's tough to full-time and keep a stix and brix, but we've found that if you want to do anything bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen.
Good luck with your plans.
Jim
WestWardHo said
05:32 PM Jan 11, 2012
Thanks for the encouragement Gene & Jim,
I've enjoyed reading your posts on here. Love the idea we might do both, Jim.
Sherry
Terry and Jo said
08:15 PM Jan 11, 2012
Welcome, Sherry.
It is always good to get new active participants on the forums. New questions, perspectives and comments help us all learn.
Oh, and since you feel you know so many of us, how about loaning me $5 until Friday?
Also, we are so glad that you survived that accident without giving up on the whole idea.
Terry
WestWardHo said
08:20 PM Jan 11, 2012
Terry,
You bet! $5.00 until Friday....I've read many of your posts and I'd be willing to bet we'd get it back with interest!
Waggin Tails said
09:09 PM Jan 11, 2012
Welcome Sherry for going public. Many lurkers become active contributors so jump in, the water is fine. From your intro, it sounds like you already are experienced. Glad you fur babies are safe from the accident you encountered a couple of years ago. Travel safe.
injunear said
04:54 AM Jan 12, 2012
Hey Sherry,
Welcome to the group. I'm an old sea dog myself.
You live in one of our favorite places in the world. We've been to AZ so many time I'ts almost like going home.
Happy Trails
Wayne
WestWardHo said
12:10 PM Jan 13, 2012
Hey Wayne,
Good to hear from an "old sea dog". Jesse was on nuclear subs. Maybe that's why he finds it so easy to live in a "tin can". Let us know when you're next in Arizona because it's always fun to talk to others who have been on the road. If you haven't stayed at the state campground in Cottonwood, it's wonderful. Dead Horse Ranch State Park. They have two different campgrounds and are almost never full (except during Verde River Days I think it August). Our preferred campground there is the Quail Loop as it has trees for shade. The other one is up on a hill with great views but no shade. The park is very near Old Town in Cottonwood which has fun shops and restaurants.
Sherry & Jesse
Neil and Connie said
03:17 PM Jan 13, 2012
WestWardHo wrote:
Hey Wayne,
Good to hear from an "old sea dog". Jesse was on nuclear subs. Maybe that's why he finds it so easy to live in a "tin can".
I was on subs too . . .after nuclear power school I was Sonar Officer, then Weapons Officer then Navigator/Ops officer on fast attacks. Best job I ever had.
Terry and Jo said
09:22 AM Jan 14, 2012
laubenthal wrote:
WestWardHo wrote:
Hey Wayne,
Good to hear from an "old sea dog". Jesse was on nuclear subs. Maybe that's why he finds it so easy to live in a "tin can".
I was on subs too . . .after nuclear power school I was Sonar Officer, then Weapons Officer then Navigator/Ops officer on fast attacks. Best job I ever had.
Huh....could the above be because you weren't subject to "surprise" inspections from the big brass? I'm an Army vet and we used to hate those things.
The WWII USS Batfish is 'harbored ashore' here in Oklahoma. I really need to get over there with my camera and tour that war horse.
Thanks for your service, Guys.
Terry
Neil and Connie said
03:19 PM Jan 14, 2012
Terry and Jo wrote:Huh....could the above be because you weren't subject to "surprise" inspections from the big brass? I'm an Army vet and we used to hate those things.
Oh no . . .we had our share of inspections. The worst was the annual Operational Reactor Safeguards Exam (ORSE) which was essentially our license to operate the reactor plant for another year. Team of 5 or 6 . . .they spent about 3 days reviewing paperwork and then ran a bunch of casualty drills . . .and talk about nit picky. On one of ours we failed which meant we turned around halfway out the channel and went back to the pier to get "retrained". The cause of the failure was that we failed to properly test the control rod in/out switch 5 years before. While we all agreed that was a vital test that should not have been missed after the maintenance . . .there were a couple of extenuating factors that should have gotten us off without a failure. First . . .the same switch is checked during every pre-startup precritical checkoff . . .so even though we had missed it after the maintenance we had done it 2 weeks later when the ship got underway. Second . . .we had a refueling overhaul between the missed test and the failure . . .during which the entire reactor core, the control rod mechanisms, and the switch panel were replaced and retested. It's one of those things you can never fix either . . .no matter what you do you still forgot the retest 5 years back.
The local Naval Reactors reps came down about once a month for a routine monitor watch for about 3 hours while inport . . .you never got away scot free from those either; there were always deficiencies and a lot of them were pretty petty stuff . . .but each required a written report of the corrective action back to the Pentagon.
Driving a submarine though . . .that was amazingly cool and exciting; particularly back in the Cold War days. I could tell you about it but I would have to have you shot afterwards
neil
Terry and Jo said
08:46 PM Jan 14, 2012
laubenthal wrote:
Driving a submarine though . . .that was amazingly cool and exciting; particularly back in the Cold War days. I could tell you about it but I would have to have you shot afterwards
neil
Neil,
No, you wouldn't have to have me shot. I worked in what was known as the U.S. Army Security Agency. We had to have Top Secret clearances. Now, you might get me on the "Need-to-Know" basis, but I'm also familiar with firearms so if you try shooting me, I'm apt to be shooting back.
Maybe we ought to get together and put holes in paper sometime? I'd bet I could find some pictures of some Cold War enemy leaders we could practice on.
Terry
Neil and Connie said
02:45 PM Jan 15, 2012
Terry and Jo wrote:Maybe we ought to get together and put holes in paper sometime?
I'm not much for target practice . . .but if we ever meet up on the road we'll have to have one of those adult beverages or something . . .
Kerry said
05:46 PM Jan 16, 2012
Hey Terry -
What was your MOS & where did you serve? I enlisted in Army in 76 & went to Ft Devens for schooling as a 98J (non-communications cryptologic intercept/analyst (i.e. I intercepted radars )). Got permanent duty at Ft. Hood in the 373rd ASA until it was disbanded and became the 522nd CEWI which was also disbanded and we became a Military Intelligence battalion in the 2nd AD. Thoughout all the unit changes, the job never changed - HURRY UP & WAIT!
Terry and Jo said
10:20 PM Jan 16, 2012
Kerry wrote:
Hey Terry -
What was your MOS & where did you serve? I enlisted in Army in 76 & went to Ft Devens for schooling as a 98J (non-communications cryptologic intercept/analyst (i.e. I intercepted radars )). Got permanent duty at Ft. Hood in the 373rd ASA until it was disbanded and became the 522nd CEWI which was also disbanded and we became a Military Intelligence battalion in the 2nd AD. Thoughout all the unit changes, the job never changed - HURRY UP & WAIT!
Kerry,
I enlisted in January of 1966 with basic at Fort Leonard Wood, AIT for 05K20 (non-morse intercept) at Fort Devens that fall. 1st duty station at Two Rock Ranch Station; Petaluma, CA then 19 months at USASOU #23 in Peshawar, West Pakistan after training in a new, highly classified system (can't say what that one was), then back to Two Rock Ranch Station in CA until I got an early-out in October of 1969.
Duty in Pakistan was on an Air Force base, and boy, did we pick on the "Zoomies."
Peshawar, Pakistan is now in what is called the Federally Administered Tribal Area in the NW part....al-Qaeda country.
Welcome Sherry,
I'm sure you already know that there's a great bunch of folks here that will help you answer many of your questions.
It's tough to full-time and keep a stix and brix, but we've found that if you want to do anything bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen.
Good luck with your plans.
Jim
Welcome, Sherry.
It is always good to get new active participants on the forums. New questions, perspectives and comments help us all learn.
Oh, and since you feel you know so many of us, how about loaning me $5 until Friday?
Also, we are so glad that you survived that accident without giving up on the whole idea.
Terry
Hey Sherry,
Welcome to the group. I'm an old sea dog myself.
You live in one of our favorite places in the world. We've been to AZ so many time I'ts almost like going home.
Happy Trails
Wayne
Good to hear from an "old sea dog". Jesse was on nuclear subs. Maybe that's why he finds it so easy to live in a "tin can". Let us know when you're next in Arizona because it's always fun to talk to others who have been on the road. If you haven't stayed at the state campground in Cottonwood, it's wonderful. Dead Horse Ranch State Park. They have two different campgrounds and are almost never full (except during Verde River Days I think it August). Our preferred campground there is the Quail Loop as it has trees for shade. The other one is up on a hill with great views but no shade. The park is very near Old Town in Cottonwood which has fun shops and restaurants.
Sherry & Jesse
I was on subs too . . .after nuclear power school I was Sonar Officer, then Weapons Officer then Navigator/Ops officer on fast attacks. Best job I ever had.
Huh....could the above be because you weren't subject to "surprise" inspections from the big brass? I'm an Army vet and we used to hate those things.
The WWII USS Batfish is 'harbored ashore' here in Oklahoma. I really need to get over there with my camera and tour that war horse.
Thanks for your service, Guys.
Terry
Oh no . . .we had our share of inspections. The worst was the annual Operational Reactor Safeguards Exam (ORSE) which was essentially our license to operate the reactor plant for another year. Team of 5 or 6 . . .they spent about 3 days reviewing paperwork and then ran a bunch of casualty drills . . .and talk about nit picky. On one of ours we failed which meant we turned around halfway out the channel and went back to the pier to get "retrained". The cause of the failure was that we failed to properly test the control rod in/out switch 5 years before. While we all agreed that was a vital test that should not have been missed after the maintenance . . .there were a couple of extenuating factors that should have gotten us off without a failure. First . . .the same switch is checked during every pre-startup precritical checkoff . . .so even though we had missed it after the maintenance we had done it 2 weeks later when the ship got underway. Second . . .we had a refueling overhaul between the missed test and the failure . . .during which the entire reactor core, the control rod mechanisms, and the switch panel were replaced and retested. It's one of those things you can never fix either . . .no matter what you do you still forgot the retest 5 years back.
The local Naval Reactors reps came down about once a month for a routine monitor watch for about 3 hours while inport . . .you never got away scot free from those either; there were always deficiencies and a lot of them were pretty petty stuff . . .but each required a written report of the corrective action back to the Pentagon.
Driving a submarine though . . .that was amazingly cool and exciting; particularly back in the Cold War days. I could tell you about it but I would have to have you shot afterwards
neil
Neil,
No, you wouldn't have to have me shot. I worked in what was known as the U.S. Army Security Agency. We had to have Top Secret clearances. Now, you might get me on the "Need-to-Know" basis, but I'm also familiar with firearms so if you try shooting me, I'm apt to be shooting back.
Maybe we ought to get together and put holes in paper sometime? I'd bet I could find some pictures of some Cold War enemy leaders we could practice on.
Terry
I'm not much for target practice . . .but if we ever meet up on the road we'll have to have one of those adult beverages or something . . .
Hey Terry -
What was your MOS & where did you serve? I enlisted in Army in 76 & went to Ft Devens for schooling as a 98J (non-communications cryptologic intercept/analyst (i.e. I intercepted radars
)). Got permanent duty at Ft. Hood in the 373rd ASA until it was disbanded and became the 522nd CEWI which was also disbanded and we became a Military Intelligence battalion in the 2nd AD. Thoughout all the unit changes, the job never changed - HURRY UP & WAIT!
Kerry,
I enlisted in January of 1966 with basic at Fort Leonard Wood, AIT for 05K20 (non-morse intercept) at Fort Devens that fall. 1st duty station at Two Rock Ranch Station; Petaluma, CA then 19 months at USASOU #23 in Peshawar, West Pakistan after training in a new, highly classified system (can't say what that one was), then back to Two Rock Ranch Station in CA until I got an early-out in October of 1969.
Duty in Pakistan was on an Air Force base, and boy, did we pick on the "Zoomies."
Peshawar, Pakistan is now in what is called the Federally Administered Tribal Area in the NW part....al-Qaeda country.
Terry