Hit the Road to See America the Beautiful
Perhaps you have had your nose to the grindstone for forty or fifty years, and you have the itch to finally see just what this great country is all about. And watching those big six and ten wheel luxury motor homes tool down the highway, you wish you could be in one of those big rigs sitting up there playing king of the road.
Now those six and ten wheelers are super fine, but they are not for the average retiree. Let’s face it. Let’s talk about what the average retired couple can afford.
Our motor home is simply a partially equipped VW camper. “Partial” because it has no mechanical equipment such as a refrigerator. But it’s equipped with a big bed, made by folding down the back seat. We also built a cabinet about three feet high for general storage.
It has been said there is not a place of natural beauty anywhere in the world that the United States does not duplicate somewhere. For instance; the Himalayas = the Rockies. Switzerland = Colorado. Yugoslavia = Virginia. The Sahara = Death Valley. Argentina’s ranches = West Texas. Norway = the far northwest United States. And the Alps = Rockies.
Trees, bushes, flowers, deer, antelope, bears, mountain sheep, buffalo, moose, coyotes, beavers, eagles, gannets, blackbirds, bluebirds, skunks, armadillos, huge jackrabbits, whistle pigs and prairie dogs; and don’t forget all the beautiful fish. It’s all right here in the United States of America. It’s all waiting out there for you to enjoy.
After you settle on your vehicle, what’s next to make your travelling enjoyable? Planning! Planning is the whole thing; the better your planning the more relaxing the trip will be. Planning your route. Planning your overnight stops. Planning what you want to see. Planning what to take. Planning what you will eat and how to prepare it. A part of the fun of travelling is planning the trips.
Before we start on any trip, we refer to our master list of things to bring. We have compiled this from experience over the years. Divide your list into categories.
We have a separate category for the dog. Nothing adds more to a camping trip than having a little friendly dog along. Our dog “Mister,” a German Schnauzer, has travelled with us on all our trips. A Schnauzer is an excellent breed to take along and settles in easily,
There is no reason why you can’t eat almost as well on the road as at home. Cooking outside we use the Coleman. Cooking inside the camper we plug in the electric equipment. We can prepare steaks, chops, hamburgers, fried chicken, fried or broiled fish, spaghetti, ravioli, soup, canned chow mein, stews and meat loaf along with fresh or canned vegetables and baked potatoes. Noodles or rice with dinner and even hot oatmeal for breakfast. No reason not to eat in style – even flaming cherries jubilee is a cinch using the camp frying pan.
It’s fun, as you pass through a town, to buy the food of the area for your camp meals. In Colorado fresh caught Rocky Mountain Brook Trout. In New Mexico, big young shoulder lamb chops. Homemade bread in the little bakery in Vermont. Fresh cherry pie in the State of Washington. Scrapple in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Iowa pork chops with fresh corn just pulled. Watermelon right out of the field in Arkansas. Fresh Lobsters in Maine and big slabs of fresh codfish and scallops in Nova Scotia.
You can enjoy all of these wonderful things and the beauty of nature for less than you think.
