solo woman RV

Breakdown, Beaches and Birds

/ Travels w/Lisa / 16 Comments

IMG_4768

Alligator Alley–that’s the highway (I75) I took to cross over to the western side of Florida. The name alone did not sound terribly auspicious, but it seemed the quickest route to go and allowed me to by-pass Miami. Surrounded on both sides by swamp and everglades and brackish water, Mabel (the van) crunched over the occasional -already-dead turtle or bird or “blob-of-something” as we headed West. I realized this was the first time in seven months I was actually heading away from the sun in the morning. All this time, I have been driving north or east or south. After a while, it is the little things that bring amusement to the long distance road traveler.

Alligator Alley

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GOBBLE GOBBLE-CAREFUL WITH THAT THROTTLE

/ Travels w/Lisa / 8 Comments

North Carolina

GOBBLE, GOBBLE–CAREFUL WITH THAT THROTTLE

ENJOY YOUR TRAVELS IN NORTH CAROLINA

Welcome to North Carolina on Thanksgiving Weekend!

One of the most wonderful things about this trip has been reconnecting with so many old friends and making new ones. Today, December 15, 2017, marks exactly seven months since I left New Mexico. 25,000 miles later we arrived in North Carolina. I just checked this mileage and thought I had driven more than that — at times it definitely has felt like I came out of the womb into the driver’s seat! Continue reading →

THE SOLO TRAVELER

/ Travels w/Lisa / 22 Comments

GO FOR IT!

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.’–Marie Curie

MABEL AFTER 460 MILES OF DIRT ROADS

TODOS SANTOS, BAJA CALIFORNIA 2015

 

 

 

 

I have done tons of road trips all over the US, but never traveled in an RV. So, when I saw Mabel as I affectionately call my 2002 Roadtrek, I knew I was ready to take the trip of my dreams–travel throughout all points north of the 48 states! Mabel went from being a grandfather’s vehicle transporting kids on fishing trips–verified by a mere 46,000 miles on her after 14 years–to a long haul RV.  Larger tires, elevated suspension, solar panels, sound system, navigation system and UBS ports and a custom-made futon which converted the back “lounge area” to a full time bed completed her modifications. We left New Mexico on May 15, 2017 and after six months, the odometer rolled over to 77,000 miles.

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BACK IN THE U.S.A.

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Good Bye New Brunswick

Hello Maine!

Side road

A late autumn was apparent as I drove through the US/Canadian Border crossing, leaves were a gentle green transitioning slowly to pumpkin orange. The waiting was almost over as I soon found out when the first freeze of the season came on September 28, 2017. The heater on the van didn’t work and due to my lack of skill, cunning and alertness, I did not pack a wool blanket! Continue reading →

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

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Nova Scotia Visitor Sign

A 2017 movie, Maudie, gives the history of the woman who painted this sign by the Visitor Center in Digby, NS.

I am spending the last nite in Canada at a road’s end on a deserted beach by the Gulf of St. Lawerence. The water goes back and forth on the inlet’s shore, leaving bits of debris and taking bits of sand back into the slate blue liquid. Dried-out washed-ashore sea grass form long stretches of low berms just beyond the water’s reach. Sand, rocks, pebbles and sticks, which crackle when I step on them, litter the forgotten background. Continue reading →

COASTLINES, COVES AND COD

/ Travels w/Lisa / 9 Comments



“Lisa, I am not real sure where Labrador and Newfoundland are.” Since I have read that more than once–here are some maps!

I entered Labrador via Quebec Province, Hwy. 138, went through two cities, Labrador City, pop. 7,000 and Happy Valley/Goose Bay, pop. 8,000 (USAF base is there), and one hydro-electric company town, Churchill Falls, pop. 650. Continue reading →

SIERRA NEVADAS TO PACIFIC OCEAN

/ Travels w/Lisa / 5 Comments

       CLICK FOR MUSIC

Run off from Sierra Nevada Mountains, Bishop, CA

The GPS had been set to avoid highways and toll roads and what a journey that made from Bishop, CA to Pacific City, OR.  I drove through four seasons in two days: snow in the Sierra Nevadas and the road to Lassen Volcanic Park had a CLOSED sign due to snow; spring wind & summer’s driving rain in southern Oregon; sat on a bench in the sun on a bench in Coos Bay, Oregon. Continue reading →