Rivers Edge Campground (Stevens Point, WI)

We left the Village Inn campground at about 11 am on a cold, rainy Saturday. The Village Inn in Two Rivers, Wisconsin was our home for about three weeks while we both finished our jobs.

Cold May Skies in Stevens Point

We chose the Village Inn because it was conveniently located and it was one of the very few campgrounds to open in April. And this Wisconsin April had temperatures well below average that dropped into the 20’s during several nights.

We ended up using a lot more propane (for our furnace) than planned. However, we mostly relied on our heat pumps which worked flawlessly.

Shortly after leaving Two Rivers, the rain turned to sleet which, fortunately, was short lived.

Instead of driving directly to our next destination in Pepin, Wisconsin, we stayed overnight in the Rivers Edge Campground in Stevens Point.

Rivers Edge Campground, Stevens Point, WI

Rivers Edge is a “stop over” campground — you stop there on your way to someplace else. It’s not a destination. We’ve seen several campgrounds like this one, and I’m pretty sure we’ll see many more.

There’s nothing necessarily bad about stop over campgrounds as they usually have adequate facilities. In fact, Rivers Edge was well laid out, had a good store, swimming pool, plus a pub near the campground entrance, but . . .

It’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

For example, the “seasonal” (or long-term residents) have the best spots near the Wisconsin River.

Graupel (aka snow pellets)

Finally, the cold weather followed us to Stevens Point and we were pelted with graupel (snow pellets) several times during the day.

Well, like Scarlett O’Hara said, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Retirement Party

I’ve worked for Manitowoc Cranes for over 6 years and today I got my retirement cake.

I definitely do NOT need cake.

Winnebago + Camaro ???

A Day at the Beach

Saturday was Flirt’s first experience at a beach. It was this 7-month-old Golden Retriever’s first meeting with a large body of water (Lake Michigan) — and waves.

Hesitant at the beginning, Flirt was a water dog at the end of the day.

What turned the tide (pun intended) was her curiosity about a rock in the water . . . 

We SOLD the House! (Full timing in 14 days)

SOLD on April 26, 2013

We sold the house today and gave our 2-week notice at work!
In 14 more days we start full time RVing.

We’ve been planning for this day ever since we bought our Newmar Class A in July of 2010.

I think we’ve replaced or updated everything in our RV except the frame — new air conditioners, new carpeting, new water heater, solar panels, hydraulic leveler, WiFi antenna, UV water filer, . . .

Between selling our house, RV issues, and the incredibly cold Spring in Green Bay, April has been a nuts month.

Moving into the RV in a snowy April

Here are some highlights . . .

– Shortly after a snow storm left a foot of around the RV, I installed a UV water filter in an outside compartment on the RV. After the install, I attached the water system to a hose to see if there were any leaks. Nothing at first. But after a few hours, a steady dripping started. Great. So I had to remove the entire 2 x 4-foot water panel in the compartment. Turns out the “leaks” were coming from the RV’s gray water tank — which I had inadvertently filled up to the top as I was working on the plumbing. Duh. I drained the gray tank and the dripping went away.

– We had parked the RV on the street to work on it, and I had plugged it into a house outlet for electrical power. When it came time to move the RV back into the driveway, I tried opening the electrical compartment door to disconnect the power cord, but the door wouldn’t open. An internal latch had broken in the door. I’ve had this happen before, but opening the door meant laying in the snowy gutter under the door and using a Dremel tool to cut through the door latch.

Drilling out a Deadbolt on a Sunday Night

– Finally, on a Sunday night when I tried to unlock the deadbolt on the RV door, the key just kept going round and round and the deadbolt didn’t move. Locked out. Tried several of the sliding windows, but none of them budged. I lost it.

After throwing several things around the yard, I called 1-800-LOCKSMITH (or something like this from a quick Google search). In about an hour a young man arrived and after a quick inspection of the lock, said we’d have to break a window to get in as there was nothing he could do. That was $39.95. Having had luck with local service folks in the past, I called one of the local locksmiths.

Long story short . . . He arrived in an hour, drilled out the lock, and we were able to get in. The following day he stopped by with a new deadbolt, installed it, and charged us $116. I’ve had some bargains, but this was one of the best.

State Park of the Week (4/18/2013)

Harrisville State Park (Harrisville, MI). Read the reviews

Past Parks of the Week.