And away we go! 2022 Adventurer 36Z

[Scotty B]

Hi All:

Picked up our new rig a few weeks ago - super excited!

Looking forward to many adventurers in our new Adventurer!

Both of us are retiring in June and plan on spending the next year on the road and looking for our forever home!

Already planned through Moab, Grand Canyon, Paso Robles, Newport Beach, and San Diego.

Next stops Palm Springs, Tucson, and somewhere in NM before heading up through Yosemite, Glacier and Summer across Canada.

Had a 28' travel trailer for 7 years with the longest trip being 3 weeks out to Yellowstone so this will be something.

Only hiccup so far is finding out we can't flat tow our CRV so I guess we'll also be joning the Wrangler community.

We will see! As you know, "The best way to make God laugh is tell him your plans!"

Looking forward to seeing some of you on the road!

All the Best!

[creativepart]

Welcome and congratulations to you both.

Travel safe and have FUN!

[202235f]

Welcome from Central South Carolina!

We just bought the 2022 35f model in January and we love it.
The floor plan in yours is awesome!

Here's to many safe travels ahead!

[Eagle5]

Hi Scott & Phyllis,
If you like 100 inches of rain per year, South Bend, Washington just might be your perfect forever place. No; just kidding. Find some place where it doesn't rain so much.
May the sun shine on your face, and the wind be at your back.
Nice motorhome.
Eagle5

[macnut]

Congratulations on the start of a great adventure!

[IOS 3]

Congrats on the new rig and BIG plans. Enjoy!

[Scotty B]

Hi All:
As we start The Grand Adventure Part 2, I thought it would be good to do a bit of score keeping and write a brief summary of our Grand Adventure Part 1.

These are pretty close estimates:

The Numbers:
• Total Miles Traveled – Coach 15,000, Bronco 8,000
• Stayed in 65 Campgrounds
• Camped in 19 States
• Camped in 5 Provinces
• Visited 13 National Parks, 6 State/Provincial Parks

Great Memories:
• Seeing the Grand Canyon with my wife for the first time
• Visiting Joshua Tree, Saguaro, Arches, Canyonlands, Glacier, Zion, and Waterton Lakes
• Driving through a tree in Redwood NP!
• Oregon Coast - spent three weeks from bottom to top - abysmal weather, unbelievable scenery, beaches, seafood, and beer. Saw Puffins at Cannon Beach.
• Off roading the Bronco in Moab and Borrego Springs.
• Route 66 - somewhat depressing as very few places have held their own since the interstate, let alone flourished. Chicken Fried Steak, Fried Okra, and Mashed Potatoes in Vinita, OK! Dragged my poor wife to way too many tiny, small-town museums and train stations. Shamrock, TX. Tucumcari, NM
• Missions to find the best Green Chili (me) and the best Clam Chowder (Phyllis). Believe it or not, my favorite Green Chili was at a little stone building restaurant at a campground (Black Rock) in Salome, AZ during an overnight from Palm Springs to Tucson. Phyllis’ favorite Chowder was at Pelican Brewery on the Oregon Coast.
• Fresh smoked salmon and steelhead
• Steinbeck Center and Monterey on one of our weather diversions. Who does not love Steinbeck?
• Christmas with my family in Palm Springs
• Thinking about aborting the Canadian part of the journey due to rough roads and hard travel across the Prairie Provinces – we stuck with it and fell in love with the country and people. And… we were rewarded with Quebec City – right out of a Hallmark Movie. The French are charming and gracious regardless of what we were told. French women love Benny, and apparently, he speaks French, and he loved them right back!
• Say what you will about Canadian food - but best French Fries ever - with gravy of course!
• Canola fields in bloom are beautiful and along with wheat fields stretch to the horizon.
• Legal Cannabis!
• Fresh Canadian produce during the summertime.
• Seeing and praying at the tomb of Brother Andre
• Polson, MT and boating on Flathead Lake
• Great aviation (Estrella, Davis-Monthan, March, and the ones in Edmonton and Sault St. Marie) and railroad museums (Durango and Steamtown)
• Putting the rig on a ferry to cross Lake Champlain
• To name a few...

Weather:
• Average temperatures mean nothing anymore! Had to reroute several times in New Mexico and California in February and March due to extreme weather which caused campground and National Park closures. We had to go up through the Central Valley including Bakersfield, Greenfield, and Lodi. I think we did a great job making the best of wherever we ended up - best brisket ever in Tehachapi (plus seeing a train go through the loop) and Basque Food in Bakersfield – it’s also the hometown of Haggard and Owens. Steinbeck, Pinnacles NP (Saw a Condor!), and Monterey in Greenfield. All I can say about Lodi is that my wife got very tired of hearing Creedence.
• Missed Carlsbad Caverns, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yosemite, and Lassen. Will try again on the next Adventure or two – God willing.
• When we chose to turn around in NM, Phyllis googled the warmest place in the US at that time and Key West and Yuma came up. Yuma is a trip! Took my wife to the Territorial Prison on Valentine’s Day – just call me Mr. Romance!
• Gale force winds in Yuma and Winchester, OR. Not fun – they scared the hell out of me. The wife and dog slept right through them.

Issues:
• By and large we were very blessed.
• Chassis – a couple of spark plug wire episodes
• Coach – leaky skylight (how lucky were we that it was over the shower!), exhaust hanger, water pump froze and I turned it on without realizing it had happened and it broke (they don’t like ice – this was in Tombstone), washer/dryer water pump, and torn slide topper. These were all fixed on the road, and we were reimbursed by Ford or Winnebago.
• The rig is perfect for us and we like it now more than the day we bought it.

Transformational:
• It was the most amazing experience we’ve ever had, and we’ve been blessed to be able to do a lot of things. Our spiritual, emotional, and physical growth were amazing, as was how we grew as a couple.

I know I missed more than I included, but this is the most I’ve typed since retiring in June 2022 and I can’t do it anymore…As we always say when asked what our favorite place was – we say the next one which is where our focus continues to be.
Thanks for reading and God bless you all with safe travels, good health, and a little romance!

PS – I’ll try and post a few of our favorite pics from my phone to this thread.

[Eagle5]

Hi Scott & Phyllis,
Excellent report. So glad you had a safe and enjoyable tour.
Thanks, Eagle5

Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

[wahoonc]

Welcome! It sounds like you have lots planned! We are still a year out on my retirement. We just purchased a 2014 Itasca Meridian that needs some TLC.

Aaron��