Sunday, December 8, 2013

Dancing In A New Rig

     Wow, what a year this has been!!!  I guess one new rig wasn't enough, we got another one.  We had been talking about trading our Komfort 5th Wheel that we had been traveling and living in for the past 13 years.  Our plan was to completely go though it, doing a major purge, this year and be ready to start looking in Fall of 2014.  Gary got started when he came back to Casa Grande a couple weeks ahead of me.  He did such a good job, I was inspired and kept going.  I started with the shed, which turned out to be a great idea, since we were to need every bit of extra space in there.
     Then I started looking at what was available on line.  Only looking mind you.  However, I wound  up seeing a very promising rig here in Casa Grande, with the same dealer we had bought our Class C from 3 years ago.   Gary agreed and the next week, we went to look at it.  We found it left a lot to be desired, but ended up looking at another rig at the lot next door.  That wasn't perfect and exactly what we wanted, so we kept looking.  Meantime, we were continuing to go through every cupboard and storage area in the Komfort.  Believe me, it may only have been 30 feet long, but it's amazing how much storage it had and how much we had accumulated in the last 13 years.   We filled up the bargain table at our park and made a couple trips to town with bags of items to donate.
     Kind of like Goldilocks, the third rig we looked at turned out to be just right.  There were many positives, so we told them to work up a price for us.  When that was done, we countered back and forth, until we settled on a deal satisfactory to both of us.  Since we no longer have a truck, part of the deal was that they would deliver the new rig and tow our old one back as our trade.  That meant, of course, we had to have the Komfort completely empty when they came.  We set the date of Oct. 19th to make this all happen and went to work even harder to get the Komfort empty.  Friends living across the road from us were also relocating and offered us a full size refrigerator they had in their shed.  We agreed and moved it into our shed.  I was sure grateful, I had done some cleaning and purging in the shed.  Since I have a full size fridge in Show Low, it will be nice to have one here too, for when we change locations in Spring and Fall.
     It was a very busy and exhausting two weeks, but well, well worth it.  We love the new rig and expect to enjoy it for many years.  It is a 2007 Montana, 33 feet, with three slide outs.  (The 2000 Komfort was 30 feet with two slide outs.)  The floor plan was very different with a rear living room area and a HUGE back window.  Since our lot overlooks the desert, this was one of the things we were looking for.  It also has tinted windows and an Arctic insulation package which will help with keeping it cool as well as warm.  It also has a central vacuum system.  The front closet is cedar lined and there is another closet that is plumbed for a washer/dryer, although we don't plan on getting those.  It came with two TVs as well, so the ones we were using will go to Show Low and we won't have to transport them back an forth.
As you enter our rig.  Note HUGE window & island.

Looking back toward front of rig.  Cupboard under TV has computer station.

Wonderful pantry cupboards.

All 4 dining chairs have storage.  A way to keep papers from our shredder (Bandit), Yeah!
Bedroom with Christmas Quilt on the bed. 
     This has been our  major activity for the past month.  Gary is of course involved with his pool league and tournaments.  I'm catching up on some quilting (now that I can get to my sewing machine again).  Bandit is also back to school and doing well.

"Girly Boots" from a kit at Quilter's Market.
     Besides our regular activities, we managed to squeeze in a day-trip to one of our favorite places, the Arizona Desert Sonora Museum.  We won 2 tickets to this last winter during our Follies raffle.  We decided to wait until this Fall, knowing I would be walking more.  This is located in Tucson and is part zoo, botanical garden, museum, and now aquarium.   Friends Pam and Steve went with us and we had a marvelous day.  The highlight was the raptor's free-flight, where we saw a raven, prairie falcon, a great horned owl, kestrel, and a Ferruginous Hawk, sometimes called a white eagle.  They flew so close to us, their wings brushed our hats/hair.    Here are few pictures.

Ferruginous Hawk

Stretching its wings!
Big Horn Sheep

A young Big Horn sheep balancing on a narrow, tall rock.  How do they do that?
A Rare Crested Saguaro
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Garden Eels that slide up and down as they waited for food to come to them in the current. 
    Our park saw the sad demise of one of our saguaros.  It was about 30 feet tall, had many arms, and was definitely the oldest park resident.  We'd had a lot of rain over a couple days.  One of the ways saguaros survive in the desert is to drink lots of water when it rains.  They have a very shallow root system, spreading out as far as they are tall, and only one tap root.  As a result, it became too heavy to support itself and toppled over.  They weight several tons, so the shed in it's path was no match for it.  We were all grateful there were no people, rigs, or cars in its path.
Our new rig is in the background between the cactus and the shed.

     That's going to be all for now.   We are so grateful for all of our friends and family out there and wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.  We love hearing from you  and appreciate having you in our lives.   

Dancing in a new rig....................................
Hugs, Katy, Gary, and Bandit

3 comments:

  1. Really nice new rig! Bet you are loving that big back window and the extra space. Congrats! Jan & Chuck

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  2. Home Sweet Home! What a nice rig! Love the photos of the Hawk and animals. Life is good!

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