Going to try a little snowbirding - Page 3

Davydd · 10-09-2014, 05:59 PM

Krispy Kreme expanded nationwide and then contracted drastically. They are out of Minnesota now. Blame me.

I was on the Super Target development team. Target convinced Krispy Kreme to sell in Target stores before they embarked on their own store expansion. Not too long after just about every gas station and grocery store chain started selling them and that was the beginning of the end. Krispy Kreme's schtick was the red light to indicate a fresh hot batch was ready. If you don't eat them right away they are not all that good. Target Store bought Krispy Kremes were not the same because of that. So two things happened. First, the mystic of hard to get unless you go there in the southeast states was lost by the expansion and then the selling them in grocery stores and gas stations could not offer the hot fresh and further eroded the mystic.

I was also on the Target team that convinced Starbucks to expand into Target Stores. That was the first time they partnered with another company and built inside a store not their own. My job was to design the Starbucks coffee shops inside our Super Targets. We quickly expanded to all the stores.

obgraham · 10-10-2014, 06:25 PM

Donuts are an odd product. The best chain donuts IMHO are Tim Hortons. I'll have a cruller and a cremefilled, please. But you have to be in Canada. The stores they opened in the US don't seem to have the same quality of product.

AK49er · 10-15-2014, 04:04 AM

We are camping tonight in Lincoln City, OR on Hwy 101 in the rain and fog. This is our third night in OR and the weather has been like this every day so far. I will say that Hwy 101 is anti-sway bar country big time, I think the longest straight stretch so far has been about 15 feet! There is beach access every quarter mile or so and what beaches they are!
I think if a guy had a Sprinter platform and pulled all that IFS stuff out and put Dana 60's in with ARB lockers and put that big 502 chevy in it he could travel the sand from the north to south border with no trouble at all, go over or around the rocks at low water and camp above high water when he felt like it.
A couple more days or so we will be in the big tree country of CA, not sure exactly of where that will be, as we may have travel the whole area to look at every Redwood that's in the area, cant wait!
The only hiccup so far is an exhaust mounting rod that is welded behind the cat and connected to the tranny mount for support has lost part of the rubber bushing inside. When the exhaust pipe heats up it expands the rod until it hits the metal where the bushing used to be, when that happens we get a little rattle. It took awhile to find the problem to say the least. I took out our Lizzy Borden tool and whittled a piece of camp wood to drive into the bushing housing to dampen the sound but that fell out late today. Might have to see if Midas has a bushing that will work. Anyway, great time so far, no matter the weather here, its warmer than back home.

stanw909 · 10-15-2014, 04:38 AM

The Aquarium at Newport south of you is worth a look but if you're coming as far south as Monterey California that one is about the best there is.

AK49er · 10-16-2014, 05:18 AM

Thanks for the info stan, we went and had a good visit.

Anyone have any suggestions for the Redwoods of CA? Where to camp and what to see? Thanks.

stanw909 · 10-16-2014, 08:09 AM

Avenue of the Giants below Eureka is the best bang for the buck as far as Redwoods are concerned but before you get there you might like Ferndale. It's a short jaunt off Highway 101 near Fortuna. It is an old town of mostly Victorian Era buildings. Very scenic. You may be able to camp at the fair grounds and walk into town.

Davydd · 10-16-2014, 02:12 PM

Humboldt Redwoods State Park is where we camped. Be prepared to not see the sun.

Also Muir Woods just north of San Francisco is worth a stop.

mikes47 · 10-18-2014, 12:26 AM

We did the Avenue of the Giants in a convertible (with the top down, of course). Going to be hard to match THAT in a B. Nevertheless, a truly awesome experience. I don't think you should do the drive-through tree in the van, however!

AK49er · 10-19-2014, 04:49 AM

The trees man, the trees! All awesome in our opinion. Nope, the van wont fit!

Just outside Susanville, camped next to Honey Lake in a small park that was not listed in any of our material. Got to Susanville by travelling on hiway 299 from the coast. What a great road for a class B, lots of winding roads with up and downs all along the way. I would recommend it to all. Lots of pine trees here (Ponderosa?) that have very long needles and giant pinecones. Very nice open country, almost like the high desert. Headed to Carson city next as we have friends to see there and then south to Yosa-Might park for an extended camping stay.
I must add before I forget... we travelled from Alaska by way of Yukon, B.C., WA, OR to here. We have seen more wildlife in CA than we had seen in all the other places combined! We would not have believed it if we didn't see it for ourselves.

Today marks the 30th day of our trip and the Queen B is still going strong, knock on wood!

Mike · 10-19-2014, 05:25 AM

Have an appointment scheduled for the fuel pump repair on Tuesday. Please say a prayer for me that it goes well and we are travel ready next week. I might be able to convince the copilot that there are pies to be had in Cap Reef NPS. It's wasted energy to fix something that you don't then use.
I'm ready for another voyage....

Davydd · 10-19-2014, 04:23 PM

You can buy the pies right next to the Capitol Reef campground in a little restored pioneer farm house. They are individual pies. In the nearby town of Torrey, UT you'll find a few nice restaurants for such a small town. My favorite is Cafe Diablo, a little upscale fru fru just west of town, but they serve rattlesnake.

Mike · 10-19-2014, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

You can buy the pies right next to the Capitol Reef campground in a little restored pioneer farm house. They are individual pies. In the nearby town of Torrey, UT you'll find a few nice restaurants for such a small town. My favorite is Cafe Diablo, a little upscale fru fru just west of town, but they serve rattlesnake.

Is that the Gifford Homestead? My copilot found it as a local point of interest.
I just hope the fuel pump fix goes smoothly.
Then we can start dreaming of pies.....

Davydd · 10-19-2014, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

You can buy the pies right next to the Capitol Reef campground in a little restored pioneer farm house. They are individual pies. In the nearby town of Torrey, UT you'll find a few nice restaurants for such a small town. My favorite is Cafe Diablo, a little upscale fru fru just west of town, but they serve rattlesnake.

Is that the Gifford Homestead? My copilot found it as a local point of interest.
I just hope the fuel pump fix goes smoothly.
Then we can start dreaming of pies.....

Yes, it is adjacent to the Fruita Campground which is situated amongst the orchards.

Mike · 10-19-2014, 11:27 PM

Yum yum, then.

I think copilot also noted that the Gifford shop may close end of October, so we may not make it this year. It may vary based on weather and demand, though. It is on the long term list of targets.

AK49er · 10-22-2014, 03:06 PM

There are no pies in Mojave, CA, I guarantee it!

Not a cloud in the sky as we pulled in yesterday afternoon, temp was 76 in the shade. From giant trees and granite mountains to tumbleweeds and cactus in about a week, we are moving too fast, must slow down. We have to be in Pahrump NV in a couple of days for a party layover but that will be the last scheduled stop on our trip I hope. What a great trip we're having, should have done this years ago! Safe travels to all.

Davydd · 10-22-2014, 03:23 PM

Isn't 76 in the Mojave a little cool this time of year?

You have to be flexible. Last March it was so cold all over the United States we headed as far south as possible to finally get out of it in South Padre Island. Our plan was to spend a week there and then move on. We ended up three weeks there because the cold never broke over all of Texas that whole time. We spent another two weeks on the Texas Gulf slowly moving north as it warmed up to where we could then start traveling around again just about anywhere again.

AK49er · 10-23-2014, 07:05 PM

I don't know what the normal temps for this this time of year are here but it felt really hot to us. We are now sitting in Puyrump NV at our first ever RV resort, can you say "wow"! Free everything, from breakfast to garbage pick-up to swimming pools. It almost makes a guy want to get a class A and just tour all the resorts in the country. The Queen B is rolling down the road fine, the 5.9 seems to have the power to do the hills with no problem. The a/c purrs right along and cools the rig down quickly, we have tested that a few times already. Looks like that we may have to learn how to gamble around here!

Mike · 10-23-2014, 07:24 PM

A few years back we stopped for fuel and a bio break at a truck stop in NV. I think it was on I 80 somewhere near Carson City or Reno. Anyway, there were slots lining the hall where the bathrooms were, and I dropped $3 into one while the copilot was busy. Walked out with $30 in our pockets to buy dinner that evening.
Sounds like you're having a great time. It helps that the van is running well. Our last outing was fraught with fear and loathing of further mechanical issues which really was kind of frustrating.
Got the fuel pump replaced. Not sure if we'll head out again this year.

AK49er · 10-23-2014, 08:25 PM

Mike, was the fuel pump you carried with you all those miles the right one? I understand the fear part on vehicles, I've never owned a brand new off the lot rig, mine have always been used and abused before I got them. Since I have owned so many different makes and models all these years I have learned to tinker around with them to keep them going and on the road. No one can plan on repairing the major stuff while on the trail, whether it be the vehicle part or the house, part things are going to break. Frustration will happen if you are home or on the trail, so I vote for one last trip for you guys before the snow flies.

Mike · 10-23-2014, 11:21 PM

It was. It didn't have the retaining clip ring but did have a new seal. The OEM ring was good, so the tech reused it. It was an Airtex from AutoZone. All in, the last trip was expensive, but it could have been worse if everything went at home. We saved a few bucks on lower parts prices in the US. I also got 4 new tires prorated to about half price.

As for another trip, we'll see, but I am curently winterizing the van.

Btw, to access the fuel fill pipe at the tank, the tech needed access to the driver's side external storage. On my year and model Roadtrek cut an access panel inside of it and added a plastic removable plug. I was surprised but Roadtrek service confirmed the oddity. The fill pipe and access door were moved aft of the rear wheel well to separate it from the water heater access panel (fire hazard?). The fill pipe is non stock (longer) and my fuel fill door assembly was taken from a Lumina. My tank and pump were unmoved and stock. Also luckily, it's seen little salt and snow, so the tank dropped easily, no frozen bolts.
Just in case anyone else has a fuel tank/pump issue on a C190P. There may be design similarities.

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