Living on the Road

So, the highlight of the trip so far (the Quilter's Affair classes and the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show) has passed and Sunday & Monday we did those things you need to do just to get by on the road such as shopping, laundry and of course the thing you don't want to happen, visiting a repair shop (thank goodness there was nothing really wrong, we thought we had a problem with one of the air valves for the airbags, but we didn't- yea!!!!). Additionally, we changed campgrounds and are now at the Valley of the Rogue River State Park outside, Rogue River, OR (bottom of the state between Medford and Grant's Pass for you looking at an Atlas). Since all of that was pretty much boring, (except the drive, but you can only take so many pictures of the trees and mountains on the road,) I thought I would just let you get a look the inside of The Beast when Bruce & I are camped. I am sure you are already getting the picture that it might be somewhat scary and resemble our (Bruce & I) lives at home, a very lived in environment with 3 animals, shoes every where , a kitchen the size of a postage stamp (not our home mind you) and maybe somewhat cluttered. So, without too much prelude - here is The Beast in all it's indoor splendor.

You enter The Beast through the door in front of the passenger seat (what a pain and it is a noisy door when we are on the road) and come into the actual living area. I guess the living area could be larger than I am describing since I have realized I can turn my passenger seat 90 degrees towards the center of The Beast and it opens up the front of the motorhome so I can sit in my chair and see the world through the "big screen." Additionally, the chair then gives Samantha (the cat with the love/hate relationship with Bruce and the slight weight problem- think a cat Linda) a place to spend all day and night and stay out of the way of a rambunctious Hazel and her Dat (dog/cat) friend Wolfy. Oh, and I forgot that the Wolfy, Hazel and sometime even the weight conscious cat Samantha all think the front dash (boy am I ever glad we covered it) is their personal space to relax, view the world and just hang out. Anyway, back on track with our tour - the living area includes the couch (Bruce & Hazel's retreat) along with a cheap euro-style chair and ottoman for me across from them and we all face the 26" flat screen above the dash that can only be used when we are NOT in the mountains. Next to my chair is a set of (invisible) kitchen cabinets we put in with a nice finished wood counter top that are used to keep my computer(oh there it is, on the ottoman not in the cabinet) and printer and of course 3 months or more of the cat and dog food. Have you ever tried traveling with animals that eat high end food you can't just find at the corner grocery? Why, you ask , are you traveling with 3 months of food? Well, miss fat cat (let's call a spade a spade, OK) throws up anything new- so we had better stick to tried and true. Boy, am I off track again. Yes, I still need to be a connected traveler as we have learned in previous posts so the computer equipment is necessary, wherever it may reside. In the back ground you see the lovely dining area- a booth with storage underneath. This had turned out to be more important than we gave it credit- we would have chosen a table because it would have been much more comfortable for people of size (OK- me), but then where would I have put a full complement of pots and pans? Even better- where to store the plastic cutlery, paper plates and plastic cups we use whenever we don't have sewer at the actual site. It does have lighting overhead and yes- it always probably has all that stuff on the table. We have to remember our daily pills, have the plates, salt, pepper, cutlery and napkins readily accessible, and of course have a somewhat Hazel proof night time feeding area for the wonder cats. both the couch and the booth are in a slide=out so it opens up the whole room to living size, what a relief. Can you imagine Bruce & I trying to get by each other with only 2 feet of maneuvering room? What a nightmare that would be- and what a divorce we would end up with!

Across from the booth end slide is my wonderfully equipped kitchen (and I am not being sarcastic). For such a small space, it is very user friendly. I have a double door refrigerator/freezer, with ice maker (unfortunately right now that is a set of manual trays) that we can get away without defrosting for 6-8 weeks. After that time we enter the "ice chest from He?? " defrost period and usually stop talking to each other. but, for those 6-8 weeks we are OK. To the left of that wonderful appliance is the all in one food prep and clean-area. I actually have a full gas stove (used for bread, onion and potato storage) and gas cook-top along with a convection/microwave oven, a double sink and covers for both to enhance the counter space. To make it easier we added the wonderful cutting board counter top that plays a central role in food & drink preparation as well as holding the various clean dishes that have not been put away timely. There are 4 drawers full of stuff we don't use enough to justify carrying (but when you need that potato peeler it better be there) and the counter holds our most important appliance - the automatic coffee pot. The morning routine revolves around the coffee pot and the pet feeding- and once that is done, I usually get up. OK, some times he rebels and the dog stands on us until I get out of bed and do the honors.

We will skip the bathroom, suffice it to say that it is a walk through, with a separate head on the right with a door and the shower and sink in the pass thorough to the bedroom. You can see it if you look closely at the first picture. The bedroom is very, very tight, at least on Bruce's side next to the window. Thank goodness the closet actually is in the slide-out next to my side of the bed (left in this picture and hidden) so I can actually get up and move around. Bruce, on the other hand, has the 9" (I know you don't believe that based on your view of the picture but I am sure that is what Bruce told me, but remember, men have a real problem with inches) side so most times he has to crawl over the end of the bed to get in. All I can say is Better him than me! Of course Wolfy and Hazel seem to find the bed just perfect for their late morning and early afternoon naps.

So, that is the quick tour of the interior of The Beast- in a blogger's nutshell. Next time I will try to find soemthing more scenic and interesting to relate since we are now camped for 5 more nights at the Valley of the Rogue River State Park and we will be visiting Crater Lake tomorrow and are only a short drive from the coast for later in the week when it hits 100 here. Adios.