Sunday, April 24, 2016

Grand-Parental Quality Time in Middle California

We were in Menlo Park two and a half weeks, doing a bit more improvement work on Le Sport, re-organizing and re-packing for our next travels, and spending some quality-time with grand-daughter Penelope and her parents.
Tea party at an initial sleep-over in the new camper
















At a photo-shoot at Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, Penelope
Roses
















After costume change #1; Rebecca wanted to capture P's varied
interests in this fifth anniversaire collection

















Posing for Stephanie, who did Rebecca and Jeremy's wedding
photos and sessions with P thereafter

















With Mama
















We took P camping a few days at Pinnacles NP, again; here she
is with Grandma on the Bear Gulch Cave trail





















Examining a captured beetle; released, unharmed, shortly
thereafter; no beetles were injured in the making of this post





















Creeking




















Crossing another creek, another day




















Among many varmints observed
















Not least among which--click to enlarge--was this Coastal
Horned Lizard

















Junior Ranger treat with Grandma
















Back at the campground, eating watermelon and playing with
other kids

















A few days later, at Gilroy Gardens, with Grandpa
















Enjoying the rides
















On a family outing at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San
Carlos

















At the early Grandmere/Grandpere 5e anniversaire celebration
















At length, we put Le Sport into storage, bid farewells and more
happy birthdays, and set forth again to Europe



Monday, April 4, 2016

Missoula To Menlo

We spent the next couple weeks in or near Missoula, tricking out the new rig, re-organizing our now-depleted storage unit, Vicki exercising her mastery over Craigslist and eBay. Finally, March 30, it was time to lock up and head out, driving our now familiar route west along I-90, then southwest through assorted lesser highways, picking up another interstate to continue west through Columbia Gorge, then south on I-5 at Portland, ending up on I-880 through Oakland and across the Dumbarton Bridge. 1,200 miles. Once we got down from the Columbia Plateau, it was spring-time in the Northwest and beautiful with all the new growth everywhere. Le Sport handled it all quite well, despite carrying more than the usual weight.
Ah, Missoula...St. Patrick's Day at Southgate Mall...wait a
second! Aren't those supposed to be Irish pipers?! Probably none
of the Irish pipers was still standing...


















Perils of a college town...a classicist on the cul-de-sac!
















Other perils of a college town..."you puke, you pay"
















Our storage unit in Hellgate Canyon; least crowded it has been
since we moved in, in 2007

















The new solar array on Le Sport, thanks to Sportland, in Lolo
















Looking back up toward Columbia Gorge
















Spending the night at Seven Feathers, enjoying the seafood
buffet

















Driving by Mt. Shasta, beautiful spring weather...
















Arriving Friday afternoon to see our ballerina
grand-daughter and her mom and dad

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Le Sport*

It took us two years to buy this rig. We had put a deposit on it way back in March of 2014, from the North Island, New Zealand, Uretiti to be exact, but then decided it didn't suit our interests in snowmobiling and cold weather travel. Two years later, it popped up on Craigslist, and, with our cold weather adventures done, it beckoned again. We were looking for something on a Sprinter 3500 chassis, diesel, good mileage, large enough carrying capacity for full-timing, towing, and savage-camping, with a more streamlined look, as close to European design, standards, and amenities as possible, consistent in cost with our near-term travel plans (that is, it will sit in storage in the US 6-8 months of the year), sleeping and seating 3-4. And well-made.

Le Sport was built in 2006 by Sportsmobile, an American firm esteemed for custom RV conversions, especially 4WD and adventure travel. Le Sport was a prototype for a venture into the Sprinter Class C or B+ field with the German RV manufacturer Robel (mit der umlaut). The venture did not pan out--too expensive to produce this side of the Pond--and only two vehicles were built, a boxy Class C, and Le Sport, the sleeker B+. We have long been admirers of Sportsmobile, having visited their plants in Austin and in Fresno in years past, and when Le Sport became available again, we seized the opportunity. Due diligence (Carfax), a good deal, taking our Ram for trade-in value, knowledge of the vehicle's history, and a chat with the past owner, sped us on our way. Also a sense of fate, destiny, kismet, karma...whatever. Maybe second time around. Le Sport's only serious shortcoming for us was a lack of solar power, although it comes with 4 big AGM coach batteries, and we are adding four solar panels very shortly before returning to Middle California. Below are some initial pix and comments.
At the dealership from whom we bought it; M-B Sprinter 3500,
2.7 l turbo diesel, 5 speed automatic
















Cab view
















The Kenwood monitor serves the back-up camera, audio and
video, CD/DVD/MP3 player, and the satnav

















Storage above cab; came with interior and exterior front window
covers

















Looking abaft; TV and DVD player; also came with an in-motion
satellite system
















Some of the interior storage; the woodwork is entirely solid, maple
we thought, but more likely birch, a cabinet-maker friend said

















One of two easy chairs; together, they make into a single bed
















The other; the two cab captains' chairs swivel to seat four at a
portable table 

















Galley; two sinks; Swedish 3-burner stove
















Shower and half of the dry bath




















Other half




















Fold-down table from medicine cabinet




















Clothes closet




















Lower bin for shoes




















Fridge and freezer




















Convection microwave
















Queen bed and ever more storage
















Exterior storage, under the bed





































































Other features--24 foot over-all length, dual pane windows with black-out shades and embedded screens, airbags, macerator (Herr Scheisschopper), 2500 watt generator, 1750 watt inverter, LED lighting throughout, new furnace, low-profile AC, working tank monitors, 60 gallon fresh/gray, 12 foot Fiamma awning, Blue Ox towing system, assorted suspension upgrades, stabilizers, alarm system, dualies, 19 mpg highway, power everything, keyless entry, etc.--filled out our nearly 3 page list of desired features for an American camper. We love it.

*Oh yes, Le Sport is a tentative name only. Until Vicki comes up with something better.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

End Of Season Sales

February 23rd, as it turned out, was our last ride on the Blue Wanderer, and a good one too. Our intent on this campaign was to enjoy a final season of winter camping and snowmobiling, and, at season's end, to sell everything connected with these endeavors and to transition to a different rig and style in the US. Vicki had already begun listing everything in Craigslist and other media, and, within a month, we had sold it all and begun moving into our new rig, tentatively called Le Sport. (Goes well with Le Duc, our European camper). Le Sport will get a separate post, in due course.
All saddled up after the last ride, ready to head to the Bozone
















The Blue Wanderer's many campaign pennants
















Riding off into the sunset...well, 19th Ave. in Bozeman, en
route to I-90...with its new owners, a nice couple from Billings;
they bought the trailer too


















The Bigfoot rests upon its new home, atop a Chevy owned by
a nice couple from Colorado; with all the solar and other
accoutrements we added, they got a good deal


















The Ram, resting on its trip east; oddly, it was the hardest to
sell, but we finally found a deal; I miss its raw power, especially
unladen, and its many new-fangled 2014 features


















The deal...next post