Getting ready for the next trip

Over the last year, several people have suggested that I begin a blog to document my (and sometimes Dianne's) travels in the Class B. I plan to leave next Monday for Southern California and figured now was as good as time as any to begin.

As lots of what's needed for a trip is already on board the Class B (nautical terms are often used by the RV traveler), the fantasy is to load up a few items and take off as the fancy strikes you. In practice, I have developed a list of items that requires several hours to locate and load. The list is divided into sectons: Clothing, Tools/Equipment, Safety, Provisions, Sleeping, Personal, Entertainment and Food/Beverages. Yesterday I had the propane tank filled ($17.50 for 5 gallons; it only took 4.5 gallons, but there's a 5 gallon minimum at the Hertz Equipment Rental where I purchased the propane) and filled the two gas tanks ($75.00 for 22.4 gallons). This is kind of boring, but with rising gas prices in the news of late I thought it was worth noting. It's exactly $75.00 (which filled both tanks) because that's apparently the limit on my American Express card for gas pumps. Both tanks had about a quarter of a tank of gas when I began filling them, which is usually when I fill them on the road. I'll drive on one tank until it gets to the 1/4 mark and then throw the switch to the other tank. If you don't think about the cost of gas, it's kind of fun watching the fuel gauge move from 1/4 filled to filled while you're driving. When the second tank gets to the 1/4 mark I keep my eyes open for a gas station.

This first blog entry is a test and I see a button for photographs, which I imagine being of more interest than than anything I might write (a picture is worth...) so I'm going to give it a try with a photograph taken last month of Dianne, me (in the middle), and our good friend Allen Whitt next to the Class B at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Pretty straightforward getting the photo into the blog, but not easy getting it next to this paragraph. The software wanted to place it in the upper left hand corner of this post. Fortunately, there's an "Edit Html" tab and I know enough about HTML to move the code where I wanted it next to this paragraph. There's probably an easier way to do this, but I couldn't find it in the instructions. This is a learning experience for me. You can double click on the photo for a larger image. I will provide a few more photographs of the "Chaco Canyon Trip" in a future blog entry.