From 5th Wheel to Manufactured Home - It's a Process! - Sunday, July 16, 2017

Many of you know that we have decided to make San Antonio our home base. We chose to do this because we love the community that is Traveler's World RV Resort. It feels like a great big family with many friendly people. Plus, Bob has a good job. We will still travel, just not full-time at this point. 

With that being said, we will be moving into a single-wide manufactured home in the RV park. It will be nice to have a full-size kitchen and more space.

Our new manufactured home was delivered on Friday, July 7. Here are before photos of our site. 

Our empty site

Our site waiting for our home

I'm sorry about the weird colors in the next few paragraphs. I copied and pasted from Facebook and couldn't match the background color.

Our home was delivered without incident at 2:00 p.m., Friday, July 7. Alamo Transport did an awesome job shoe-horning our home into the site. We were very impressed by how quickly they got it done.

We extend our thanks to Brenda Vaupel for working with Sun Communities for permission to put another single wide home in the park.

Special thanks to Terry Vaupel and the maintenance crew for their hard work prepping the site with more gravel and leveling it nicely. Terry oversaw and directed Alamo Transport to get the home safely into Traveler's World RV Resort. And thank you to Denny for using a long pole with a hook to hold the electrical lines out of the way of the roof. The move-in went smoothly.

Titan Factory Direct now has up to two weeks to go through the home to make sure everything is as it should be before they hand the keys over to us. The trailer will be set in place on piers and tied down. The electrical, plumbing, sewer and AC need to be hooked up. Our new home is so near and yet so far. We are having a hard time waiting for the keys so we can get moved in.

Some furniture has been ordered and we still need to pick out a couple of things. We've already had to modify our order at two different furniture stores because we won't have as much room as we thought we would. But it's all exciting. Here are photos of the move.

This is the semi that delivered our home.

Below: The front and entry side of our new home. It has just been delivered and is sitting next to a busy street. They need to change from a semi-truck which pulled it on the freeway to a smaller truck to pull it into the park.

Getting ready to change trucks. This is the front of our home. The kitchen is on the other side of the front windows.

Hooking up the smaller truck to pull the home into the RV park.

The driver just whipped this long manufactured home into the entrance. He only had to back across traffic once to line it up for the next turn into the park.

All straightened out and ready for the next turn.

Heading down the park road

Escape Pod and Rigamarole in the background

This event was like a parade. Terry was in the lead with his golf cart directing the driver down the middle of the road. Then Denny followed with a long pole to lift over-head wires up above the roof line. I was walking alongside taking photos. Dan followed in a golf cart and Diane was walking in the back.

Denny lifting wires out of the way

Beginning to back in - Terry, Denny, and Don
in the shade keeping an eye on the progress

Obstacles: telephone pole and tree

Cranking it hard around the telephone pole. They even used the gravel to skid the rear tires sideways. It was really something to watch. You can see how the cab is almost jackknifed.

Backing in very slowly

Missing everything

At this point, they dropped the trailer and drove the truck around to back it through a pull-through site, then re-hooked it to the trailer to get a straighter shot at backing in.

With the truck lined up, they could back it straight in.

Here it comes

The truck had to angle around a tree in the site across the road, but look how straight this is going back...missing the telephone pole and the tree on our site!

 Below: Just to show you how close everything is to the side of our house.

Just a few more feet

Our home is home. Terry is satisfied.

We are happy homeowners. (Now if we could
just get the keys!!)

Outside our front door...so near and yet so far!

Update on Sunday, July 16:
Monday, July 10, Alamo Transport sent out a crew to put the piers under our home and tie it down to the ground. Terry let the guys know not to put any anchor bolts or tie-downs over the water line or within three feet of it so as not to rupture it or cause future problems. I also told the guys doing the work not to put any anchor lines within three feet of the water line. It seemed like the guy understood, he said Terry had told him that as well. 

Here's what piers, anchor bolts, and tie downs look like:

Our home is now on piers

The piers holding up our home

A pier with wood shim at the top

 The tires and axles have been removed.

Axles out from under the home

Anchor bolt in concrete - this will hold tie-downs

Rebar and anchor bolt in ground

Anchor bolt with tie-down

Underneath our home, you can see the steel base that the manufactured home sits on for stability as well as the piers and tie-downs.

Remember the earlier instructions NOT to put anchor bolts and tie-downs over the water line? Apparently, the worker Terry and I talked to did NOT remember! In the photo below you can barely see the water line spigot in the foreground. You will notice that two pieces of rebar criss-cross over the water line with an anchor bolt right there!! Arrgh. That has to be removed because, in the future if there is ever a problem with that water line, we need to have access to the water line to repair it. Alamo Transport has to fix this. Titan Homes has also been notified because they work closely with Alamo Transport.

Anchor bolt and tie-downs directly over water line.

On Tuesday, an electrician hired by Traveler's World came in to set up 200 amp service to our power pole in the site. All went well and our electricity is live.

No work was done on our home by Alamo Transport from Tuesday, June 10, until Friday, June 15. On Friday, a crew from Alamo Transport came out to hook up the electricity, sewer, and plumbing. About the first thing they did was break a water line so the water had to be turned off to the entire RV park. Uh-oh. 

Long story short, Terry here at Traveler's World and his crew got the water line repaired. Alamo Transport finished hooking up the water, sewer, and electric.

This coming week, the poorly placed anchor bolt and tie-down have to be moved, our AC has to be installed, skirting put on, and stairs and deck built. Once the work is done and Champion Homes has a chance to inspect and do "red carpet treatment," the keys can finally be handed over to us. Fingers crossed we will have keys by Friday, July 21, so we can start moving stuff in!

We go down to our new site every day to look at it, but we can't get in! We'll keep you posted on progress. 

P.S. Wildlife Sightings Today -- Fri., June 1

Fuller Ranch, Cotulla, Texas:

Wildlife I saw today: On my drive to town, I saw the Sable antelope herd on the ranch across the road. Coming home, I saw a hen turkey in a field about a mile from our site.

This evening, the roadrunner was back, again being chased by the mockingbirds. Mr. Roadrunner had something in his mouth. Out came the binoculars. A great big katydid was hanging out of the roadrunner's mouth. Pretty cool. Once again I wished for a more powerful camera. I could have had a wonderful, nature-moment shot. Sigh...one of these days.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa (as Jimmy Buffett sings). I have a major correction. What we thought were blackbuck antelope are NOT. What we see at Rancho de la Tierra Roja across the road are:

Springbok Antelope

kaybruce.wordpress.com

The springbok is a medium-sized brown and white gazelle that stands about 70 to 90 cm high. Springbok males weigh between 33 and 50 kg and the females between 25 and 40 kg. Wikipedia

Scientific name: Antidorcas marsupialis

Travel Bug out.

Oh, except for a kitty pic (please stop reading if you don't want to see a kitty pic):

Bowie in "my" chair. (Ha! Don't fool yourself, Susan.)

This is what happens when I get up from the computer to check someone in at the gate...one of the two cats usurps my chair. (Bowie in this instance, but it's just as likely to be Sunnie. Notice Sunnie's head sticking out from under the chair. Under the chair is the second most prized takeover area when I'm in the vicinity. When I jump up from my chair to go outside I have to check first for a cat tail, paw, head or body under my feet. Sheesh, what we do for our animals!)

You Have to Eat a Peck of Dirt Before You Die -- Thurs., May 30

From The Free Dictionary.com:

You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die. 

Prov. No one can escape eating a certain amount of dirt on his or her food. Everyone must endure a number of unpleasant things in his or her lifetime. (Often said to console someone who has eaten some dirt or had to endure something unpleasant.)

OR...You could work as a gate guard in south Texas on a very windy day and eat MORE THAN a peck of dirt. Most unpleasant!

Today for Bob was very busy. Both Pad A and Pad B were hopping.  

Pad B

The temperature was about 102 F. The wind and blowing dust were relentless. The awning was out this morning, but by the time I got up at 11:30 a.m., we had clouds of blowing dust so bad we couldn't see the road 200 feet from us. No cars or trucks were coming at that time, just strong winds and blowing dust. The awning had to go in. Bob got it tucked away. He couldn't wait for his shift to end so he could relax inside. 

Activity in the evening was lighter; nothing like what Bob endured. The wind and dust continued unabated until about 8:00 p.m. Going outside felt like getting sandblasted in an oven. 

My sun hat that I wear outside when it's sunny or windy has a wide brim. With the wind coming straight into my face, the brim of my hat blew over my eyes, making it very hard to read the license plate numbers for the log.

Around 10:00 p.m. great big raindrops started falling, but it only lasted a few minutes...not long enough to wet down the dust. But the wind let up. Yay!

Pad B is a beehive of activity around the clock now. They are doing coiled tubing. Apparently they tapped into some H2S (hydrogen sulfide gas), and now they've got a pipe up in the air burning off the gas. That is one BIG flame.

Tomorrow, I am meeting Kathy, another gate guard who works near Millett, Texas. It will be fun to compare notes. We'll have about 1-1/2 hours to talk before I go back to take over from Bob at 3:00 p.m.

The roadrunner was out again today. The mockingbirds were all riled up and chasing the roadrunner. According to my Audubon bird book, roadrunners will eat the young of ground-nesting birds. Mockingbirds, however, nest in low-lying scrub so I'm not sure that qualifies as "ground-nesting." The mockingbirds apparently thought it did. They were dive-bombing the roadrunner.

That's all the excitement for today. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

Snakes on a Plain -- Sat., May 26

Weather: 93 degrees F., windy.

Location: Oil field near Cotulla, Texas, at our gate. Dining room table in our 5th wheel trailer.

View: Mesquite trees, dirt road, blowing dust, desert scrub, snake. "SNAKE," did you say, "SNAKE?"

Yes. I said "SNAKE."

As I was sitting at my computer re-working my blog, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a snake slithering rapidly away from our 5er into the brush by my car. No identity for the snake as it disappeared from view soon after I glanced at it; I'm pretty sure it was NOT a rattlesnake. Estimate of length: 2-1/2 to 3 feet. Be still my beating heart.

Back to business as unusual. Only one page on the log so far today. Very quiet for us.

Dinnertime. Bob and I prepared tostadas. 

As soon as we sat down to eat, I hear, "SNAKE. Grab your camera." Bob spotted a 4'-5' long, very shiny snake slowly making its way across the road in front of his truck. Bob says, "Go take a picture of it!" Instead I grabbed the binoculars and examined it SAFELY from the dining room window. It was not a rattler. But it WAS the shiniest snake I have ever seen, kind of a silvery copper color with a faint pattern on it. We didn't get a picture even though we looked outside for it after dinner. It was probably long gone.


Two snakes in one day, neither one a rattler. Whew.


This evening some workers came to pick up equipment. I asked them about the long snake. They said it's one of the good snakes that emulates a rattlesnake. I remember when we went to the nature center in Kerrville, the docent told us about a constrictor-type snake that eats rattlesnakes. I'm pretty sure that's what we saw. It was loooooooonnnnngggg.

Anyway, the workers told us to get a special kind of yellow light to put under our rig because the snakes don't like yellow lights. 

I said, "What about mothballs?" 

They said, "Mothballs are good." 

As soon as they drove off I got our new box of mothballs and distributed them under all three of our moveable vehicles. Mothballs are also supposed to keep mice and ants away. Mothballs are my new insecticide/snake-icide/mouse-icide.


Bob's walk: Tonight Bob saw two Springbok antelope and what he thinks were two elands on the ranch across the street. First sighting of the elands! Eland (Taurotragus): Introduced [to Texas] in the early 1950s from Africa. The largest antelope in the world. Deep chestnut or bluish grey to pale buff or tan. Female: 800 lb. Male: 2000 lb. Update 6/1/12: Nope, not elands. What he saw were Axis deer (one normal color of tan with white spots; three albino).


Other wildlife sighting today at our rig: roadrunner, lizards.

Here are photos of the wildflowers that are in bloom after the last rain, one of our truck and 5th wheel trailer, and one of the cardinal who lives in this area.

Next time I see a snake I will risk life and limb to get a picture for you, my dear readers.

Life is good. Travel Bug out.

Awning & Biting Flies --Tues., May 23

Cotulla, Texas:

Our 5th wheel trailer (5er) was purchased in October 2011. Since then we have never used our awning. In Fallon and Sparks, Nevada, it was just too windy and cold. We wanted as much sun on our rig as we could get.

Our trip to Texas was pretty quick and we didn't stay anywhere long enough to put the awning out. Now that we are parked in one place (three weeks already), and the temperature is in the 90s, we decided it was time to figure out how to open the awning over the front of our rig. This will provide more shade for Bob during his day shift and will give shade to half our rig from the brutal afternoon sun. (Our front door faces west.)

Using our owner's manual, we got the awning into place quickly and easily. During the summer in southern Texas, the awning will be de rigueur. Because of the vinyl chemical smell when we rolled out the awning, we think the awning had never been used. It will get a workout now. I will be glad when the stink goes away.

We also have an awning over our living room on the opposite side of the 5er, but all three loops we would use to pull it out broke off. Two of the loops broke off at the dealership where we bought it, and the middle one broke off today when we tried to pull it out. That will be our next 5er repair when we get back to civilization.

Today we had the displeasure of learning our newest bugs here in south Texas are black flies and they bite! Ouch. Usually more than one at once. They seem to like legs and ankles.


Our traffic at the gate was light today; only filled two pages on our log. Bob got some chores done--repacking the "basement" and going through a box of old office papers. He was going to go for a walk from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., but when he got out there, the mosquitoes were out in full force and he was the lone mammal in the area. He rapidly returned to the safety of the 5er. We killed 12 mosquitoes that rode or flew in with him.


Tonight we watched "Blazing Saddles" on DVD. It was fun...so politically incorrect, so uppity, so stereotypical. There's another word I'm trying to corral, but it escapes me at the moment. Of all the Mel Brook's movies, though, "Young Frankenstein" is my favorite. I know that movie by heart.


It's 11:10 p.m. and all's quiet at the gate. Time for me to enjoy some Facebook game time.


TravelBug out.

A Change of Scenery -- Mon., May 21

Carrizo Springs and Cotulla, Texas:

This morning I was able to get some pics of the sable antelope. I saw them just across the road, grabbed the camera, walked out the gate and took a few shots. They were spooked, but I caught some of them running away. I got a couple of pretty good shots of the bucks. You can click on the photos to make them bigger.

Today I took the Escape pod and made a get-away to Carrizo Springs to do laundry. My mental jury is out on whether it is worth an 80-mile roundtrip to go to a newer, nicer laundromat that charges almost double what the Cotulla laundromat charges. Certainly it doesn't makes sense budget-wise. Peace-of-mind-wise: um, maybe, maybe not.

What made the trip worth it was seeing another small Texas town. Carrizo Springs was settled in 1865 because local springs provided plenty of water for farming. Their artesian wells are known for pure, clean water. Today, the population of the town is around 5,000. (Cotulla's population is around 3,000.)

After laundry, I drove around town to see what was there. Kit told me there was a a very old, very small Walmart, which I found. I bought two new throw rugs for the 5er (since two of my old ones disintegrated in the washing machine today).

Walmart: check. Fill up with gas: check. Car wash: check. Next on the list: bakery. 

Anyone who knows me knows I am a fool for bakeries and the goodies lurking within. The Just Crumbs Bakery is a small storefront in old town Carrizo Springs, kitty corner from the H-E-B grocery store. When I saw the "Hours" sign in the bakery door, I figured they would be sold out of all their good stuff by 11:30 a.m. as they had opened at 5:30 a.m. Upon walking in, the display cases were almost empty.  : (  


However, it was lunch time and the Turtle Brownies looked fresh out of the oven. Two brownies just jumped in my bag somehow along with two Lemon Breeze cookies. 


After the bakery stop, to satisfy my curiosity, I drove around the back streets of town and literally drove right up to Our Lady of the Guadalupe Catholic Church, built in 1949. Two pictures later, I continued on my way.

My time in Carrizo Springs was complete. I drove 50 miles back to Cotulla, checked for mail and headed back to the 5er. 

While driving back on the road to our rig, about a 1/4 mile down from us, I saw the herd of sable antelope on the ranch (down the fenceline a few hundred feet from the road). I stopped the car, rolled down the window, zoomed in the camera and voila!, here's the results:

Sable antelope herd

By the time I made it home, my growling stomach indicated I better have some lunch. After eating a tuna with avocado sandwich and fresh red pepper slices, a turtle brownie was calling my name from its Styrofoam container, "Susan, it's time for your treat. Let me out of here." 

I opened the box and took a whiff. Mmmmmmmm...the scent of chocolate. Heavenly deliciousness delighted my taste buds. The chocolate chips and caramel in the middle of the brownie were still warm and ooey-gooey, melty and oh so yummy. This, in my mind, made the trip to Carrizo Springs worth it.


A little later in the afternoon, Bob and I ate our Lemon Breeze cookies. Think lemon, white chocolate chips, coconut, and chewy. Both of us enjoyed the cookie break.


Later in the evening, as I talked to Mom on the phone, Bob finally ate his Turtle Brownie. He was sitting in the recliner, blissful, giving me two thumbs up on his brownie dining experience.

Another gate guarding day complete. You know, when I thought about blogging during our stint gate guarding I thought I'd blog maybe every few days because I didn't think much would be happening. Guess I was wrong.  I've written almost every day we've been out here.