The Lure of Brisket and Pals

A teeny blossom hangs onto the morning dew

So, we’ve decided to stay another couple of days at Alafia River SP. It’s just too darn nice here and we can’t bear to rip ourselves away so soon.

First of all, the weather has been perfect. I mean ideal, lovely, warm, sunny days and cool evenings interspersed with brilliant sunsets, star-filled nights and gorgeous afternoon walks on the trail (I must apologize to those folks stuck in the frozen North -> all I can say is, get your RV’s down here!).

Paul and Freddie

Second of all, Paul’s old pal is here. The two Cubanos love hanging out and even joined us for a week-end camp-out with the kids at the park. We had a blast walking the trails, drinking wine and burning marshmallows on the campfire. There’s nothing quite like the great outdoors in the company of good friends and good food to create the perfect day.

Then, there’s the brisket…

Smokin' Joe's....drooooool....

Now, as you may know we’re both rather foodie-crazed, and the lure of a good meal can be quite the draw. We discovered Smokin’ Joe’s (10252 County Road 39 S
Lithia, FL 33547) last time we were here, and have been haunted by smoked meat fantasies ever since. Paul was literally drooling the entire drive North, and we rushed hungrily to the place almost as soon as we arrived.

A picture-perfect morning at Alafia

And believe me, it’s worth it…EVERYthing is good here. The small family run business serves up an assortment of meats with the absolute perfect mix of smoke, flavor and tenderness highlighted by luscious, deep, homemade BBQ sauces. It’s no surprise that those in the know, know…. In fact the beef brisket is such a star that it sells out the day after they make it, every single time, and it’s rare to find the place without a queue of enthusiasts salivating in the driveway.

So, with a good stock of smoked meat in the fridge (and the plan to go back and stock up again before we go), we’ll relax for a few more days in this swamp paradise. After all there’s no rush, and with surroundings as nice as this why would we be in any hurry to leave? Bon Appétit, everyone!

Armadillo’s, Grunts and Spanish Moss

Eerie and beautiful Spanish Moss

It’s like a scene out of Jurassic Park. Swamp lakes, green algae, and oak trees with long tufts of hairy growths swaying eerily in the wind. To complete the picture I hear a long, sonorous growl coming from somewhere on my left followed by a rustling and…how can I put it…a sniffle-snort-grunt coming from right in front of me. It feels exactly like I’ve time-warped back into the primordial goo of a past Ice Age and yet I know, consciously, that I’m still somewhere in modern-day Florida.

As it turns out the hairy green tufts are Spanish Moss, the growl is an alligator (the bigger the growl, the bigger the gator in case you’d like to know) and the rustling brings forth the surprising picture of an Armadillo. It’s the nature of the swamp and once you get over your initial terror, it’s rather a cool place.

The primal and comical Armadillo

I’d never actually seen an Armadillo “in the flesh” so to speak until I came to Florida, and I have to admit the first time I did I burst out laughing. It’s almost impossible to believe that an animal can look so prehistoric and yet so ridiculous at the same time. The “little armored one” as the Spanish named them are leather-shelled animals with long, sharp claws (for digging) offset with soft, pink noses and hairy legs. Their closest living relatives are anteaters and sloths, and the most common american version, the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus) ranges all the way from Florida to Nebraska. I spent a good hour “tracking” the elusive little animal who, despite its apparent clumsiness and almost complete blindness can really leg it when it wants to.

Spanish Moss casts long shadows in the afternoon sun at Alafia

The Spanish Moss I find equally enthralling. This hairy, green growth is actually not a moss, but an Epiphyte, a kind of “air-plant” that grows solely by picking up nutrients and water in the air. The long, grey-green-scaled tentacles elongate and intertwine like a complicated dance up to 20-feet long and propagate by seed and fragments that blow in the wind. It’s a gypsy of the air and it grows all over the South, reminding us that life flows to a different rythm down here.

The gators…well, lets just say I’m happy to leave them be for now. I think I’ll stick to the rest of nature and stay in my own little naive dream of prehistoric fun. Now, if just Tarzan would come along……

The Adventure of a Lifetime – Mongolia 2011

Vista Magic in Nepal, 2007

My life is definitely a bit of an adventure in motion, but there are highlights which sparkle and define themselves in my memory as particularly special and unique. One of these was a trip I did to Nepal in Oct 2007. I’d always dreamed of seeing the Himalayas and in 2007 I met a friend who presented just the trip I’d been looking for -> a remote, off-the-beaten-track 1-month trek to Ganesh Himal.

The fellow I met was Leo Murray and this energetic young soul had been travelling the world for more years than I’ve been around. He started in his youth and basically never stopped, planning unusual and explorative trips to places that are rarely visited. He invited some friends who invited some friends and from thence it grew. I heard about him from a friend, of course, and immediately signed up, leaving Paul holding down the fort in Hong Kong while I whisked myself off to a fabulous adventure in the mountains. The people I met on the trip became firm pals and the trek cemented itself in my memory as one of the best I’ve ever done (you can see pics here)

An outstanding shot taken from one of Leo's previous Mongolia Trips

So, why bring this up on my RVing blog? Well, RVing is part of my life adventure and my goal is (hopefully) to help other people find their own life adventure too. As it so happens Leo is doing another one of his outstanding trips this summer, a horseback Expedition to a remote and rarely visited part of NW Mongolia and I’ve been drooling over the details. It’s his 12th trip to Mongolia and they just keep getting better every time. It’ll be from July 20th-Aug 5th 2011 through the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, a region of glaciers, snowfields, forests, lakes and the highest point in the country Mt. Khuiten (4,374m/14,350 ft). If you’re looking for something totally unique and different to put down in your highlight of life adventures, this would absolutely be the trip to try.

Location of Leo's 2011 Mongolia Expedition

I’m not affiliated with Leo’s trips in any way, except as a friend, so I’m putting this one out there purely for interest. You can check out the YouTube videos from his 2010 trip here, and if you feel the tug to go give Leo a shout at his e-mail click here. Oh, and let me know how the lifetime adventure turns out.

My friends from Nepal. Leo is the tall fellow front 3rd from the right.

On The Road Again & Girls At the Wheel

Goin’ places that I’ve never been.
Seein’ things that I may never see again
…I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again
(Willie Nelson, “On the Road Again” 1980)

Yours truly commands the wheel

Oh yeah baby -> it’s up with the jacks, on with the cowboy hat and off to the road we go. Yesterday we started off our 2011 season with a gorgeous, weather-perfect drive back to Alafia State Park and like natural-born nomads we revelled in the feeling of the wind in our hair (or, more precisely in our case, the bounce of “the beast” on the road). Even the RV seemed happy, having become rather fat and lazy during her winter sojourn. After all, the whole point of being on wheels is using them, n’est ce pas?

Since we had a longer drive yesterday (250 miles compared to our usual realxing 150 or so), hubby and I shared the work at the wheel going 50/50 on the drive. I actually love driving and started learning to wrestle the monster early last year back in Quartzite, AZ (our very first boondocking trip). There were a few first-time nerves, a bit of practice getting used to turns and some freaky initial moments on the freeway but after a while I got into the groove and started enjoying the road just as much as Paul.

Paul enjoys the other side of RVing

Another bonus to wheeling power are the rather  surprised looks I get from truckers and other RVers on the road.  You see, it seems men do most of the driving in larger rigs and I think that’s a shame. Not only is RV driving rockin’ fun, but I consider it an important safety net to make sure both partners can take the wheel. Should something happen to either one of us, both of us are able to run the RV and I’ve wanted it that way since we started.  I self-learned the art, through practice and geometry but there’s plenty of places to learn for those that seek other means:

1/ Empty Parking Lots/Roads – If you’re taking the RV for your very first spin a big, empty parking lot or a lonesome road are great spots to try. Wide, open spaces allow you to get a feel for the turning radius and practice driving without pressure from other cars on the road. I started on BLM land in AZ, progressed onto deserted and low-traffic roads and then finally took the wheel for a freeway. Going slow and taking your time is my driving motto, and I still drive that way today.

2/ Online YouTube Videos – For those who like visual aids, there are LOTS of excellent online videos that teach RV driving. Just google “RV driving” on YouTube and check out the links. There are even safety and maintenance videos too, as well as excellent tutorials on tire blowouts and other specialized topics.

3/ RV Driving Course – Although you can legally get into an RV in most states (depending on size) without a special license, doing an RV driving course can be a really positive and useful experience. Of course, I never did one (rather typical of me, mind you), but I’ve heard great things from others. Google the web for hits and ask for references and checks from others who’ve taken the course. A good tutor should always have excellent references.

So, this is a shout-out to the gals out there. If you aren’t already driving I encourage you to give it a go. If you need a bit of motivation here’s my own little message to get you started, once again proving that girl power is the way to go (click the video link):

Girls at the RV Wheel from Paul Novell on Vimeo.

Online RV Forums – Beacons of Help on the Road

I’d love to be able to tell you that I’m a self-learned expert. You know, the type that learns by books and elbow grease, becoming a leading voice on the subject of RVing through hard-earned grit and experience. The truth is that I (we) needed a lot of help, especially when we first started out, and a lot of that came from on-line forums.

In fact, these places have been absolutely wonderful sources of information and continue to be shining beacons of experience and social support for us as we go on our RV journey. Whether you’re baffled by camping etiquette, stumped by wiring, befuddled with tank breakdowns or just looking for a driving route that won’t give you premature grey hairs the online forums are here to help. It’s amazing, in a way, to think that so many people willingly bond together for absolutely no reason other then to help each other, but that’s absolutely what happens. I’m an active user and an active learner and I definitely recommend you be too.  Here are my favorite free online forums:

1/ RV.net - This is an incredibly active community. Many sites “feed” into rv.net including Good Sam’s, Motorhome Magazine, Woodall’s, Trailer Life (and probably a few others I don’t know) and they all use the same forum. Their Class A forum is very active and they always have good tips in their campground section.

2/ Escapees - Escapees is a smaller group, but always very responsive. If you want to go in-depth this is a good place to be. I particularly like their volunteering and boondocking sections. You don’t have to be a member of Escapees to use their forum.

3/ iRV2.com - This rapidly growing group is very technically-minded and have  dedicated “owners” forums for each manufacturer as well as forums by chassis and power-train. If I have a tech question I go here. These guys have a great little Android App too.

These are probably what I consider the “top 3″ in terms of forum activity and response. There are lots of other communities, some of which are growing and worth checking out including rvforum.net (just discovered them recently and learning as we speak), nurvers.com (a group for younger RVers…still a small outfit currently), womenrv.com (a group for women RVers, run by women RVers!), and probably many more I have yet to discover.

So, if we haven’t met in person yet I’ll look forward to seeing you online. You’ll know it’s me when you see my mug shot on list  :)