RV living travel blog

Sequoia National Forest Trail of 100 Giants

🎶🎶 On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
Here we go, on the road again
Like a band of Gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turnin’ our way 
And our way is on the road again
I just can’t wait to get on the road again
🎶🎶

Willie Nelson

It’s one of my favorite Willie Nelson songs and couldn’t be more appropriate to how we feel today. We are off again and our first stop is Sequoia National Forest and the Trail of 100 Giants.

Exhilarated to be Moving Again

June was a tough month for Ken and I. Our last post mentioned that we were sick and within a couple of days of that post Ken was hospitalized with pneumonia.

Being seriously ill in an unfamiliar city is a frightening situation to be in. We managed to get through it, through the one hundred thirteen degree tempertures, the lousy RV park that we were stuck in (oddly though, our next door neighbor was Robbie Knievel), our bikes being stolen and the inability to do very much while Ken recuperated.

It’s been eye opening and inspired a few RV projects (stay tuned for a YouTube project vlog). Now we’re moving again and ready for the joy of new experiences.

Sequoia National Forest
Giant Sequoia trees in a line on the Trail of 100 Giants
Giant Sequoia Trees
up the trunk of a large Sequoia tree

Before we begin the new, we are revisiting one of the best. We’re back in the Sierras, home to those beautiful giant sequoias. This time we are exploring the Sequoia National Forest and Trail Of 100 Giants where Joey was able to come along with us. The reward is that even on a holiday weekend the crowds were less and we could take a slower pace. Kern River Brewing Company was a delightful find for lunch where we had a great conversation with a young lady traveling in her van for four years. Oh, to be young again. It was a wonderful way to spend Ken’s birthday.

It was absolutely hilarious that we had to stop for cows among hairpin turns and drop-offs down the side of a mountain but the cows seemed non-plussed about it. Enjoy.


Always grateful.👫

Healthcare on the Road

Life happens.

As much as I would love to post about another stunning National Park visit or fabulous meal in a chic new city, the reality this week is less exciting. It is however, reality, no matter where you live. But healthcare on the road is a little more difficult to manage.

Stress Catches Up

We’re sick. Not only, like most our age, ongoing medical issues that we routinely monitor but one of those mysterious maladies that put you to bed. We suspect the stress of last week’s wheel situation left immunity low.

We still have to deal with the same issues even though our healthcare is provided while we are on the road. Our doctors didn’t follow us on our trip. A return to South Florida for routine tests required some schedule juggling and a few plane flights to get us both home for our necessary appointments and provide a care giver for our fur babies. And Ken still had to go to urgent care in Las Vegas after our return.

A lot of extra effort was required to make this all happen but it worked. For that I’m happy.

Have a Mobile Healthcare Plan

My point to all this is…..have a medical plan. Do your research and make decisions about how to manage your medical care while traveling. Some questions to ask..

Janet in a wheelchair
Torn ACL forces Janet into a wheelchair
Some Questions to Ask

Does your credit card or RV insurance offer additional protection in an emergency?
How will you handle annual, ongoing and routine care?
Where will you get your prescriptions filled?
Will you need travelers insurance if your itinerary includes Canada or Mexico?
Where will you go for an emergency?
If you are traveling with your pets, who will take care of them if you are hospitalized?

It will be time well spent to do your research if you are considering a lengthy RV or car trip.

You Can do This

We are loving our new life (most days). There are plenty of hacks, apps and electronic helpers in place to make a mobile lifestyle do-able even with special medical circumstances. Make an advance plan and know how you will deal with ongoing or sudden issues.

Don’t be daunted by health care if traveling will make you happy. Being happy is a big step toward mental and physical well-being.

Always grateful. 👫

RV Repair Failure

Pull off the road NOW! The tire is about to go.”

This is not what you want to be screaming into a radio as you start the last leg of your itinerary. And this wasn’t simply a flat tire. No, nothing as simple as that. We had the flat tire the day before. This was much worse. This was a serious RV repair failure that left us shaking in our boots.

One of the problems with RV travel is finding reputable companies when you need work done on your home. This incident was a hard lesson. We are safe. Thank goodness. But we will never let anyone touch the wheels of The Burrow again without checking their work before we pull out. This RV repair failure nearly cost us our home, our pets and our lives.

A rear tire sheared off the lug bolts of the Bigfoot as we were traveling down a busy Interstate 15 between Barstow, California and Las Vegas. We think but cannot prove it happened because of loose lug nuts. We had just had a tire replaced and pulled out of the shop. Had only traveled about 15 miles down the road.

Our Lucky Day

Had just a couple of things been different, we might have had a different outcome. We were not towing Armadillo, which was fortunate. And, we were using two-way radios that allowed rapid communication. Ken was able to move off the road as the first wheel came off — that went flying into the desert — and stopped just before the second one could come off the axle. The tow truck driver suggested, since we had been so lucky that day, that we run out and buy lotto tickets.

We will learn from this very frightening experience and I hope that by sharing, you will too. Check the torque on the lug nuts. Check tire pressures. We are considering installing cameras inside and out for when we must leave our home in someone else’s care. We have to live always on guard. Or, as in this case, guard against putting our lives in danger from malfeasance. Unfortunately, that reality continues even with our new RV lifestyle.

Be aware

This blog post is not meant to frighten you but to make you aware and help you to avoid a serious roadside emergency.

Bitsy and Butter were incredibly frightened but settled down after we moved into a hotel. And, after I quit shaking like a leaf, it was nice to be pampered for a few days with unlimited hot water, breakfast every morning and someone else to clean the room.

We found a couple of quirky little things to do in Barstow while we waited for parts from Los Angeles. Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch on Route 66 was pretty neat and Calico Ghost Town was well, eerie.

We are especially today….Always grateful. 👫

Rusted Jeep surrounded by bottle trees