live. work. dream.

Aside from our episode with the drunkards, the Missile Site park felt like the safest place to be during our stay in Greeley. The same cannot be said for the sole tornado fatality from the one that touched down there last year. We were parked in the same spot as that poor soul.

But while we could see the wild storms coming and going all around Weld County, and we had our NOAA weather radio tuned in and handy, it was Pete who gave us the most confidence come time for the daily tornado warning. With his house blown away by the twister last year, Mr. Ambrose wasn’t about to let anyone else be taken by another storm on his watch.

We knew one warning was particularly dangerous when we saw Pete rounding up campers. And we can’t thank him enough for letting us all drive into the old decommissioned Atlas-E Missile Silo he knows so well.

What better place to sit out a tornado warning?

See for yourself in this personal tour Park Manager Pete Ambrose gave us of the Weld County Atlas-E Missile Site:

You meet all kinds on the road, especially if you like to camp on the cheap in free (or almost free) places, like the Greeley Missile Silo Campground where we stayed for a few weeks, in Greeley Colorado.

I found this $5 a night campground in FreeCampgrounds.com. It’s located far enough off the freeway that there’s not a lot of noise, and what made it especially appealing, other than the price, is it is literally located in farmland, and sits right atop a decommissioned missile silo. You can even go on a free tour given by the caretaker, and go deep into the bowels of this creepy military space.

As one of the only cheap boondocking spots between Loveland and Fort Collins, it’s a central place to stay for a night or two. But we pushed the limits of our tolerance for cheap RV camping spots, and stayed here for almost 3 weeks while we started our real estate search.

It was mostly quiet, but one afternoon, we crossed paths with another camper, a sketchy character who had been staying at the park in a tent. She stumbled out of the bathroom and short of breath, asked me to call 911. I screamed at Jim to get the cell phone. As he went to get it, her likewise sketchy boyfriend showed up, and told Jim “Oh don’t bother, she’s just been drinking. She does this all the time.”

Meanwhile, the woman collapsed on the grass, writhing and clutching her chest as if she’s having a heart attack. In short quick breaths she tells me “I . . . can’t . . breathe! Get him away from me!”

Jim is stunned. I grabbed the phone and dialed. We didn’t know if this was going to turn into a domestic violence episode or what, but I made the call, not wanting to take the chance that this woman was really going to croak.

While we waited for the paramedics, we realized that both she and her boyfriend were loaded, and both reeked so bad, like they had just hijacked a truck full of MadDog 20/20.

When the EMTs showed up, Jim and I ran inside the trailer. From the window, we watched them go through the motions of attempting to treat the woman. After a while we realized that they were weren’t moving too quickly, and were actually smirking at each other while the drunken woman was still on the ground. It was obvious there was nothing wrong with her, other than alcoholism.

She demanded that they take her to the hospital, and the EMTs complied. They took her away in the ambulance, while her boyfriend was questioned by the cops.

Suddenly, the lure of cheap camping had worn on my nerves. The next day after learning we didn’t get that dream property, I had a meltdown. Five dollars a night or not, I was done with that park, and wanted out.

Once we left the Missile Silo campground, I was actually relieved to be paying $500 a month rent at a KOA campground in Wellington, just north of Fort Collins. As much as I hate KOAs for all of the franchised predictability they represent, my paranoia slowly disappeared as summer kicked off and hoards of happy RVers started rolling in.

We’ll be hanging out in this trailer park with slightly more conventional people for the duration of summer, or until we find our ideal piece of land in the nearby mountains. This park is way more expensive and it reeks of the feedlot down the road, but at least it has a pool, and no bum fights either.

Last Fall as we left Colorado and headed to the Tetons and Yellowstone for Jerry’s final road trip adventure, we stopped in Fort Collins for lunch. A friend from Portland told us it was a cool place to live, and I thought that if a Portlander paid a compliment to the city, it must be something special.

And it is. Located north of Denver in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, this city’s vibrant downtown, thriving business community, bikeability, excellent university and great breweries immediately pulled us in, and has been calling us back ever since.

Nine months later, we have returned to scout the nearby mountains for Jerry’s land.

When we fell under the spell of this “Best Places” city, I didn’t know it at the time, but my long lost cousin, Robert (aka “Son”) Chavez lives here. He found me on FaceBook and we started communicating again for the first time since we were kids.

Our families have such a long history that even though we aren’t blood relatives, we still call each other “cousins.” Our Dads have known each other since the 1950s, and our families shared a lot of good times and camping trips while growing up. As life went on and we got older, our Dads still remained close, but the rest of us eight kids scattered about to live our lives.

When I found out that Son and his partner Steven, are Fort Collins locals, I was thrilled. When I learned that Steven’s sister and brother in law, Mike and Marie, are well-established real estate agents here, I was ecstatic. Then, I learned that one of my dearest friends, Renee, is moving here from California, and I’ve been giddy ever since! We are determined to find our mountain property somewhere within 1 hour of the city.

What a find. We have family and friends here, and we love the fact that we can get lost in the Rockies yet still so close to such an aweseome town. It’s everything we’ve been looking for.

After two years of searching, it really feels like our destiny is written here. Now, if we could only find that property . . .

We were hoping to follow up that last post about fixer-uppers with the news that we finally found this perfect little project home. Alas, it too, was almost perfect.

Perfect in every way except that our offer was denied! Would you believe, in this economy, in rural Colorado, there are bidding wars going on for fixer upper homes? This place had everything going for it. And for us. Three plus acres, good access, well, septic, ample parking, a great garage, and a cute cabin in serious need of manageable repairs.

This forclosure had been vacant for months and was only on the market for two days when we saw it. After rushing back to town we discovered others were interested so we placed a solid offer above the asking price. But someone else’s offer was obviously better. That deal can always fall through … but we’re not keeping our hopes up. That way they won’t be shot down again.

What are we thinking?

When we left our stick home behind over two years ago in search of the next big thing, we had dreams of homesteading on one of those affordable 35-acre Colorado ranch parcels we kept seeing in the United Country magazine. Now we know most of those are in wide open flatland or covenanted communities that don’t want our type.

At some point we re-focused our search on smaller lots in more accessible subdivisions. Maintained roads are a good thing, and you can still be surrounded by vacant land, or at least situated so it feels like it. But a fixer-upper?!? We never thought twice about the idea. Been there. Done that. In a big way.

But then a realtor showed us an unfinished new home in the Rosita Hills of Westcliff – very unfinished, but a doable project. Small lot, secluded feeling, beautiful views, and someone else’s nightmare.

Later we discovered the most awesome piece of land in Badger Creek area of South Park County, CO. Much farther out there, way off the grid. And a much bigger nightmare.

This old earthen “home” from the seventies has an unpermitted septic, some ancient looking well equipment, and trash strewn everywhere.

But it does have a lot of awesome terrain and a Quansut hut we could insulate for storage. Yeah, right. The views weren’t that great.

The solar power system in our trailer is more robust than the makeshift one installed at this place 30+ years ago! And upon our second visit, we realized this property had become a dumping ground after two old RVs mysteriously appeared, both without license plates.

Then we saw this cute little Indian Mountain cabin on one acre with the awesome garage, big deck and snow capped views. It had everything we needed. Everything that is except a Certificate of Occupancy. After our offer was accepted we found out why this place seemed to good to be true. It was.

A trip to the Park County Building Department revealed an insane amount of work, back fees, and red tape required if we ever wanted the property to appreciate in value. I mean really, why would any property owner put so much work into something the bank owned, and not do it legitimately or up to code? But I digress. We ran from that deal. Fast.

Then there is the house going up for auction on two acres and a cistern. Again, everything we need, except a well, easy trailer access, and that “This is it!” feeling. While we understand we must bend somewhere with our extensive property criteria list, we’re not about to settle.

We are thinking smart.

The whole fixer upper thing idea just makes sense. If we can find that perfect place which meets our immediate needs and offers projects we can take on over the years. After all, we already have our own home. We just need a place to park, a place to dump and an insulated place to store some stuff. Water and power would be nice too.

For the same amount of money, we could develop raw land and end up with only a garage. And that’s  still an option. But when you factor in effort and equity, a project house is just smart thinking.

As long as the home we find doesn’t have serious structural damage, we can manage. Unlike this ultimate nightmare we saw. A tragedy really. Which could have been avoided with proper engineering, I’m sure. Call it a lesson in cutting corners …

We didn’t even think of considering the condemned show home in Glacier View. Even if it was brand new and half price.

This beautiful log cabin has overstressed structural members and rafters that no longer bear on the ridge beam – the ridge beam that is held in place with come-alongs. The beam that is out of plumb with the log post below. Not to mention the basement beam that is missing a center support post.

What are we thinking? We are thinking that perfect project place is out there. Somewhere. And we’re thinking that somewhere is here near Fort Collins, CO – one of the top ten places to buy in the nation. So we’re thinking we’ll just be hanging out here until we find it, or until it starts getting cold again.

I was bad last month and forgot to post our road trip expenditures, so here’s two months worth, April and May, check our a PDF of our RV Road Trip Expenses for April and May 2009.

Some of our biggest expenses in those months weren’t really suprises, just the unpleasant realities of what it costs to maintain a fulltime RVing rig, such as $823 to repack the trailer wheel bearings, four new tires, a water heater repair and $111 on truck maintenance.

April also included paying taxes and our CPA, and $200 to join Escapees. Our phone bill went up, because we dropped our Virgin Mobile account after getting sick of their poor coverage in rural areas. Now we have Verizon, which gives us better service, but at a higher cost. Finally, all of these expenses seemed to have led heavy drinking because we overspent on booze again!

With these hefty spending months behind us, we’re hoping for some low budget months ahead. The plan is to find some land, get our remaining stuff out of storage in CA and bring it to Colorado, and then camp for “free” on our own property until the snow files.

People are shocked when they learn that two geeks like us don’t have a GPS. But we just don’t like the thought of having one more electronic gadget to occupy space in our minds, and dealing with the idiosyncrasies and upgrades that usually accompany them. A cell phone is bad enough.

So, how do we find our way through this great big continent without a GPS? Paper maps! Imagine that! They don’t need batteries or uploading, they usually make it obvious enough to tell which roads are decent enough for our rig to travel on, and they don’t need upgrading unless you spill your coffee on them.

For general navigation through North America, I use a notebook-sized Rand McNally map that has just enough detail to show us secondary roads that can get us off the Interstates. But when we want to get off the beaten path and travel the blue highways, I’ll use state-specific maps, which we rarely pay for. We get the most current versions for free at welcome centers on the Interstate, Chamber of Commerce offices, and tourism bureaus.

For our extended stays in Colorado, one of the best paper navigation systems we have is our trusty Gazeteer atlas. There’s a  Gazeteer for every state in the nation, at around $20 each. They’re especially useful for cheapskate wanderers like us, as they show topography, designate between public and private lands, recreation spots, campgrounds (private and public), and include other handy tips for getting around.

Over the last three years on the road, there’s only been a few occasions where a GPS really would’ve helped us. But all in all, even when things don’t go according to plan and we end up going miles out of our way on some Forest Service road, there’s a sense of danger and adventure in those travels that are the stuff memories are made of. If you’re never really lost with a GPS, what fun is that?

We’ll take our paper maps any day. How about you?

What’s going on here? Neal is saving Jim from having a panic attack.

I must thank this former mechanic for his quick thinking. After trying desperately to find a level spot on their property to put our trailer, we realized the spot I had chosen was a bit too steep. It would have been OK if I parked facing uphill, but we like to face northwest for best solar positioning. But that’s another post.

So what happened? All the bumps and maneuvering must have dislodged a retainer bolt from the shaft between our two front leveling jacks. We didn’t realize this until I was raising the trailer to hitch back up, and noticed only one leg was lifting. The other was planted firmly in the ground. OK, no need to panic, we found the bolt and replaced it in the shaft that keeps both legs moving in unison.

So what’s this about quick thinking? Neal immediately asked if I had a tape measure. Since one leg had already raised, we needed to return it to the same length as the other before securing the shaft. I probably would have discovered this only after retracting the legs all the way. Well, at least one of them.

By measuring the planted leg, and extending the other until it matched, we were able to replace the bolt just once. Thanks again Neal. Once a mechanic always a mechanic, I guess.

I’m embarrassed to say that like most Americans, Jim and I have done relatively little foreign travel. We’ve been to Spain, Canada and Mexico, and that’s it. But while we do aspire to be globe hoppers, until we feel like we’ve uncovered enough of the best places in this gigantic country of ours, we’ll stick to the highways and byways of America.

Even after two years of living on the road, Jamie Jensen’s book Road Trip USA: Cross Country Adventures on America’s Two Lane Highways has been helping us uncover countless hidden gems along the way. With our limited bookshelf space in the rig, this is one book that we’ll never let go of.

See What’s Really Out There

The newest edition of Road Trip USA has just been released, along with two pocket guides – Road Trip USA Pacific Coast Highway Guide and Road Trip USA Route 66 Guide. If you’re like us, and drive the blue highways instead interstates, while seeking local Mom and Pop cafes and sticking it to Starbucks, you need these books.

Jamie Jensen’s books suggest 11 distinct road trips bisecting the U.S. From north to south, or east to west, the classic routes include The Pacific Coast Highway, Route 66, the Great River Road, and the Appalachian Trail. Detailed maps and clear directions to plenty of points of interest provide for unlimited day trips and side excursions. You’ll also find accurate contact information for lodging, car rental companies, state tourism boards, and road condition numbers.

The best part of Jamie’s books are their emphasis on finding the quirkier, offbeat attractions and towns across America. While there’s enough useful information about major cities and attractions to give you a head start on your research, Road Trip Nation will help you plan more unusual itineraries.

Plan Your Next Offbeat Adventure

The Atomic Tourist, for instance, might select a route from the Trinity Test Site in New Mexico, to the Titan Missile Museum in San Xavier, AZ, to Arco, Idaho, home of the remains of the Experimental Breeder Reactor Number One.

Music lovers will enjoy discovering blues festivals in the south, and cowboy gatherings in the West.

Teetotalling travelers can find their way from the wineries of Westfield, NY to Napa, CA, to the world’s biggest six pack in Lacrosse, WI. They’ll also learn to steer clear of Shamrock Texas on St. Patrick’s Day, even though they could kiss an actual piece of the Blarney Stone in that town’s Elmore Park. Why stay away? Because Shamrock is a dry town.

Road Trip USA identifies attractions one might easily otherwise miss, like the birthplace (and burial site) of On the Road author Jack Kerouac, just 20 miles off highway 2 in Lowell, MA. And how else would you know where the geographical center of North America is? (the answer: Rugby, ND). You’ll discover things like just how many places in the U.S. claim to be the home of Paul Bunyan. Statues of the Lumberjack giant can be found from Maine to Minnesota to our old stomping grounds of Northern California.

It’s also a useful tool that teaches you how to properly pronounce town names before you arrive and look like a tourist. Learn how Sequim, WA is really annunciated (“Skwim”), or Cairo, IL (Ki-Ro).

The only problem with Road Trip USA is that there is so much information, if you forget to consult it before planning your itinerary, you could miss important landmarks like we have. For instance, we passed by the World Largest Frying Pan in Long Beach, WA, and in that same trip, drove right through Curt Cobain’s hometown of Abereen, WA (may he rest in peace!) without even knowing it until later when flipping through the book.

Try Jamie’s Handy Pocket Guides for Short Trips

Road Trip USA’s Pacific Coast Highway Guide and the Road Trip USA Route 66 Guide are a neat addition to Jamie’s encyclopedia of quirky attractions. They’re jam packed with useful information, and you won’t have to lug around the biblical-sized Road Trip USA book if you’re just traveling within those geographic areas.

As West Coast natives, we’ve frequented a lot of his selections in the Pacific Coast Highway Guide, and have to say that his descriptions are accurate, truthful and unbiased.

We wish we had these books when we lived on the West Coast, as Jamie reveals stuff about places we’ve been to but were oblivious to some local finds, like the Olympic Game Farm in Washington. We thought it was a repulsive canned hunt farm, but it turns out to be a home to retired Hollywood animal actors!

The Route 66 Guide is also handy for anyone traveling near that famous route. You don’t have to follow it exactly, as Jamie offers lots of tips and ideas for attractions that are within a reasonable distance of the original highway. We especially enjoyed how he lists local indie radio stations for drivers to listen to, which can give you a taste of local flavor far better than any syndicated radio station can.

So turn off that satellite radio, drive off the interstates and onto the blue highways, and go find the real spirit of America, because believe it or not, it is alive and well. You just have to look harder these days to find it. But first, pick up your copy of Road Trip USA today.

Stay tuned for a guest post from Jamie, about ways you can save money on the road while traveling . . .