Life is good, and warm. Last week we went from this 30 degree weather in South Park Colorado.

To the refuge of Southern Utah.
80 degrees and loving it.

and in the process of picking up stakes
from this isolated boondocking spot

We traversed across the Utah / Arizona border and saw
the horrific reality of what’s happened to the Colorado River.

As we headed to Las Vegas to play zombie for Jim’s birthday
I couldn’t help but wonder what Edward Abbey would think.

And on we roll . . .

Over the past week as we got pummeled by a desperately needed snowstorm, we watched the fluff pile up on our rooftop.

It seemed like common sense to me that a heap of snow would add too much weight to our Northwood Arctic Fox.

On the other hand, I wondered: what happens to all those RV stored outside all winter long in places like Denver or De Moines? Or RVs belonging to crazy families like Jema’s, who spends winters in Breckenridge?

Obviously those people aren’t going and scraping off snow every few days. Or are they?

Jim thought I was wasting time being worried about it, but after all these years he knows that worry is my middle name. I’m trying to get over that, so this time instead of worrying I just went to the source to get an answer.

I called Northwood Manufacturing and asked one of their fabulous technical support reps:

“How much snow can pile on top of my 24′ Arctic Fox fifth wheel before it starts to present a hazard to my rig?”

“Two feet,” the helpful tech answered.

Whenever neurotic people like me think to ask this question, Northwood will tell them that 2′ is an acceptable load for the roof of any RV, including theirs. After that, you’re on your own and had better start checking for leaks when things thaw out.

Scraping snow off the RV roof is a headache, but not as much as an interior leak. I’m happy to report that so far, there are no signs of water damage inside the rig.

Now, if only we knew for sure that our frozen water pump and plumbing still works.

There I go, worrying again  . . .

Pummeled. That’s the only way to describe this very unexpected Rocky Mountain blizzard that’s bombarded us since returning to Jerry’s Acres for a few weeks.

This photo was taken yesterday. There’s even more snow now that’s covered up the trees you see here. Another 2′ is supposed to fall today.

I am so over this. I’ve never experienced snowfall like this in my life, and hope that I never do again. Yes, I’m a sissy. I want my flip flops and cold beer, waaaah! Life is too short to shovel snow. It’s a great workout but I’d rather go for a run in warm weather.

About the only thing that makes this weather disaster fun is our newest neighbor.

Say hello to Rocky!

Snowbirds are supposed to go south for winter, not head right into it. But this season I was fascinated by the number of full-timers who decided to RV in the coldest parts of the country, including Advanture Trek, artist Jema and her family and a few other Full-time Families who traded flip flops for ski boots.

These RVers are snowbirds in the truest sense of the word. I’m not as hearty and there’s no way you could pay me to head north for winter in my Arctic Fox fifth wheel, even though it’s one of the best 4-season models available.

Have you ever RV’d for an extended time in the snow? If so, what was it like?

Whistler Mountain is one sweet sounding destination that could possibly tempt us into a trip north to spend one winter season. But you’d be more likely to find us working at a resort from the comfort of a fireplace-warmed cabin! How about you?

Via: Expedia

Full-timing is a life of freedom, but it always has a cost. From putting up with freezing weather, to dealing with inconveniences like finding out your house batteries are going bad (more on that later), the open road has a price.

We’ve had more than our share lately. And while it was so nice to move from this weather in El Paso yesterday:

To this weather in Tucson,

We’re now paying another price.

Thanks to the Escapees Days End Directory, we have this sweet boondocking spot to ourselves, just about 45 minutes west of Tucson.

What’s the Problem?

That little sign that you see in the picture. We were so tired when we pulled in yesterday, we didn’t see it. As a result, this morning a Nazi BLM park ranger paid us a visit.

Jim made me stay inside while the ranger demanded to see his driver’s license. I tried to stay calm as she ran our plates. After prying into our lives, the ranger (who was relatively nice after all) asked us to move a half mile down the road to an acceptable spot.

In the meantime, Jim is at the Tucson Apple store today, something about his laptop battery going bad. Or it could be our house batteries. We’re not sure which yet.

After driving over 1,000 miles in two days, we finally beat winter at its own game and are back in the dry, sunny landscape of the southwest. The last two months of being tied to the grid, awning-to-awning in RV parks from Virginia to Livingston are behind us, and we can finally breathe again.

We like this area, but not that much. Instead, we’ll head out to Quartzsite today. See you there!